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bluejaybooks's review
Interesting contrast to read this so soon after In the Serpent's Wake by Rachel Hartman. I don't think it's much of a spoiler to say that in this book our privileged main characters are often wrongly accused of crimes. On the other hand, in In the Serpent's Wake, the privileged characters are usually guilty but get away with crimes because they act so nice around other privileged people that that said privileged people can't possibly imagine these characters doing the crimes they're accused of.
It's made me think a lot about when you should trust others versus when doing so is a mistake that you will eventually deeply regret.
I really enjoyed this one, but will probably stop at this book because of dislike toward something that happened toward the end. I'd rather pretend that this event never happened and imagine my own ending than keep reading unless I learn this event is undone in a future novel.
It's made me think a lot about when you should trust others versus when doing so is a mistake that you will eventually deeply regret.
I really enjoyed this one, but will probably stop at this book because of dislike toward something that happened toward the end. I'd rather pretend that this event never happened and imagine my own ending than keep reading unless I learn this event is undone in a future novel.
rwatkins's review
3.0
I liked it. Overall: 2.5/5 (13/25)
If you like mechanized suits, magical gems, empirical political fantasy or family-run guilds, then give this book a read. With steampunk elements, family drama and religious zealots all mashed together, there is an engaging story and setting. But the characters are lackluster, with an inconsistent writing style and generic themes.
Minor Spoilers Below.
Plot: 3.5/5
The Hawkspur Guild is closely related to the ruling emperor and this story follows the Hawkspur children as they each set off to prove themselves worthy to rule and serve their guild. The guilds are family-operated, more than traditional guilds, with the industrial differences being left entirely in the background, so there was some slight confusion in that at first.
Several threats from within and without arise in the book and the Hawkspurs must deal with these and try to keep the empire unified amidst the unrest.
Ford is willing to provide harsh consequences upon his characters, so there are some grimdark elements present as well.
Characters: 2/5
The four main characters are split apart early in the story, each getting their own plot and pov. There are no strong inner character arcs, so the external plot will drive most of the change for the characters.
Rosomon is the matriarch, struggling with an inept emperor and all of her children leaving the nest. She has a strained relationship with all of her kids, but seems motherly and caring for them, despite sometimes putting her own needs before theirs. She is a flawed character but I never felt I had a sense of her personality, given how scattered and all over the place her motivations, emotions, and actions were.
Conall is the soldier, sent to the frontlines to earn battle experience for defending his guild and empire. The noble in the military, with much of the expected situations from that.
Tyreta is the mage, sent to the savage eastern island jungles, where a rebellion begins to free the locals from empirical rule. She gets caught up in this, learning that those "savages" are more human than she first thought.
Fulren is the artificer, caught up in scandal, and whisked away to the far ends of the continent. He enters into a new land, with strange customs and magics, and must navigate the unknown. He (repeatedly) falls for his captors, very Stockholm syndrome style, which is a trope I don't like if it's not going to explore those themes.
The characters get defined mostly by their actions, and though there is plenty of inner dialogue, none of it gets answered in a satisfying way. The lack of internal payoffs left the characters feeling kind of flat, often acting in ways that complicated the plot but didn't quite fit a cohesive personality.
The family aspect is immediately interrupted by them being split up into their own solo plotlines.
Setting: 3.5/5
This is an excellent use of common steampunk elements, such as mechanical suits, industrial flavoring and light use of firearms and explosives. There aren't a lot of new ideas, but a fun collection of the familiar.
The empire's religion, motivations and goals related to it, are clear, despite none of the mc's being religious. The guilds however, including the Hawkspurs, I learned very little about. There is a vague showing of which guilds are aligned, but not much explanation of how they are different, what motivates them, what industrial pursuits each guild lords over, and so on. The story made room for the antagonist's background, but not for the mc's themselves and how they operate together as family or guild.
There are at least two magic systems, spiritual necromantic tattoos in the west, and energized rocks in the eastern empire ruled by the guilds (and emperor). Nothing groundbreaking, but both were serviceable to the settinng and plot.
Style: 2/5
The style felt inconsistent, with moments of obvious effort put into the prose and descriptions at the beginnings of some chapters, which glaringly stuck out among the mostly simpler prose around it.
The pacing was decent, but without distinct personalities for the mc's, there was some redundancy in scenes. All of the mc's are stubborn, so they each in turn have multiple scenes defying whoever they are in conflict with, even if it makes no sense. That repeated pattern is the crux of the story and is weak.
Those faithful to the guilds often use religious language, despite not being faithful - this hypocrisy was an interesting choice, as it does sort of mirror the real world, where even the unreligious commonly make religious references in swears and desperate prayers.
Some plot and character choices didn't land with me, but the prose and pacing were okay, leaving style mostly mediocre overall.
Themes: 2/5
The common fantasy themes of betrayal, war, rebellion, colonialism, imperialism, family, tested loyalties, revenge, honor and power are all introduced. None of the themes are explored with much depth, or become highlights, so it gets an okay rating from me.
If you like mechanized suits, magical gems, empirical political fantasy or family-run guilds, then give this book a read. With steampunk elements, family drama and religious zealots all mashed together, there is an engaging story and setting. But the characters are lackluster, with an inconsistent writing style and generic themes.
Minor Spoilers Below.
Plot: 3.5/5
The Hawkspur Guild is closely related to the ruling emperor and this story follows the Hawkspur children as they each set off to prove themselves worthy to rule and serve their guild. The guilds are family-operated, more than traditional guilds, with the industrial differences being left entirely in the background, so there was some slight confusion in that at first.
Several threats from within and without arise in the book and the Hawkspurs must deal with these and try to keep the empire unified amidst the unrest.
Ford is willing to provide harsh consequences upon his characters, so there are some grimdark elements present as well.
Characters: 2/5
The four main characters are split apart early in the story, each getting their own plot and pov. There are no strong inner character arcs, so the external plot will drive most of the change for the characters.
Rosomon is the matriarch, struggling with an inept emperor and all of her children leaving the nest. She has a strained relationship with all of her kids, but seems motherly and caring for them, despite sometimes putting her own needs before theirs. She is a flawed character but I never felt I had a sense of her personality, given how scattered and all over the place her motivations, emotions, and actions were.
Conall is the soldier, sent to the frontlines to earn battle experience for defending his guild and empire. The noble in the military, with much of the expected situations from that.
Tyreta is the mage, sent to the savage eastern island jungles, where a rebellion begins to free the locals from empirical rule. She gets caught up in this, learning that those "savages" are more human than she first thought.
Fulren is the artificer, caught up in scandal, and whisked away to the far ends of the continent. He enters into a new land, with strange customs and magics, and must navigate the unknown. He (repeatedly) falls for his captors, very Stockholm syndrome style, which is a trope I don't like if it's not going to explore those themes.
The characters get defined mostly by their actions, and though there is plenty of inner dialogue, none of it gets answered in a satisfying way. The lack of internal payoffs left the characters feeling kind of flat, often acting in ways that complicated the plot but didn't quite fit a cohesive personality.
The family aspect is immediately interrupted by them being split up into their own solo plotlines.
Setting: 3.5/5
This is an excellent use of common steampunk elements, such as mechanical suits, industrial flavoring and light use of firearms and explosives. There aren't a lot of new ideas, but a fun collection of the familiar.
The empire's religion, motivations and goals related to it, are clear, despite none of the mc's being religious. The guilds however, including the Hawkspurs, I learned very little about. There is a vague showing of which guilds are aligned, but not much explanation of how they are different, what motivates them, what industrial pursuits each guild lords over, and so on. The story made room for the antagonist's background, but not for the mc's themselves and how they operate together as family or guild.
There are at least two magic systems, spiritual necromantic tattoos in the west, and energized rocks in the eastern empire ruled by the guilds (and emperor). Nothing groundbreaking, but both were serviceable to the settinng and plot.
Style: 2/5
The style felt inconsistent, with moments of obvious effort put into the prose and descriptions at the beginnings of some chapters, which glaringly stuck out among the mostly simpler prose around it.
The pacing was decent, but without distinct personalities for the mc's, there was some redundancy in scenes. All of the mc's are stubborn, so they each in turn have multiple scenes defying whoever they are in conflict with, even if it makes no sense. That repeated pattern is the crux of the story and is weak.
Those faithful to the guilds often use religious language, despite not being faithful - this hypocrisy was an interesting choice, as it does sort of mirror the real world, where even the unreligious commonly make religious references in swears and desperate prayers.
Some plot and character choices didn't land with me, but the prose and pacing were okay, leaving style mostly mediocre overall.
Themes: 2/5
The common fantasy themes of betrayal, war, rebellion, colonialism, imperialism, family, tested loyalties, revenge, honor and power are all introduced. None of the themes are explored with much depth, or become highlights, so it gets an okay rating from me.
gappedteeth's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
read with book club
aside from fulren, i didn't like the characters and didn't really care what happened to them. all of them felt pretty flat as far as character development goes. it definitely is plot driven but still didn't manage to have a very intricately planned plot - most plot points felt convenient. it was easy and entertaining enough to read, so i'll give it that. i wouldn't recommend it though.
aside from fulren, i didn't like the characters and didn't really care what happened to them. all of them felt pretty flat as far as character development goes. it definitely is plot driven but still didn't manage to have a very intricately planned plot - most plot points felt convenient. it was easy and entertaining enough to read, so i'll give it that. i wouldn't recommend it though.
voom's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
runicfox's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
quazar's review
4.0
Engines of Empire was absolutely bonkers.
Some books I read critically. I look for every flaw to exploit every possible negative point if I can. And when I do... well, let's just say that my The Atlas Six review speaks for itself. But I read Engines of Empire leniently, hoping that it could fill the gap in my heart that The Ruin of Kings left in me when I finished it. So, did it? No. I won't lie. Nothing ever will, I feel. So I'm giving up on judging epic fantasies on that metric because it just isn't fair. So let's get technical - Should you read this book? Yes. (This emoji
Some books I read critically. I look for every flaw to exploit every possible negative point if I can. And when I do... well, let's just say that my The Atlas Six review speaks for itself. But I read Engines of Empire leniently, hoping that it could fill the gap in my heart that The Ruin of Kings left in me when I finished it. So, did it? No. I won't lie. Nothing ever will, I feel. So I'm giving up on judging epic fantasies on that metric because it just isn't fair. So let's get technical - Should you read this book? Yes. (This emoji
dawn_marie's review
3.0
Engines of Empire, the first in a new fantasy series by R. S. Ford was a bit of a mixed bag for me. The setting, traditional sword-and-sorcery combined with technology, and world-building was entertaining, as was the novel’s plot. Mr. Ford’s world felt on the brink of emerging into a “modern” era - which is a major plot point (more about that later). The character work was lacking, and the pacing was . . . odd.
The novel opens as the three Hawkspur off-spring (Conall, Tyreta, Fulren) are sent off to the far reaches of the empire, ostensibly to learn the inner workings of their Guild’s role in the empire. Through the POV chapters of each Hawkspur sibling, the reader is introduced to the inner workings of the empire’s economic, military, political, and religious/spiritual power structure as well as learning about differing peoples who inhabit the land.
The world created by Mr. Ford felt diverse, lush, and fully realized; my only quibble with the world building is that other than The Anvil, the reader spent very little time in each setting, moving quickly from location to location. The magic systems were interesting – if not fully defined. I like that this world has several different magic systems, each being unique to a particular people and/or culture.
The plot is relatively simply; a court intrigue highlighting the power struggle between different factions.
The characters were two-dimensional and flat, falling into predictable roles (i.e., sword master, sorceress, spy (double/triple agent), power behind the throne). There was little development or growth demonstrated by any of the characters. While I would have preferred fewer side characters to allow for the development of the “leads” – the plot was interesting enough to (almost) make up for the absence of character growth.
The biggest issue I had with the novel was pacing. The prologue was engaging and piqued my interest . . . and then BOOM! we're off to the races. The action started and it didn’t stop; the characters found themselves in a tricky situation after another without any respite. The characters were propelled from one situation to the next and moved from location to location without a thought to falling action. Since the pace did not allow any breathing room, for the slow build up and eventual release of tension, I never felt any of the characters were in real danger. While I understand this is the first book of a series, focusing on the chaos of a rebellion the plot would have benefitted from some quieter moments.
I generally enjoyed the novel, even with the weird pacing and lack of character development and think it a promising start to a new series.
The novel opens as the three Hawkspur off-spring (Conall, Tyreta, Fulren) are sent off to the far reaches of the empire, ostensibly to learn the inner workings of their Guild’s role in the empire. Through the POV chapters of each Hawkspur sibling, the reader is introduced to the inner workings of the empire’s economic, military, political, and religious/spiritual power structure as well as learning about differing peoples who inhabit the land.
The world created by Mr. Ford felt diverse, lush, and fully realized; my only quibble with the world building is that other than The Anvil, the reader spent very little time in each setting, moving quickly from location to location. The magic systems were interesting – if not fully defined. I like that this world has several different magic systems, each being unique to a particular people and/or culture.
The plot is relatively simply; a court intrigue highlighting the power struggle between different factions.
Spoiler
In Engines of Empire the struggle is between The Guilds, the controlling power behind commerce, transportation, military, and administrative functions, and the Draconate Ministry, the ecclesiastic entity that worships the five great wyrms. The Guilds (well the dominate ones, including the Hawkspurs) represent the secular, financial gain, and a push into a new modern age. Whereas, the Draconate wants to see a return to a time where The Guilds did not hold power and the religious leaders held sway.The characters were two-dimensional and flat, falling into predictable roles (i.e., sword master, sorceress, spy (double/triple agent), power behind the throne). There was little development or growth demonstrated by any of the characters
Spoiler
other than some characters developing some new form of magical powersThe biggest issue I had with the novel was pacing. The prologue was engaging and piqued my interest . . . and then BOOM! we're off to the races. The action started and it didn’t stop; the characters found themselves in a tricky situation after another without any respite. The characters were propelled from one situation to the next and moved from location to location without a thought to falling action. Since the pace did not allow any breathing room, for the slow build up and eventual release of tension, I never felt any of the characters were in real danger. While I understand this is the first book of a series, focusing on the chaos of a rebellion the plot would have benefitted from some quieter moments.
I generally enjoyed the novel, even with the weird pacing and lack of character development and think it a promising start to a new series.
xdooniz2407's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
fermqs's review
1.0
That was disappointing...
I really thought the premise showed real promise, specially because it seemed that the book was going to be really interesting steampunk fantasy. But what I found in this book were only badly executed cliches and tropes and characters I could not care about. Every time a new situation presented itself, I could tell exactly what was going to happen since the beginning.
The book is a mess of all the possible fantasy cliches thrown togeteher in order to try to establish the world and to develop the story. The attempt to create "danger" for characters that I didn't care about simply didn't work, just made the plot convoluted and without real stakes. Even the dialogue "-you won't get away with this!! -I already have" was used in order to convey the evil of the main villain (telegraphed since page 1).
The world created is also uninspired... It's barely explained, and the reader just gets bits and pieces of the world and the magic when it's convenient for the plot. There is no history, no structure, just information thrown in order to be able to move the plot along. There is no explanation for so much of the characters interactions, why some people hate some of the characters aside from the fact that the author wanted to throw some unnecessary hostility at them in order to create tension that went nowehere.
The main plot of the book has been done so many times and so much better in other books. I really wished we've gotten the story that was promised in the blurb.
Thank you Netgalley, author, and publisher for the ARC.
I really thought the premise showed real promise, specially because it seemed that the book was going to be really interesting steampunk fantasy. But what I found in this book were only badly executed cliches and tropes and characters I could not care about. Every time a new situation presented itself, I could tell exactly what was going to happen since the beginning.
The book is a mess of all the possible fantasy cliches thrown togeteher in order to try to establish the world and to develop the story. The attempt to create "danger" for characters that I didn't care about simply didn't work, just made the plot convoluted and without real stakes. Even the dialogue "-you won't get away with this!! -I already have" was used in order to convey the evil of the main villain (telegraphed since page 1).
The world created is also uninspired... It's barely explained, and the reader just gets bits and pieces of the world and the magic when it's convenient for the plot. There is no history, no structure, just information thrown in order to be able to move the plot along. There is no explanation for so much of the characters interactions, why some people hate some of the characters aside from the fact that the author wanted to throw some unnecessary hostility at them in order to create tension that went nowehere.
The main plot of the book has been done so many times and so much better in other books. I really wished we've gotten the story that was promised in the blurb.
Thank you Netgalley, author, and publisher for the ARC.