Graceling
"Katsa is a Graceling, one of the rare people born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she lived a life of privilege until the day her ability to kill a man with her bare hands revealed itself during a royal banquet. Now she acts as her uncle's enforcer, traveling the kingdom and threatening those who dare oppose him. But everything changes when she meets Po, a foreign prince Graced with combat skills who is searching for the truth about his grandfather's disappearance. When Katsa agrees to help him, she never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace-or about a terrible secret that could destroy them all."
Graceling by Kristen Cashore is my first venture into fantasy literature in quite some time. This novel, and in turn the introduction to the series, was gifted to me over the holidays. I will confess, fantasy is not a genre I would have willingly dove back into of my own devices. However, therein lies the beauty of it all.
Cashore sacrifices the usual romanticism I've become accustom to for world building-the explanation of the Graces (super abilities of mortals), the politics of the kingdoms, etc. It is a different sort of pleasure. It isn't one that takes me on a moral journey or offers me any incredible personal depth, but it is one that immerses me. I became enthralled in this warring world and the strength of Katsa to get through her challenges.
Although, in times of plot climax, I did secretly hope that the writing would become more . . . detailed. In her romantic conquest with Po, I wanted so desperately to know the gritty details of Katsa's emotions for him and what she was feeling with him. However, it isn't in Katsa's (or the author's) stony nature to indulge in such things.
I digress, I find myself intrigued by a series that claims it can be read in any order. I've read that there is a more appropriate order (one I will be going by myself), but I am appreciating this soft launch back into fantasy. I appreciate my mind being engaged in a different way, one that offers a different flavor of critical thought.
Stay tuned for the rest of the series.