Lovecraftian Horror: the Lovecraftian aesthetic of being inexplicably terrifying works well as a fantasy trope, but only when it's used to contrast an otherwise 'normal' setting. I have read 6 of McClellan's novels, one of his novellas, many of his short stories, and I also sometimes listen to his podcast. I am a fan. Bare that in mind as you read this review. As was his habit, he would bury his feelings until the end of the conflict, at which time he would properly grieve.” – Awwww, boo! As for the Ram and Kizzie, I don't really feel like they had much in the way of character arcs. The Ram and Kizzie remained fairly static throughout. These outcomes are both fine; this is book 1 in a series, their character arcs will come later. It's unreasonable to expect an author to juggle four POV character arcs in a single book.

Excellent worldbuilding and a truly epic narrative combine into Brian's finest work to date. Heartily recommended to anyone who wants a new favorite fantasy series to read."―Brandon Sanderson My favorite parts of this book were the pacing and the magic. Once again, McClellan has created a fully fleshed out magic system that interacts gracefully with the world, cultures, and economics. It's also just super cool, which, honestly, is also important. As an author, I found myself feeling similar pangs of jealousy as when I read Jade City, wishing I'd come up with it! And for the pacing, this really just kept me engaged throughout with the mysteries, investigations, engineering, and more. As for the side characters, I don't really have much to write about. I will say that I would have liked if Demir's mother- the assassinated matriarch- actually appeared in this story. She loomed like a titan over events, so I wanted to meet her. I likewise wanted more from the other side characters. None of them were bad, but only one or two of them were especially memorable.Excellent worldbuilding and a truly epic narrative combine into Brian's finest work to date. Heartily recommended to anyone who wants a new favorite fantasy series to read." (Brandon Sanderson)

I liked how the author included so many different religions as a plotpoint, and I would have liked it if they were further explored to flesh out this world. Similarly, the magic is called 'godglass;' is it related in some way to a god or something likewise supernatural? Glassdamn! This was a fantastic read! As a Brian McClellan virgin, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this first book in his new series, or from him as a writer in general, but the sci-fi / fantasy nerd in me was definitely not disappointed!Hard Magic System (People can make and use sorcerous glass, usually in the form of earrings and jewelry, to gain supernatural powers. If you've read the 'Green Bone' books, it's like that.) If you say one word about this, or if I find out you’ve drugged any of my fighters…” Demir nodded at the shelf of destroyed wine bottles. “I’ll actually do something with all that glass.” He slapped the bar. “Have a good day, Morlius.”