The Aeronaut's Windlass

Starred review from August 31, 2015
Butcher (the Dresden Files series) opens the imaginative Cinder Spires series with this sweeping fantastical epic with pseudo-Victorian sensibilities. In this strange realm, some cataclysm has left the surface world uninhabitable, but the ancient Builders created spires that stretch miles into the sky. Transportation, trade, and warfare are conducted by way of airships. The AMS Predator is captained by Francis Grimm, formerly of the Albion Fleet, and when Grimm’s quick action saves his spire from a devastating attack, he and several members of the Spirearch’s Guard are sent on a secret assignment to prevent disaster. After a slower-paced start that sets up a multitude of story lines and viewpoint characters, each of those threads is woven into a fascinating, adventurous, and intricate story. Butcher brings a fresh and exciting perspective to secondary-world steampunk, giving the reader a thrilling ride. Agent: Jennifer Jackson, Donald Maass Literary Agency.

Starred review from September 15, 2015

With this novel, Butcher ("The Dresden Files" series) launches a new fantasy series, and it is a splendid beginning indeed. After throwing a carefully calculated tantrum, Gwendolyn Lancaster, heir to one of the most powerful families in Spire Albion, enlists in the Spirearch's Guard in which she meets her cousin Benedict, a warriorborn who has the blood of lions in his veins, and Bridget Tagwynn, last daughter of a fallen house and her guardian cat, Rowl. Adding to the mix is Captain Grimm and his airship Predator; the ensemble cast is completed with etherealist Master Ferus and his apprentice Folly. These characters' individual concerns are soon washed away by an invasion of the spire and a call from the Spirearch himself for their unique talents. Like many a Butcher novel, once the setup is complete, the action is nonstop to the end. VERDICT The author blends familiar steampunk and fantasy elements (airships, wizardry, and heroes from a monarch's guard) in a fresh and wonderful way that results in a fantastic ride. This should well satisfy fans of fantasy, sf, or their stepchild steampunk. [See Eric Norton's sf/fantasy spotlight feature, "A Genre Takes Flight," LJ 8/15.]--Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Lib., Wisconsin Rapids

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 15, 2015
Butcher, the best-selling author of the Dresden Files, now launches the Cinder Files, a new epic fantasy, steampunk hybrid series that has shades of both Naomi Novik and Cherie Priest, set in a world where people live in highly developed societies housed in spires that protrude into the sky. Each spire has its own guard and fleets of airships to use for trade and defensefleets made up of Master and Commanderstyle ships that float through the mist-shrouded skies, powered by magical crystals. A disgraced fleet captain and a group of young guardsmen and women loyal to Spire Albion are forced together after a surprise attack by Spire Aurora, but, as they soon learn, this attack is much more than a simple war between Spires. With shifting points of view, short chapters, fast-paced action, and awesome battle scenes, the large cast of characters, elaborate world building, and intricate plot are revealed quickly and realized fully. It all reminds readers of when they first fell for Harry Dresden. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The Cinder Files will be sure to attract Butcher fans new, old, and even lapsed, increasing interest as well in all of his novels.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)