New Books Spotlight

Welcome to another edition of the New Books Spotlight, where each month or so we curate a selection of 6 new and forthcoming books we find notable, interesting, and intriguing. It gives us the opportunity to shine a brief spotlight on some stuff we're itching to get our hands on.

What are you looking forward to? Anything you want to argue with us about? Is there something we should consider spotlighting in the future? Let us know in the comments!

Adeyemi, Tomi. Children of Virtue and Vengeance [Macmillan]
Publisher's Description

After battling the impossible, Zélie and Amari have finally succeeded in bringing magic back to the land of Orïsha. But the ritual was more powerful than they could’ve imagined, reigniting the powers of not only the maji, but of nobles with magic ancestry, too.

Now, Zélie struggles to unite the maji in an Orïsha where the enemy is just as powerful as they are. But when the monarchy and military unite to keep control of Orïsha, Zélie must fight to secure Amari's right to the throne and protect the new maji from the monarchy's wrath.

With civil war looming on the horizon, Zélie finds herself at a breaking point: she must discover a way to bring the kingdom together or watch as Orïsha tears itself apart.

Children of Virtue and Vengeance is the stunning sequel to Tomi Adeyemi's New York Times-bestselling debut Children of Blood and Bone, the first book in the Legacy of Orïsha trilogy. 

Why We Want It: Adeyemi's debut Children of Blood and Bone was one of the biggest novels of 2018 and won the Lodestar Award for Best YA Novel last year. It was an exciting debut and Children of Virtue and Vengeance is has the potential to be one of this year's notable books.

Lansdale, Joe R. The Sky Done Ripped [Subterranean]
Publisher's Description

You might think two books of adventure involving Ned the brain-enhanced Seal would be enough for any little seal’s lifetime, but not so.

Ned is back.

Ned and H. G. Wells, returning from correcting wounds in the fabric of time, not to mention a brief trip to an alternate Mars, have rescued two shipwreck survivors, Bongo Bill and Suzie Q. They have saved them from drowning or possibly being killed by alien invaders.

In the process of jumping from one dimension to another, trying to discover a time path home, they find themselves in an inner world with a stationary sun. It’s a warm world with jungles, rivers, and land-locked seas. It is full of primitive creatures, including dinosaurs, highly intelligent apes, cannibals, strange storms and bad hygiene.

Deciding on a brief picnic and minor exploration before jumping to Victorian England, Ned and his friends end up saving a famous apeman from human-eating birds, and soon set out to assist the apeman, Tango, in stealing a Golden Fleece with curative powers, a fleece skinned from the body of a strange space traveler. The fleece resides in a magnificent city, a kind of Shangri-La in the far Blue Mountains.

Their plan is to use the fleece to cure Tango’s beautiful wife, who has fallen into a coma. Nothing seems to cure her, but the rumored miraculous powers of the Golden Fleece just might.

If the world doesn’t kill them, then another survivor of the shipwreck from which Bongo Bill and Suzie Q were rescued just might. She has been pulled into a time warp and blended with the souls of marauding aliens, as well as the techno souls of their machines.

She has mutated. She has grown to great size. She has invented rolling machines that maul the trees and crush the earth, blend rocks and bones, blood and jungle into one vast wasteland. She has gained terrible powers, and lost all connection to humanity. She has become She Who Must Be Obeyed and Eats Lunch Early. Her whole purpose is chaos, and she has gathered an army to help her do just that. She has destroyed the villages she has come across and enslaved the inhabitants. She and her army are heading in the direction of the Blue Mountains, to the fabled city that contains the Golden Fleece.

Inevitably, she will collide with our heroes, and it won’t be pretty.

Come now to the worlds and times of Ned the Seal. Share his journeys, as he honks the horn on his power sled, avoids becoming a culinary prize of beasts and cannibals, and settles in for a meal of fish, baked or fried, dried or raw.

Cause the Sky Done Ripped and everything has gone to adventurous hell. And thank goodness. 

Why We Want It: It's been thirteen years since Flaming London, the gonzo alternate history pulp science fiction tale. I had long since given up on the idea that Lansdale would publish a promised third novella - and I'm absolutely thrilled I'll have the chance to read one more.

McClellan, Brian. Blood of Empire [Orbit]
Publisher's Description

As the final battle approaches a sellsword, a spy, and a general must find unlikely and dangerous allies in order to turn the tides of war in the last book of Brian McClellan’s epic fantasy trilogy of magic and gunpowder. 

The Dynize have unlocked the Landfall Godstone, and Michel Bravis is tasked with returning to Greenfire Depths to do whatever he can to prevent them from using its power; from sewing dissension among the enemy ranks to rallying the Palo population.

Ben Styke’s invasion of Dynize is curtailed when a storm scatters his fleet. Coming ashore with just twenty lancers, he is forced to rely on brains rather than brawn – gaining new allies in a strange land on the cusp of its own internal violence.

Bereft of her sorcery and physically and emotionally broken, Lady Vlora Flint now marches on Landfall at the head of an Adran army seeking vengeance against those who have conspired against her. While allied politicians seek to undo her from within, she faces insurmountable odds and Dynize’s greatest general. 

Why We Want It: I am perpetually one book behind on McClellan, but I loved Sins of Empire as the follow up to The Powder Mage trilogy and I need to read the second book soon because Blood of Empire wraps up the whole thing. McClellan writes top notch epic fantasy.

Thomas, Lynne M and Michael Damien. The Best of Uncanny [Subterranean]
Publisher's Description

Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas have co-edited and co-published Uncanny Magazine since its launch in 2014. They brought readers stunning cover art, passionate science fiction and fantasy fiction and poetry, gorgeous prose, and provocative nonfiction by writers from every conceivable background, including some of science fiction and fantasy’s most fabulous award-winning and bestselling authors. In its first four years, Uncanny Magazine won the Best Semiprozine Hugo Award three times (2016, 2017, 2018), Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas won the 2018 Best Editor —Short Form Hugo Award for their work on the magazine, and numerous stories from Uncanny Magazine have been finalists or winners of Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and World Fantasy Awards-- including the novelette “Folding Beijing” by Hao Jingfang (translated by Ken Liu) which won the 2016 Best Novelette Hugo Award and the novelette “You’ll Surely Drown Here If You Stay” by Alyssa Wong which won the 2017 Best Novelette Locus Award.

This Best of Uncanny anthology collects those two novelettes and many of the other best stories and poems from the first 22 issues of Uncanny Magazine. Naomi Novik plunges you into a delicious fractured fairy tale retelling in “Blessings.” Delilah S. Dawson explores superpowers, harassment, and revenge in"Catcall." Neil Gaimantakes you along to keep pace with his gorgeous and powerful poem “The Long Run.” Charlie Jane Anders shakes up a haunting cocktail of comedy clubs and love with "Ghost Champagne." Mary Robinette Kowal weaves a heartbreaking tale of marriage, duty, and magical curses in "Midnight Hour." N.K. Jemisin ruminates on dangerous fans, awards, and legacy in “Henosis.” Maria Dahvana Headleyslinks into a Classic Hollywood of animal actors and sleazy secrets with “If You Were a Tiger, I’d Have to Wear White.” Catherynne M. Valente travels to a colony world infested with strange psychic cats in “Planet Lion.” Carmen Maria Machado wrestles with predators, identity, and death in“My Body, Herself.” And Seanan McGuire sings a tragic song of misunderstandings and unfortunate consequences with “Ye Highlands and Ye Lowlands.”

 Those pieces are only the beginning. The Best of Uncanny features some of the uncanniest stories and poetry in SF/F today, by its current leading voices. Sit down and immerse yourself in 44 original science fiction and fantasy stories and poems that can make you feel. 

Why We Want It: Uncanny is one of the preeminent short fiction venues running today and a "Best Of" anthology is a must-read showcase of excellence.

VanderMeer, Jeff. Dead Astronauts [FSG]
Publisher's Description

A messianic blue fox who slips through warrens of time and space on a mysterious mission. A homeless woman haunted by a demon who finds the key to all things in a strange journal. A giant leviathan of a fish, centuries old, who hides a secret, remembering a past that may not be its own. Three ragtag rebels waging an endless war for the fate of the world against an all-powerful corporation. A raving madman who wanders the desert lost in the past, haunted by his own creation: an invisible monster whose name he has forgotten and whose purpose remains hidden.

 Jeff VanderMeer's Dead Astronauts presents a City with no name of its own where, in the shadow of the all-powerful Company, lives human and otherwise converge in terrifying and miraculous ways. At stake: the fate of the future, the fate of Earth—all the Earths. 

Why We Want It: Even when you read the description, you have no idea what it is that you're going to read when you pick up a Jeff VanderMeer novel and that's part of the delight.

Wagers, K.B. Down Among the Dead [Orbit]
Publisher's Description

Gunrunner empress Hail Bristol must navigate alien politics and deadly plots to prevent an interspecies war, in this second novel in the Farian War space opera trilogy. 

In a surprise attack that killed many of her dearest subjects, Hail Bristol, empress of Indrana, has been captured by the Shen — the most ruthless and fearsome aliens humanity has ever encountered. As she plots her escape, the centuries-long war between her captors and the Farians, their mortal enemies and Indrana’s oldest allies, finally comes to a head.

When her captors reveal a shocking vision of the future, Hail must make the unexpectedly difficult decision she’s been avoiding: whether to back the Shen or the Farians.

Staying neutral is no longer an option. Will Hail fight? Or will she fall? 

Why We Want It: Wagers can't write fast enough for my taste. Down Among the Dead is the second novel in her Farian War series and if I had my way I'd have had this novel in my hands moments after finishing There Before the Chaos because I was not ready to step away from Hail Bristol. Wagers is one of my favorites.

POSTED BY: Joe Sherry - Co-editor of Nerds of a Feather, 3x Hugo Award Finalist for Best Fanzine. Minnesotan.

Nanoreviews: War Cry, Outcasts of Order, The Broken Girls

McClellan, Brian. War Cry [Tor.com Publishing]

Brian McClellan is best known for his excellent Powder Mage trilogy, which is a bit of flintlock fantasy / military fantasy. War Cry marks his first time (to my knowledge) stepping away from that Powder Mage milieu. The results are mixed, perhaps because the lead character, Teado, is fairly one dimensional.

War Cry takes place during a decades (longer?) long war, a war that has gone on so long that few of the fighters remember why they are fighting, only that they are born to serve and fight and die and repeat the cycle through generations. Teado's squadron is in a remote outpost, struggling to get supplies, struggling to make a meaningful strike at the enemy.

What is most effective in War Cry is the desperation of the soldiers, the not quite hopelessness but the raw exhaustion. That, and the climactic battle sequence, which is also extremely well done. The problem is that the characters, including Teado, are mostly just names and cutouts. The stakes feel lessened because of that. I don't know that McClellan has a novel worth of story to tell in this setting, but a bit more room to let the characters breathe and develop and take shape would certainly be worthwhile.
Score: 6/10

Modesitt Jr, L.E. Outcasts of Order [Tor]

Outcasts of Order is the middle volume of Modesitt's Recluce trilogy focusing on Beltur, a black mage who can't seem to find a safe and stable home, despite just wanting to keep his head down and live a quiet life. After functionally being a war hero fighting the White Mages of Gallos, Beltur is back trying to earn a living assisting the local blacksmith in forging some super rare material that hasn't been seen in hundreds of years. The forging goes well, the living a quiet life part does not. Beltur is targeted time and again by the powers of Elparta until he is forced to flee.

At this point, it is impossible to discuss a Recluce novel without talking about how it has become comfort reading. It is. I suspect that I'm a bit more generous with these later Recluce novels and with Outcasts of Order in particular - but I think the deliberateness of this novel is a bit more tedious than I find it in most Recluse novels. I am looking forward to that deliberateness in The Mage-Fire War because of how that novel is set up, but despite the comfort part of the reading it's definitely waiting for plot movement (though every time Beltur is forced into action, it's incredibly effective)

As a side point, in the last novel, I thought Modesitt leaned to heavily on the idea of Beltur being a "mongrel", not a true black mage according to the leading mages of Spidlar. With Outcasts of Order the overused concept is weather related. It seems like everyone here is talking about a storm being (or not) a "northeaster". Maybe a little less of that, if possible. I'll still read every Recluce novel Modesitt puts out, though.
Score: 6/10

St. James, Simone. The Broken Girls [Berkley Books]

I started to read The Broken Girls just before bed one night, got less than twenty pages in and decided that it would be a book better off read during the daylight hours. From those first pages I knew the haunting in the novel would be one that would linger into my dreams and that's just not something I need with two small children already waking me up in the middle of the night. This was the right decision.

The Broken Girls is a seriously unsettling novel. This isn't specifically a ghost story, but a haunted boarding school is at the center of the novel being told across two eras. Both storylines are compelling, though I more often wanted to be back in the 1950's at Idlewild Hall - there was something extra wrenching and terrifying about that era. That's not to say that the present era isn't powerful in its own right because there are emotional ghosts and buried secrets that all begin to tie together with Idlewild. But Mary Hand? Friggin creepy and disturbing. As long as the lights were on, I didn't want to put this book down.
Score: 8/10


POSTED BY: Joe Sherry - Co-editor of Nerds of a Feather, 2017 & 2018 Hugo Award Finalist for Best Fanzine. Minnesotan.

New Books Spotlight

Welcome to another edition of the New Books Spotlight, where each month or so we curate a selection of 6 forthcoming books we find notable, interesting, and intriguing. It gives us the opportunity to shine a brief spotlight on some stuff we're itching to get our hands on.

What are you looking forward to? Anything you want to argue with us about? Is there something we should consider spotlighting in the future? Let us know in the comments!

Bennis, Robyn. By Fire Above [Tor]
Publisher's Description

By Fire Above is the rip-roaring new adventure in Robyn Bennis's Signal Airship military fantasy series that Patricia Briggs hails as “full of sass and terrific characters.” 

"All's fair in love and war," according to airship captain Josette Dupre, until her hometown of Durum becomes occupied by the enemy and her mother a prisoner of war. Then it becomes, "Nothing's fair except bombing those Vins to high hell."

Before she can rescue her town, however, Josette must maneuver her way through the nest of overstuffed vipers that make up Garnia's military and royal leaders in order to drum up support. The foppish and mostly tolerated Mistral crew member Lord Bernat steps in to advise her, along with his very attractive older brother.

Between noble scheming, under-trained recruits, and supply shortages, Josette and the crew of the Mistral figure out a way to return to Durum—only to discover that when the homefront turns into the frontlines, things are more dangerous than they seem. 

Why We Want It: Shana said The Guns Above was "pure flintlock awesomeness" and we completely agree. The other thing Shana noted was that "The Guns Above reads like the first episode in a series you wish you could binge watch all weekend" and as such, we're super excited for By Fire Above. The first book was so much damned fun that we can't wait for the second. Luckily, we don't have to wait much longer.

Donnelly, Lara Elena. Armistice [Tor]
Publisher's Description

Armistice returns to Donnelly’s ravishing 1930s Art Deco-tinged fantasy world of the Nebula Award-nominated Amberlough with a decadent, tumultuous mixture of sex, politics, and spies 

“A hefty novel full of fascinating characters exploring oversized topics such as sexuality, music, culture, fascism, nationalism, class wars, revolution and love.” —Shelf Awareness 

In a tropical country where shadowy political affairs lurk behind the scenes of its glamorous film industry, three people maneuver inside a high stakes game of statecraft and espionage:

Lillian, a reluctant diplomat serving a fascist nation,

Aristide, an expatriate film director running from lost love and a criminal past,

—and Cordelia, a former cabaret stripper turned legendary revolutionary.

Each one harbors dangerous knowledge that can upturn a nation. When their fates collide, machinations are put into play, unexpected alliances are built, and long-held secrets are exposed. Everything is barreling towards an international revolt...and only the wiliest ones will be prepared for what comes next. 

Why We Want It: Donnelly attempted to rip my heart straight from my chest with Amberlough and I was not ready for that book to end, though it did so perfectly. If you haven't read Amberlough yet, go now. If you have, you know why I need this book in my life,

Feist, Raymond E. King of Ashes [Harper Voyager]
Publisher's Description

The first volume in legendary master and New York Times bestselling author Raymond E. Feist’s epic heroic fantasy series, The Firemane Saga—an electrifying tale of two young men whose choices will determine a world’s destiny.

For centuries, the five greatest kingdoms of North and South Tembria, twin continents on the world of Garn, have coexisted in peace. But the balance of power is destroyed when four of the kingdoms violate an ancient covenant and betray the fifth: Ithrace, the Kingdom of Flames, ruled by Steveren Langene, known as "the Firemane" for his brilliant red hair. As war engulfs the world, Ithrace is destroyed and the Greater Realms of Tembria are thrust into a dangerous struggle for supremacy. 

Why We Want It: "The storm has broken." Those were the first words to Magician, the novel that put Raymond Feist on the fantasy map. I've long used "Pug" as one of my online handles bag in the halcyon days of message boards. I read and re-read those early novels of Riftwar so much the covers tattered and fell off. I may have been far less enchanted with the series by the end, but there's still a little bit of magic in the idea of the first novel in a new series by one of my favorite fantasists from when I was a teenager. I don't know if i have full and proper hope, but I want to believe.

Griffith, Nicola. So Lucky [FSG Originals]
Publisher's Description

From the author of Hild, a fierce and urgent autobiographical novel about a woman facing down a formidable foe

So Lucky is the sharp, surprising new novel by Nicola Griffith—the profoundly personal and emphatically political story of a confident woman forced to confront an unnerving new reality when in the space of a single week her wife leaves her and she is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

Mara Tagarelli is, professionally, the head of a multimillion-dollar AIDS foundation; personally, she is a committed martial artist. But her life has turned inside out like a sock. She can’t rely on family, her body is letting her down, and friends and colleagues are turning away—they treat her like a victim. She needs to break that narrative: build her own community, learn new strengths, and fight. But what do you do when you find out that the story you’ve been told, the story you’ve told yourself, is not true? How can you fight if you can’t trust your body? Who can you rely on if those around you don’t have your best interests at heart, and the systems designed to help do more harm than good? Mara makes a decision and acts, but her actions unleash monsters aimed squarely at the heart of her new community.

This is fiction from the front lines, incandescent and urgent, a narrative juggernaut that rips through sentiment to expose the savagery of America’s treatment of the disabled and chronically ill. But So Lucky also blazes with hope and a ferocious love of self, of the life that becomes possible when we stop believing lies. 

Why We Want It: I'm at the point that I'm going to read any novel written by Nicola Griffith. Whether it is Ammonite, Slow River, or Hild, Griffith has more than earned an automatic spot on my reading list. But, So Lucky appears to be a vital, powerful novel that demand to be read.

King, Stephen. The Outsider [Scribner]
Publisher's Description

An unspeakable crime. A confounding investigation. At a time when the King brand has never been stronger, he has delivered one of his most unsettling and compulsively readable stories.

An eleven-year-old boy’s violated corpse is found in a town park. Eyewitnesses and fingerprints point unmistakably to one of Flint City’s most popular citizens. He is Terry Maitland, Little League coach, English teacher, husband, and father of two girls. Detective Ralph Anderson, whose son Maitland once coached, orders a quick and very public arrest. Maitland has an alibi, but Anderson and the district attorney soon add DNA evidence to go with the fingerprints and witnesses. Their case seems ironclad.

As the investigation expands and horrifying answers begin to emerge, King’s propulsive story kicks into high gear, generating strong tension and almost unbearable suspense. Terry Maitland seems like a nice guy, but is he wearing another face? When the answer comes, it will shock you as only Stephen King can. 

Why We Want It: New Stephen King. Though, as a father, I have a harder time reading certain things that I used to have no trouble with and the description here has me a little concerned.

McClellan, Brian. Wrath of Empire [Orbit]
Publisher's Description

The country is in turmoil. With the capital city occupied, half a million refugees are on the march, looking for safety on the frontier, accompanied by Lady Flint’s soldiers. But escaping war is never easy, and soon the battle may find them, whether they are prepared or not.

Back in the capital, Michel Bravis smuggles even more refugees out of the city. But internal forces are working against him. With enemies on all sides, Michel may be forced to find help with the very occupiers he’s trying to undermine.

Meanwhile, Ben Styke is building his own army. He and his mad lancers are gathering every able body they can find and searching for an ancient artifact that may have the power to turn the tides of war in their favor. But what they find may not be what they’re looking for. 

Why We Want It: I'm still one novel behind, but I loved McClellan's Powder Mage trilogy and I'm excited to see where he goes with this follow up series. I just need to read Sins of Empire first. I'm going to get right back into this series once I make some progress with my Hugo Award reading, but more Powder Mage is exactly what I want.


POSTED BY: Joe Sherry - Co-editor of Nerds of a Feather, 2017 & 2018 Hugo Award Finalist for Best Fanzine. Writer / Editor of the mostly defunct Adventures in Reading since 2004. Minnesotan. 

Nanoreviews: River of Teeth, Feedback, The Autumn Republic

Gailey, Sarah. River of Teeth [Tor.com Publishing, 2017]

Um, did you know there was a serious plan to bring hippopotamuses to America to alleviate a meat shortage? I didn't either, but Sarah Gailey did. I'm so happy that she knew this because it grew into this insanity of a novella that delivers a fantastic story that feels like the wild west as seen from hippoback. River of Teeth is glorious, but it is more than just the wonderful idea of using hippos as beasts of burden and transit (and oh, this idea is so well excuted) - it is also filled with striking characters like Winslow Remington Houndstooth and Regina Archambault, but the whole cast, really. It's great. You should read it.
Score: 8/10

Grant, Mira. Feedback [Orbit, 2016]

Mira Grant returns to her broken zombie infested near future world of the excellent Newsflesh trilogy by stepping back and telling a side story that runs through the timeline of much of that trilogy, but focusing on a different set of blogging heroes. Despite the title, this isn't just Feed Redux and the team of Aislinn, Ben, Audrey, and Mat are not the Masons, though they likewise are pulled into covering a political campaign and it likewise goes poorly for them the more they do their jobs. That's just the nature of this world. Mira Grant has a strong and comfortable authorial voice and reading Feedback is like visiting old friends that you just hadn't met yet.
Score 8/10

McClellan, Brian. The Autumn Republic [Orbit,  2015]

There's just something about compelling characters fighting gods that just gets me. The Autumn Republic is the concluding volume of McClellan's epic flintlock fantasy trilogy and he absolutely sticks the landing.  The Powder Mage novels are a blast to read and I absolutely recommend them.
Score: 8/10



Note: Everyone gets an 8/10 today. This must be what Oprah felt like during her giveaway shows. You get an 8! You get an 8! Everyone gets an 8! Also, all three of these books were a delight to read in three very different ways so these 8's were very much earned.

POSTED BY: Joe Sherry - Writer / Editor at Adventures in Reading since 2004. Nerds of a Feather contributor since 2015, editor since 2016. Minnesotan.

Microreview [book]: The Crimson Campaign by Brian McClellan

McClellan, Brian. The Crimson Campaign [Orbit, 2014].

The Meat

To be completely honest, I'm torn by this book. After my not-so-positive review of McClellan's first installment, Promise of Blood (see my review here), which did not come close to meeting my expectations considering the buzz the book had generated,  I had not planned on continuing on with this series. That might have colored my expectations to begin with. As expected, The Crimson Campaign continues the same problematic trends from the first volume of the series. And I have the same litany of complaints about anything from the world's weak treatment of women to unbelievable character attitudes and to darkness for no other purpose than to let the reader know how dark the world is (the severed fingers still bother me). But, on the other hand, I found The Crimson Campaign to be a quick and enjoyable read. At times, a real page-turner. So I am at a loss at how to grade this second installment of Brian McClellan's new flintlock fantasy trilogy.

The Crimson Campaign picks up right where Promise of Blood left off. Field Marshal Tamas is in the process of spearheading the Adran invasion of Kez, but soon finds himself (and his powder cabal) deep behind enemy lines, drastically outnumbered and pursued by superior forces, with little chance of escape. So dire are his circumstances that Tamas is widely believed dead. Meanwhile, after weeks in the Gurlish mala dens attempting to smoke himself into oblivion, Taniel Two-Shot emerges as the last line of defense against the advancing Kez army. And to his surprise, he soon learns that this army is perhaps guided by Kresimir, the very god Taniel thought he had killed. On the home front, Inspector Adamat continues his quest to rescue his wife and children from the enigmatic and undoubtedly evil Lord Vetas. In the process, he runs into the weak and indecisive maid/laundress Nila, a woman who may turn just out to be more than she appears to be. 

The Crimson Campaign still features a well-paced, action-packed ride through the wilderness of Kez, the mountains of Deliv, and the Adran capital of Adopest. Although the prose does not reach the heights of such newcomers to the genre like Peter Higgins, each storyline has enough twists and turns to keep the reader's attention. Pacing is by no means an issue with this series. The Tamas storyline in particular reads like Paul Kearney's fantastic tale, The Ten Thousand. Moreover, The Crimson Campaign also gave McClellan the chance to develop some of the side characters in fascinating ways. I appreciate how the Privileged Bo has developed throughout the novel, and the Nila storyline has finally become interesting. 

The series, however, still suffers from the very same problems I noted with the first volume. First, at times there is needless gore that serves no other purpose than to be gory, needless grit that only serves for the sake of being gritty. This is something that we at Nerds of a Feather have complained about again and again (see here for The G's rant on the topic). More strikingly, an annoyingly weak treatment of women abounds throughout the novel. Even the most powerful of women suffer from some affliction. Ka-poel is a sorcerous being with the power that could rival gods, but she is a deaf-mute, and is interpreted only through her relations with her protector, Taniel. And that relationship is mind numbingly colonial, with Taniel needing to come to terms with the fact that she is a person to be loved and respected, not merely a savage. But although she may have ideas and power, she has no voice of her own (yes, she's our very own subaltern). And need I mention that she becomes the object of male lust in a not-too-savory way? 

Moreover, I found Tamas to be the least compelling main character I have read in quite some time. Tamas loses perspective far too often for someone touted to be the most feared Field Marshal throughout all the realm. For instance, he is said to be a widely respected leader, but Tamas takes way too long to come to terms with the fact that Vlora cheated on his son and ruined their engagement.  He even takes his anger at Vlora out on the men under his command! Making matters worse, the substandard backstory introduced midway through the novel (the very reason Tamas launched his revolution against the throne) only works to make Tamas seem petty. And it is for his pettiness that the world now has descended into chaos. I am hopeful that McClellan plans to surprise us and take this in a new and exciting direction, but I don't plan on holding my breath. 

In the end, I think this series will find its audience. And yet again, I find myself convinced that I am not it. Although an enjoyable read and a real page turner at times, The Crimson Campaign still leaves much to be desired...   

The Math 

Baseline Assessment: 6/10

Bonuses: +2 for always keeping my attention.

Penalties: -1 for the continuing misogyny; -1 for Tamas and his backstory.

Nerd Coefficient: 6/10 "still enjoyable, but the flaws are hard to ignore"

Read about our scoring system here. And remember, we categorically reject grade inflation!

POSTED BY: Jemmy, a SF/F fanatic, a failed wall gazer, and a Nerds of a Feather contributor since 2012.

Microreview [book]: Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan

Brian McClellan, Promise of Blood [Orbit, 2013]

The Meat

If ever a title gives away the contents of the book, it's this one. Brian McLellan promises blood, and blood he delivers in spades. 

The story begins with a coup d'etat (straight out of the French Revolution, with all its attendant savagery and gore). In a bold move, Field Marshal Tamas, a powerful powder mage, (literally) guillotines the monarchy and kills off the corrupt cabal of sorcerers who upheld the King's rule. Tamas and his small cadre of powder mages overthrow the political system, leading Tamas to declare "The Age of Kings is dead... and I have killed it." But his great victory is haunted by a counterrevolution, internecine struggle, and an important but nebulous mystery: in their dying breaths, each member of the royal cabal Tamas had assassinated whispered, "You can't break Kresimir's curse." Worried about the implications of their dying message, Tamas sends Adamat, a police investigator with a special Knack of a perfect memory, to investigate. At the same time, Tamas also sends his son Taniel (a talented powder mage accompanied by a "savage" girl, Ka-Poel) to track down an uncommonly powerful member of the royal cabal who escaped assassination. Gradually, Tamas begins to realize that his revolution has triggered a series of events that may change the world forever. 

Promise of Blood is Brian McClellan's debut novel and the first book in his Powder Mage Trilogy. It is on the whole a fast-paced, enjoyable, and well-written dark fantasy, one that finds similarities not only with Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series, but also with the recent trend of grit or grimdark in high fantasy.  The sheer brutality featured in Promise of Blood at times reminded me of Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy. Thus fans of the grittier turn in the genre will find much to appreciate in McClellan's debut.

One of the most interesting aspects of this book is its three overlapping magic systems. First, powder magic. With this, McClellan is taking a page (or a chapter) from Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series. The similarities with Mistborn's allomancy are striking. Powder mages can consume gunpowder, which gives them heightened abilities and senses and dulls pain. Powder mages can use their magic to explode gunpowder, float bullets, curve them around difficult to reach areas, and aim with superb accuracy. Second, the Else. This is a more traditional magic used by members of the royal cabal and the Predeii. It involves manipulating "the Else," the energy that surrounds us in our world. And sorcerers must put on their special rune-based gloves in order to do so. These first two overlapping magic systems create an interesting tension between the upstart powder mages and their traditional royal cabal rivals. Third, voodoo...? Ka-Poel, the "savage" who accompanies Taniel, uses a special type of magic (that McClellan leaves unexplained) that involves the use of dolls and other organic elements associated with voodoo.

McClellan is firmly entrenching himself in the "grittier," darker tradition of recent fantasy, and at times it feels as if his writing uses brutality for no other purpose than shock value. Now I am not opposed to brutality, gore, and death. I have had no difficulty getting through even the most brutal scenes of Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen... after all, the brutality in those books serves an overall purpose. But at times, Promise of Blood seems to use violence for shock value. This is something we at Nerds of a Feather have complained about in the past (I won't belabor this point, but if you are interested see here). McClellan's weird fascination with severed fingers, in particular, highlights this point.

Promise of Blood also suffers from rather weak treatment of women. Adamat highlights his world's pervasive misogyny when he thinks: "Damned woman. What he'd give for an obedient wife." This is not a problem in itself. People can be misogynistic in the real world, so it is understandable that characters in a fantasy world may be as well. But McClellan does not complicate his world's misogyny through the introduction of nuanced and strong female characters. Granted, his female characters (the Predeii and Ka-Poel) wield perhaps the most powerful magics. But his female protagonists (and antagonists) all are annoyingly weak in some way, have sordid pasts, or lust for power. Nila is a weak and indecisive maid/laundress, one who keeps finding herself thrust into situations she cannot influence. Vlora, Taniel's fiancee, is talented in powder magic, but weak in resolve (she cheats on him before the story begins) and spends most of the time off camera. And Ka-Poel may be powerful as well, but she underwent unspeakable abuse in her past, abuse from which Taniel saved her.  

Finally, the story seems to wander at times, and not all the story arcs fit together. The Nila story arc, in particular, feels directionless, lacks sufficient tension, and does not fit with the book's overall tenor. I suspect that Nila will play a much broader role in the upcoming books, but her story fell flat in this first volume.

In the end, McClellan has crafted a new fantasy series that will appeal to (and will find a strong audience in) young male readers. Although it remains to be seen where he will take his Powder Mage Trilogy, I doubt that I will stay on for the ride.      

The Math

Baseline Assessment: 6/10

Bonuses: +1 for his interesting and overlapping magic systems; +1 for Adom.

Penalties: -1 for a pervasive misogyny; -1 for his weird fascination with severed fingers; -1 for the Nila story arc.

Nerd Coefficient: 5/10 "equal parts good and bad"

Read about our scoring system here. And remember, we categorically reject grade inflation!