The Thousand Names

The awesome military battle sequences will lure you in to this book, but the characters will make you stay.

The world is very similar to 1800s Earth. This book takes place largely in the colonial desert country of Khandar and the following books take place in a fantasy analogue of a country similar to France.

Most characters in the world don't believe in magic, thinking it died out hundreds of years ago. Those who can use magic are few and far between, with most belonging to a super secret cult of religious fanatics. One of the best parts is the world allows for MAGICAL SUPERPOWERS while still having a pretty defined set of rules.

Wexler uses in-world swearing like Sanderson, McClellan, or really a whole host of fantasy authors. However, he mixes it in with traditional swearing, with my personal favorite being “brass balls of the beast.”

The two main POVs in the first book are Winter and Marcus.
Winter is a woman masquerading as a man in order to join the army. This type of thing can feel cliche, but holy crap is this done well. She finds herself thrust into a position of command and has to win the loyalty of her troops throughout the campaign. This is one of my favorite tropes and Wexler nails it. If you like Kaladin's Bridge Four arc in The Way of Kings, you'll probably love Winter.

Marcus is an officer in one of the army's colonial garrisons and he finds himself in charge of a bunch of demoralized and beaten troops. He is more than a little old-fashioned in his worldview and it is incredibly satisfying to see his development.

While not a POV character, Colonel Janus bet Vhalnich arrives to whip what's left of the army into shape. He is eccentric as hell but an absolute genius. Wexler really nailed Janus's character: he's engimatic, a little unsure how to act around people, but he is brilliant and proves it on multiple occasions each book.

Read this series if you like strategic military campaigns, think guns in fantasy are awesome, and enjoy reading excellently written female characters!

Read this series if you like revolutions, demons, and interesting portrayals of religion!