Funny and earnest, interesting magic system, character relationships don't quite develop enough for me.

Wow, after having read "The Dead and the Gone" first, this one is downright cheery.

It took me a while to get through this but that’s not a comment on the storytelling, which is top notch. Sal is a really great character—a swashbuckling, crass, driven, and multifaceted heroine who is a pleasure to read. The story wraps up nicely, but leaves just enough unspoken and hinted to make the reader excited to return to this world.

Occasionally the pacing felt a little messy and sprawling, and certain characters and relationships felt forced, but it will be interesting to see how those develop as the series unfolds. Really fun read.

I liked the concept of the book very much: the idea of how the near-apocalypse happens, and the idea of how people survive in an everyday way. I didn't like the diary format, and I didn't like the characters. They were not likable, to me. I especially didn't like the mother, but she, as all of them, were portrayed as good and heroic. However, I kept reading until the end because the story of things breaking down was very well thought out, and interesting.

Truly depressing. I don't know why I kept reading, but I did. The how/why of the apocalypse was iffy, the book's journal entry style of a teenaged girl was written as such (drama and all), and the things the characters dealt with were all resolved with what seemed like pure luck.

I received an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley.

Whatever else they say, they'll say Sal the Cacophony did the right thing. Now and again, at least.

Those of you who have been following my reviews for awhile will realize what an absolute anomaly it is for me to read a high fantasy book that comes in at around 700 pages at all, much less to give it five stars. Usually I find myself nodding off when a book hits 400 pages, but even though it definitely took me awhile to read this I never once found myself getting the least bit bored.

If you're like me and you love the idea of high fantasy books, but often find them to be either very dry or just completely lacking in interesting female characters then this book is definitely a breath of fresh air. Sal is the kind of loud-mouthed morally ambiguous protagonist that you almost never get to see in a female character, and she's bisexual to boot! If there's anything I love more than tough but lovable queer lady magic users then I can't think of it at this moment. Maybe if she was also a pirate? Oh well, we can't have literally everything. ;)

The story and the world-building is also very interesting. I like the many different types of magic that we saw in this first installment and also the different creatures that Sal fought as well. The one thing I wish we had learned a bit more about was the Cacophony itself, but from the last chapter here I'm guessing that is something that will be explored in the second book. Definitely a very unique world overall. Can't wait to read the second book!

Eyyyyy it's a completely biased review because I LOVE FINAL FANTASY 6 and this is somehow relevant to this book let's goooooo!

I'll be honest, I picked this one up because the author mentioned on his Twitter that it was a sort of love letter to Final Fantasy, but I was not expecting it to be one to MY FAVORITE ONE but it IS and that's great!
There's a lady named Sal who has a magic gun getting revenge against the seven mages who wronged her, her lover who uses magic quills and writing to heal wounds (and make her bullets), and a soldier of the revolution whose bright-eyed idealism is tarnished, but the great thing about this book is just how good of a narrator Sal is. She's witty at times, flawed in others, taken to fancy (since she does love opera) and there's a little extra fun for those who catch the references or can see where descriptions of certain characters probably stemmed from. It's also a Hefty Book in a nostalgic and wonderful way if you, like me, were the kind of kid to pick books out on value for money and would die for a Thick Tome to get you through a week without having to go to the library or bookstore.
If I'm entirely honest, it'd probably be a 4.5 star book if Goodreads actually let you do that, but I'm letting my bias nudge this one up.

It's pretty easy to tell that Sam Sykes and Chuck Wendig are friends, by the way, so if you like the way he writes his female characters, you'll probably like this one too. It's a fun time!

Sal the Cacophony is a rogue mage, a Vagrant who prowls her world looking for, and causing, trouble. She has a list of names tucked away, a gun only she can control (or is it controlling her?) and a woman she wants to love but mostly runs from instead.

The book starts with Sal captured. About to be executed, in fact. The fact that everything that comes out of her mouth is cocksure and abrasive is really not helping. The only thing is on her side is the story she has to tell, and the knowledge that goes alongside it.

The world of Seven Blades in Black is dangerous and convincing. It's full of ravaged freeholds, soldiers and powerful sorcerers. Sal's got a unique, BIG, voice and knows how to tell the readers (and her captor) a story. You'll either love or (possibly) hate her, but she's a real presence on the page either way.

It's a long book and did take me a few sittings to get through, but it's worth the time.