Author: Diango Wexler
Published: July 2, 2013
Publisher: Roc
Pages: 528
Format: Hardcover
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, War
Rating: ★★★★☆
[Show Synopsis]
Synopsis
Enter an epic fantasy
world that echoes with the thunder of muskets and the clang of steel—but
where the real battle is against a subtle and sinister magic....
Captain
Marcus d’Ivoire, commander of one of the Vordanai empire’s colonial
garrisons, was resigned to serving out his days in a sleepy, remote
outpost. But that was before a rebellion upended his life. And once the
powder smoke settled, he was left in charge of a demoralized force
clinging tenuously to a small fortress at the edge of the desert.
To
flee from her past, Winter Ihernglass masqueraded as a man and enlisted
as a ranker in the Vordanai Colonials, hoping only to avoid notice. But
when chance sees her promoted to command, she must win the hearts of
her men and lead them into battle against impossible odds.
The
fates of both these soldiers and all the men they lead depend on the
newly arrived Colonel Janus bet Vhalnich, who has been sent by the
ailing king to restore order. His military genius seems to know no
bounds, and under his command, Marcus and Winter can feel the tide
turning. But their allegiance will be tested as they begin to suspect
that the enigmatic Janus’s ambitions extend beyond the battlefield and
into the realm of the supernatural—a realm with the power to ignite a
meteoric rise, reshape the known world, and change the lives of everyone
in its path.
Review
I fell into this book pretty quickly. The story was structured fairly well, but seemed loose in some places. The pathetic map at the beginning didn't help my impression much. I really enjoyed Winter's portion of the story and would have enjoyed the story more if Marcus was given less of the book and was featured more as a secondary character rather than on the same level as Winter.
I just felt like his story wasn't as captivating as Winter's. If an author is going to write parallel stories, both stories need to be equally captivating and important. I found myself skimming more during Marcus's story to get to Winter's, and I feel like my skimming didn't really make me miss anything of the whole story, which tells me that there was a lot of fluff or at least unimportant things written in.
Marcus really was an interesting character, but I felt like the author just didn't know how to write his portion of the story. Winter was awesome, and I fell in love with all her supporting characters. There were a lot of things in the story that I was able to guess from the get-go, but quite a bit that left me guessing though-out the book. The Steel Ghost confused me the most.
With the way he was built up by the author, I thought he would have played a larger part in the story. He was important, but not as large within the story and I thought. My initial thought when he was introduced was that he would somehow team up with Winter, and they would both join to fight against the army and Winter's home country for some cause.
This was a really good story, and I would definitely recommend it to fantasy/war enthusiasts. I liked the that it was a gender-bender. It's been a while since I've read one of those. And though it's kind of a cliche topic/genre, it works really well for this story.
I can't wait for book two.
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