Engines of Empire

Engines of the Empire by R.S. Ford is a book that I have been eyeing with excitement for the last six months. It did not disappoint and was just as exciting as I had hoped with a few caveats.

“How long do you think the battalions will carry on this war when it stops being profitable? This won't last.”

From the first chapter, where we meet one of our protagonists, Tyreta, the reader becomes very aware of the depth of the storytelling Ford brings. The story is separated into multiple very distinct points of view, mostly revolving around three siblings, Tyreta, Fulren, and Conall. Their lives go on very different winding paths in service to the empire. They are the Hawkspurs, heirs of the Hawkspur guild in the nation of Torwyn. Multiple guilds rule the empire through Plutocracy, which is explained in the story. But I am looking forward to learning more about the various guilds and how they work.

Additionally, the story is peppered with those who practice a craft with pyrstone that fuels the empire's machines. This craft reads like part magic and part science. Those who practice get a “feel” for the device and can control the machines from afar.

“By placing a number of pyrestones inside small conversion chambers, a webwainer could use them to imbue any piece of artifice to life.”

Encapsulating the story's narrative is a blanket of political intrigue, unrest, and colonialism. While we are viewing the story through the eyes of mainly three members of the ruling class of Torwyn, it is evident that Torwyn has not always been on the side of angels when it comes to relations with neighboring areas. Specifically, the nation of Nyrakkis, who are foreign, differs in every way from the nation of Torwyn.

The story starts with a random emissary from the country of Nyrakkis who has come to open up trade agreements with Torwyn. The deal that the emissary wants to broker would benefit both countries and start an age of great prosperity for the two nations. This kicks off a series of events that change the siblings' lives forever.

Engines of the Empire is not an easy fantasy book to read; instead, it asks a lot of the reader. You need to parse multiple levels of intrigue and points of view. But even with these various paths, Ford masterfully curves all paths back to the empire. No matter what, the fates of this family are intricately entwined with the people, culture, and future of the Torwyn society.

“There might be a price for this later. Lady Rosomon had never been a tolerant woman. Whatever that price was, Tyreta thought as a smile played across her lips, it had been worth it.”

When the 2/3rds through the book, the action sequences started to pick up, and it was like watching a movie. Even better, because the characters' paths go not just away from each other, but into new cultures. Ford wrote the combat as distinctly as the settings. Characters do not just fight, but they fight in ways characteristic of their cultures. If the worldbuilding did not hammer home how different the cultures are, the action will.

The one issue I had with the story, and is my caveat mentioned above, is that while these character paths expertly wind through the empire, the characters didn't feel like they have narrative arcs. I couldn't point to a goal for each of the characters except for lack of a better term, “level-up.” I needed more connection with the characters on an individual level that are less lofty than the empire's health. Because the characters didn't have that, the characters always felt at arm's length from me. I admit this might be a preference for me as a reader, but it was a sticking point for this story.

All in all, Engines of the Empire is an exciting story full of intrigue, worldbuilding, and power struggles. Any reader of classic fantasy will find a home inside Ford's world. It was a captivating story, and aside from my difficulties with how the characters were written, it was enthralling.

I look forward to seeing what happens next in this world!

3.5/5

This is my second time reading this, and I loved it just as much as the first time!

Thank you to Net Galley and Orbit for the e-arc.


This story follows three siblings and their separate paths to make their Mother and their Guild proud. They are Hawkspurs. The Guilds control industry and the Hawkspur Guild is one of the most powerful.

Conall is the heir. He is sent to prove himself in the military.

Tyreta can control pyrestones. Pyrestones are used to power the machines. She is sent off to learn more about how pyrestones are harvested.

Fulren is the youngest. He is busy inventing new things for his uncle the Emperor. He's an artificer that secretly wishes to be a fighter.

All of this seems pretty mundane, until it isn't.
The Hawkspurs will have to prove themselves worthy in ways they never could've imagined.

This book is fantastic! So much political intrigue! I loved these characters so much. Everything about this book is amazing. I can't wait for the next one.

Thanks to Netgalley and Orbit for the copy in exchange for an honest review!

So, Engines of Empire.... super mixed feelings but overall an enjoyable start to a new series!. My biggest issue is that it felt like Ford was too afraid to let things breathe. I've read non-stop action books before but they usually feel a lot more confident, this felt like he was worried if he didn't throw a giant lizard or a betrayal or an explosion into every single chapter people would DNF. Some of the time, he would introduce a twist or an obstacle or kill a character and then the following chapter would bring entirely new circumstances so the previous thing was almost an irrelevant event meant to keep the plot “moving” at all times. Many aspects of the world are just introduced for a chapter or two and then never spoken about again- some of the early stuff I almost forgot was even introduced. A secondary aspect of this is that there were times where he let the reader know about a reveal or some juicy information immediately and I think the reading experience would have been better with a bit more delay to build the tension. The dialogue was never better than serviceable and was cliche at times. It felt like Ford took a lot of inspiration from ASOIAF for characters/plot but took all the wrong lessons from the back half of the show- he went for spectacle every time over substance. There's a character that is so clearly inspired by Jaime Lannister that it's almost funny.

But all that said, I was super entertained the whole time. I devoured the book quickly and set aside every other book to read it. The plots introduced were really cool and I greatly enjoyed learning more about the world, the multiple magic systems, the types of sentient creatures, and the technology in Torwyn, the main civilization we follow. The book follows four major POVs (with another POV joining later) and each of these four POVs are in the same family and go off on their separate adventures, like the Starks. I enjoyed every POV character which is a difficult feat, although my favorites were Fulren and Tyreta. The end of the book was a bit of a forced cliffhanger, but I enjoyed reading the climax immensely. I'm definitely going to read the second book. I just hope Ford can learn to trust his story.

I listened to this book primarily on audio and I have to say, the audiobook was fantastic! Each POV had a different narrator and all of them did a great job at performing the book, I was engaged the entire time. I think the narrator for Fulren was my favorite.

I'm gonna say 7.5/10