Nevermight – A Book Review

most people shit themselves when they die.
their muscles slack and their souls flutter free and everything else just… slips out. for all their audience’s love of death, the playwrights seldom mention it. when our hero breathes his last in his heroine’s arms, they call no attention to the stain leaking across his tights, or how the stink makes her eyes water as she leans in for her farewell kiss.

The scene:

Another world. A world which sees the darkness of true night every two and a half years. Three suns hanging in the sky – Saan (furious, red, huge) is The Seer; Saai (small and blue) is The Knower; Shiih (a dim yellow giant) is The Watcher. These are the eyes of Aa the Everseeing. A trek across an ancient desert, plagued with sandy horrors. A school, of magic and murder, specialising in the training of killers. A corrupt government and a murderous plot (or two). Shadows which move on their own volition. A library for the dead, destroyed, and never-existed books. A city, built on the bones of a fallen god.

The people:

Mia Corvere. Also known as Little Crow and Pale Daughter. A murderous bitch. Speaks to the shadows who, most often, speak back. Daughter of a disgraced and destroyed family. Has a way with darkness and an affinity for blades. Acolyte of the Red Church, in service to our Lady of Blessed Murder. Fearless and cunning. Surprisingly kind. Smokes like a chimney (her poison of choice being clove cigarillos). She’s most often accompanied by a daemon or two. A girl with words in her soul. A girl who is to murder as maestros are to music.

Tric. A friend and a lover. Nicknamed Don Tric by Mia. Has a beautiful face, marred by hateful scars. A voice as soft as velvet. Has a keen sense of smell. Good with horses. He is not a psychopath. But he is a murderer. Has an exceptional talent at swordsmanship. Cheeky and fun and an outsider. 

Ashlinn Järnheim. Another Acolyte. Pretty, dimpled, and dangerous. Dedicated and loyal. Can and will steal anything which is not bolted to the floor. Friendly. A fierce competitor, who is not afraid to manipulate, stab or poison you (or any combination thereof). Says goodbye with a kiss.

Mercurio. Mister Kindly. Mouser, Spiderkiller, Solis, Aelea, and the Revered Mother Drusilla. Julius Scaeva and Marcus Remus and Francesco Duomo. A beautiful boy named Hush. A blood speaker and flesh weaver. Several, or rather: many, more murderers (come to think of it, I cannot think of one person in this story who is not a murderer). 

★★★★★

Hello gentlefriends.
Yes, that quote is actually how the book starts. 

So, is Nevernight the book for you? Let us see.

Do you enjoy reading about badass women with blood on their hands and vengeance in their hearts?
Do you enjoy reading about dangerous plots, and the many ways you can kill someone?
Do you like books with a rather healthy dose of blood, swearing, smut, and footnotes*?

If you answered yes to those questions, then Nevernight by Jay Kristoff is the book for you. It follows the story of sixteen-year-old Mia Corvere, who plans to right the wrongs done unto her family by becoming the best damned assassin the world has seen, by joining the Red Church – a possibly-cult-like school who trains the Republic’s most fearsome assassins. The author describes the school as being like “Hogwarts for murder”. Mia has a gift for conversing with the shadows, and is followed by her daemon, Mister Kindly, who helpfully eats her fear. However, Mia’s success in the Red Church is threatened when it appears that there’s a plot to bring down the Red Church from within. Hijinks ensue, as Mia fights her way to the top.

If, however, you answered no to the questions then, perhaps, this book is not for you. 

Happy reading, gentlefriends, and remember: 
“Never flinch.
Never fear.
And never, ever, forget.”

_{* this, by-the-by, is a footnote. With it, I want to note that this book is definitely NSFW.}

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