Hard Magic

Nowadays my reading has real ups and downs. I DNF some, I absolutely adore others, which probably means I tried a bunch of things and took the risks. Or I don't know what's going on, but this one was absolutely fantastic in my opinion.
We had everything. Alternate history '30s, people with superpowers, crazy weapons that could destroy the whole world, steampunk, zombies, a secret society of people who try to save the world no matter what. I swear it had everything.
The two protagonists are a teleporting young girl who grew up on a farm and is every bit a country soul and a hardened veteran who can manipulate gravity. Very different, both cool characters that are a pleasure to read, which is not always the case with multiple POV characters. These ones worked.

I still love stories about gangs of misfits when it's done like it was here. You have to consider that when there are a lot of characters working together they have to be sufficiently different and unique to not make the reader just skim. Of course the easiest way for it is just different functions in the group (which also justifies them being on the team), but that is not nearly enough to make things readable. Take that, Sic of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, where everyone was the same kind of YA shit.
Here we got it. It can be done.

Another thing that could have failed spectacularly (like in Samantha Shannon's The Bone Season) was the fact that as the powers were part of this underground, kind of illegal and troublesome system, they all got their little slang name. Shannon managed to make it a jumbled mess, without rhyme or reason, which made her writing a pain in the ass to read.
Mr. Correia, on the other hand... just made them make sense. Travellers teleport, Cracklers use electricity, Menders heal. You know, in a way that is logical to the normal human brain. It should be common sense to write fantasy concepts in a way that would make sense to people if it was real.

Because of all the elements mixed together I found it hard to guess what was coming. I don't personally need plot twists and crazy stuff to enjoy a book, but this was one of the more surprising reads. Some elements of history connected into our one, but others were changed with the involvements of magic. Hell, chapters started with quotes from famous historical figures, like Einstein or Gandhi, all slightly changed to add in the difference of history and it was so lovely.
Important to point out that you don't need in-depth historical knowledge, though. Sometimes history-based literature assumes you know all the minor battles and political figures of the time period, which can mess you up real good, but here that wasn't an issue, with a high school WW1 education you will be fine.

It was very visual as well. You could see it all, the fight scenes, the powers, it could work very well on film or in any other visual medium. It's probably not going to happen, because who am I kidding, but this is one book where they would have no problem in translating it onto a screen.
Why not? Because the book is realistic. It is not compatible with today. I wouldn't say it is particularly offensive, but we know how things work, so using certain words to describe certain people, even if said in a way that the author obviously doesn't think are right are considered sacrilege and unacceptable.

I am definitely reading the rest of the series, probably even right now, which is something I very rarely do. I would definitely recommend it to many people and I will do it.

Good night and if magic is hard, be harder!