Sins of Empire

Starred review from May 1, 2017
McClellan (The Autumn Republic) begins his Gods of Blood and Powder series with this tale set in Landfall, a city where mercenary troops and secret police may not be enough to prevent revolution. Michel Bravis is an operative in Landfall’s secret police who has been assigned to find who is behind the seditious pamphlet titled Sins of Empire. Gen. Vlora Flint is a powder mage and the commander of the Riflejacks, a mercenary army summoned to Landfall to find Mama Palo, leader of the disaffected Palo minority. Benjamin Styke is the former colonel of the Mad Lancers and still a formidable killer; he’s just been released from a work camp and is newly arrived in the city. Each of them runs up against the mysterious figure of Gregious Tampo, an individual who’s both dapper and deadly. They must all brave the Palo stronghold of Greenfire Depths, where street thugs are common and legendary Dynize dragonmen lurk. Several characters first appeared in McClellan’s Powder Mage trilogy but this work stands well on its own. The combination of fantasy and firearms compares favorably with Brandon Sanderson’s work and the milieu recalls Thieves’ World. This is a great start to what promises to be a terrific series. Agent: Caitlin Blasdell, Liza Dawson Associates.

February 1, 2017
A new sequence, following the outstanding Powder Mage fantasy trilogy (The Autumn Republic, 2015, etc.) and set in the same war-torn world--gratifyingly, some of the characters reappear--gets under way.In a narrative that builds upon, but adds no fresh ideas to, the previous books, the scene switches to the land of Fatrasta and its capital city, Landfall. Here, the natives, called Palo, suffer under the repressive government of Lady Chancellor Lindet and her chief enforcer, the psychopathic Fidelis Jes, grand master of the Blackhats, the secret police. So great is the unrest that Lindet engages powder mage (one who ignites powerful magic by inhaling or ingesting gunpowder) Vlora and her army, the Riflejack Mercenary Company, to defend the city and keep order. Jes, meanwhile, orders Blackhat spy Michel Bravis to find the individuals responsible for stirring the Palo to rebellion. Lindet also has a secret project to secure a powerfully magical "godstone" abandoned by a long-vanished civilization--but why? Other important actors in the drama include Ben Styke, ex-colonel of the Mad Lancers (clad in impenetrable magic armor, they devastated opposing armies in the previous books), now falsely imprisoned for treachery by Jes, and the enigmatic Gregious Tampo, who seems far too well-informed and resourceful to be merely the lawyer he represents himself as. These sturdily drawn characters struggle, contend, and plot, not always in entirely convincing fashion, amid brief bursts of action. After 500 pages of this elaborate and often remarkable scenery-chewing, McClellan finally delivers the concluding furious, visceral, and relentlessly thrilling action that so delighted readers of the original trilogy. A yarn that promises more than it delivers. Fans will be entitled to a small measure of disappointment.

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Starred review from March 15, 2017

Lady Vlora Flint leads her mercenary company as they attempt to put down Palo uprisings in rural Fatrasta. The ruler of the country summons them to the capital of Landfall where she gives Lady Flint a new assignment: find the elusive head of the Palo rebels. Her local contact is Michel Bravis, a member of the Blackhat secret police, whose real mission is to identify the culprits who have been distributing "Sins of Empire" pamphlets, which denounce the current government. Meanwhile, an aging legend of earlier wars is rotting in prison until a mysterious stranger offers him freedom if he will spy on Lady Flint. VERDICT This new opener is set in the same world as McClellan's "Powder Mage War" series. While it features some recurring characters from the earlier books, new readers shouldn't have any trouble jumping in here. Still, the author's skillful worldbuilding and nuanced characters will undoubtedly tempt them to go back to his early work.--MM

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

The character of Mad Ben Styke comes to life in this audiobook. Narrator Christian Rodska portrays him with gruff tones as he faces the world and shifts to vulnerable-sounding gentleness in his interactions with an orphan girl he has taken under his protection. The second of the story's three protagonists is notable for his ongoing dialogue with himself, which Rodska presents with the character's slight air of embarrassment. The third featured character is a mercenary general, a returning character whose ability to detect sorcery serves her well. Rodska's portrayals of these and the many other characters are nuanced and complex. He maintains a lively pace with a natural ebb and flow that matches the rhythm of the plot. J.E.M. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

March 1, 2017
The first book in the follow-up trilogy to the Powder Mage Trilogy takes place primarily in Landfall, capital city of Fatrasta, a colonial nation ruled by Lady Chancellor Lindet and built on the ruins of the once-sprawling Dynize empire as well as on the brutal suppression of the native Palo people and political dissidents by Lindet's secret police, the Blackhats. A variety of characters explore and discover the secrets of Landfall and Fatrasta, including Vlora Flint, the leader of the Riflejack mercenary company, currently under contract to the Lady Chancellor; Michel Bravis, a Blackhat assigned to investigate rumors of insurrection and sedition; and Ben Styke, a former hero of the Fatrastan war for independence and current prisoner in a labor camp. McClellan continues to expand and build on the interesting and engaging world of his previous trilogy while also providing an exciting and fast-paced new story that even those new to the series will enjoy immensely.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)