The Autumn Republic by Brian McClellan

4 Stars

The Powder Mage Trilogy - Book Three

And so the saga of General Tamas et al draws to a close and our tale gets a highly satisfactory ending.  I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this trilogy and what was my introduction to what they call the Flintlock Fantasy sub-genre. 

There were so many plotlines that had to come together and that we needed to get answers to, and I think that the author managed to do all of that successfully - at least to my satisfaction. :)  Yeah, there were a few small questions that I would have preferred have better answers or maybe more involved answers, but they were few and far between.

I loved the characters and had so many favourites.  But I think Taniel Two-Shot was my #1 favourite with Bo, his best friend, being a close second and I was quite happy with the way their stories panned out. 

I'm not really a fan of short stories or even novellas, but I will say this - I will be looking up the many stories and novellas that the author has written about these characters.  And I will be reading his newest trilogy, set in the same world. 

Anyway, if you like Djano Wexler or Brian Stavely or even Bernard Cornwell's "Sharpe" books, you'll enjoy this author. 

Oh... and the covers of all three books are TERRIFIC! 

The Crimson Campaign by Brian McClellan

4 Stars

The Powder Mage Trilogy - Book 2

I'm late in writing up my thoughts again.  Bad habit, that.  I must get better.  Especially when the read was as good as this one was.

I totally enjoyed my first foray into what they call Flintlock Fantasy with the first book in this trilogy, Promise of Blood, so finally, tired of waiting for this second book to go on sale, I actually paid full price for it.  $12.99 for an e-book published 4 years ago.  That is SO not me.  But I needed to read it!

All my favourites were back - well, except the ones the author killed off in the first book!  *LOL*  Adamat, the police inspector; Tamas, the veteran field marshal; Taniel Two-shot, Tamas' son and powerful powder mage; Ka-poel, Vlora, Bor, Olem... and more. 

I love the fullness of the characters, not a one is totally light or totally dark.  They're nuanced and believable.  The setting is richly drawn, the atmosphere alive and the world-building nothing short of remarkable, IMO.  The plots are intricate, be they the big over-arching ones or the small, private ones.

Brian McClellan is a terrific story-teller and I love the world he's created and the people he's populated it with.  The third novel of the trilogy is calling for me as are all the novellas and short stories.