The Infernal Battalion by Django Wexler

Military might and arcane power clash in Django Wexler’s thrilling new Shadow Campaigns novel. The Beast, the ancient demon imprisoned beneath the fortress-city of Elysium for a thousand years, has been loosed on the world. It absorbs mind after mind, spreading like a plague through the north. The fell army it has raised threatens the heart of Vordan, and it is under the command of the Beast’s greatest prize: legendary general Janus bet Vhalnich. As Queen Raesinia Orboan and soldiers Marcus D’Ivoire and Winter Ihernglass grapple with the aftermath of a hard-fought military campaign, they soon discover a betrayal they never could have foreseen. The news arrives like a thunderbolt: Janus has declared himself the rightful Emperor of Vordan. Chaos grips the city as officers and regiments are forced to declare for queen or emperor. Raesinia must struggle to keep her country under control and risks becoming everything she fought against. Marcus must take the field against his old commander, a man who has seemed an unbeatable strategist. And as Winter recovers from her injuries and mourns her losses, she knows the demon she carries inside her might be the only thing standing between the Beast and the destruction of everything in its path....

Executive Summary: While not quite as good as the last two books, Mr. Wexler finished this series quite well. It's easily one of the best fantasy series of the last several years. I highly recommend you pick it up.Audiobook: Richard Poe once again does a good job here. The issues with his volume I've had in the past seem to be resolved. I'm not sure if that's his doing, or just improvements to the recording process or both. He's still a bit on the quiet side, but nothing like I remember from the earlier books. Audio is definitely a good option here.Full ReviewFor the last few years, the new books in this series have been coming out every summer. And every year when I look at my top reads, the most recent entry has been near the top. Last year we were deprived of another entry, but that just starts out 2018 on a strong note.I thought the first book ([b:The Thousand Names 15810910 The Thousand Names (The Shadow Campaigns, #1) Django Wexler https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1355441268s/15810910.jpg 21536059] in this series was good, but a bit heavy on the military action (and rather light on the magic). I enjoyed book 2 more than the first, but it was a bit overly heavy on the politics. Of course that didn't stop me from writing possibly my all time favorite (and one of my best liked)reviews.However it was [b:The Price of Valor 23435269 The Price of Valor (The Shadow Campaigns, #3) Django Wexler https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1423008261s/23435269.jpg 42905071] where this series really started to shine for me. Mr. Wexler found what I feel was the perfect balance of military battles, political intrigue and an interesting magical system that made it one of my top reads of 2015. I don't give 5 star ratings to books likely, so that fact that the final 3 books of this 5-book series have gotten one should tell you how much I liked it.The characters are fantastic. This is especially true of Winter. I think the main reason I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the last two, was that her story felt like it took a little longer to get going. Luckily Marcus and Recinia's chapters more than made up for it. I found myself listening a bit longer each day just so I could squeeze in an extra chapter here or there.I'm not a huge military fan, but the way Mr. Wexler writes these battles make it more than apparent how much he is. I'm not going to rush out and start reading books about the Napoleonic wars, but maybe if they demons granting magical abilities, I just might have.Overall I thought this was a fantastic series, and I'm glad a friend got my little side reads group to pick up the first one 5 years ago. It's a shame that Mr. Wexler isn't better known at this point, but I think he's been writing some of the best fantasy books of the last few years. If you haven't given this series a look yet, I highly recommend you do.