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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
dark
tense
medium-paced
4+
Cameron and I, along with special guest M.D. Presley (buy his Sol's Harvest books), recorded this episode of Nerd Book Review.
Cameron and I, along with special guest M.D. Presley (buy his Sol's Harvest books), recorded this episode of Nerd Book Review.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
I really enjoyed this! It is intense, but it's definitely not grimdark. For a book that starts with the equivalent of the French revolution, it is remarkable how little blood is actually on screen. People definitely die, but it's never dwelled on or reveled in. There was one scene early on where sexual assault was threatened, and a couple of mentions of it, but that was it. Basically everyone is morally grey, but that makes it interesting, because everyone has their own motivations and their own set of morals to live by.
Also, I really enjoyed the plot! Complicated political machinations mixed with a really interesting set of magical mysteries meant that there was plenty to be interested by. I was really interested in it, I didn't solve all the mysteries ahead of time, and I'm really interested in what's going to happen in the next book!
The only thing I was kind of uncomfortable with was the way the characters talk about Ka-Poel. It's clear that they're wrong, but it still made me uncomfortable, and I'm not sure whether or not I think it was a reasonable thing to include. Like, was it necessary for her to be called a savage all the time? The imagery just made me uncomfortable. But she was an interesting character even though I wasn't sure how I felt about the way she was depicted.
Also, I really enjoyed the plot! Complicated political machinations mixed with a really interesting set of magical mysteries meant that there was plenty to be interested by. I was really interested in it, I didn't solve all the mysteries ahead of time, and I'm really interested in what's going to happen in the next book!
The only thing I was kind of uncomfortable with was the way the characters talk about Ka-Poel. It's clear that they're wrong, but it still made me uncomfortable, and I'm not sure whether or not I think it was a reasonable thing to include. Like, was it necessary for her to be called a savage all the time? The imagery just made me uncomfortable. But she was an interesting character even though I wasn't sure how I felt about the way she was depicted.
Three protagonists, an investigator, general, and the general's son, uncover an ancient secret after the king is overthrown. There are gods, there are magic systems ahoy, there are guns and while it's all technically good, it's also very boring. It clearly comes from a Sandersonian perspective in its clear-as-day pane glass prose and lacking characterization of its most marginalized. I could see later entries in this series improving, but because this debut focused so heavily on the world and how its straight, white, cisgender male narrators of almost uniform privilege (within the world's context) manipulated it, I was completely uninterested about halfway through and I just wanted this very long book to be over.
Original, well-told story that mixes elements of fantasy, steam-punk, and the French Revolution. The only downfall for me was that with the aftermath of a revolution, the impending invasion by a neighboring country, a turncloak within the new goverment's ranks, and a powerful mage on the loose, there were quite a few competing narratives. However, a satisfying enough conclusion is presented for the first in a trilogy.
I decided on writing another review for this book because my previous one was just bad. It pretty much consisted of ’yay this is awesome read it’. Don't judge.
.........
So here we go.
From start to finish this book is outstanding, I don't think I can find one thing I didn't like about this book. I was that good.
This was a completely new genre for me having never read flintlock fantasy and I can definitely say it won't be my last. I think the fact I had never read a book of this nature before only added to it's enjoyment because I found the magic system brilliant. It was new and well thought out and sometimes costly.
McClellan’s writing ability is flawless, he creates deep and meaningful connections and evokes a full range of emotions from the reader despite being beautifully crisp and simple. Pair that with the realism his characters possess and you have a winner.
McClellan also excels in his world building, I didn't once find myself overwhelmed with information, he gently weaves its setting (industrial revolution), culture and religion into the character interactions seamlessly. Laying what is a solid foundation for the other installments.
Promise of Blood is told from several POV’s; Tamas, Taniel and Adamat (and that is probably the order in which I rate them
.........
So here we go.
From start to finish this book is outstanding, I don't think I can find one thing I didn't like about this book. I was that good.
This was a completely new genre for me having never read flintlock fantasy and I can definitely say it won't be my last. I think the fact I had never read a book of this nature before only added to it's enjoyment because I found the magic system brilliant. It was new and well thought out and sometimes costly.
McClellan’s writing ability is flawless, he creates deep and meaningful connections and evokes a full range of emotions from the reader despite being beautifully crisp and simple. Pair that with the realism his characters possess and you have a winner.
McClellan also excels in his world building, I didn't once find myself overwhelmed with information, he gently weaves its setting (industrial revolution), culture and religion into the character interactions seamlessly. Laying what is a solid foundation for the other installments.
Promise of Blood is told from several POV’s; Tamas, Taniel and Adamat (and that is probably the order in which I rate them
I'm torn on how to rate this book, as parts of it were wonderful. But parts of it were also a terrific slog to get through, and the gender politics were cringe-inducing at times. Things I liked: the fascinating magic system, the grizzled anti-hero characters and the complexity of the intrigue. Things I disliked: the pages and pages of talking heads, the old standby plot devices of (for example) the family held hostage to force betrayal or the sexually deviant and intensely hypocritical religious leader. Also, all female characters have an external (male) focus who drives/inspires all their behavior and as in the Lego movie, we're also dealing with a "chosen one" scenario where the incredible female character continually takes a step back and uses her mind-blowing powers to protect a male lead because rather than just taking the lead herself because...not sure. She likes him?
I have to admit that I read a novella in this world written much later by the same author and those problems seemed distinctly less prevalent in that book. So it could be that this is something that improves as McClellan grows as a writer.
Am still on the fence as to whether I'll give the second novel in this series a try.
I have to admit that I read a novella in this world written much later by the same author and those problems seemed distinctly less prevalent in that book. So it could be that this is something that improves as McClellan grows as a writer.
Am still on the fence as to whether I'll give the second novel in this series a try.
Finally, I have read a Brian McClellan book.
It's taken ages to finally get to this point (and it honestly shouldn't have). McClellan's books have been on my radar ever since they came out, honestly, but somehow, they just kept getting put on the back burner, claiming that, one day, I'd finally read these and see what all the hype was about.
Finally reading Promise of Blood made me wish I hadn't waited so long.
You're immediately thrown into the action and I don't think you ever take a moment to breathe. 10 pages suddenly turns into 100 and there wasn't a night where I went to bed on time this week, if I decided to read beforehand. I constantly wanted to know what was going to happen next, wanting to check back to X's chapter so I could find out about Y SPOILER, only to get so caught up in W's chapter that, when we suddenly switch to Z's, I am like, Wait a second, but W's was just getting [insert intense ((and prolly add an expletive)) adjective here]!
(I realize that might not have made sense reading that just now, but if you've read the book or read it, you'll know what I'm talking about.)
I can't decide which aspect of the book I liked more: the intriguing world and magic system that felt like war-time, revolutionist history I was (vaguely) familiar with, but with a twist of magic and sorcery I enjoyed immensely. Or, if it was the way in which it was written, showing me events and actions and emotions and inner thoughts of a character to make me root for them, only to twist that and then suddenly I'm questioning if I should be rooting for them at all. Both of these elements made this book immensely immersive and enjoyable and an absolute page-turner.
It was brilliantly done.
My favorite characters might surprise you or they might not, if you've read the book. But I couldn't get enough of Olem (and do I have a slight crush on him? Why yes, yes I do). Pole, I want to know so much more about (and perhaps not through the eyes of Taniel ((how he treats her still irks me)) but I'd kill to see her own point of view). I also just adored Mihali and wouldn't mind not only reading an entire book about him and his life, but also perhaps just eat in his kitchen for an eternity? Is that possible (and does he bake chocolate chip cookies)?
Then, of course, as all great books do, I get towards the end and, with barely enough awareness to realize that I'm actually reading and not immersed into this epic battle where I'm on the edge of my seat and trying to read faster, only to realize that I have less than fifty pages left and there is no way this can all be wrapped up by then, because there is still SPOILER and SPOILER and you can't tell me you aren't going to resolve SPOILERY SPOILER SPOILER before the book ends!?
But, of course, it does.
And the person who has the copy of The Crimson Campaign checked out at the library has it until Oct. 15th.
And that's if they turn it in on time.
If you were like me and still haven't read this top notch fantasy author yet, trust me, love, you're not doing yourself any favors and you'll regret waiting. Truly. I certainly did, but I'm excited to continue this fantastic series...whenever my library will let me.
Read on!
It's taken ages to finally get to this point (and it honestly shouldn't have). McClellan's books have been on my radar ever since they came out, honestly, but somehow, they just kept getting put on the back burner, claiming that, one day, I'd finally read these and see what all the hype was about.
Finally reading Promise of Blood made me wish I hadn't waited so long.
You're immediately thrown into the action and I don't think you ever take a moment to breathe. 10 pages suddenly turns into 100 and there wasn't a night where I went to bed on time this week, if I decided to read beforehand. I constantly wanted to know what was going to happen next, wanting to check back to X's chapter so I could find out about Y SPOILER, only to get so caught up in W's chapter that, when we suddenly switch to Z's, I am like, Wait a second, but W's was just getting [insert intense ((and prolly add an expletive)) adjective here]!
(I realize that might not have made sense reading that just now, but if you've read the book or read it, you'll know what I'm talking about.)
I can't decide which aspect of the book I liked more: the intriguing world and magic system that felt like war-time, revolutionist history I was (vaguely) familiar with, but with a twist of magic and sorcery I enjoyed immensely. Or, if it was the way in which it was written, showing me events and actions and emotions and inner thoughts of a character to make me root for them, only to twist that and then suddenly I'm questioning if I should be rooting for them at all. Both of these elements made this book immensely immersive and enjoyable and an absolute page-turner.
It was brilliantly done.
My favorite characters might surprise you or they might not, if you've read the book. But I couldn't get enough of Olem (and do I have a slight crush on him? Why yes, yes I do). Pole, I want to know so much more about (and perhaps not through the eyes of Taniel ((how he treats her still irks me)) but I'd kill to see her own point of view). I also just adored Mihali and wouldn't mind not only reading an entire book about him and his life, but also perhaps just eat in his kitchen for an eternity? Is that possible (and does he bake chocolate chip cookies)?
Then, of course, as all great books do, I get towards the end and, with barely enough awareness to realize that I'm actually reading and not immersed into this epic battle where I'm on the edge of my seat and trying to read faster, only to realize that I have less than fifty pages left and there is no way this can all be wrapped up by then, because there is still SPOILER and SPOILER and you can't tell me you aren't going to resolve SPOILERY SPOILER SPOILER before the book ends!?
But, of course, it does.
And the person who has the copy of The Crimson Campaign checked out at the library has it until Oct. 15th.
And that's if they turn it in on time.
If you were like me and still haven't read this top notch fantasy author yet, trust me, love, you're not doing yourself any favors and you'll regret waiting. Truly. I certainly did, but I'm excited to continue this fantastic series...whenever my library will let me.
Read on!
3.5 stars
Wow this book was really a giant slog.
The first half of the book was so slow for me!
The pace finally increased for me when Taniel went to find Bo.
I really read more for plot but I feel like the characters are what stands out in this book.
The 3 main POVs are Tamas the field marshall, Taniel his son, also part of his Powder Cabal, and Adamat, the investigator.
I'm kinda meh about Adamat's POV but quite enjoyed Tamas and Taniel's, which is also contributed greatly by the side characters. Olem and Ka-Poel are my favourite side characters. I really enjoyed reading Tamas and Olem, and Taniel and Ka-Poel together and how these two pairs of relationships develop during the story. Would have loved to see much more of the side characters though!
I prefer more structured magic in my fantasies like Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn or Brent Weeks' Lightbringer series. While the magic users in this series are classified into Marked, Privileged and Knacked, there's not much rules or systems explained and it feels like the Privileged can just do whatever they want.
Ultimately this feels more like a military fantasy, which I am still on the fence about but I would still want to continue reading this series.
Wow this book was really a giant slog.
The first half of the book was so slow for me!
The pace finally increased for me when Taniel went to find Bo.
I really read more for plot but I feel like the characters are what stands out in this book.
The 3 main POVs are Tamas the field marshall, Taniel his son, also part of his Powder Cabal, and Adamat, the investigator.
I'm kinda meh about Adamat's POV but quite enjoyed Tamas and Taniel's, which is also contributed greatly by the side characters. Olem and Ka-Poel are my favourite side characters. I really enjoyed reading Tamas and Olem, and Taniel and Ka-Poel together and how these two pairs of relationships develop during the story. Would have loved to see much more of the side characters though!
I prefer more structured magic in my fantasies like Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn or Brent Weeks' Lightbringer series. While the magic users in this series are classified into Marked, Privileged and Knacked, there's not much rules or systems explained and it feels like the Privileged can just do whatever they want.
Ultimately this feels more like a military fantasy, which I am still on the fence about but I would still want to continue reading this series.