Michael Barnes
Book 3 of the Saint of Steel series if you have enjoyed the previous two this one has all the same wonderful romance and fantasy, (no don't say it) This time the romance is between Piper a lich-doctor, a physician who works among the dead, determining causes of death for the city guard’s investigations (slim, well-groomed and exceedingly pale with nice hands) and Galen is a paladin of a dead god, lost to holiness and no longer entirely sane who is almost beautiful enough to have been a paladin of the Dreaming God (demon hunters). So a welcome change up from the hetero-normative romances so far. Not that there haven't been queer characters in the earlier series and I appreciated how it is treated as just part of the world.
The rest of the story is exploring a clockwork death maze harkening back to the earlier Clocktaur mentioned in passing in the earlier novels and by all accounts horrendous war, but aren't they all.
Another welcome aspect is exploring more about the species gnoles, who we have met in the earlier books with Brindle, who has opinions about mules who we have a return appearance in this story. one of our protagonists is Earstripe, a gnole constable, is the one who found the body that the book opens with and he drives most of the plot. He's also the source of the best banter in the book, which is full of pointed and amused gnole observations about humans and their various stupidities.
His 'humanity' summed thus "A gnole's compassion does not require fur."
The epilogue is a teaser for the next book Paladin's Faith and the death of a god.
Book 3 of the Saint of Steel series if you have enjoyed the previous two this one has all the same wonderful romance and fantasy, (no don't say it) This time the romance is between Piper a lich-doctor, a physician who works among the dead, determining causes of death for the city guard’s investigations (slim, well-groomed and exceedingly pale with nice hands) and Galen is a paladin of a dead god, lost to holiness and no longer entirely sane who is almost beautiful enough to have been a paladin of the Dreaming God (demon hunters). So a welcome change up from the hetero-normative romances so far. Not that there haven't been queer characters in the earlier series and I appreciated how it is treated as just part of the world.
The rest of the story is exploring a clockwork death maze harkening back to the earlier Clocktaur mentioned in passing in the earlier novels and by all accounts horrendous war, but aren't they all.
Another welcome aspect is exploring more about the species gnoles, who we have met in the earlier books with Brindle, who has opinions about mules who we have a return appearance in this story. one of our protagonists is Earstripe, a gnole constable, is the one who found the body that the book opens with and he drives most of the plot. He's also the source of the best banter in the book, which is full of pointed and amused gnole observations about humans and their various stupidities.
His 'humanity' summed thus "A gnole's compassion does not require fur."
The epilogue is a teaser for the next book Paladin's Faith and the death of a god.