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Jen Williams

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The Copper Promise (The Copper Cat Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Jen Williams (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.1 1,109 ratings

Book 1 of 3: Copper Cat

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A pair of sellswords and a fallen nobleman become the world's unlikely—and only—hope against a dark force bent on destruction

There have always been tall tales of the caverns beneath the Citadel—tales about magic and mages, monsters and gods. Wydrin of Crosshaven has heard them all, but she's spent long enough trawling caverns and taverns with her companion Sir Sebastian to learn that there's no money to be made in chasing rumors.

So when a crippled nobleman named Lord Frith offers them a job exploring the Citadel’s darkest depths, it sounds like just another quest. For Wydrin and Sebastian, it comes with the exciting possibility of gold, adventure, and fame. For Lord Frith, it's a chance to avenge everything that was taken from him.

But soon, these reckless adventurers will realize that what lies ahead is far bigger than their own goals, desires, and imaginations. Sometimes there is truth in rumor—and sometimes a story can save your life.

File Under: Fantasy [ Beware of the Gods | Dungeon Crawlers | The Brood Rises | Prince of Wounds ]

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A fast-paced and original new voice in heroic fantasy."
Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of Children of Time and the Shadows of the Apt series

“The Copper Promise is near-perfect fantasy-adventure fun and a breath of fresh air …
Read it and remind yourself what made you fall in love with fantasy.”
- Starburst Magazine

"Fresh and exciting, full of wit and wonder and magic and action, The Copper Promise is *the* fantasy novel we've been waiting for."
– Adam Christopher

"There are pirates and magic, demons and disciples, undead soldiers and noble knights. If you're thinking this sounds like a lot of fun you'd be gods damned right."
– Den Patrick

"...a killer of a fantasy novel that is indicative of how the classic genre of sword and sorcery is not only still very much alive, but also still the best the genre has to offer."
– Jet Black Ink

"Williams' fast-paced narrative never leaves room for a pause and captivates from page one."
– Sci-Fi Now

"You guys need to read this book. Sooner, rather than later."
– Booksnobbery

"...an excellent book, stuffed with all the ingredients of sword and sorcery mixed to a fresh new recipe."
– Joanne Hall

"...trust me when I say that you do not want to let this one pass you by."
– Over the Effing Rainbow

"The Copper Cat trilogy is the kind of swords and sorcery fantasy which will make you remember why you became a fan of the genre in the first place, and fall in love with it all over again."
– Geek Syndicate

"The Copper Promise didn't so much arrive as kick the door in and demand to know why it wasn't already drunk... the most exuberant, light on its feet, smarter than it wants you to think novel on the shelves this year. Pick it up, before it picks your pocket and sells your stuff back to you."
– Alasdair Stuart

"If you're looking for a swashbuckling adventure, look no further than The Copper Promise. The characters shine throughout the book, but there is enough action and drama to keep even those non-character driven readers entertained. Happily, the ending leaves readers with the sense that more adventures for our trio are in store."
- The Book Adventures

"Swashbuckling, magic-ridden fun."
- In Pursuit of my Own Library

"Enjoyable foray into heroic fantasy."
- Strange Currencies

"The Copper Promise is a fantasy adventure with a lot going on. It's awesome...It's a self-aware raised eyebrow, and I like it a lot."
- I, Fat Robot

"This is one of those books that is filled with things I truly love."
- Gizmo's Reviews

"The Copper Promise is an epic fantasy story with some admirable traits and tropes."
- Looking For a Good Book

"The Copper Promise is an absolute blast of a novel."
- SFF World

"Tremendous fun."
- Astounding Yarns

"The Copper Promise doesn't just promise a quality, old-school fantasy adventure - it delivers."
- Mutt Cafe

"Without a shadow of a doubt, some of the most fun you can have reading words on a page."
– Tor.com

"I wanted more dammit!"
– Ever the Crafter

"A really versatile book, filled with great characters and a throwback to that old style of sword and sorcery adventures."
– Street Lamp Halo

"Pure escapism in a traditional fantasy world."
– Bibliophibian Inc

"The reverse of Grimdark, this book reminded me that fantasy could be fun. Wydrin, Frith and Sebastian are wonderfully rounded characters, and the world they inhabit beautifully drawn."
– The Big Issue

"5 stars – An amazingly well written debut novel."
– Rapture in Books

“The Copper Promise is a classic fantasy romp; a sword and sorcery tale of epic quests, fallen heroes, plucky sellswords and fearsome dragons.”
– Laura M Hughes

About the Author

Jen Williams is an award-winning British novelist, short story writer, and bookseller. She started writing about pirates and dragons as a young girl and has never stopped. Today, she is the author of The Copper Cat series, as well as the Winnowing Flame series, for which she won two British Fantasy Awards. She lives in London with her partner and her cat.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B016GRL464
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Angry Robot (July 5, 2016)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 5, 2016
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 813 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 546 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 147221112X

Best Sellers Rank: #702,118 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #531 in Nordic Myth & Legend Fantasy eBooks
- #1,080 in Norse & Viking Myth & Legend
- #3,400 in War & Military Action Fiction (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.1 1,109 ratings

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Jen Williams

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Jen Williams is a writer from London currently living in Bristol. Having been a fan of grisly fairy tales from a young age, these days Jen writes dark unsettling thrillers with strong female leads, as well as character-driven fantasy novels with plenty of adventure and magic. She has twice won the British Fantasy Award for her Winnowing Flame trilogy, and when she’s not writing books she works as a bookseller and a freelance copywriter.

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4.1 out of 5

1,109 global ratings

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Eric Bakutis

Character-Driven Fantasy in Vast World

Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2016

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I picked up The Copper Promise as part of Fantasy-Faction's monthly book club, and wasn't disappointed. Author Jen Williams channels the best elements of old school sword-and-sorcery pulp and modern videogames like Dragon Age into a page-turning story with competent protagonists who, despite their best efforts, often end up being their own worst enemies. Far from being noble heroes setting out to save the world, Wydrin, Sebastian, and Lord Aaron Frith all have very grounded, believable motivations guiding their paths. Saving the land from a monstrous country-incinerating dragon is about the *last* thing any of them want to do, which makes it all the more enjoyable when the consequences of their actions force them down that path.

By the time the final battle takes place, the protagonists have all completed journeys that have naturally led them to where they are at the end of the book, with strong reasons to risk their lives for each other and for the world at large. Wydrin (the self-titled "Copper Cat") is a great protagonist who relies on her fighting skills and level head to handle situations that would get other people killed, and her victories, defeats, and narrow escapes feel plausible and earned. Sebastian, the noble knight exiled from his order for close-minded reasons, remains a consistent moral compass for Wydrin and his allies even as the compromises he makes in hopes of doing "the right thing" take him to darker and darker places. And Frith, whose primary motivation is almost entirely revenge, soon finds that it takes more than hatred of the people who destroyed his family and his life to drive him forward. This is character-driven fantasy, and it's really fun to read.

My nits are largely related to Williams possibly trying to take on too much story over the length of the four parts. There was one case where I felt a truly character-changing decision was reversed a bit too easily, and a few plot elements that I felt might have been brought more to the forefront. These are minor issues, and the story is so enjoyable that I honestly didn't care. I do hope to see those issues and plot elements tackled in more detail in later books in the series.

The Copper Promise is a fun, fast-paced, enjoyable book for any fantasy fan, and I look forward to continuing with the series.

12 people found this helpful

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Mainer

Fun story

Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2022

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This is an earlier series from Ms. Williams, who wrote my favorite fantasy of late, The Winnowing Flame series. It has much of the promise of that later series and hits some of the same beats. It's a thoroughly entertaining romp that would make a fun D&D campaign.
Wydrin and Sir Sebastian hire out as sellswords to Lord Aaron Frith, who wants to find the magic hidden beneath the Citadel to take revenge against those who murdered his family. They find much more than they bargained for when they free an ancient evil.
This is an entertaining read and a great start to this series. I'll definitely be continuing through the books.

2 people found this helpful

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Jonathan Wood

It promised a bit more than it delivered

Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2017

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I liked the story and the characters, just not as much as I would have liked to. They all have good points and bad points, which is better than them all being perfect, but which somehow didn't make them as interesting as they could have been. The world is interesting but there are a lot of unlikely things happening that stretched my credulity a bit too much. I liked it enough to finish it, but I'm not sure about reading more books by this author.

One person found this helpful

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Kameel

A fun & engaging fantasy adventure

Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2017

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Set in familiar fantasy setting with mages, warriors and gods. The author does a great job of developing involving characters that keep you reading. The plot and motivations are well thought out, and the supporting characters all fit well.

This was a great, fun read. Entertaining till the last page. I'll definitely be looking for more books with the Copper Cat.

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Barbara Elness

but all the while Seb and Wydrin know they will have to take care of the terrible mistake they unleashed at the Citadel

Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2017

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When Sir Sebastian and the Copper Cat, a couple of sell swords, take a job to help Lord Frith on a quest to the mysterious and notorious Citadel, they’re thinking of gold and adventure, but the results are much more dangerous as a devastating danger is released on the world. They escape and have more adventures, helping to release a town from vicious invaders, among other things, but all the while Seb and Wydrin know they will have to take care of the terrible mistake they unleashed at the Citadel. A wonderful sword and sorcery tale, with lots of action, mayhem, revenge and bloody battles, there is also friendship and fierce loyalty, as well as interesting characters. Lord Frith was not very likeable at first, but he grew on me; Wydrin, the Copper Cat was funny, crude and very fierce and I liked her so much; and then there was Sir Sebastian, the noble, strong, honorable, exiled knight who had so much more going on than was first apparent. There were plenty of evil adversaries to hate, and cheer when they were being defeated, and then there was the great big dragon, oh my. I really liked the ending, where it is made clear that there will be more adventures for this threesome, and I’m looking forward to reading them.

4 people found this helpful

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Just this guy, right?

Screw it, I gave it 5 stars

Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2017

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Fun. It is a good fantasy novel, and you see the tropes weighing it down, but in the end it becomes a good story. You care about the characters, you want good things to happen. And it is fun.

3 people found this helpful

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Melinda Maidens

Entertaining sword-and-sorcery

Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2020

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Straight out of a D&D game (so it seems), with just the right amounts of action and pacing. The motley group of characters are thrown together by chance, not terribly happy about it either: a fiery, sharp-tongued thief and her fighter pal and a snotty lord's son, who nevertheless gets the reader's sympathy for the tortures he's undergone. He seeks to avenge his family's murder (naturally) and the loss of his castle to a nasty wizard/thug. Our thief just wants to stay alive and get lots of gold (naturally) and her fighter pal wants to recoup his lost honor. Fine entertainment, all the way.

Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2017

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Great characters, great story, great writing, great pace, great everything. I felt the same excitement from this as I did as a kid reading Dragonlance. Thank you, Jen Williams!

One person found this helpful

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Pat

Copper Promise

Reviewed in Italy on January 5, 2021

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Carino e godibile, per ragazzi.

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Books by Proxy | @proxyfish

A Fantastic Adventure

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 14, 2020

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Rating: 4.5 Stars

If you’re in the mood for an exciting escapade; for daring sword fights, destructive dragons and more than a little magic, then The Copper Promise will deliver by the spadeful. The first in The Copper Cat Trilogy is is a tale which echoes the spirit of traditional and heroic fantasy and is relentless in its own pursuit of mischief, mayhem and magic. With a wonderful cast of characters and the unsavoury machinations of gods, men and demons, The Copper Promise is a fantastically fun, entirely captivating and incredibly enjoyable tale of unbridled adventure.

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When a strange and seemingly broken man makes a deal with The Copper Cat of Crosshaven all thoughts are turned to bountiful riches and limitless glory. Whilst breaking into the mysterious Citadel may be no hard task for The Copper Cat and her loyal companion Sebastian, breaking out again will be no small matter. For something far darker and far more terrible lies in wait in the dark labyrinth of the Citadel, an ancient power which seeks destruction at all costs; a power which once awoken will not rest until it sees the world burn.

From the dry and cracked earth of Relios, to the deep forests of the Blackwood, Jen Williams has created a diverse and memorable landscape on which to play out her adventure. As priests abound in the desert so pirates saturate Crosshaven, and with far flung locations getting more than just a mention, these landmarks become intimately entwined within the story and become real fixtures in the landscape. With a surfeit of thieves, rogues, bandits and brigands, this is a world which is always teetering on the edge of action, where a story always lurks around the corner and which provides endless possibilities for our merry band of miscreants.

Jen Williams has created a stand out cast of characters whose interwoven storylines are all marked by a sense of ‘the quest’ and are depicted with a spirit of fun and adventure, a trait not to be overlooked in a world which threatens to burn. These are characters who have been dragged from lives of misadventure, lives where honour and motivations are often conflicting, and are set on a path which could culminate in their glory or destruction in what could be a vain attempt to save the world – albeit after they caused all the trouble in the first place.

The three main characters highlight the brilliance of Williams’ extensive dramatis personae. Wydrin, The Copper Cat, is a refreshing fantasy heroine; a feisty little redhead with a quick wit and very sharp knives, she’s amusing, intelligent and brings a wonderfully roguish quality to the narrative. Sebastian, Wydrin’s moral compass, is by contrast honourable and selfless but finds himself sorely tested throughout the narrative, whilst Frith, Lord of the Blackwood, comes across as both mysterious and selfish despite his (begrudging) tendency to do the right thing.

Jen Williams is a wonderful storyteller whose characters are entertaining, whose narrative is bold and exciting, and whose writing captures the imagination in a whirlwind of chaos and adventure. The myriad of people, places and creatures which pervade the narrative are ridiculously entertaining, completely absorbing and throw you head first into a world of colourful characters and eccentric cultures. The Copper Promise, which began life as four novellas, is effortless in its writing style and blends seamlessly into a whole to create one jolly good yarn.

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If you’re looking for a good old-fashioned tale of adventure, one which sweeps you off into another world and throws a whole heap of dragons, weapons and magic in your general direction, then I couldn’t recommend The Copper Promise enough. Jen Williams has soared to the top of my to read list after this wonderful debut and is likely to remain there until I’ve devoured the rest of the trilogy – this is one world I cannot wait to get back to!

4 people found this helpful

AnnTe

Good Read!

Reviewed in Canada on October 27, 2018

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This was a new author for me and I downloaded a sample before committing $$ on an unknown. I flew through the sample and immediately bought the book so I could continue reading - the writing was that appealing.
The story's pacing is outstanding -- at no time did it lag. The characters were well developed without giving up all their secrets at once. The world building was interesting but didn't overwhelm the story. I enjoyed this book. A solid 4.5*

Alex A.

Good Book but not much likeable Charakters & too predictable in my opinion

Reviewed in Germany on May 18, 2019

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I already read the the winnowing flame trilogy 1 & 2 (both books i found awesome & gave 5 stars) and when i compare them to this (first book of the author) i must admit that while you read you know why this is the first book of the author!
For me nearly all was very predictable & there was never real excitement!
The characters are nearly all not much likeable (in my opinion) & i am missing the Depth in the characters as well!
Let's see how they develop in the second part & if the story gets better!
Well i gave 3 starts because there are many new creativity elements & several things i at least found funny while i read it.

Michael

Great read

Reviewed in Australia on July 19, 2021

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Good story with a conclusion, thoroughly enjoyed. Will read the rest for sure, author is a great storyteller. Well done.

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