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A review by willrefuge
The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher
4.0
8 / 10 ✪
https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2023/09/17/the-aeronauts-windlass-by-jim-butcher-review/
Mists choke the world. A world inhabited by wraiths and demons, exuding radiation, and virtually uninhabitable. Humanity survives in the skies, sheltering within vast Spires. Aristocrats and kings rule these habbles, fostering trade and war with rival Spires, while most folk just try to get through their daily lives without dying of hunger or sickness, falling from the Spire, or being attacked by one of the many horrors that claw their way up from the surface below.
And then there are the airships, and those that sail them.
Captain Grimm commands the privateer Predator—hailing from Spire Albion—raiding merchant ships from the opposing Spires. Enduring a cold war with Spire Aurora, pickings are ripe, and Grimm, a former navy washout, is just the man for the job. No matter what the job is.
As such, when Predator is damaged in combat, Grimm must do whatever necessary to see that his ship returns to the skies. Even if it means taking orders from the very aristocrats that saw him out of the navy.
Presented with a handful of fresh recruits, an etherealist wizard and his apprentice, and a cat, Grimm undertakes a diplomatic mission to the lower decks—a thing he finds more than tasteless. And yet, he and his team find even more than they ever imagined. Especially when an assault on Spire Albion by Aurora leaves them outgunned, outnumbered, and entirely in the dark, with monsters lurking around every corner.
—
"They aren't chasing us," Creedy breathed, bringing his own goggles
down.
"Of course not. ltasca's too damned big," Grimm replied. His voice sounded hoarse and thin in his own ears. His neck and shoulders felt as if they'd been replaced with bars of brass. "A monster like that can't dive with Predator. Besides, no Auroran captain would try to follow us in this murk for fear of looking ridiculous. Two blind men can't have a very dignified chase."
—
"What have we learned today, Folly?"
"That one ought not to use etheric weapons against an etherealist?"
—
It’s been eight years since I last read the Aeronaut’s Windlass, and I didn’t retain ANY of it. On one hand this is good, because I had so much more to read, and a sequel wasn’t in the works for quite a while. On the other—well, with Book 2 looming, a reread was entirely necessary.
And… I’d say that my thoughts basically mirror those from the first time around (if I remembered them, at least). Good read, great story, concept, steampunk, adventure. Epic and entertaining in equal measure. Better than the author’s epic fantasy by far, though maybe not up to the excellence that the Dresden Files has achieved. And yet. This is good for a new series. When Butcher debuted the Dresden Files the writing was stiff, clunky, and a bit of a ramble at times. This one shows none of that; the prose is smooth; the story a slow, steady build; and the exposition never seemed overwhelming, even when he took time out to explain something in particular.
And yet… there is a bit of the clunkiness that that each of Butcher’s early books show. It’s not quite as polished as his more established series’ entries. But then, it’s a new series—there’s sure to be a bit off with the concepts and exposition. It’s nothing terrible, but you’ll notice it.
The characters I mostly enjoyed, though their interactions were a bit of a mixed bag. Some conversations tend to drag, and seemed completely unimportant to the plot or concept or world—just talking for the sake of talking. But for the most part I had no problem getting into this one and letting the story immerse me and carry me away, something I can’t wait to see if the author recaptures in the second book. For it’s been eight years! And that’s always a bit of a worry. So, fingers crossed as the story continues in The Olympian Affair, Book #2 of the Cinder Spires, out November 7th, from Ace.
https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2023/09/17/the-aeronauts-windlass-by-jim-butcher-review/
Mists choke the world. A world inhabited by wraiths and demons, exuding radiation, and virtually uninhabitable. Humanity survives in the skies, sheltering within vast Spires. Aristocrats and kings rule these habbles, fostering trade and war with rival Spires, while most folk just try to get through their daily lives without dying of hunger or sickness, falling from the Spire, or being attacked by one of the many horrors that claw their way up from the surface below.
And then there are the airships, and those that sail them.
Captain Grimm commands the privateer Predator—hailing from Spire Albion—raiding merchant ships from the opposing Spires. Enduring a cold war with Spire Aurora, pickings are ripe, and Grimm, a former navy washout, is just the man for the job. No matter what the job is.
As such, when Predator is damaged in combat, Grimm must do whatever necessary to see that his ship returns to the skies. Even if it means taking orders from the very aristocrats that saw him out of the navy.
Presented with a handful of fresh recruits, an etherealist wizard and his apprentice, and a cat, Grimm undertakes a diplomatic mission to the lower decks—a thing he finds more than tasteless. And yet, he and his team find even more than they ever imagined. Especially when an assault on Spire Albion by Aurora leaves them outgunned, outnumbered, and entirely in the dark, with monsters lurking around every corner.
—
"They aren't chasing us," Creedy breathed, bringing his own goggles
down.
"Of course not. ltasca's too damned big," Grimm replied. His voice sounded hoarse and thin in his own ears. His neck and shoulders felt as if they'd been replaced with bars of brass. "A monster like that can't dive with Predator. Besides, no Auroran captain would try to follow us in this murk for fear of looking ridiculous. Two blind men can't have a very dignified chase."
—
"What have we learned today, Folly?"
"That one ought not to use etheric weapons against an etherealist?"
—
It’s been eight years since I last read the Aeronaut’s Windlass, and I didn’t retain ANY of it. On one hand this is good, because I had so much more to read, and a sequel wasn’t in the works for quite a while. On the other—well, with Book 2 looming, a reread was entirely necessary.
And… I’d say that my thoughts basically mirror those from the first time around (if I remembered them, at least). Good read, great story, concept, steampunk, adventure. Epic and entertaining in equal measure. Better than the author’s epic fantasy by far, though maybe not up to the excellence that the Dresden Files has achieved. And yet. This is good for a new series. When Butcher debuted the Dresden Files the writing was stiff, clunky, and a bit of a ramble at times. This one shows none of that; the prose is smooth; the story a slow, steady build; and the exposition never seemed overwhelming, even when he took time out to explain something in particular.
And yet… there is a bit of the clunkiness that that each of Butcher’s early books show. It’s not quite as polished as his more established series’ entries. But then, it’s a new series—there’s sure to be a bit off with the concepts and exposition. It’s nothing terrible, but you’ll notice it.
The characters I mostly enjoyed, though their interactions were a bit of a mixed bag. Some conversations tend to drag, and seemed completely unimportant to the plot or concept or world—just talking for the sake of talking. But for the most part I had no problem getting into this one and letting the story immerse me and carry me away, something I can’t wait to see if the author recaptures in the second book. For it’s been eight years! And that’s always a bit of a worry. So, fingers crossed as the story continues in The Olympian Affair, Book #2 of the Cinder Spires, out November 7th, from Ace.