Cover Reveal: ‘Sword Catcher’ is coming! ⚔️

It’s time for a cover reveal of a book that’s not part of The Shadowhunter Chronicles! We first read about Cassandra Clare’s adult fantasy novel Sword Catcher in November 2017 and have had the occasional update or snippet since then. Almost one month ago, Cassie finally shared the release date – 10/10/2023 – and we have been waiting for the cover reveal ever since. The wait is over now – here it is, the cover for Sword Catcher thanks to Paste Magazine:

Amazing, right?! I think the two cities could both be Castellane: one that’s ruled by the king, and the other that’s ruled by the city’s crime lord the Ragpicker King. I also like that the header we’ve been using is close to the cover. 😀

Edited to add the following paragraph
Cassie took to her Instagram to share:

I adore this cover, and Jim Tierney has been one my favorite cover artists forever. I love how the cover shows the two halves of Castellane — the palace up on the Hill where the royals, the Aurelian family, live, and the lower city where crime and the Ragpicker King rule. I can’t wait for you guys to get to know the city and the characters.

End of edit

Paste Magazine also chatted with Cassie about the book – click here to read the whole, really interesting interview – and I would just like to point out two sentences pretty much at the end:

I suspect nobody who knows my books will be surprised to hear that there’s more Sword Catcher planned. I know all of what happens in book 2, most of what happens in book 3, some of what happens in book 4, and inklings of what might come beyond that.

Haha, classic Cassie. 😀 Goodreads librarians, you better add a few more Sword Catcher books.

We also have the UK cover and a cool trailer thanks to Illumicrate.com:

Now that we do have the cover, what do we know about Sword Catcher?

Here’s the official synopsis:

Two outcasts find themselves caught in a web of forbidden love, dangerous magic, and dark secrets that could change the world forever in the start of a riveting epic fantasy series from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Shadowhunter Chronicles.

“It began with a crime. The theft of a boy.”

In the vibrant city-state of Castellane, the richest of nobles and the most debauched of criminals have one thing in common: the constant search for wealth, power, and the next hedonistic thrill.

Kel is an orphan, stolen from the life he knew to become the Sword-Catcher—the body-double of a royal heir, Prince Conor Aurelian. He has been raised alongside the prince, trained in every aspect of combat and statecraft. He and Conor are close as brothers, but Kel knows he has one destiny: to die for Conor. No other future is possible.

Lin Caster is one of the Ashkar, a small community who still possess magical abilities. By law, they must live behind walls in the city, but Lin, a physician, ventures out to tend to the sick and dying of Castellane. Despite her skills, she cannot heal her best friend Mariam without access to forbidden knowledge.

After a failed assassination attempt brings Lin and Kel together, they are drawn into the web of the mysterious Ragpicker King, the criminal ruler of Castellane’s underworld. He offers them each what they want most; but as they descend into his world of intrigue and shadow, they discover a conspiracy of corruption that reaches from the darkest gutters of Castellane to the highest tower of its palaces. As long-kept secrets begin to unravel, they must ask themselves: Is knowledge worth the price of betrayal? Can forbidden love bring down a kingdom? And will Lin and Kel’s discoveries plunge their nation into war—and the world into chaos?

What inspired Cassie to write the book?

The answer is in Publishers Weekly’s book announcement back in 2017:

The first book in the new series, The Sword Catcher, was, Clare said in a statement, inspired by a story she read years ago about “an Iraqi man forced to give up his life to serve as the body double for one of Saddam Hussein’s sons.” In the series, she went on, a boy is kidnapped as a child and forced to change his appearance in order to become a decoy for the cruel son of a despised king.

“For years, this character lived in my head, and as I got to know him, I came to imagine the web of friends and enemies surrounding him,” Clare said. “As these men and women took shape, so did the city they lived in. My own journey as a writer has brought me to the point where I am ready to realize this world.”

The key characters are Kellian Saren, once described as “pretty crush-worthy” and Lin Caster, a young yet talented doctor. You can read more about them here.

What do you think of the cover and are you looking forward to reading Sword Catcher? I am very excited and cannot wait to dive into this new world that Cassie has created!

Sword Catcher is published on October 10 and you can pre-order your copy now!