AN ORPHAN GIRL without a trueborn name stared past the airship’s bowsprit as the Sea of Mist parted to reveal the mega-city of Drenth.
Brace yourself Humir, this is a book that takes over your life.
It is surprising how much world-building and plot the author has packed into a relatively moderate length (less than 600 pages) of a book. What we have here is a rather curious blend of magic and tech---parts of it would be familiar from dark fantasy classics, while parts of it are reminiscent of steampunk and cyberpunk stories. One moment you are dealing with the ramifications of poisonous mist seeping into your body, magical artifacts bonding with you with no regard for consent, then suddenly you are following a drakken warrior fighting robots, gunfire is raining down on your aerial ship while you are on your way to a fortress in the clouds…the list goes on and on. Fans of fantastical worldbuilding will certainly not be disappointed. The author has crafted a world where the individual aspects may be familiar, but the sum of it is something quite extraordinary.
At its core, this is a story about revenge, redemption, and discovery (at multiple levels). All of these are themes close to my heart, and I loved the story overall. The plot is complex and simultaneously evolves from multiple perspectives in a non-linear style. The pacing is tight, and the plot direction is clear at all times, which amounts to a deep, immersive experience. The narration does not meander. Very little time is spent on things that are not relevant to the primary plotline—no long slice-of-life chapters to handhold you through the world-building, no pages and pages of background drudgery for the sake of character development.
There was something calming about the empty city, the pall of death that hung over it. Almost as if the world had claimed the failings of the apex imperium and gave just punishment.
This is a book that had everything I love to see in speculative fiction and very little that I don’t. Though the presentation does not venture into hardcore bloody horror territory, the author does not shy away from darker themes. There is some good blood-soaked action here. The encounter when Cyan reveals his identity to Solanine—just wonderful.
The beginning of the story drops you straight into the deep end, and the initial 25% is something of an uphill climb. We find ourselves simultaneously grappling with various forms of aetheurgy (accompanied by a deluge of new terminology), frequent perspective switches across multiple characters (who are related in ways not obvious early on), and time skips that are sometimes disorienting. We are discovering the past and the present of multiple characters’ lives and the fantastical and technological elements simultaneously. But after 30% or so, the story flows much better, and by the time we get to the heist, it’s a full-on rollercoaster ride. The glossary was a big help.
A toy that is a tomb, a quagmire. A place for lust and for withering sorrow and suffering.
There were a few minor hiccups here and there, and in some places I felt some more elaboration and guidance would have been beneficial. For instance, Ashe not recognizing the girl she had been sleeping with even after a full exchange of dialogue, until she takes off her helmet, was bizarre. Not sure if some voice alteration tech was in effect there, but I found myself baffled.
The prose seemed to oscillate between archaic and casual at times without any rhyme or rhythm, which felt jarring. Also, the engineer in me groaned at seeing the fluffy rabbitkin servant pawing away at a computer to release some of the most valuable artifacts in enemy territory so easily.
After what he’d done to you, I’m not surprised if his tongue might be sore for days
Among the characters, Ashe remains fantastic throughout. The lewd and bold archetype works wonderfully in this context. In general, the way the author wove together the witty dialogue into serious world-shattering scenarios worked pretty well.
Cadrianna was my favorite towards the start, the conflicting feelings for the Fallen fantastic in the beginning, but as her hesitation and inability to reconcile the truth and the lies drags on, I found myself growing less interested in her arc.
The Gutter King was again quite impressive as the mastermind behind the heist, but at times I found myself tiring of him telling people around him to just trust him. The interactions between him and his crew could perhaps have been handled better. But I loved the various compromises and levels of internal conflict we see over the course of the story, and that complements the fast-paced bloody action really well.
As an individual drawn to darker elements, I found Solanine to be just magnificent. Loved the thematic overlap with the author’s later book—Death Show Colossus. I do wish we could see more of Solanine’s and Lu Har’s perspective. The author is clearly biased towards the “good guys” which is not surprising, but the grimdark enthusiast in me yearns to immerse myself in the minds of all participants.
Lojen probably would’ve raised an eyebrow if he had any, instead the tiny spikes along his eyehole quivered
While the honor-bound Drakken was not as interesting a character overall, I enjoyed his PoV. That kind of thing is something authors often cut out, and I loved how the world-building penetrated deep into the dialogues, expressions, and his interactions with his sister. Also, while it was fun knowing what willow wraiths are, the wraith-enthusiast in me would love to see something that actually focuses on them, given the name of the press.
Overall, the composition of themes works really well, and I am glad I discovered this book. I hope to dive into the next installment soon. In the meanwhile, if you are interested in a few other books of similar nature, I’d also recommend checking out Nick Snape’s Warriors of Spirit and Bone (reviewed here) and Joanna Maciejewska’s Pacts Arcane and Otherwise (reviewed here).
You know better than most, Evander, what this city does to those who hold dreams.