Promise of Blood

The concept and setting of Brian McClellan's Powder Mage series makes for an intriguing take on modern fantasy. Most fantasy authors tend to go for the classic ‘sword and sorcery' style setting - preferring to use medieval archetypes and general feel. The setting here in a quasi-Napoleonic era of gunpowder and rifles is quite a change! This was actually my second dip into this world, as I had read the short story ‘The Siege of Tilpur' previously (looks at the early career of the main protagonist from ‘Promise of Blood' so was actually quite a good starting point) and the taste i got very much encouraged me to dive into the main series.

The magic system and world that Brian McClellan has built works supremely well. The different types/levels of magic users, the caste system and the way they each have strengths and weaknesses integrate in a very pleasing way. The use of gunpowder as a component of the magic system is especially clever. The characters are largely sympathetic and easy to engage with and the story rocks along at a nice pace - it drew me in very well as a reader. As with a surprisingly large amount of good fantasy, the best moments here are really in the intrigue and politics rather than the fighting action. This is done in an organic and believable way, you can recognise the motives for most of the actors. If I am going to have one criticism it may be in the somewhat one dimensional portrayal of the noble class, but in someways I see that is due to the main protagonists being very against that class, so it supports the telling in many ways.

Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable book in an interesting period setting for a fantasy novel. I am intrigued to see how the story develops and already have the next book in the series on the way!