I’ll admit I was curious of what Cassandra Clare could do outside her Shadowhunter series. Sword Catcher is a good book. It actually is better than her last couple of Shadowhunter books. I think it was good for her to explore a different kind of world. This is a high fantasy that is set in the kingdom of Castellane and is narrated by Kel, the Sword Catcher or the body to the Prince and Lin, a physician outcast. An outcast because not only she a woman in a man’s field but she’s an Ashkar, who can’t live in the city but only in the Sault. Kel was an orphan who looks enough like the Prince that with a talisman he can look just like the Prince and stand for him if needs to. Kel was raised in the Palace, among the courtiers and wealthy but will never be one himself. Both Kel and Lin are outsiders to this world but they collide when he is stabbed and left for dead. Now they are caught up in the political intrigue that neither knows what to do with it. 

Now, it wasn’t the best book I’ve read but it was definitely entertaining. I really liked both of Kel and Lin’s voices as they navigated a world that needs them but doesn’t necessarily want them. This was a good set up novel. I am not sure how many books are in the series but it was a good introduction to the world. People and the upcoming trouble to come. It still leaves a lot to explore, like what is the madness the king suffers from? Is Lin really the returned Goddess to bring magic back to world? All and all a good start.