“First book in the Fencer trilogy by K.J. Parker. This is the first book she's written (under this name at least). Looks suspiciously professional though: maybe she's had some practice.
Still a certain amount of realistic nastiness. Not as angsty as the Scavenger trilogy though. She's a bit lighter on the details of ironmongery and fencing here too, maybe lacking confidence for the detailed Clancy-esque technical details of the later books.
Plot is quite dramatic, though it relies on coincidence too much, without the excuses of Scavenger. Has some of the same themes. Worth reading.”