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, towering for miles over the mist-shrouded surface of the world. Within their halls, aristocratic houses have ruled for generations, developing scientific marvels, fostering trade alliances, and building fleets of airships to keep the peace. Captain Grimm commands the merchant ship, Predator. Fiercely 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 severely damaged in combat, leaving captain and crew grounded, Grimm is offered a proposition from the Spirearch of Albion--to join a team of agents on a vital mission in exchange for fully restoring Predator to its fighting glory. And even as Grimm undertakes this dangerous task, he will learn 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...

Jim Butcher has done it again, built a world of fantastic characters with a unique magic system. His characters come alive on the pages of the book and there are mysteries and histories which tantalizingly make one eager for the next volume.

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.