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The Privilege of the Sword
Ellen Kushner
2006 · Fantasy
How it reads
The Privilege of the Sword is fantasy (mannerpunk swashbuckling fantasy, specifically), and its dominant mood is adventurous. It's driven by momentum, discovery and getting into trouble. The pace is moderate — neither a page-turner nor a slow burn — so it holds up whether you read it in long sittings or short ones.
It's set in a big city setting, in no single period, told in the first person by a single narrator. Its central concerns are coming of age, power and politics and identity. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.
It's a companion to a series: set in the same world, readable on its own. The ending resolves happily. It's moderately known: read by plenty of people, but not a household name.
Pick it up if…
- you're in the mood for something adventurous
- you want to be sure it ends well
- you're drawn to stories about coming of age
Maybe not if…
- you need something cosy or melancholy
All 15 dimensions
- Genre
- fantasy
- Author gender
- female
- Author experience
- established
- Setting: place
- big city
- Setting: time
- timeless or multiple
- Mood / feeling
- adventurous
- Pace
- moderate
- Tone / weight
- balanced
- Length
- medium
- Narrative style
- first person, one narrator
- Publication era
- recent
- Popularity
- moderately known
- Series vs standalone
- companion
- Themes
- coming of age, power and politics, identity
- Ending style
- resolved and happy
What these mean: the 15 dimensions of a book.
Books with a similar reading
The closest books in Match Book's catalogue across the same dimensions, and what they share.
The Black God's DrumsP. Djèlí ClarkShares: fantasy, adventurous mood, balanced tone, moderate pace- Pathfinder Tales: Winter WitchElaine CunninghamShares: fantasy, adventurous mood, balanced tone, moderate pace
- The Ballad of Perilous GravesAlex JenningsShares: fantasy, adventurous mood, balanced tone, moderate pace
- A Choir of LiesAlexandra RowlandShares: fantasy, adventurous mood, balanced tone, moderate pace
The Deepest BlueSarah Beth DurstShares: fantasy, adventurous mood, balanced tone, moderate pace
Tress of the Emerald SeaBrandon SandersonShares: fantasy, adventurous mood, balanced tone, moderate pace
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