A review by qalminator
Arrivals by Patty Bryant, Malinda Lo, Racheline Maltese, Joel Derfner, Ellen Kushner, Alaya Dawn Johnson

5.0

Good introduction to the serial, with fascinating characters. I had forgotten this was in the same world as Swordspoint when I started reading, but, as I read, I kept thinking, "This reminds me of Swordspoint...", and then a few key details made it very obvious it had to be in the same world. Lots of fun, with more variety in characters than Swordspoint (a duchess, a foreigner who's learned just enough swordplay to get herself in trouble, and an autistic youth in town to sell turnips).

Note: In the original Swordspoint, and so far in this prequel, there was no magic or anything else to merit the name "fantasy," other than the town of Riverside and its peculiar blend of politics and violence are entirely fictional.