non è un fantasy
potrebbe essere un Harmony cappa e spada (se gli Harmony avessero personaggi sociopatici)

TRAMA E SPOILER
in una società dove i nobili si sfidano per procura tramite spadaccini su commissione il giovane St. Vier, il miglior maestro di spada della città, verrà invischiato in un intrigo politico (e passionale), tradito, processato e infine salvato dal suo altrettanto giovane (e tormentato) amante

questa è la trama ed è il più possibile fedele ma... il romanzo non parla di questo :)

l'ambientazione è orrida, i personaggi sono tutti odiosi, le loro relazioni sono aberranti, non c'è un solo raggio di luce in questa storia
e l'ho adorato!! ( )

This tale is set in a medieval-ish society where professional swordsmen can be hired to avenge matters of honor, or just kill people. I enjoyed seeing the upper and lower class character's lives, and the gorgeous descriptions of clothes, scents, and settings. Various people plot against each other and seek involve Richard St Vier, the leading swordsman. I'm terrible at understanding strategy and intrigue but appreciated that most of it was explained in the courtroom scene. I'll be thinking about Richard and Alec and wondering how they met and what became of them. ( )

Light fantasy read. Entertaining, but not very good. ( )

While this book gave me some very interesting thought to think (so to speak), the greatest downside came from very shallow world. For me there is simply not enough of world to connect to. ( )

In an unnamed city, aristocrats fight murderous duels by proxy, and Richard St Vier is the best swordsman to be had for love or money. When the system's intricate etiquette is violated -- by a nobleman who learns to duel, by a lord who doesn't take refusals well, by an acidic scholar who has abandoned his birthright, and by St Vier's own peculiar moral code -- the entire city teeters on the edge of catastrophe.

This was excellent. If one had to quibble -- and, indeed, I love to quibble -- one might take issue with some of the supporting characters and their bottom-drawer stupid-fantasy-novel intrigues and motivations. And I spent the second half of the book waiting in vain for Michael Godwin to return and justify his predominance in the first half. But these are quibbles. It's not hard to take the long, magnanimous view of the book, because Richard and Alex are great. They carry the book effortlessly. They could carry a far worse book. ( )