Symphony of the Wind

The Raincatcher's Ballad #1

by Steven McKinnon

A bounty hunter with a death wish. A girl with fearsome powers. A kingdom on the brink of destruction.

Serena dreams of leaving her harsh desert home behind in her very own airship. But when an assassin’s knife meant for Serena kills her friend instead, the rebellious orphan ventures into the corrupt heart of Dalthea to discover who put a price on her head. With each new turn, she edges closer to uncovering the awful truth… And the mystical powers brewing deep within her.

After his fiancée’s death, soldier-turned-bounty hunter Tyson Gallows is eager to sacrifice his life in the line of duty. When a foreign enemy assassinates a high-ranking official, he vows to bring them to justice. On the hunt for a killer, Gallows exposes a sinister plot that proves his fiancée’s death was no accident.

Driven by revenge, Serena and Gallows must join forces to take down the conspiracy before the kingdom falls to ruin.

Symphony of the Wind is the first book in a gritty epic fantasy trilogy. If you like hardened heroes, steampunk airships, and dark magic and monsters, then you’ll love Steven McKinnon’s visceral adventure.

Genres: Fantasy, Steampunk, Fiction, Science Fiction, Adult, Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy

660 pages, Paperback

First published June 25, 2018

About the author

Symphony of the Wind is Steven McKinnon's first fiction novel, and is Book One of The Raincatcher's Ballad. The Fury Yet To Come is a prequel novella set in the same world.

His first book, the true-life tale Boldly Going Nowhere, was released in 2015.

Steven is 32 years old, and was born in the bathroom of a Glasgow flat in the year 1986.

He has since moved out.

To get the Raincatcher's Ballad prequel novella -- The Fury Yet To Come -- for free, sign up to the author's newsletter at http://subscribe.stevenmckinnon.net/

Reviews

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dalthea is recovering from the war with the Idari, parts of the city still closed off due to the horrifyingly destructive power of an ignogen fusion bomb, dropped on what will be known forevermore as the Night of the Amberfire, when thousands died and the Dalthean fleet was destroyed. Even now, the threat of the Idari’s return feeds the political machinations of Prime Councillor Thackeray, allowing for ever tightening Orwellian style security measures, but unrest is growing. The kingdom is built on ignicite and needs only a tinder spark to explode. When a Raincatcher ship, the Liberty Wind, is targeted, suspicion turns to enemies within the state. And the ignited fire roars.

That all sounds exciting, but I’m not going to lie, the first two chapters didn’t have me. I had this weird issue because I wasn’t sure of the genre and it felt a bit too steampunk, which is not my thing at all, and I just didn’t get it. Then there’s a moment in the third chapter where Gallows and Damien, two Hunters (mercs), get sent out on a grunt job and encounter a snake problem more sizeable than they imagined and I was so stunned by how much I was enjoying myself that I had to actually put the book down and think about it for a good few minutes. Totally blindsided. That feeling didn’t much change until the last page. This book is insane and it has everything. I’m pretty convinced the author wrote a checklist of all the cool shit a writer can put in a novel, then methodically went through ticking it all off. If someone had told me that before I started, it would have been a hard nope from me, but he makes it work. You want a terrifying underground Doom/Resident Evil style fight against genetically altered animals and undead monsters? You got it. You want a Star Wars style fighter battle in the sky? Yep, it’s here. You want brutal one on one fights? Present. You want larger fights against desperate odds? Oh boy, you’re in for a treat. You want death? Bucketloads. You want humour? Laughs galore. You want characters to love like they’re your own child? Take a handful. You want villains who just won’t goddamn die? Neither do I, but you got ‘em anyway. You want conspiracies, surprises, magic? Done, done, and done. It’s a big book and he’s got it all in there.

To say that it’s action packed is a serious understatement, but there’s more than enough space for character development, and certainly enough time to make you fall hard for the people who make up the rag tag group of main POVs. Each time anyone’s in mortal peril, and this happens a lot, it gives you heart palpitations. People die in this world. And some of them stay dead. It’s complicated, with the whole Wraith thing, but trust me when I say that your favourites are in real danger. They might have that last minute reprieve, or they might not. There’s a suddenness to it, a lightening strike that switches things from bad to seriously very bad in an instant. The pace flies. Sometimes it’s so quick that I missed parts of what went on because I was too eager to find out what happens next…and I had to go back and read it again. You know that thing where your eyes keep flicking down to catch a glimpse of the next bit no mater how many times you try to stop yourself? That.

The world building is encyclopaedic, with a comprehensive system of government, religion, society, and culture. It’s fleshed out through layers of detail and a full vocabulary- everything from tech and weaponry to gods and myth, all inserted seamlessly into the narrative so it never has to be ponderously over-explained. There’s a weight to it, a known, multilayered history and a sense of the past reaching out to affect today. Though the action all takes place in Dalthea, the wider world is present and connected by travel, trade, and war. It’s a diverse place, with a multitude of different types of people. Skin colour is rarely mentioned but names are suggestive of ethnic variety and the persecution of anyone with Idari blood, regardless of how far back in the family line, as well as the identification of the ‘other’ or ‘foreigner’ as targets and scapegoats is pointed in its veracity. Women of all types are excellently portrayed- complex individuals with roles throughout all levels of society, from Guildmaster to soldier, politician to prostitute. The main female character, Serena, is young but not stupid. She makes mistakes through inexperience and innocence, but makes up for it by saving the day more than once. She's got intelligence, courage, and attitude- it's refreshing. Her self discovery could easily have become overwrought, especially with the whole discovering-her-powers thing, but she has such an amusing youthful dismissiveness that is properly appealing. She’s all: so you want me to believe all this propaganda you’re sprouting? Cool. But you know I don’t, right? That snark doesn’t end with her either, it’s threaded through the book and it’s where a good deal of the humour originates. Even the bad guys are at it.

The two principal male characters are just as beguiling. Gallows, with his tortured past (actually tortured as well as the usual emotional/mental type), aching to die but desperate to find out what happened to his fiancée. Damien, with his violent past and ongoing self control issues of the most deadly sort. Both repeatedly put in situations where their morality and resolve is tested: will they succumb to their darker desires or rise to the heroic occasion? The underlying theme proposes that when it comes down to it, there are people and ideals worth fighting for. Not just in the sense of picking up a sword and stabbing holes in living/dead things, but arguably a much harder battle, combatting your own baser nature, the desire for blood or revenge or whatever. Think that means you get a happy ending? Well, you’ll have to read it and see…

I’ve been trying to think of some critical things to say about the book as this early SPFBO round is supposed to be judged a bit more harshly, but in the high of just finishing, I can’t think of much. Other than the first two chapters not really engaging me and maybe that some scenes could be tightened up a bit. Technically, this has been done exceptionally well, it read like something that had been traditionally published, skilfully written and decently edited. Regardless of how far this book goes in the competition, it deserves more readers. Honestly, I flat out loved it and I’m looking forward to the next instalment already. In the meantime, there’s a prequel novella called The Fury Yet To Come which is free if you sign up to the author’s newsletter- it won’t be staying on my TBR for long.

[Kitty G Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

* This is one of the SPFBO finalists for 2018 *

I picked this one up and instantly knew I would like it because the writing style was easy to connect with and I found the world to be a lot of fun. This is a book that managed to hook me in early, and keep me guessing throughout because there are a multitude of twists and turns I didn't see coming. I found the characters and world both very likeable, and I enjoyed hearing about the darker side of the world, the corrupt ruling powers and the scope of the story which will inevitably go on for a couple more books.

This has quite a few main characters, Serna, a young woman who is living in an orphanage but she is nearly old enough to join the Raincatcher guild and she has been apprenticing on a ship. She is a feisty one and she has a lot of daring, brave moments in the book which I liked. Later on she also learns that there is a lot more to her than we initially realise.
We also have Tiera, in a relationship with a Captain and a more minor character until she is forced to do something incredibly tragic. Her story from that point takes on a very bleak turn, and I liked seeing her PoV too as I felt that she added a lot of tension and movement into the story.
Tyson Gallows is a man desperate to find out what happened to his fiancé. She vanished and he knows there is more to the story than he has been told, and as the book goes on he discovers a lot more about the darker undercurrents of the society, some nefarious magic, and some nasty testing. His plot interacted well with the others and I found him likeable to read about.

The world is one where water needs to be shipped in by airships, electricity comes from bit giant spires, and people work for hire or for guilds that are fairly corrupt at times. There are brothels and people who pimp others out, and it's a pretty shady place to live to be honest. There is some hints at magic around, some experiments that seem to be slowly sweeping the nation, but it's not widely known yet and our main characters need to uncover what or who is behind it all. There's a lot of moments I enjoyed which come from having a darker world like this, and the imminent threat of war with a neighbouring country too.

Overall, I really enjoyed this and I found it an absolute pleasure to read and would definitely continue to read the series. I was pleasantly surprised by how many things I didn't see coming, and I would like to know what is going to happen next as we're left with some big questions. 4.25*s which is 8.5/10 for #SPFBO.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve thought a lot about this book over the past couple of weeks. Not only because I recently finished it, but because I had to compare it to several other excellent novels in Mark Lawrence’s Self-Publishing Fantasy Blog Off contest. We at Fantasy Book Review have decided to push this book forward as our selected finalist, and I think it will do very well against anything else in the competition. And yet. And yet! Even though this book has dominated my headspace for the month of December, I am still at a loss on how to accurately describe this book to anyone else. In a blog writeup from earlier today, I attempted the following elevator pitch:

Steve McKinnon’s debut (!) fantasy novel Symphony of the Wind is a post-steampunk military fantasy with enough stirring action sequences to rival Pierce Brown’s ‘Red Rising’ series. It deals with post-war PTSD, political propaganda and conspiracies, organized crime, celebrity culture, environmental threats, and a smattering of Greek mythology. It has characters you love who will die, and characters you hate that just won’t go away. And somehow, it is also funny as hell.

But that still leaves out so much of the story. I could go into detail about the massive chase scenes, violent sieges, numerous gun-and-sword battles, thrilling air combat, secret underground bunker labs gone awry, human experimentation, non-human experimentation, mind control, radiation-afflicted beasts, and enough breathtaking set pieces to fill a summer blockbuster trilogy at the cineplex. I could talk about how Gallows must be allergic to buildings because every time he enters one, there’s a 50% chance it’s about to collapse. But none of that would matter at all unless the characters weren’t people you cared for, and this is an area where McKinnon excelled.

Two years after an enemy bomb wiped out thousands of lives, the city of Dalthea is a chaotic mix of peoples and races that are struggling to survive. Water is scarce, drugs are rampant, organized crime permeates all levels of government, and the enemy Idari are consolidating forces across the sea. There is a wide cast of characters that runs the gamut in representing this city of the edge of annihilation, but we mostly focus on two: Serena, an orphaned teen, interns on a water-gathering airship while dreaming of running a crew of her own, and Tyson Gallows, a former soldier with a broken soul, who works as a government-sanctioned Hunter but secretly prays for an end to his living nightmare. We also spend time with various airship captains, religious zealots, criminal kingpins, soldiers, scholars, and whatever the hell Damien is. Somehow McKinnon has instilled enough character and personality into nearly his entire cast where it feels like they all have their own desires and agendas and are all given the spotlight to further their own personal journeys as well as the story at large.

The world-building is trickled in at a steady pace throughout the book. There was only one section that could have been considered an exposition dump, but it fit perfectly into the context of the scene to help the characters understand the ramifications of what was really going on. It took a couple of chapters before I was able to start grasping the scope of this story, but once things started to escalate, it was a bullet train of action and emotion for the remaining six-hundred pages.

Yes, this is only the first book in the series, and I understand why some might not want to start something new and then wait years until it’s fully written. Let me stress that this book has a definitive and satisfying ending. There are certainly threads that carry over to future books in the series, but do not hesitate to treat this story as a standalone adventure. Much like Chris Wooding’s The Ember Blade, this book does an excellent job of telling a fully-realized tale, while whetting your appetite for what the future may bring. And for Steve McKinnon and fans of The Raincatcher’s Ballad, that future is bright, indeed.

9.0 / 10

[Lukasz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m still not sure how I feel about Steven McKinnon’s Symphony of the Wind . An ambitious and gritty epic fantasy series starts here, in the technologically advanced world. People conquered skies and filled them with airships. Different fractions and ethnicities fight for power while citizens suffer. Tormented heroes must stop a conspiracy before the kingdom falls to ruin.

Sounds simple? Well, it isn't. Unless you're a battle-hardened Malazan veteran, that is*. Slowly revealed and nuanced plot with multiple arcs and even more characters requires undivided attention and a trained memory. It's easy to lose track of the secondary characters' motivations and backstories.

The world-building is simply amazing. I have no other words to describe the world, the science, dark magic, monsters and airships. Mind-blowing stuff guys.

McKinnon’s prose is visceral, precise and descriptive, feeling both spare and lush. His pacing varies from breakneck to measured at the beginning of the book. The closer to the end we get the faster it becomes. Near the end, the events told from different POVs flash before our eyes.

Story's characters – flawed, complicated, human – are enormously compel­ling, and their self-discoveries and betrayals are fascinating to follow. Some of them turn their beliefs into weapons and inflict their will upon others. Others try to remain human despite their urges or conditioning. I can't choose a favourite character, but if you insisted I would probably indicate Damien - poised and cultural psycho-killer and a living weapon. His fight scenes became my instant-favourites.

Both secondary characters and villains feel fully fleshed out as well.

At this stage, some of you may start to wonder why on earth I gave SotW three stars if everything's so exciting?

Let's get to it.

I like multiple third person POV, but switching characters too frequently irks me. McKinnon does it all the time. Too quickly. Sure, there’s no real rule about how long a particular scene should be for any character, but switching back and forth between characters makes the prose confusing.

I loved the world and the story and I was interested in the individual characters but the sheer amount of them and constant jumps between different POV's wore me down.

To be fair, the scenes for each POV are clearly separated. Despite this, I struggled with the story 's structure and abrupt perspective changes. It felt fragmented and unclear. As a result, I started feeling distant and disengaged from its action and characters.

Let's clarify things - McKinnon is an imaginative writer and, paradoxically, this is hurting his ability to tell a convincing story. The writing, as impressive as it is, with its constant perspective changes, just keep getting in the way.

This book has so much awesome stuff that I would love to praise it. But I can't because of the aspects of the book that I can’t handle and that pull the rating down.

* In this case, approach it like a childish puzzle with a twist. Or two.

Disclaimer : I'm one Fantasy Book Critic SPFBO judges, but this review doesn't reflect our collective rating or opinion. It's just my opinion.

[Mark Lawrence]

I've not read this book yet, but it is one of 10 finalists chosen from 300 entries to the 4th Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off contest, so it is probably very good!

See the other finalists here:
https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/...

[Terrible Timy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actual rating: 4.5
The full review is available on my blog: starlitbook.com/2018/09/19/symphony-o...
I've read it as part of SPFBO, however my rating doesn't affect the later results. Check out my SPFBO4 page where you can follow FBR's progress.

I was a bit weary when I started to read Symphony of the Wind. Partly because it’s 660 pages long, and partly because I had no idea what to expect. I probably wouldn’t have picked it if it weren’t for Emma, and while we tend to have similar opinions, that’s not exactly a guarantee. Thankfully this book exceeded my expectations, and wouldn’t be surprised to see it rise in SPFBO this year.

Dalthea is trying to recover after a war in which thousands of people lost their life, most of them thanks to a bomb set off in the bay by the rival kingdom, Idari. Thanks to this, the poison veil hanging over the bay and the destruction made in other places, Dalthea suffers a great loss, the people as well as nature. The land lays barren, and the only source of water comes from rain, produced by the help of Spires which generate storms. It’s the job of the raincatchers to gather the water and bring back to Dalthea where it’s portioned and given to people in exchange of water tokens. Dalthea has a post-war-steam-punk kind of feel to it. This threw me off at the beginning, because couldn’t really decide if it’s novel set in a modern-post-war world, or a 18th century feel steampunk-post-war world. In the end it doesn’t really matter, and the truth is probably somewhere in between. The Spires and the airships – especially the warship Schiehallion – represent “advanced” technology with their complex build. Also, there are Info Towers all around the town informing people about the news in every hour and giving orders in time of need. This aspect reminded me a bit of The Giver for some reason.

The war might be over, but peace is relative. The Prime Minister is pretty adamant on Idari wanting to erase Dalthea off the map, and is not afraid to take desperate measures. Let’s just say, people die in this book. Some have ugly death, some uglier. No one is quite what they seem to be and good luck with keeping up with all the revelations. There are several layers to the plot and I’m not exactly sure I got every nuance, so this one definitely needs a reread at some point. Once you are settled down in the story, and the different plotlines starts to come together, and you think you figured things out, there always will be some kind of twist that will throw you off.

We primarily follow the story through two main characters’ eyes: Serena and Gallows. The former is a 17-year-old orphan girl who works for the raincatcher until an accident happens and things go to hell. She not only ends up neck-deep in a plot against Thackeray (Dalthea’s Prime Minister) and finding out unpleasant truths about her past and heritage. Extra points for McKinnon to use choosing a not so cliché creature! I can’t wait to see what’s in store for her in the future. Serena is, well, a quite typical 17-year-old girl, who is headstrong, knows everything better and doesn’t really care about rules. She has a rebel heart which makes her pretty likable. Having a sense of sarcastic humor doesn’t hurt either.

"’Bite your tongue off and swallow it,’ said Serena.
Enfield’s eyes wrenched open.
’Guess it ain’t words, then.’ Serena sounded disappointed."

It’s a pity we don’t spend much time in her POV, especially in the second half of the book, she becomes kind of forgotten with everything. She slowly realises what powers she wields and experiments with it, but we only get glimpses. She has so much more to her though.

The other main character is Gallows, ex-soldier, currently works as a Hunter alongside Damien. Both of them are mysterious, and harbour their own secrets and scars. We learn quite a lot about them during the book. They have rocky friendship, but their bond proves to be strong and the chemistry works well between them.

"’Are you feeling okay?’ asked Damien.
’Fine. You?’
Damien’s voice was coarse like crushed glass when he spoke. ’Somewhat nervous. Treason. Violence. Death. And above all, I can’t remember if I left the stove on.’"

Symphony of the Wind is written in third person, omniscience and besides the main characters, we follow several who each get their POV at some point. Can’t say I’m a fan of this kind of writing, because it makes it hard to connect with characters. And maybe that’s one of my biggest critic for this book: even though I liked the characters and they are really well fleshed out, I just couldn’t get all that invested emotionally. Not saying I didn’t root for them, or hate them with a passion, because oh boy, I did. Pierro and Korvan definitely creeped me out no doubt about it. And Thackeray’s way of thinking… don’t let me start on that. What kind of monster does things like that? He and Hitler probably could have been besties if they knew each other. Besides there were too many POVs sometimes which made the pace a bit dragging at times and while I appreciate that McKinnon tried to show the events from different angles, I could do without some of them. On the positive side, even the side characters have their distinct personalities and I liked them all. Except some of the assholes, but then they weren’t meant to be likeable anyway.

Steven McKinnon is undoubtedly an extremely talented author, who handled the many layers and plotlines very well. The book starts slowly, and it takes about half of the book for the pace to pick up, build up the world and the character arcs. And it does take time because, this world is very well detailed: the religion consists of a handful of gods (I really would like to learn more about this aspect of the world), the kingdom, the society, the way the different guilds and military forces work together. Or not. Anyway, after everything gets in place, there is no stopping. One event follows the next and you can hardly have time to take a breath. What saves the first half of the book is McKinnon’s vivid imagination and fluid writing. A little example:

"Wind forced rubbish to waltz in the street, accompanied by the faint smell of blood. Sharp points of shattered glass in window frames caught sunlight, like threads of a ripped white dress. Funny how the presence of soldiers and coppers made everything less safe."

Or one of my favorite lines which gives back so perfectly the drug addict Buzz’s personality and state of mind:

"And Buzz knew, oh Buzz always knew, he knew it all, pray sweet Songstress, beautiful Musa, God of Music and of Poetry and Bliss."

This book really has everything you might be looking for: secret underground places, monsters, chasing, fighting scenes, ruthless villains, dead bodies, heart wrenching and uplifting moments, and a few unanswered questions which makes you want to read the next installment. Symphony of a Wind is a real roller coaster ride and one which require your full attention to catch everything what’s going on. Personally I was waiting some big twist at the end which didn’t come, but I had so many WTF moments during reading that I don’t really mind. Is Symphony of the Wind perfect? Nope. Do I care? Not really. It is an awesome first book from a debuting fantasy author. One for whom I’ll throw away whatever I’m reading at the moment when he releases his next book.

Symphony of the Wind is intricate, surprising, and doesn’t shy away from giving punches. If you like your fantasy dark, don’t mind if the pace is a bit slower, want to be surprised and don’t see what happens next, you should absolutely check this out!

[Alsha · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was initially hooked by the concepts of:
1) a tightly knit crew of rogues on an airship and
2) a world in which nuclear fallout has wreaked ruin on a once-beautiful country now drought-ridden, forcing water restrictions on the populace and the invention of lightning towers that draw down storms for water. Cool! Bring on plot!

Then, Everyone Ever and Everything Ever meet in a big chaotic mess, including but not limited to and in no particular order:
3) orphan teenage girl with green hair, super powers, and a mysterious past
4) war veteran bounty hunter with PTSD and a tragic backstory (TM)
5) ninja assassin from a super-secret sect of demon hunters who struggles with random murderous urges
6) courtesan house madam with a lost daughter
7) group of musicians from afar with noble intentions to bring peace and hope to a war-damaged country
8) ex-nun-pirate who gets drugged and mind-controlled into assassinating the head of government
9) power-hungry head of government who has been plotting and scheming for years to start a new war by faking his own death
10) a band of rogue army investigators breaking into
11) a secret underground weapons and torture lab, containing
12) undead ninja assassins
13) undead evil dreadlocked superhuman giant
14) vampire wolves
15) a mad scientist mastermind
16) convenient records detailing all the major backstory
17) an underground railway escape route
*deep breath* Back in the city, we have...
18) drug dealer overlord being poisoned by his own minion
19) giant toothless wise-cracking minion
20) undead stone monk on a mission of redemption in the catacombs beneath the city
21) cute pet bird
22) cute pet dog
23) well-travelled tea-drinking mage guild mistress who conveniently authored a book detailing the origin myth of our persnickety green-haired teenage heroine
24) clumsy young politician who is secretly an evil undercover agent of the enemy
25) freed slave with a sad and detailed history and a sudden meaningless death
26) discovery that the past is not what it seems!
27) boobytrapped mansion sieges
28) airship battles
29) opera house massacres
30) orphanage massacres
31) roof-jumping chase scenes
32) many action-packed duels
33) betrayal
34) death
35) mayhem
36) etc.
...
Kinda running out of steam now. But you get the point.
There was probably a good story in here, but it was mashed cheek by jowl with twenty other probably good stories until it all became a nonsensical blur. Would not recommend.

[The Nerd Book Review · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hope to interview the author, who is a finalist for SPFBO at some point in the not too distant future.

I enjoyed the epic nature of the book a lot. Great concept and execution. There are a fair number of fight scenes that I just didn’t even try to follow. I’ve mentioned that this is a failing of mine but for sone reason here I just couldn’t follow the fight scenes at all. Aside from that I would have given this a 5*. Great world building and in depth characters for sure.

[Richard O'Donnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Huge statement of intent from a young Scottish author.

Symphony of the Wind is part one of the Raincatchers ballad trilogy and follows several characters - Tyson Gallows, Serena and Damien Fieri - as they unravel a government conspiracy in Dalthea.

What follows is 650 pages of heart pounding action, brutal fight scenes, adventure, incredibly well written villains and a great story that just leaves you wondering when the sequel will arrive.

If you're in any way interested in sci-fi, fantasy, grimdark, etc, then please give this book a chance.

[David Zampa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty well written. It's resident evil with monocles and parasols.

I noted in my updates that there was a head hop early on. This was very much an aberration and shouldn't put anyone off from reading the book. The book is really well edited.

I would read something else by this author, but this book wasn't for me. I'm just so desperately sick of zombie stories.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed as part of SPFBO 4, originally posted at Thoughts Stained With Ink:

If you're part of the SPFBO community, you know that this review was meant to go live last Friday, but your girl got sick the week after I started reading Symphony of the Wind by Steven McKinnon, and that derailed my plans a bit. But, after playing a lot of catch-up, I finished the book earlier today and have been able to get this review ready to go for you all! Thanks, first of all, for everyone's patience.

So, Symphony of the Wind.

To sum it up quickly, it's a book that I thoroughly enjoyed, but I still do have some issues with it that made me not fall completely head over heels in love with it. Did I enjoy it enough to where I'd buy the sequel once it comes out and keep McKinnon on my radar? Oh, absolutely. I feel he's an author who is only going to continue to improve the more books he writes and I definitely want to continue reading his books and supporting him. So make no mistake about that.

Let's start with the positives. What did I like? The fact that this was a rollicking steampunk adventure, that's what. I love the steampunk genre (though, admittedly, I haven't read very much of it and most of those books have been steampunk romances), so getting to read another book within that realm was definitely my cup of tea. I loved having a wide range of characters to form different opinions towards and attachments to and I thought the worldbuilding, on the whole, was pretty solid (the water-rationing aspect of society was intense and really made me think, so I really liked that). Serena and Gallows were my favorite characters, by far, and I thought the tone of the book, as well as the distinct voices of the characters, really stood out. Solid writing, too. Very solid.

Now, before I get into some of the bits that kept this novel from being an a 9 for me, score wise, I do need to offer a little bit of background knowledge. So, I receive a free ebook copy, thanks to being a judge for SPFBO, for this contest (and I appreciate it utterly!). I normally don't read electronically. Like, ever. I much prefer print. As such, I downloaded a free ereader app to read these books, since I don't own a Kindle. I also had to download it at my computer at work, since my computer at home...couldn't handle it, because it's a piece of shit so old and I don't like using my phone for that kind of stuff.

So I only have time to read these books in spurts during my dinner breaks throughout the week. I say this because I think it had a hand in some critiques that I formed, especially since I started the book and got 100 pages in before getting sick for a week and not able to read it, before picking it back up again. Because of that lapse in time and the fact that I had to read it in shorter spurts, I never really got truly get settled into it (as I prefer to read in longer chunks) and I started to get the characters a bit confused, because there were a lot of POV characters. I realize that one is a bit on me, but unfortunately, it still influenced my reading, as your environment always does.

In that same vein, I think the book was trying to do too much within one novel, personally. There were a lot of awesome plotlines going and they all do intertwine by the end, but there is so much going on, I struggled a little bit to keep track, so I think some of the "reveal" moments were lost on me, since I couldn't remember which character it pertained to and which plotline it tied into--especially since there were so many different POVs and, sometimes, we wouldn't return to a POV for 100s of pages, which felt too long of an absence for me.

Personally, I think I would have enjoyed this book more if it was split into two books, spreading the plotlines out a bit more, lessening the number of POVs we had to keep track of and thus allowing us to spend more time worldbuilding within this really amazing world that I'm just so darn curious about. Because I definitely wanted to learn more about it. I also wanted POVs to be longer, instead of having shorter POV chunks before switching to another POV, often switching between multiple POVs in one chapter. But that is a stylistic choice that just didn't work for me personally, but I could so others loving it, so don't hesitate to give this book a shot if it sounds up your highly (and I definitely recommend it).

Oh, wait! I forgot something positive that I seriously LOVED.

Chapter 39.

Shit, talk about fantastic writing, character development and bringing something full circle. That was masterfully done and probably my favorite chapter in the entire novel. I got chills once the implications dawned on me.

Anyway, this review is getting a little on the longer side, so I'll wrap up. I think Symphony of the Wind is truly a quality novel. I really enjoyed the story, characters and world, and I'm super curious to see what happens next. Unfortunately, there were just a few things that made me not fall completely in love with this story (and some of them are self-inflicted, I am fully aware of that) but that doesn't mean I didn't still enjoy reading it (because I did) or that I don't plan on reading the sequel (I do!). Whenever the sequel comes out, I look forward to reading a paperback copy at my leisure and seeing what adventures they go on next.

Read on!

[Travis Riddle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really intriguing, exciting steampunk adventure with airships, zombie-esque creatures, political intrigue, and even some monsters. Basically everything you could want in a fantasy adventure can be found in Symphony of the Wind.

I read the prequel novella "The Fury Yet to Come" before reading this book, but they can be read in any order and you're filled in on all the events of the novella throughout this book; given that, I would recommend reading the novella first if you were planning on reading both, so that you aren't reading it knowing everything that happens. I also felt that having the background knowledge of the novella helped flesh out Tyson Gallows' character as I read this book, understanding his reactions and motivations before they were fully revealed.

This was a great start to a new series that I'll surely be keeping up with as new entries are released. McKinnon did a great job of creating a fully-realized and lived-in world, providing plenty of details about Dalthea to transport the reader down to its corrupted streets while sprinkling in bits of history and elements of other regions and cultures to craft a vast, believable world with clashing cultures, countries, and beliefs. The novel basically takes place in one city, and it was fun getting to see a lot of different corners of it in such detail.

The characters are varied and great across the board. We have Tyson Gallows, the main character of the prequel who still suffers from PTSD from its events and spending each day not caring if he lives or dies; Serena, a young girl who wants nothing more than to be part of a Raincatcher crew on an airship but is being sought after by powerful, corrupt people throughout the city; Damien, a highly-trained assassin with warring personalities trying to push him over the edge into becoming a relentless psychopath; and that only scratches the surface of the different points-of-view we get into. Veronica, Tiera, and all the others offer unique perspectives and personalities and motivations that are equally compelling and exciting to watch unfold.

The storyline is complex, with a ton of different threads weaving throughout the book, which did cause a little bit of confusion for me, but it seemed intentional--I was just as in the dark as many of the characters about WHY these events were happening, and by the climax of the book all the different threads converged in an exhilarating, satisfying way.

And the ending really was satisfying, which is not always true in a series. But in the case of Symphony, a lot of the major threads were resolved, while still leaving a handful of questions dangling and setting up what promises to be an exciting adventure in book 2 with a much larger scope.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full review is here, on my blog!~

This is (among other things) the story of Serena, who is a 16-year-old orphan who lives in the city of Dalthea. Dalthea is a desert city after a bomb dropped in a war with the Idari has ruined all of their natural sources of water. They have technology that allows Spires to cause thunderstorms and use airships from the Raincatcher Guild to collect water from them. Serena apprentices on one of these airships. She doesn’t remember her parents, but she is strange in that her hair is green. Also she has the ability to control animals somewhat, which is rather strange as well.

It is also the story of Tyson Gallows who is a former soldier and now bounty hunter who takes on everything from catching criminals to exterminating giant snakes on a cattle ranch. When he goes on the hunt for the assassin of a city official, he and Serena end up joining forces and together with a group of Raincatchers, soldiers, and bounty hunters, they uncover all kinds of shady shenanigans happening behind the scenes.

First of all, I should not have started this book at 11 o’clock at night. I figured it wouldn’t be a problem, you see, since I’m never really expecting a book to grab me in the first chapter. Well, this one indeed grabbed me and before I knew it, it was 4am and I had to put it down or not sleep at all (alas, I do need my sleeps). I don’t know why I always seem to forget that I frigging love me some steampunk until I’m in the middle of a steampunk novel. Hrnng. Love love love.

At one point this book turned into something like a steampunk Resident Evil, and let me tell you people, I was so on board for it, and that it was a little unexpected, because I don’t normally go in for zombie stuff. These are… only sort of zombies though, and very, very different than anything else zombie-like that I’ve ever read. This whole book is somewhat like and then really not at all like a great many things I’ve read, actually.

I really liked Tyson as a character, and I rooted for him. He’s snarky, takes risks, and is often badass AF, so he was an exciting character to follow. I also liked Serena as the story went on. She keeps trying to use these powers to different effect. But, my favorite character in this one was Gallows’ partner Damien Fieri. Mysterious for much of the book, I wanted to know what his deal was. I mean I really wanted to know what his deal was. And we do find out. That said, given his situation, seeing things from his point of view was often interesting.

We see this story from the point of view of several characters, not the least of which are Serena and Tyson. We also see the story from the POV of several secondary characters, such as Captain Fitzwilliam, the Captain of the Liberty Wind, the ship which Serena occasionally serves on; Damien, the mysterious and talented Hunter; Tiera, the first mate on the Liberty Wind; and Valentine, a soldier. The point of view tends to shift around a lot, sometimes between three and four times per chapter. I worried that this was going to be an issue for me, as this was one of the things that Esme had trouble with in this book, but I found that it didn’t bother me at all. I liked seeing these things happen from a different perspective all in one chapter.

So, the plot was gripping, and the main characters were easy to cheer for. The world was interesting, and well built. I could imagine this corrupt city that once flourished and is now slowly dying of thirst. It was well written and well edited. It is often dark, which I enjoyed, but still light enough that it wasn’t a depressing read. There were parts that legitimately made me smile, or laugh.

This is quite a long book, but it never felt too long, because the plot was significantly twisty and turny, so it was always engaging and easy to sit and read for hours at a time. There was always something going on, whether it was steampunk Thunder Plains adventures, steampunk Resident Evil, or steampunk dogfighting aircraft. As the story went on, I found myself at the metaphorical edge of my seat for all the unexpected things that were happening. And unexpected things do happen quite often. The last half of this book I read in one sitting, and again, this is not a short book. That was 4 or so hours of reading at one time, and I have to tell you that’s rare for me to even sit still for 4 entire hours in a row.

So, all told… did I save the best for last? Welp… I wasn’t trying to, but I uh… yeah, I think that maybe I did. Of course ‘best’ is entirely subjective here, and this contest is subjective AF. So…. my best, let us say. It certainly pressed most of my buttons. Steampunk, Mysterious Character, Snarky AF Character, Mythical Creatures. Ladies Kicking Ass, probably one of the best scenes of the bad guy getting his comeuppance that I have ever read, and then a godsdamned Ghostbusters reference. So yeah. Really enjoyed myself here, and I can’t wait until more stories in this world can get jammed into my brainspace.

[Marco · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book through TBRindR which means I got it for free which means nothing as I still will write whatever the fuck I want
Normally I’d start by telling you what kind of book I just read. Here I’d say “Oh that’s a fantasy-book” or maybe I would be more specific and while Symphony of the Wind clearly belongs to some sort of fantasy I’m not so sure on what label to put on it exactly but for now I’ll go with “Fantasy-Resident Evil-Spy Thriller with some Science Fiction”
This probably sounds weird and some of it may be just because of my exposure to certain media but that’s what it felt like.
Here I have to say that the world-building probably too much for some people in the beginning but as soon as that’s out of the way the story starts to pick up speed and never really slows down afterward. So yes the beginning can be overwhelming, confusing and be a bit to much but that allows the rest to breathe a little easier.
As I said too much for some people, I personally like when the world feels like it has a history and thus is a real place I can visit and that is the case here. Dalthea (hope I wrote that right) where most of the book takes place feels real and stays that way except maybe for the Resident Evil inspired stuff. Also I love airships (or ships in any form) in books.
Some of the things the characters (and the reader) knows or get told in the beginning gets challenged throughout the story and I found it very well written as I got that sense of “Aha!” or “Oh crap!” the same way as the characters.
There is very little magic in the story and it only really gets on full display in the final moments as such the magic is very soft and throughout the book you’re sometimes led to believe there is no magic and yes most of it is explained by science and someone never explained why they lead a mage guild and then there is a little bit of magic in the end.
With a book this length (and in this genre) there are quite a few characters so let’s start with something I didn’t like.
The main antagonist never really struck me with a reason as to why he is doing everything or at least I don’t feel as it’s explored enough. He has no pov-chapters but is featured in the conclusion to the book and just seems so off in the midst of all the other characters which are well written (or at least don’t need exploring) and I guess the reasoning of the villain will be enough for some people but I just like my evil a little more human than here.
Serena as one of the main characters happens to be also my favourite in the book. She is an orphan and clearly with green hair born to lead a book but I always felt like she reacted like a real person to events that happened to her. Most of the interactions by characters that are not trained fighters/assassins/military felt very possible an well written (and the others felt like an action movie or game). Serena starts out as a finished character there is little character growth with here but it fits her. She is a resilient girl that can take anything thrown at here and still go on. Throughout the story her view of herself gets challenged and I’d love seen that explored more in the sequel, I don’t want to spoil but not building on her new sense of self or how certain knowledge impacts here would make her feel more shallow than she deserves.
Gallows and Damien are bounty hunters and both deal with their own devils. The problems they face may be typical of male characters in need of growth in fantasy stories but both don’t really feel forced (okay maybe Damien). Especially Gallows while a typical problem to overcome is well written as his hurdles are written in the history of the country and don’t feel so arbitrary because of that.
Most of the side characters are some shade of “tough guy/gal” as you mostly deal with soldiers of some sort or other professions where I can see this type of person working or seeking out that form of employment.
That leaves us with a sometimes pulpy book I can’t put a label on with great characters if the author keeps writing in this way and maybe one tough guy too much that I really enjoyed and I love the mix of different genres I can see inspiring this book.

[Kat · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm finding this very tedious to read. There's some exciting events that occur but it's not coming together fast enough. I'm not invested in or even interested in any of these characters. I can't put into words exactly what I don't like about this but it just feels off and inconsistent. I can see what other people like about this but for reasons I can't quite quantify it's not for me.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book, only thing that lets it down is that the author has rammed so much stuff into the content, I am worried that the 2nd book will be a let down.

The descriptions of the world is wonderfully written in excellent prose, you really get caught up in storytelling.

Can see why it reached the SPFBO 2018, it really deserves to be there.

[E.Y.E.-D · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have so many great things to say about this book I am at a loss of where to even start. The world is incredible, the characters that fill the world are very fleshed out, there is magic and science and technology. One of my favorite reads of the year, and it even taught me a new word, outwith.

Let's start with the world, the story takes place in a city called Dalthea which is really a very small kingdom. The city is struggling to survive after the war with the Idari. There is no natural water source so a guild of rain catchers who use airships to collect water for distribution. There are corrupt government officials along with the watchmen they command. There are guilds for mages, musicians and hunters.

There are quite a few characters we become acquainted with but the main two are Serena an teenager who lives in an orphanage and is training to become rain catcher and Tyson gallows who was a soldier in the war, he is now a hunter who has PTSD looking for a way out of life.

I knew nothing about this book when I started it but as soon as I read airship I was sold. If that is not enough to peak your interest there are sword fights and shoot outs, airship battles and human experimentation, car chases and mind control. There is a lot of action and a great story to go along with it.

This is the first in a series, but one of the best parts for me is that it had a solid ending. There is definitely a lot more story to come but it ended in a way that told a full story. This is great for me since I am already in the middle of so many series's, this is one that while I am very excited for the sequel I am not pissed that I don't already have it in my hands.


I recommend this to anyone looking for a great story. But if you are looking for something more specific this is a tale that involves a lot of great concepts that may make it the book for you.

[Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is filled with a wide array of characters that makes following it difficult to begin with, however as they become fully fleshed out it becomes much easier. Filled with mystery and action it makes for an excellent read. My one gripe would be, I would have liked to see Serena use her power more but I guess I will have to wait for the sequel. I also hope there will be more of Damien's story.

[Brett · Rating 1 out of 5]

Let's hope the author hasn't given up the day job; fiction writing is not his forte. This book is an incoherent mess. Anyone who gave Symphony Of The Wind a 5 star rating must be related to the author in some way. That's the only plausible explanation.

[Filip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published over at booknest.eu for SPFBO 4.

Symphony of the Wind is impressive in its scope, a novel that’s intricate in its characters and ambitious in its worldbuilding; more impressive is the fact that it’s Steven McKinnon’s first self-published book. Ambition, McKinnon certainly does not lack.

The biggest compliment I can throw at McKinnon is this – reading Symphony reminded me of the first time I picked up Erikson’s Gardens of the Moon; the action starts early on and it hardly ever lets up. McKinnon throws us readers deep into a world that feels fully formed though unknown and he’s not afraid to let us sink or swim on our merit. He’s provided the tools to dig deep into a fictional world that runs on ignogen, a material that’s as unstable as enriched uranium; its myriad applications make the dangers of its extraction and use worthwhile, however.

I haven’t read such an interesting twist on steampunk since Senlin Ascends (though no two stories could be less alike). Symphony of the Wind is a story of rebellion, of corruption and the excesses of power and religious zeal but more importantly – of men and women struggling in the dark, attempting to make it out into the light. Thank all things dark and evil that it’s 660 pages, else I don’t know how the author would’ve tackled as much as he did as well as he has.

McKinnon writes well. I tell you, he does! His prose is elegant and visual; reading some of the action scenes in the later half of Symphony was like getting shot after shot of adrenaline right into my spinal cord. One high stakes chase scene in particular, as well as a secondary villain by the name of Pierro, made for a spectacular sequence that had me cheering for heroes Serena and Gallows throughout. And Pierro…rarely have I disliked a large chap as much as this one. I just wish someone smacked his big stupid face with a brick!

Speaking of Pierro, Symphony’s villains are a memorable lot, and one that I loved to hate every step of the way. Again, I’ll draw a parallel with Malazan; none of these bad people are evil for evil’s sake. It’s either fate or purpose or...okay, there’s a pair of villains that’re just led my vainglorious personal ambition and greed for power, as well as an absolute psychopath that’ll give any Resident Evil 2 player a flashback to Mr X, but—BUT—about half the villains of the novel truly believe that what they’re doing is for the best. That’s the stuff of truly memorable fantasy villains.

What didn’t mush quite well enough for?

Gallows, one of our two main PoV characters, was somewhat polarizing. At times, I really liked him but at others, he seemed overwhelmingly judgemental of the behaviour of other characters, or their skills, when he was guilty of similar behaviour or worse. There’s an argument to be made that this makes him more realistic but there was a little something that bugged me about the sudden switch from badass action hero to judgy lad.

Several of the characters and their PoVs played a small enough part that they didn’t leave an impression. It was almost as if their existence were a reason for major protagonists and antagonists to have further connections to one another, reasons to push them further into conflict. I can’t help but feel that McKinnon is compelled to show where every thread of the story eventually goes in detail; sometimes, less is more.

One more thing worth mentioning is, there was something off with the speech of a couple of the characters. Too many ‘reckon’-ings perhaps, a few too many interesting characters given cliched military jargon and other choices in vernacular that were used without nearly enough measure.
From this point onwards, I can only see Steven McKinnon improving. He’s set up a world I’m excited to read more about, characters I want to follow, and though I dislike a few things, these don’t take away from the enormous amount of enjoyment and thrills I got in my time with Symphony of the Wind.

My score for Symphony of the Wind is an 8 out of 10 for SPFBO 4, and 4/5 stars on Goodreads! I can heartily recommend this to:
• Anyone who loves well thought-out fantasy with wonderous world-building;
• Dark stories that’ll get darker;
• How-to guides to nearly successful dictatorships;
• Cool leads, cooler antagonists;
• I’m serious, you’ll just want to punch, claw at and stab all the villains! They’re just so sleazy and nasty, all of them!
• So much excellent action! Gunpowder, treason and plot! Plots. Multiple plots.
• And more! Prob’ly!

[JK · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the prequel to this ( The Fury Yet to Come ) a couple of months ago, and I’ve been desperate to continue my journey with Tyson Gallows. We left him reeling from his encounter with a mind-infiltrating witch, and find him again in Dalthea, a member of the Hunter’s Guild, yet broken and grieving for his departed fiancée. But Gallows is one of those guys that trouble just seems to find, and soon we’re catapulted into tornado of crime, corruption, and a shitload of fighting. Sign me up for this series immediately.

People often ask me what I’m reading, and when I’ve tried to explain this one over the past week, I’ve found myself lost for words. I would open my mouth and attempt to describe the novel, but what I heard coming out just wasn’t selling it, or doing it justice. It’s impossible to put the premise of this book into words, never mind write a concise review. But here goes.

There is so much to digest here. There’s politics, conspiracies, magical powers, lore, genetically modified animals, genetically modified humans, not to mention the complex characters and their intricate relationships with each other. The delicate, and often confusing, aspects only made the novel more true to life – excepting mind-manipulation and the undead – and the story quickly becomes something you are completely embroiled in.

The pace is unbelievably fast, and yet you���re constantly learning. Although my favourite sections were where I was being given information on people and their motivations, I also relished the action scenes (of which there were many), which isn’t like me. You hold some of these characters close to your heart, only to be propelled into danger with them. Some of them are saved, some of them aren’t, but most of them experience some gut-wrenching, heart-stopping moments where you’ve no idea how they can possibly survive.

Best of all is the world McKinnon has created here. The faith, the government, the technology, the fallouts of war, all felt in the beginning as though they were flashed before our eyes and taken away just as quickly. There are no explanations, just subtle mentions of words and names of which we are clueless to their meaning. And yet McKinnon explains when it matters, and does so slowly without patronising us. I truly loved this method; the slow reveal is far more satisfying than droll histories and lengthy lectures.

A wonderful first novel in the series; I am so delighted to have been asked to review this, and very impatient for the second instalment. There are lots of people I’ll be recommending this one to with the caveat they read The Fury Yet to Come in order to set the scene. Nevertheless, after all that fast-paced bloodshed and mind-bending, I think I’ll read the entire series of Mr Men books to calm my heart down a bit. 

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

She wants is to leave in her own ship but when her friend is killed instead of her She wants to find out what is going on. He is grieving his fiancee death but when they meet they find they have something in common. See what they need to do to find the truth

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I have voluntarily reviewed this book after receiving a free copy from Hidden Gem Books.

Oh boy. I was really trying to get into this book. The description seemed interesting and I always enjoy some good steampunk elements in my fantasy, moreover the ratings on goodreads were really high so I was expecting an amazing adventure.

Sadly I didn’t get it. And as much as I hate to leave books unread, I wasn’t able to bring myself to finish this one.

One word I’d use to describe my experience with the book is “boring”. Despite things happening, there was nothing that would actually get my attention or keep my interest for a little longer. When I would actually get interested in something that was happening the POV would change into another character in some different situation and when it came back to the one I was reading about before, the events in their POV that seemed interesting would resolve in a completely underwhelming way. At 200 pages I still didn’t know what the plot actually was because things were happening so slowly. At some point i accidentally skipped about 100 pages and didn’t realise that I had missed something until I noticed the page number. There was one moment when two characters whose POVs were the main ones were about to be at one place at the same time and I was sure that’s when the story will start properly but the moment passed without them exchanging even a word. That was really anticlimactic and I kind of lost my hopes for the story ever picking up.

The characters are alright, although I found it hard to actually care about any besides Serena and Gallows. Let’s start with the first one, shall we. Serena is a sixteen-year-old orphan who when she’s not bullied by the kids in the orphanage, works at a Raincatcher airship. Raincatchers gather water for the people in the city since most water is gone after the war. She wants to have her own ship at some point and overall seems to think she’s better than others despite having close to no friends. The only one who is kind of her friend is Angelo. Angelo reads books and talks… Sometimes. Serena always knows best and bad adults never listen to her. She was annoying me but that made her interesting because I couldn’t say even that much about other characters surrounding her. Many of them, especially the ones from the crew seemed like minor characters that were supposed to introduce the reader to the world and then disappear as the heroine life changes but somehow ended up playing a bigger role.

Now let’s move to Gallows, who was arguably the best character in the book. An ex-soldier with a snarky sense of humor and deep-rooted issues. He’d lost the love of his life, his job sucks and the city he’d fought to protect is on the brink of collapse. Life’s great. I might have a soft spot for characters that mask their issues with jokes but Gallows’ banter with his partner, Damien, was pleasant to read. I was also curious about Damien’s self-control issues and their past together.

The world building would be interesting but sometimes I felt like the author had it so developed in his mind that he forgot the reader doesn’t know as much as he does. There were many names of people, places and events that were not explained and left you confused. I’m absolutely not a fan of huge exposition info dumps that try to introduce you to the whole world at once but here I found it a bit overwhelming. Sometimes a character would exclaim a name and I would think they’re calling someone when in fact they were just calling one of the many gods. I have to, however, give kudos for the idea - collapsing city without water with steampunk airships responsible for delivering it and scorched land mostly without any plants make some amazing, vivid imagery and I really regret I wasn’t able to get into it and fully enjoy this world.

I also had a little issue with how the book was written. It seemed that the author did his best to make some characters’ speech stylized but then other characters would speak in a normal, modern way which didn’t fit together and often made the book hard to read. However it’s not something that was bothersome in the long run when you already got used to this.

All in all, Symphony of Wind is a book with great premise but it lacks interesting plot and lovable characters. I can see how people for whom a nicely built fantasy world is the most important part may enjoy it but it wasn’t my cup of tea.

[Shawn Robertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're looking for "steampunk," this isn't it. This is something better, in my opinion.

In a world of subtle magic and a burgeoning industrial age, McKinnon brings to life a brilliantly fast-paced story. The characters all feel fully-realized and deep, and the world building is simply fantastic. Swords and guns, fantastical minerals that provide a near-limitless source of energy, paving the way for automobiles, airships, and other ingenious devices? It all blends together to support the dark and gritty world which McKinnon has obviously crafted with love.

And if you're one who likes a twist or two, the story provides several, a couple of which come late in the telling, giving small sucker punches when you least expect it.

This is a book I can highly recommend to any lover of fantasy. This is a bold new approach, blending fantasy with early industrialization, and I want more of it. Especially from Steve McKinnon.

Bring on the sequel!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had to start this book thrice!
But after passing the 3rd chapter I really couldn't put it down!
Very good!

Hopefully the wait for the next one is not too long!

[Phil Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Symphony of the Wind is epic fantasy, literally. Everything about it is huge and yet at no time does Steven McKinnon lose control of this narrative juggernaut. In fact, he takes every tight corner, every twist and turn of the plot with the skill of a downhill racer. This is a story that leaves you reeling because no sooner has one threat been met, others are lining up to take its place. This is not a restful read!
What is equally impressive is the imagination that underpins the story. World-building is so detailed and dense you are immersed in it on so many levels. For instance, the geology of the world that drives much of the story is so precise, so well thought-through that its credibility is astounding. The world has a grimdark feel, it’s filled with corruption, crime and ultimately death. Water is a highly-valued commodity and we’re shown how it drives much of the early part of the story but then the world expands as we’re introduced to ruthless politicians and gangsters, genetically-modified monsters and things from mythology. You might not think these elements can work together – but they do!
Such dense world-building, under the direction of a lesser author, would slow the story down or make it confusing. True, at one point I began to feet overwhelmed by the volume of characters; so many names, so many relationships to keep in my head! But this doesn’t become an issue because the story’s momentum carries you along until those characters become clear, real and necessary. You also have to remember that, as the first book in a series, there are a lot of seeds to be sewn here.
Characterisation isn’t lost to the epic proportions of the story either. They are big, bold and highly imaginative. Tyson Gallows as the main character looking for a cause to die for, is someone who sparks your sympathy but who you can’t help cheering on. Likewise, Damien, my favourite character. This guy mirrors the main character in my The Knights’ Protocol trilogy, someone who despises his psychotic nature because he’s been turned into a highly effective killing machine. Both damaged men have enough humanity in them to want to do the right thing but are frequently thwarted from doing so. Serena is the star of the show in many ways, the feisty young woman around whom the entire story revolves. Again, in less skilled hands, her “ability” would have led to a very different climax in the story I feel, she’d have been the saviour, rather than the potential threat.
Symphony of the Wind is a finalist in the 2018/19 SPFBO competition. Rightly so. For me, it has every factor needed to make it the winner. It is an astonishingly adept debut for a writer who will become a major name in the fantasy world in years to come.

This review and others can be found at: https://bit.ly/2ETOZgF

[Janelle Garrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars

This story follows the tale of Gallows, a Hunter who gets caught up in a whirl of conspiracy, revenge, and just plain, flat-out rollicking bad luck. It also follows Serena, a young girl who isn’t what she seems and has powers she knows little about.

I’ll start with the things I really enjoyed. Interestingly enough, I feel it was the side characters who really shined. Damien, Pierro, and V (who we didn’t get to see much of and I wish there had been more) were among my favorites. They were unique and engaging. I also really appreciated the world-building. It’s a unique society, with hints of bigger-picture politics and intrigue and conspiracy, which I usually enjoy. This was no exception. There were surprising plotlines, the writing was engaging and humorous, and generally speaking, the action kept me on the edge of my seat.

A few things tripped me up, but not to a large degree. Serena was bland, in my opinion, and there were aspects of her character that felt inconsistent. She cares very little when someone in her orphanage is murdered, but then worries about a stranger she barely knows who goes missing. I enjoyed Gallows a bit more. I feel he was more consistent and believable, as well as more likable.

The plot could have used some streamlining. It was a bit haphazard, and there were points where I was thoroughly confused and didn’t know what was happening. It would come together, but then it would shoot out again in random directions. This left the climax rather disjointed, and I felt like there were five or six mini-climax points as opposed to the story leading somewhere concrete. This won’t bother everyone, however.

I can definitely see why many readers love this book. I enjoyed it, too, despite some of my complaints. All in all, if you are looking for something different and unique as far as themes, world-building, and atypical characters, then grab this one.

[Mena]

DNF at 20%

I'm sorry, but this was sooooo hard to get into. I love the concept. The world is advanced technologically, and the skies have been conquered. There are warring factions/groups and there's some sort of conspiracy, and the plot is quite layered. All exciting stuff but, it was soooo slooooooooooow.

It's not you, Book. It's me. My expectations were very different from what I got and that's on me.
The narrative jumps were just so jarring. That, Book, is on you.

Maybe I'll try again later.

[B H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rock Solid

A highly polished debut offering, Symphony of the Wind (4.5 *) treads several atypical tropes:

1. The setting, or world, is nearly a multiverse type setting: clearly not archetypical fantasy, and also well beyond Steam Punk (jets, monitors/tablets, and ‘Ignineum’ being clearly ‘nuclear-Esque)... it’s nonetheless fully realized.. and just... works

2. Borderline ‘too many’ twists (yet not crossing the Rubicon)- ‘undead’? Faint references to Sumerian lore? Bat sh#t crazy escape sequences? Again and again

3. Water ‘catching’ (which I believe was due to the ‘Idarian war’) was briefly exhilaratingly detailed at the beginning.

This novel bordered on greatness, falling just short (which is amazing for a debut). I could likely sketch the books ‘acts’ to Bohemian Rhapsody with the unfortunate sole-mega info dump being the intercessional bridge.

The book has numerous- NUMEROUS- action sequences on the back half... and they’re very well done. However, the authors talents are actually best highlighted at and with the quieter moments. The interplay. The early verbal ripostes. Hopefully this talented author hones that as his career proceeds, and leveraged action sequences as necessary vs. in lieu of the subtlety he clearly posses.

I look forward both to book two, but also to seeing his career trajectory. He could be a great one.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to the audible edition, will probably read book 2. The voices just didn't click with me, with a couple being annoying. Gallows was a main character, and unfortunately had one of those voices that didn't match my vision of the man. That is the problem with audio, sometimes it can kill a book for me, and at other times, triples the enjoyment. (Riyria's Royce and Hadrian, for example is a great listening experience) The story jumped from one point of view to the next quickly, which can also be hard to follow with the audio edition (at least for me).
As for the overall story, it had a couple of characters in particular that kept me listening. Serena and Damien were both surrounded in mystery, with unknown backgrounds and powers, sparking my interest early in the narrative. Intriguing characters, along with the imaginative steampunk world, with it's good guys battling bad, made for time well spent.