Havemercy

My full review can be found at SFF Book Review.

This was a pleasant surprise. The cover and blurb are misleading - because this is neither a steampunk novel, nor is it epic fantasy about raging wars and bloodshed. It is a beautiful fantasy of manners, it contains a wonderful romance between two men, and - yes - it features mechanical dragons that are fuelled by magic. However, the dragons stay very much in the background.

It is the characters that really drive this book and it was because of the characters - with all their intricacies and relationships - that I wanted to follow. At a certain point this became one of those books you simply can't put down. There isn't a lot of plot but simply watching Thom struggle to understand and put some manners into the impulsive Rook, was an immense pleasure. Or Royston, the exiled magician, who is fascinated by this countryboy Hal who hands on his every word... I cannot say how much I grew to care for them and how much more thrilling this was than epic battles.

A highly recommended fantasy novel that is well-crafted and features some of the most intriguing characters I have read in a long time.

8/10