Book Summary and Reviews of The Legend of Broken by Caleb Carr

The Legend of Broken by Caleb Carr

The Legend of Broken

by Caleb Carr

  • Published:
  • Nov 2012, 752 pages
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Book Summary

Legend meets history in this mesmerizing novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Caleb Carr. Demonstrating the rich storytelling, skillful plotting, and depth of research he showcased in The Alienist, Carr has written a wildly imaginative, genre-bending saga that redefines the boundaries of literature.
 
Some years ago, a remarkable manuscript long rumored to exist was discovered: The Legend of Broken. It tells of a prosperous fortress city where order reigns at the point of a sword - even as scheming factions secretly vie for control of the surrounding kingdom. Meanwhile, outside the city's granite walls, an industrious tribe of exiles known as the Bane forages for sustenance in the wilds of Davon Wood.

At every turn, the lives of Broken's defenders and its would-be destroyers intertwine: Sixt Arnem, the widely respected and honorable head of the kingdom's powerful army, grapples with his conscience and newfound responsibilities amid rumors of impending war. Lord Baster-kin, master of the Merchants' Council, struggles to maintain the magnificence of his kingdom even as he pursues vainglorious dreams of power. And Keera, a gifted female tracker of the Bane tribe, embarks on a perilous journey to save her people, enlisting the aid of the notorious and brilliant philosopher Caliphestros. Together, they hope to exact a ruinous revenge on Broken, ushering in a day of reckoning when the mighty walls will be breached forever in a triumph of science over superstition.

Breathtakingly profound and compulsively readable, Caleb Carr's long-awaited new book is an action-packed, multicharacter epic of a medieval clash of cultures - in which new gods collide with old, science defies all expectation, and virtue comes in many guises. Brimming with adventure and narrative invention, The Legend of Broken is an exhilarating and enthralling masterwork.

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This information about The Legend of Broken was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

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Author Information

Caleb Carr Author Biography

Penguin Random House

Caleb Carr was a contributing editor of MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History and the series editor of the Modern Library War Series. His military and political writings have appeared in numerous magazines and periodicals, among them The World Policy Journal, The New York Times, and Time magazine.

His novels include The Legend of Broken, The Angel of Darkness, The Alienist, The Italian Secretary, and Killing Time.

He lives in upstate New York. He died May 23,2024 at the age of 68.

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  • Killing Time jacket
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