Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collections
Publication
Orbit (2017)
Description
Fantasy. Fiction. Thriller. Historical Fiction. HTML:A new epic fantasy trilogy about a young nation at odds with the ancient forces that have begun to stir as fortune seekers and sorcerers flock to the frontier. Set in of Brian McClellan's Powder Mage trilogy. A world on the cusp of a new age. . . The young nation of Fatrasta is a turbulent place �?? a frontier destination for criminals, fortune-hunters, brave settlers, and sorcerers seeking relics of the past. Only the iron will of the lady chancellor and her secret police holds the capital city of Landfall together against the unrest of an oppressed population and the machinations of powerful empires. Sedition is a dangerous word. . . The insurrection that threatens Landfall must be purged with guile and force, a task which falls on the shoulders of a spy named Michel Bravis, convicted war hero Mad Ben Styke, and Lady Vlora Flint, a mercenary general with a past as turbulent as Landfall's present. The past haunts us all. . . As loyalties are tested, revealed, and destroyed, a grim specter as old as time has been unearthed in this wild land, and the people of Landfall will soon discover that rebellion is the least of their worri… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member kgodey
Brian McClellan’s Powder Mage trilogy is one of my favorite new fantasy series’, and I’ve been looking forward to the new trilogy set in the same world ever since Brian talked about it in my interview with him on my blog a couple of years ago. And now it’s finally out, and I’ve read it,
The new country of Fatrasta is ruled with an iron fist by the Lady Chancellor Lindet. Her secret police, the Blackhats, are almost everywhere, and where intimidation and arrests won’t work, there are mercenary companies. The famed powder mage Vlora leads one of these companies, and is suddenly called back from the frontier to deal with an insurgency within the capital city of Landfall. Of course, the insurgency isn’t as simple as it seems, and the long isolated Dynize Empire appears to be stirring again. It’s up to Vlora, her Blackhat liaison Michel Bravis, and disgraced Fatrastan war hero Ben Styke to figure out what exactly is going on and what it means for Fatrasta.
Sins of Empire is the start of a new standalone trilogy, and you can definitely read it without reading the Powder Mage trilogy – it’s set on an entirely different continent and only shares a few characters. That being said, I have read the Powder Mage books, so I’m going to be referencing them in this review (without spoilers.)
I love the flintlock fantasy subgenre in general, and the world of these books in particular. The gunpowder based magic system is one of the coolest ideas that recent fantasy has produced – I’m not sure why I love it so much, but it probably has something to do with why I also love Westerns and cheesy action movies. Anyway, there are guns, there are printing presses and penny dreadfuls, there’s exploration of colonialism without making anyone the bad guy. The world seems like it’s vibrant and changing quickly, and it really jumps off the page.
The characters are memorable – I already mentioned that there’s no cardboard cut out good guys and bad guys, but that doesn’t mean that everyone is morally ambiguous. There are antagonists, but you understand what makes them what they are. Vlora is an unusually compelling protagonist, she’s a veteran soldier in a committed relationship, she’s already pretty badass, but she’s also flawed and she knows it. Michel Bravis is a weaselly guy, but you’d expect that from a professional informant. Characters like him usually end up being sidekicks or useful friends for the protagonist to have, so he makes a fascinating viewpoint character too. Ben Styke is the most conventional protagonist, but he’s also well done, and I always looked forward to his segments too. Readers of the original trilogy will see some unexpected but welcome familiar faces (I totally called one of the characters the first time they appeared, which is probably useless information in a review, but I’m proud of myself and had to share it.)
The pacing is probably the weakest point of the book, but I’d only call it weak if I was trying really hard to find something negative to say. For the first half of the book, I had no idea what was going on or what the ultimate plot of the book was going to be, but once things started falling into place, the revelations kept coming. My only major complaint is that I want to find out what happens next, and I don’t know when the next book is coming out.
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and I thought it was even better than the first trilogy!The new country of Fatrasta is ruled with an iron fist by the Lady Chancellor Lindet. Her secret police, the Blackhats, are almost everywhere, and where intimidation and arrests won’t work, there are mercenary companies. The famed powder mage Vlora leads one of these companies, and is suddenly called back from the frontier to deal with an insurgency within the capital city of Landfall. Of course, the insurgency isn’t as simple as it seems, and the long isolated Dynize Empire appears to be stirring again. It’s up to Vlora, her Blackhat liaison Michel Bravis, and disgraced Fatrastan war hero Ben Styke to figure out what exactly is going on and what it means for Fatrasta.
Sins of Empire is the start of a new standalone trilogy, and you can definitely read it without reading the Powder Mage trilogy – it’s set on an entirely different continent and only shares a few characters. That being said, I have read the Powder Mage books, so I’m going to be referencing them in this review (without spoilers.)
I love the flintlock fantasy subgenre in general, and the world of these books in particular. The gunpowder based magic system is one of the coolest ideas that recent fantasy has produced – I’m not sure why I love it so much, but it probably has something to do with why I also love Westerns and cheesy action movies. Anyway, there are guns, there are printing presses and penny dreadfuls, there’s exploration of colonialism without making anyone the bad guy. The world seems like it’s vibrant and changing quickly, and it really jumps off the page.
The characters are memorable – I already mentioned that there’s no cardboard cut out good guys and bad guys, but that doesn’t mean that everyone is morally ambiguous. There are antagonists, but you understand what makes them what they are. Vlora is an unusually compelling protagonist, she’s a veteran soldier in a committed relationship, she’s already pretty badass, but she’s also flawed and she knows it. Michel Bravis is a weaselly guy, but you’d expect that from a professional informant. Characters like him usually end up being sidekicks or useful friends for the protagonist to have, so he makes a fascinating viewpoint character too. Ben Styke is the most conventional protagonist, but he’s also well done, and I always looked forward to his segments too. Readers of the original trilogy will see some unexpected but welcome familiar faces (I totally called one of the characters the first time they appeared, which is probably useless information in a review, but I’m proud of myself and had to share it.)
The pacing is probably the weakest point of the book, but I’d only call it weak if I was trying really hard to find something negative to say. For the first half of the book, I had no idea what was going on or what the ultimate plot of the book was going to be, but once things started falling into place, the revelations kept coming. My only major complaint is that I want to find out what happens next, and I don’t know when the next book is coming out.
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LibraryThing member kinwolf
Contains major spoiler, read at your own risk:
The continuation of the Powder Mage trilogy. Still good, but.. different. While the Powder Mage books were non-stop action, this first book in the new trilogy felt like a never-start action. For about 90% of the books, you mostly get political
So, not as good as the first 3 books, but the writing style is still enjoyable.
The continuation of the Powder Mage trilogy. Still good, but.. different. While the Powder Mage books were non-stop action, this first book in the new trilogy felt like a never-start action. For about 90% of the books, you mostly get political
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machinations and stuff. Most of them don't even have an impact on the final battle either: Greenfire Depths revolt is dealt in a few lines at the end of the major battle, Mme Palo "death" is not really felt, 10 years of plotting by Mr Tampo gone to drain and he doesn't really seems to care, Jes that is killed quite easily, the Blackhats has fled with the Chancellor, who herself abandoned quite easily what she went to war to protect, the dragonmen are who knows where. Honestly, most of the books should be seen as a simple introduction to the main plot, which seems to be related to the godstone. It also felt strange to see Olem and Vlora as mercenaries. I mean, I can't really imagine that Adron would have really downsized it's army when it meant losing it's general and it's best soldiers so soon after almost losing it's freedom. It felt off somehow.So, not as good as the first 3 books, but the writing style is still enjoyable.
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LibraryThing member ragwaine
This was excellent. Great characters, cool plot, suspense, action, magic, gritty world building and a great narrator (for the audio book). Will definitely be reading more from Mr. McClellan.
LibraryThing member wamaju
Pretty good, though not nearly as good as McClellan's first trilogy. The main problem is the characters. I loved almost all the characters in the earlier books, but these (especially at the beginning) don't draw me in nearly as much. Still, I have hope that the next book will improve.
LibraryThing member High_Enginseer
Brian McClellan returns us to his world of magic and gunpowder and sprinkles it with intrigue ten years after the events in The Autumn Republic. While you don't have to read the Powder Mage trilogy to follow what goes on in Sins of Empire, I recommend you do. Not only to know who the returning
The Napoleonic inspired setting has moved to the frontier, where the newly independent Fatrasta is waiting to boil over with a mistreated native population, the unearthing of a powerful artifact, and the sighting of a strangely armored fighter. Where Promise of Blood thrusts the reader straight into the action, Sins of Empire begins with the aforementioned artifact and fighter that only hint of what is coming. A secret police force known as the Blackhats work to prevent action against the Lady Chancellor using shady methods including torture and suppressing the flow of information.
Returning from the first trilogy is Vlora, now commanding her mercenary company the Riflejacks with Olem. Previously she was underdeveloped and mainly there to create tension with the protagonists of the first trilogy, but now she has her own conflicts in the spotlight. Notably balancing her conscience with commanding a mercenary company. Michel, a mid-level Blackhat agent, gives glimpses of how the Fatrastan government operates. He is the most introverted of the POV characters, but his observations and spycraft bring variety to a cast who prefer direct action. The last POV character is Ben Styke, a disgraced veteran who just refuses to be killed. He's easily my favorite, the hardened killer granted a second chance yet
it's hinted that his fall from grace might have been an injustice.
The plot is fairly well paced, constantly feeding information to reader until the twists in the middle and the final act. Here's hoping we learn more about the artifact and the Dynize invaders and bone-eye sorcery.
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characters are, but how Privileged and powder magic work are explained in those novels. The Napoleonic inspired setting has moved to the frontier, where the newly independent Fatrasta is waiting to boil over with a mistreated native population, the unearthing of a powerful artifact, and the sighting of a strangely armored fighter. Where Promise of Blood thrusts the reader straight into the action, Sins of Empire begins with the aforementioned artifact and fighter that only hint of what is coming. A secret police force known as the Blackhats work to prevent action against the Lady Chancellor using shady methods including torture and suppressing the flow of information.
Returning from the first trilogy is Vlora, now commanding her mercenary company the Riflejacks with Olem. Previously she was underdeveloped and mainly there to create tension with the protagonists of the first trilogy, but now she has her own conflicts in the spotlight. Notably balancing her conscience with commanding a mercenary company. Michel, a mid-level Blackhat agent, gives glimpses of how the Fatrastan government operates. He is the most introverted of the POV characters, but his observations and spycraft bring variety to a cast who prefer direct action. The last POV character is Ben Styke, a disgraced veteran who just refuses to be killed. He's easily my favorite, the hardened killer granted a second chance yet
it's hinted that his fall from grace might have been an injustice.
The plot is fairly well paced, constantly feeding information to reader until the twists in the middle and the final act. Here's hoping we learn more about the artifact and
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LibraryThing member wyvernfriend
Now it's been a number of years since I last read books in this series and sometimes I was wondering who was who but I did find myself being swept up in the story of war and the aftermath of war and complicated politics that made me want to read more.
The Lady Chancellor holds the city of Landfall
Overall it's very interesting, would probably be a better read closer to reading the rest set in this world but I do want more.
The Lady Chancellor holds the city of Landfall
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together almost by willpower alone, there are factions that want revenge for past hurts and then there's a man who was a war hero and is now in a prisoner camp, damaged and being damaged while trying to keep a friend alive. The police force is in the hands of a man who will brook no excuses and one of the main characters is one of his underlings who isn't all he appears. Into the mix comes a mercenary army and other people who appeared before.Overall it's very interesting, would probably be a better read closer to reading the rest set in this world but I do want more.
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Awards
Association for Mormon Letters Award (Finalist — Novel — 2017)
Language
Original publication date
2017-03-07
ISBN
9780316375122
Local notes
The young nation of Fatrasta is a turbulent place - a frontier destination for criminals, fortune-hunters, brave settlers, and sorcerers seeking relics of the past. Only the iron will of the lady chancellor and her secret police holds the capital city of Landfall together against the unrest of a suppressed population and the machinations of powerful empires. The insurrection that threatens Landfall must be purged with wile and force, a task which falls on the shoulders of a spy named Michel Bravis, convicted war hero Ben Styke, and Lady Vlora Flint, a mercenary general with a past as turbulent as Landfall's present.