Graceling: a person from one of the seven kingdoms with an extraordinary ability, possibly amazing, possibly mundane. This is a strong part of what convinced me to purchase this book whilst perusing the shelves of an unfamiliar bookstore. I've read other novels where certain characters are given extraordinary abilities, but not quite the way that Kristin Cashore does, and certainly not with the consequences that go along with those abilities.
So, basic setup. There are seven kingdoms, with not very creative names, each ruled by a king (we'll get into that later), and throughout the kingdoms are people who are Graced. A Grace could be something as simple as being able to hold your breath for a very long time, or something as impressive as mind reading or being an invincible fighter. The telltale sign that a person is Graced is that their eyes are two different colors, and the color combination varies from Graceling to Graceling. We begin in the Middluns, where Lady Katsa, niece to King Randa, has had the Grace of killing since she was eight years old. She is an extraordinary fighter that has incredible speed, stamina, and doesn't feel cold, hunger, or pain as much as a normal person does. In the Middluns, anyone who is Graced is under the jurisdiction of the king; they are sent to the king's nursery as children, and if their Grace proves useful, they must work for him. If not, they are sent home to fit in as best they can.
Katsa has basically become a thug for King Randa in that she hurts, maims, threatens, or kills people when he tells her to, and she despises his control over her. She has a humane conscience, even though she considers herself to be nothing more than a savage beast because her Grace is so violent. Still, she practices and hones her skills in order to control her Grace, to the point that she knows exactly how to use her skill to only hurt someone, or knock them unconscious, instead of brutally wounding them.
The good part begins with the appearance of Prince Greening (terrible name, but there it is all the same), nicknamed Po (I'm not sure which name is worse). He is also Graced and comes from Lienid, where the Graced are free to live their lives as they choose, under no constraint from the king. Po shows up in Randa City looking for his grandfather, who has been kidnapped. Katsa has recently saved the man from his kidnappers, and her friend, Prince Raffin, is helping nurse the old man back to health. Their intention is to keep him hidden until Katsa and her friends, who together form the Council, can find out who was behind the kidnapping in the first place (the kickoff for the adventure to follow). Po joins in after convincing everyone that he is trustworthy and will be of value to their search. Little does anyone know that he has a secret that will test the friendships he's formed with members of the Council.
What I particularly like about Graceling is the depth of the emotions and relationships between characters. Katsa is a thoroughly contradictory character because she cannot be at peace with herself, but the way that Cashore creates Katsa's relationships with Po, Raffin, and the others around her is wonderful to read. Katsa's war with herself over Po is specifically drawn out and complicated, but in a good way; I was never really sure how the situation would be resolved until it was.
Cashore's world is very well thought out, and quite detailed. It's easy to get an idea of what each kingdom is known for and how they all interact. She's also very good at keeping you guessing; there are more than a few minor twists that come out of nowhere, but make the story that much more interesting, such as how Katsa is able to overcome Leck's power over her. I also really liked the character of Bitterblue (another really bad name). She's only about eleven years old, but she such a plucky character, that I just can't help but love her. Bitterblue has to endure quite a bit and survives, while not giving up being a child.
To sum up: the character and place names tend to be ridiculous and uncreative, but the story is well worth the read, and I'm going to try to find the next novel in the series, Fire, as soon as I possibly can. I want to know what else will happen in this world of Graced people, and what new characters will come out of Cashore's mind.
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