Title: Play of Shadows
Author: Sebastien De Castell
Published: 28th March 2024
Publisher: Quercus
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Court of Shadows #1
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Swordplay, magic, intrigue and friendships stronger than iron: the first volume in the new swashbuckling fantasy series set in the universe of THE GREATCOATS.
Damelas Chademantaigne picked a poor night to flee a judicial duel.
He has precious little hope of escaping the wrath of the Vixen, the most feared duellist in the entire city, until he stumbles through the stage doors of the magnificent Operato Belleza and tricks his way into the company of actors. An archaic law provides a temporary respite from his troubles – until one night a ghostly voice in his head causes Damelas to fumble his lines, inadvertently blurting out a dreadful truth: the city’s most legendary hero may actually be a traitor and a brutal murderer.
With only the help of his boisterous and lusty friend Bereto, a beautiful assassin whose target may well be Damelas himself, and a company of misfit actors who’d just as soon see him dead, this failed grandson of two Greatcoats must somehow find within himself the courage to dig up long-buried truths before a ruthless band of bravos known as the Iron Orchids come for his head.
Oh, and there’s still that matter of the Vixen waiting to duel him . . .
Waterstones
Huge thank you to Quercus and NetGalley for sending me a eARC copy of Play of Shadows.
I have read and enjoyed Sebastien de Castell’s YA series, but had never picked up any of his adult fantasy novels. When this one came up on Netgalley I jumped at the chance. I was also very intrigued by the blurb of the novel. A fantasy novel set in a theatre, giving Shakespeare vibes, and featuring sword fighting, what more could I possibly want?
This novel is action-packed from the first page, and it never stops! It really kept me engaged throughout all 500ish pages.
The characters were, in general, really great and I loved them all. The female characters were excellent I thought, very well crafted and developed, something I do think De Castell does really well! I loved the found-family aspect of the novel, the group of actors who band together was so lovely and fun to read. Unfortunately the only character I didn’t really like was the main character himself Damelas. He was very irritating to me, and I couldn’t really get attached to him at all. He was rude to the other characters and I thought he was very self-centred which I couldn’t really see past.
However, despite my dislike of Damelas, I actually really liked the novel overall. I loved the other characters and the plot itself a lot.
The magic system within the novel was fascinating and really unique. It’s one of my fave parts of a fantasy novel, that and the world-building. De Castell does both of these things brilliantly in Play of Shadows, and I am very interested in seeing where the series goes!
Overall I liked Play of Shadows a lot. It was a fun historical fantasy featuring a very dramatic group of actors who I loved. I would highly recommend the novel, especially for fans of De Castell’s other works, and for general fantasy lovers!
Huge thank you again to Quercus and NetGalley for the eARC.
Buy Play of Shadows from Waterstones or Bookshop.org (*both affiliate links*)
