Wrath of Empire

When it comes to the fantasy genre, I feel that there are certain books that get all the attention, while many good ones are left on the shelf. One example of a, in my opinion, overrated fantasy series would be Game of Thrones, with it's bloated page count, and having too many characters for its own good. Then there is Brian McClellan. His books I feel are seriously undervalued in the fantasy market. I believe that his Powder Mage series is just different enough to separate it from the pack, but still feature the excellent characters and fast-paced action one needs in a fantasy novel. His continuation of this universe, Gods of Blood and Powder, features the excellent characters we know and love, all while introducing us to new ones that make for an interesting look at the culture of the world he has built. With this 2nd book in the series, I am happy to say that McClellan continues with the action and cliffhangers to create a book that I know will grace the top ten fantasy series for me, and should for you a well.

All the characters here are placed into threatening situations that spawn directly from the events from the first book. Firstly, we have Volara Flint, as she and Ben Styke lead an army away from Landfall to find the god stones and keep them out of the hands of anyone who has an ulterior motive. As for Michael Brevis, he resides in Landfall, as he tries to smuggle people out of the city. Soon, he is given a mission by Tantiel Two-shot to find a woman and get her to friendly forces. Sadly, there is a catch: the only thing that Tantel knows about this woman is her first name, and that she is a high-ranking member of Dynize society. To find her, Michael must get into the good graces of a Dynize household, gain their trust, and not be killed, or worse, discovered as a spy.

This was an awesome book due to the strength of writing alone. McClellan has a knack (no pun intended) for writing with cliff hangars in mind. Every story moves at a good pace, and the different storylines all feel well made and planned out. Each end to the chapter made me want to keep reading, just to see what happened next. This is far better planned than some other fantasy series I could mention cough Game of Thrones cough. I especially liked Michaels storyline the most. His glimpse into Dynize society was fascinating and this story also took a break from the major battles we had experienced with Styke and Lady Flint in exchange for espionage, as Michael tries to keep all of his secrets hidden from those he knows he shouldn't trust. Don't get me wrong, all the other plot lines are good too, like for example Ben Styke's. We see him go one a sub plot of self-discovery. There are some good questions about getting older and understanding what is important compared to when you were younger, as well as seeing what a thirst for blood does to you and your reputation.

Yet, there are still some issues that, while they did not plague me, may bother others who want to read this book. For example, the author has never been very good a writing a villain with any presence, and it is the same here. The Dynize act as antagonists in this book, but there is no true villain in this story, like say Darth Vader, or Lord Voldemort. This, personally, did not bother me, as I have always thought that there has been an annoying trend to put more effort into the main villain at the expense of the hero character anyway. Yet, there are people who I think should be aware of this none the less.

Still, this is one of those books that reminds me how fantasy can be fun and have a cool magic system and advance the character development all at the same time. This is an underrated series, and I plan to continue to read the next book and see where McClellan takes his writing next. I give this book a five out of five. I hope I do not eat my words, but McClellan has become one of my favorite authors to date.