The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher

Jim Butcher, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Dresden Files and the Codex Alera novels, conjures up a new series set in a fantastic world of noble families, steam-powered technology, and magic-wielding warriors... Since time immemorial, the Spires have sheltered humanity. Within their halls, the ruling aristocratic houses develop scientific marvels, foster trade alliances, and maintain fleets of airships to keep the peace. Captain Grimm commands the merchant ship Predator. Loyal to Spire Albion, he has taken their side in the cold war with Spire Aurora, disrupting the enemy’s shipping lines by attacking their cargo vessels. But when the Predator is damaged in combat, Grimm joins a team of Albion agents on a vital mission in exchange for fully restoring his ship. And as Grimm undertakes this task, he learns that the conflict between the Spires is merely a premonition of things to come. Humanity’s ancient enemy, silent for more than ten thousand years, has begun to stir once more. And death will follow in its wake...

Absolutely loved this book. Such a delightful mix of sci fi ,fantasy and cats, where the author knows his subjects amazingly well.

Have I mentioned, cats?

Major drawback: the next book in this series haven't been written yet. :(

★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader, where I'm usually more coherent than I am below.
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Frequently, it's really hard for me to talk about a new Jim Butcher book without it just being, Aaaaaah! Fanboy! Gush, gush, squee! Drool! Squee! and More Squee!, and I really wanted to do more with this book, so I wanted a little distance. Alas, almost three months later, I'm still not going to be able to do much more than that – I think it'll take another entry or two in this series for me to start to evaluate it well. But, I'd best get something up, so I'll try to rein in the fanboy.

Let's start off with the genre – it's marketed as Steampunk. What a dreadful idea. This is only sort of Steampunk. It's more of a Fantasy with elements inspired by Steampunk. I've seen some fans – and perhaps Butcher himself – say that it should be considered “Steam Opera.” That's not bad. (I saw one online advertisement calling it “Urban Fantasy,” I trust whoever wrote/approved that advertisement was chastised soundly).

I don't know how to describe the world or the plot without taking a few large paragraphs, and probably not doing a good job of it. Butcher's website says:

It's jam-packed with airships, crazy sorcerers, privateers, warrior monks, and intelligent cats. An ancient evil has reawakened, and the entire world is plunged into a sinister mist, filled with terrible creatures.

Steampunk is not one of my usual genres, which led to this book languishing on my shelf for far too long. A unique, beautiful world, memorable characters, and action-packed battles kept me enthralled.