Started: 29/06/21
Finished: 13/07/21
Spoilers: No
I'm going to be really fussy and say 3.75*, but with raised expectations for book two because this was a really strong start to the series. I actually decided to give this a go because I'm interested in Sins of Empire but realised it's set in the same world, so I should probably read the original trilogy first. And It didn't disappoint.
Characters
In the beginning, I struggled to connect with a lot of the characters, but I immediately liked Taniel and continued to like him consistently throughout.
Tamas grew on me the more time I spent with him, but honestly, I preferred his bodyguard Olem. Loved how blunt and honest he could be. He definitely brought out a more enjoyable side of Tamas by adding a touch of humour alongside Tamas's stern militarian personality.
Ka-poel was great too. She was the only interesting female character and she didn't even utter a word. A total badass in a fight and she always had Tanel's back. The two made a great duo. Bo was also fabulous. Loved the friendship between him and Taniel. I'd love to see more friendship dynamics between the three of them. I think it could be something really special.
The characters I didn't really care about were Adamat and Nila. I just not a big lover of detective storylines within fantasy novels, so there was an instant disconnect there for me, but that's only my personal take. As for Nila, I just don't feel like I spent enough time with her to form any sort of attachment.
I do have a small gripe though regarding the ladies in this book. The sum of most female descriptions consist of the width of their hips and and the size of their tits, not to mention have much cleavage is on show. Basically, this is really male-gaze heavy. If you're a female reader, or just a reader who enjoys well developed female characters, I don't think you'll find any here, unfortunately. But I do have hopes for a compelling arc for Ka-poel in the sequels. Fingers crossed.
Plot
Basically French revolution but with magic.
This one took me a little while to really get into but by the end, I was invested and bought book 2. I definitely need to know what happens next, especially after that ending. The final showdown on the mountain was awesome. Taniel's 'boss battle' was so sick, I just wish it was longer. I could feel his struggle but it didn't seem like he had to struggle for long. If that little battle of wills was drawn out a bit longer it would've been so epic.
Opening up the whole gods reincarnated plotline is a very interesting twist I wasn't expecting. The politics surrounding the revolution had my interest, but now we're getting living gods involved, the series has my full attention.
Setting
The magic system was so interesting. I loved the idea of Powder Mages having to ingest the source of their power whilst knowing it's also incredibly bad for them. It reminded me of Sanderson's Mistborn magic system, but also still felt wholly original and complex.
All great magic systems should have consequences of use, I believe. It makes the stakes feel higher. Everytime Taniel took anothet hit of powder, I'd get this sinking feeling that he was slipping into addiction. Even though he had to use his magic to fight the enemy, I almost dreaded his every powder trance. I just love when magic is a double-edged sword. It shouldn't be easy, nor should it be accessible to everyone. This book already has a lot going for it, but the magic is simply brilliant and undoubtedly its strongest asset.
Regarding the actual world this series is set in, I feel like I know little about it. I know that Adro is at war with Kez, but I don't feel like it was made clear enough why. It probably was mentioned, but I guess not in a way that made the information stand out and stick with me. I know that the old king was going to sign a treaty basically surrendering Adro to the Kez, but why? I can't remember what the war was actually all about.
Kez was spoken of often enough, but not in any great detail that enabled me to picture the place in my mind. Even depictions on Adro felt sparce. My mind just sort of defaulted to imagineing Paris. Maybe the reason why I feel like there're blank spots in my imagining of this world has more to do with the writing approach, but more on that in a moment.
I hope there's a lot more world-building in book two, cause I do love a fleshed-out world, and I feel this is on the cusp of exploding some really memorable imagery in my mind.
Writing Style
The writing itself was solid. Wasn't particularly prosaic or descriptive. A fairly basic style in the vein of Brandon Sanderson. More an 'invisible' writing style, I think. Just filling the spaces between dialogue, which definitely feels like the most important parts of the story.
With this style of writing, I almost don't even see the writing anymore. The scenes just sort of play out in my head like a movie. Which is a great writing style in its own way. It's very tidy and unintrusive to the story, and keeps the pace moving along quickly. Not really trying to paint a picture, but rather deliver the action like scenes of a movie.
Final Impression
Like I said. I've already bought the next one. I'm there. I'm sold. I'm invested. And I'm very interested to see where this will go next.
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