My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Quite frankly, one bloody awesome fantasy novel.
Katsa is Graced; she is one of the few in the Seven Kingdoms bearing a particularly strong skill. In Katsa's case, she has a remarkable ability to kill, much to her dismay, as in her kingdom those who are Graced are at the mercy of the king. Katsa's position in the court is quickly decided, and she becomes the king's personal thug, sent to punish those who disobey the powerful King Randa. Katsa in secret has another role, however--she and friends within the court have devised what they call the Council, a band of shopkeepers, merchants, and other do-gooders whose primary goal is simply to keep people from being harmed by the hands of the kings. Katsa grudgingly has accepted these dual roles, at least until she meets Po, a Lienid prince, also Graced. Wrapped in his own quest to find his kidnapped grandfather, Po teaches Katsa about herself in ways she doesn't expect. Soon they're off together to find motive to his grandfather's kidnap, not realising the dark secrets that are just waiting to be unearthed...
Told in a story-teller's voice, Graceling is a fast-paced story, though the maintains a rather straight line all the way through. Don't worry, Po's not going to turn out to be Katsa's brother or anything: while not everything is exactly as it appears to the eye, there are no large, in-your-face surprises. Cashore's fantasy world is rock-solid, too--dragons aren't going to randomly appear--and it's all magical realism, so there aren't a million and one "OMG!" moments from characters as they learn about Katsa's Grace. It's a good, straight-forward narrative: not necessarily groundbreaking or profound, but a nonetheless a new world and concept to explore, without an irking magic that fixes all problems.
Highly recommended, especially for those who haven't read much fantasy lately or just want to read a solid magical story without frills.
(Rated Teen for non-graphic explicit scenes.)
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