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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
I thoroughly enjoyed this military fantasy with magic, once I got past the prologue with a bunch of bad guys being bad, a trope I am not fond of.
Excellent female characters--some unpredictable twists--and ones that I saw coming I anticipated with pleasure. The world-building is a bit Hollywood backdrop, but Wexler's command of Napoleonic-era land warfare is excellent. The battle set-pieces were high points, and the hints of magic paid off satisfyingly, leaving me wanting more.
While the prose sometimes bounced me out--words like "okay" tend to disconcert me in other-world fantasies, and expressions like "really did a number on him", plus too many crucial moments, especially in the last half, were finessed by convenient "somethings", as in "something in his expression told X that . . ." which gets the pace moving at cost of character-building--the breezy banter pulled me right back in again.
Will be looking for the next in the series!
Excellent female characters--some unpredictable twists--and ones that I saw coming I anticipated with pleasure. The world-building is a bit Hollywood backdrop, but Wexler's command of Napoleonic-era land warfare is excellent. The battle set-pieces were high points, and the hints of magic paid off satisfyingly, leaving me wanting more.
While the prose sometimes bounced me out--words like "okay" tend to disconcert me in other-world fantasies, and expressions like "really did a number on him", plus too many crucial moments, especially in the last half, were finessed by convenient "somethings", as in "something in his expression told X that . . ." which gets the pace moving at cost of character-building--the breezy banter pulled me right back in again.
Will be looking for the next in the series!
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I don't normally get into any book that is nothing but fighting. Generally its just filler and rarely does it add anything to the story save resentful boredom on the part of the reader for having to slog through it to get back to the good stuff. However, for a book that starts off with technologically advanced outsiders involved in the civil war of a backwater protectorate, it actually furthered both plot and character nicely without being bogged down with endless skirmish descriptions. Just enough fighting to remind everyone that the war is a cover for a deeper story that will pick up neatly in book two. The characters are real and believable and so are their motivations. While the technology gap is somewhat inconsistent one in particular aspect, it isn't so jarring a detail. I wish some of the flash backs were better explains, for they are tantalizing in their story, but maybe that will also come in the second book.
Wow!
what a tale! I know I know I'm late but I'm powering through the entire series as I type. Flintlock fantasy is always a great genre and hell, who doesn't love a good warfare, bombs, assassins, strategy and magic way beyond your control.
I love Winter. And Janus. And Bobbbbbbyyyyyy!!!
what a tale! I know I know I'm late but I'm powering through the entire series as I type. Flintlock fantasy is always a great genre and hell, who doesn't love a good warfare, bombs, assassins, strategy and magic way beyond your control.
I love Winter. And Janus. And Bobbbbbbyyyyyy!!!
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I've had this book shelved for 9 years. Although I was interested in reading it, I always put it off. This year, I finally decided to give it a shot, and I'm very glad I did.
This is a military/flintlock fantasy novel very similar to The Powder Mage trilogy by Brian McClellan, although you won't find very much actual magic here until the very end. The story follows the Vordanai Empire's campaigns against an invading foreign army. Because it mainly follows 3 characters in the Vordanai army (through 2 POVs), we never truly get a sense of just how large a scale this invasion is, but I get the feeling that this is by design for this first book.
I think the main point of this first entry is to introduce and develop the main characters, and in this, Wexler succeeds tremendously. All three are very well-written, completely unique from each other, and feel like authenticate people rather than just caricatures. But it doesn't just stop there. Even the supporting characters are deeper than surface level, with the minor exception of Sergeant Davis, but even he isn't an outright mustache-twirling villain.
It's been said by other reviewers before, but I will join them by saying that Wexler surprisingly excels at writing female characters. None are damsels in distress or outright bad asses. They are strong but vulnerable, broken (to varying degrees) but determined, intelligent but make mistakes. They are as complex as all human characters should be written, and it's very refreshing to read.
Overall, I enjoyed this book way more than I expected to. Normally, if a series is longer than 4 books, I will take a break after book 3. However, if this series continues to entertain me like this, then I may just read all 5 straight through.
This is a military/flintlock fantasy novel very similar to The Powder Mage trilogy by Brian McClellan, although you won't find very much actual magic here until the very end. The story follows the Vordanai Empire's campaigns against an invading foreign army. Because it mainly follows 3 characters in the Vordanai army (through 2 POVs), we never truly get a sense of just how large a scale this invasion is, but I get the feeling that this is by design for this first book.
I think the main point of this first entry is to introduce and develop the main characters, and in this, Wexler succeeds tremendously. All three are very well-written, completely unique from each other, and feel like authenticate people rather than just caricatures. But it doesn't just stop there. Even the supporting characters are deeper than surface level, with the minor exception of Sergeant Davis, but even he isn't an outright mustache-twirling villain.
It's been said by other reviewers before, but I will join them by saying that Wexler surprisingly excels at writing female characters. None are damsels in distress or outright bad asses. They are strong but vulnerable, broken (to varying degrees) but determined, intelligent but make mistakes. They are as complex as all human characters should be written, and it's very refreshing to read.
Overall, I enjoyed this book way more than I expected to. Normally, if a series is longer than 4 books, I will take a break after book 3. However, if this series continues to entertain me like this, then I may just read all 5 straight through.