The Thousand Names

3.5 out of 5 stars

After striking out with The Powder Mage series and not completely loving this series-starter, I'm not convinced that “flintlock fantasy” is the subgenre for me. Even so, there is a lot to like about this book – interesting cultures, well-written characters, and unexpected twists to name a few. I learned more about military ranks, formations, and factions than I thought possible even when the overall story gets bogged down by long battle sequences that I struggled to follow.

It sounds like the second book improves upon many of the stumbling blocks I encountered within this first book (fewer battles, more focus on characters, better pacing/plotting, etc.), but I'm not going to rush out to devour it. Book 2 will likely fall to the bottom of my TBR pile, but I'm not ready to give up on the series just yet.

See this review and others at The Speculative Shelf.