The Fall of Erlon

The Falling Empires Saga #1

by Robert H. Fleming

As empires burn, heroes must rise.

Elisa Lannes was once heiress to the mighty Erlonian Empire. But when her mother abandons the empire and her emperor father is defeated on the battlefield and sent into exile, the world she would rule collapses around her. As enemies converge on the capital, Elisa must join with the last of the empire's loyal soldiers to escape the evil that hunts her and her family.

With the help of her father's generals, can Elisa find the strength to fight for her people? Or will a twist in the tide of the empire's last war awaken an evil far greater than the enemy's blade?

The Fall of Erlon is the first in the new military fantasy series from author Robert H. Fleming. If you like deep fantasy worlds filled with colorful characters and massive battles, the gods and generals of the Falling Empires Saga is for you.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, High Fantasy

332 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 20, 2019

Reviews

[Kitty G Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

*This is one of the finalists for #SPFBO this year and I read it as a judge*

This story is short, sharp and a fairly quick military read. We follow a world in turmoil, under siege from a few different groups, and some of the inhabitants and invaders respectively.

Elisa is a young Princess who's fiercely determined to stick up for herself since her parents have both abandoned her and been sent into exile. She's young and fairly simplistic as a character to start off with, but as her story develops you see more of her personality start to shine through.

Prince Rapp is one of the invaders to Elisa's lands and he's a pretty pompous character from the start. I admit, personally, I really didn't enjoy his character, but he's a bit of a fool and I think intentionally doesn't seem to be aware of his real destiny yet. He's quite dislikeable, but his plot has some interesting points to follow.

We also have the King Nelson and the exiled emperor (Elisa's father) who are mainly off to the sidelines having a chat about how the world turned and explaining some of the backstory to be the reader.

There are other characters like Lauriston and the drunken pub owner who both play fairly major parts as the plot develops too, but as you learn about them when you go I won't go into detail on them here.

Overall, it's definitely got magical elements, there's apparitions who the characters believe are god's that appear frequently to them as sort of guides. These 'gods' often advise them of the next steps and they seem as though they're leading everyone somewhere. There's also sorcery and sorceresses, although we don't actually see a lot of magic in this particular book which I felt was a bit of a shame. The characters have guns and weapons so this is more of a modern setting than I first realised, but I would have enjoyed more magic.

As for plot I found it easy-going if a little predictable. This book has a lot of fun elements, but it didn't feel like it was too new or different from other flintlock or military Fantasy reads and because I didn't hugely connect with any characters I felt a little like I wanted more from the story. I do think that the pacing is solid and it's easy to enjoy if you're looking for a lighter military Fantasy, but for me it felt a little too light on characters and originality. I do think there's a lot of potential, it just didn't excite me as much as I wanted.

3*s overall = 6/10 for #SPFBO

[Mark Lawrence]

I haven't read this book, yet, but it's a finalist in this year's Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off, so it must be good! #SPFBO

See the finalist board here:

https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/...

[Nils | nilsreviewsit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review is on The Fantasy Hive blog for SPFBO 6

[Jennifer (bunnyreads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for SPFBO links and other information at the bottom.

I was really looking forward to this one because I love military fantasy but this ended up being a mixed-bag for me. I enjoyed parts of it and other parts I wished for a little more of something….

Lannes- The imprisoned emperor.

I wondered about Lannes a lot as the story progressed. I wanted more of him and King Nelson (he was there to learn and take record of his rise and fall from power). The beginning meeting had me so interested and I was surprised to find he wasn’t in the book much, but his presence was definitely felt throughout.

(I did have to chuckle because those first meetings reminded me so much of those interviews they have with serial killers- like Mind Hunters)


Elisa - She was favourite part of the book. I couldn’t wait to get back to her.

She had all the questions around her that kept me interested and wanting to read- why do they want her? why is she so important? Is it just to be political prisoner, or is there something more to it? to her? And so on.

Her character felt more rounded too.

Her thoughts didn’t stall on just a certain characteristic like missing family etc. like some of the lesser characters did but, I also felt there could have been more substance or balance to them.

I did think Elisa was showcased well in ways that let us know she the fortitude to eventually be someone who could lead. She could learn from others and used her knowledge and strengths where she was helpful (like supplying meat for the farm, medical aid for the soldiers etc.). In other words, she may be a princess, but she is capable of getting her hands dirty and had that willingness to go that extra-mile and ride into a war. She was a huge highlight for me in the story.



Lauriston and comp.- Loved these sections for the brotherhood and comradery feel, especially after Mon and Elisa join the group.


Andrei - enjoyed the hunter/prey thing. I liked his pov for keeping that tension up as they closed in on Mon and Elisa – this was my favourite part of the book.

The rest of the pov’s - well…I think they muddied the water a little, slowing things down for me because I wasn’t as interested in their sections and they started feeling repetitive and similar to one another.

Except forPitt , who at first, I didn’t have much of an opinion of but after that turn, and his struggles, I really wanted him to make it out. I think the tenseness and the emotions during these scenes really shone through, contributing to me wanting him to survive.


I enjoyed the battles. I love flintlock because it’s feels orderly and chaotic all at once, and the delay in the time it takes to reload adds so much tension to the scenes.

That said I think the scenes with the chase with Mon and Elisa and later with Pitt were even better. The build, pacing, tension and everything was ratcheted right up to the max by the time of their confrontation. I was flipping pages like mad.


I found a lot of repetition- the hawk would be returning to air soon, Pitt’s family needing him to succeed because he only one who wasn’t sea captain, the spoiled prince and his thoughts about the summit etc. Things that could have been cleaned up a little more because they began to feel like page filler.


All in all a good story, with some stand-out moments.


Other notes:

I got a little hung-up on that deer and the dragging it back to the farm, but to be fair our deer are big and I kind of forgot about those teeny deer other places have.
I did question, why she didn’t dress-it-out in the field and knock a few pounds off that dragging weight though… minor stuff though.

6.5 or 4

learn more about the contest here-
https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/...

Finalist board is here
https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/...


Our team reviews and finalist board
https://starlitbook.com/spfbo-6-finals/

[Liviu · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fairly disappointing novel with an extremely intriguing universe (a sort of Napoleonic set up with some magic); the problem is that the writing is just un-engaging which leads to the characters and storyline being so; I kept reading hoping the story will spring into life so to speak at some moment and it never did.

[Lukasz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Longer review to come.

[kartik narayanan · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF

[Julia Sarene · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an SPFBO finalist, you can find the whole Fantasy Hive Review here: https://fantasy-hive.co.uk/2021/04/th...

I'll copy my bits from the review in here

I really liked the cover and went into this one with high hopes! I did enjoy the first few chapters and thought the record emperor very intriguing. The tone and voice had me hooked early on!

The characters felt a bit two dimensional to me. They could absolutely have used some more depth to them. One of the reasons I felt like that was because to me it seemed I was always told what characters feel or want. Usually I easily empathize with characters and “feel” with them. Here I was a step removed and read about it, instead of being part of the story.

My giant plus it’s the “young female princess” – and no whining, pining love interest! While there’s nothing wrong with a teenage romance, I wish there were also more young women in fantasy who had their focus on other things than young men…

Repetitiveness is one of my pet peeves, and it was abound here. It felt almost like a serialised fiction that started with a recap every few chapters. I was thinking “Yes, yes, I know! It’s just been a few chapters since I read that, I don’t need a refresher…” all the time. It frequently brought my immersion to a full stop, and I find myself back on the couch reading, instead inside the book. I actually think that it might be something other readers can benefit from, especially those who are new to epic fantasy or more complex stories. If however you’re used to reading series like A Song of Ice and Fire, it feels like being spoon fed…

Some bits felt just a bit off.

It takes one group half the book to go any from A to B and the other group almost seems to teleport.

The sheer proximity of a hidden princess to full on battle.

The immediate trust formed between people who were such enemies what feels like ten minutes before.

Some scenes are drawn out past my interest in them, while other bits are more or less skipped past.

While this kept me going at a good speed, it could have grabbed me a lot more if some parts had been smoothed out a bit.

I really enjoyed the tone and voice, so it was a quick and easy read. The world had me interested and wanting to explore ever more! There’s a lot of promise here, and if the characters get a bit more depth and the repetitive parts get taken down a notch, this might well become an author exactly perfect for me!

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read, well written really well paced out, especially in the last 30%. Good strong characters complete with human faults.

Author has done a great job with his first book, a good gunpowder fantasy to add my Goodreads list for this fantasy sub genre.

[Nat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice to have a fantasy setting a Napoleonic time setting setting instead of the Middle Age's and Renaissance Europe settings. Needs an editor

[Suzannah Rowntree]

I'm still working my way through my fellow SPFBO 6 finalists!

I was super intrigued to read this epic flintlock fantasy when I realised it was inspired by the Napoleonic Wars of the early nineteenth century. Sure enough, it's the convincing strategies, complex worldbuilding, and political maneuvering that are the stars of this military fantasy. I don't know a huge amount about the Napoleonic wars, but I thoroughly enjoyed noticing the little nods to history: you have nations inspired by the French, British, and Russians in a contest over a war-torn continent. There are backstabbings and shifting alliances. There's a captive emperor who may or may not be staging a comeback. There's a princess on the run, an ominous war god, any amount of ambitious and frustrated army leaders, and a subtle dash of magic with more waiting to come back.

One of the things that really struck me about this fantasy world is that while there are heroes and villains, few of the viewpoint characters from any of the factions come across as complete black hats or white hats. It's traditional in fantasy for the heroes to be up against armies of orcs or zombies or what-have-you, but in the world of Erlon there are only rival armies, people like anyone else, just as you'd find in real-world history. I really enjoyed this aspect.

If you love a good military fantasy with plenty of historical inspiration, you'll likely enjoy THE FALL OF ERLON!

[Stephen Richter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Multiple POVs spins this tale. The Emperor Lannes has been defeated and exiled to a island prison. Princess Elisa of Erlon, daughter of the Emperor, is hiding out on a farm. Wahring Prince Rapp is an outsider as the victors of the war with Erlon fight amongst themselves. Marshal Lauriston is in control of the remaining defeated Erlon forces. Captain Pitt is saddled waiting for the Wahring King's troops to catch up with the last forces of the Erlon. Commander Andrei is part of a Scythe shock troops who ride large wolverines and are searching for the Erlon Princess. And King Nelson, who sees the factures amongst the victors as turning dangerous, turns to the one person who could save the Continent from the Kura hordes, the exiled Emperor.
With so many POVs and moving parts, it take a while for this book to take off, but when it does, I gobble up the pages. I read the last third of the book in the span of one evening. When I finish the last page, I quickly purchased the second book in the series, Gods of Gunpowder. I should also mention that this series has flintlock fire arms, an worldbuilding aspect that has a lot of fans.
One of the finalist of SPFBO 6 so the price of the book and the second in the series is affordable or even free if you have Kindle Unlimited. If you are a fan of author John Gwynne you will like the Falling Empires Saga series.

[Adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review on FantasyBookCritic for SPFBO

[Jonathan Pembroke]

This was an interesting read.

Fall of Erlon is not just influenced by Napoleonic wars but also has some direct parallels, such as the Emperor of the titular Erlon suffering a catastrophic winter campaign against the Kurakin (a thinly-veiled Russian analog). It was a refreshing change from the standard fantasy setting. Magic is present but aside from certain characters being visited by ... gods, for lack of a better term, and one character's spiritual connection to an animal companion, this is a very low-magic setting. There is a lot of military campaigning and a number of protracted battle scenes. The narrative flowed well in most of the battles and I rarely had trouble visualizing the action. There are also instances of political intrigue, alliances broken and formed, and betrayal.

I counted seven or eight different POVs, which felt like a lot in a book of this length. The characters were not varied enough for me; all but one was nobility or a general-type, and they all had the same repeated bouts of nagging self-doubt. Other than one that emerges in the second half of the book, the motivations and thought patterns of the others all kind of blended together. I wanted to see a little separation, or something from the perspective of a common soldier, civilian, or someone other than a leader.

I'd recommend this to someone interest in a low-magic, heavy-gunpowder setting, or who likes reading about military campaigning.

[T.O. Munro · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of ten finalists in Mark Lawrence's Self-Publishing Fantasy Blog Off for 2020-21.
So, as one of the judges for the fantasy-hive, I have just finished reading it.

The team will be collating our thoughts and giving the book an overall rating and score in time for the April final of this year's contest. I will post a fuller review and a link to those deliberations at that time.

you can now see what the hive team thought here

[Jordan Short · Rating 3 out of 5]

The fall of Erlon is an epic flintlock fantasy which draws heavy inspiration from the Napoleonic era. I enjoyed the large cast and the sweeping sense of history in the making, but ultimately the pace of the novel faltered in the middle, before regaining some of its momentum toward at the end.

The novel opens on the exiled Emperor Lannes. This larger-than-life figure is drawn in the likeness of Napoleon, exiled to Elba. In fact, many of the nationalities and geo-political entities are clearly adaptations of real-world cultures, with even a few historical figures peppering the pages of the Fall of Erlon. I The genre almost felt like historical fantasy, taking real events and cultures and adapting them to a fantasy setting. Lannes is Napoleon, Nelson is Lord Nelson. Erlon is France. Brun is England. Wahria is the Holy Roman Empire. The Horde are the Russians. I found it interesting as the story progressed trying to make connections between the novel and history. I truly enjoyed this aspect of the novel and thought that it lent it a unique ambiance which I haven’t read in any other fantasy novels.

While the story opens on the Emperor, it is his daughter Elisa, the Dauphin figure who is our protagonist. She and the other six or seven POV characters all get plenty of air time to develop their personalities. They were all realistic and interesting to various degrees, but none of them really jumped off the page. I noticed along the way that it seemed like none of them had lives outside of this conflict, no one missed anyone who wasn’t in their scenes or had goals unrelated to the events of the story. Flat is too strong of a word, but for all of the time spent in their heads, a little less repetition of their worries and conflicts and a little more variety would have made them feel more dynamic.

The opening of this book was very intriguing and it immediately captured my attention. I tore threw the first third of the narrative and felt a strong sense of building tension and narrative progress. Unfortunately, the middle of the book lost hold of that sense of momentum. The pages of the Fall of Erlon are dominated by large passages of introspection. For me it was just too much of the story. Five or six pages would go by with a very basic scene set, say a person riding a horse, but the entire passage would be that person musing about their problems, often quite repetitively. More than once, several of these scenes would come in a row, making for stretches of navel gazing that started to lose my attention.

Overall, I think the author has a good voice, as I said, the early chapters of this novel were very compelling. The action scenes were also good, and the characterization was solid, if not spectacular. I think if this novel trimmed down the long passages without any direct conflict or action, this book would skyrocket in my estimation. Those who enjoy a slower burn, or the sort of character driven novel that dwells internally, delving directly into long passages of the character thoughts, will enjoy this novel.

All-in-all, the Fall of Erlon was unique, with very interesting historical parallels. While I greatly enjoyed parts of it, the slow pace eventually wore me down. The novel does do a great job of setting up a series with high stakes and a grand, sweeping narrative. If the author can rein in some of the meandering scenes, the series overall still has great potential.

[Nathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise of the book--starting at the end of a war with an empire falling apart--was very promising. I think the idea of the Napoleonic wars but with magic is also decent, and I liked how the author played around with the geography (e.g. having Russia in the South). However, I think that having some of the countries be different "races" (tails, pointy teeth) was pretty dumb, and a bit problematic.
But really the most frustrating thing about this book was the pacing. Especially in the first half, it is very repetitive and there are whole strings of chapters where nothing happens. The plot doesn't advance, and there is no new character development, we just hear the characters repeat their same motivations to themselves in their internal monologues for the fifth time.
In addition, the characters were pretty one dimensional, and the battles didn't have much realism or attention to detail. I think Django Wexler did a much better job of combining fantasy and musket-level technology.

[Zack Argyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I may have written the book, but Fleming is the true Voice of War. In this country-spanning epic filled with gunpowder and wolverines, he sets the stage for a series packed with action and magic. The story was plotted beautifully, and the climax perfectly fitting of this military fantasy. Highly recommend for readers who enjoy epic battles, many viewpoints (including from all sides of the war), and tight prose.

[T.A. Burke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting because it shows heroic characters struggling with self-doubt.

[Tristen Kozinski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of the characters are decent and I enjoyed the variation from standard medieval warfare, but almost nothing happens through the first half of the book. There are a few actions sequences but it it primarily devoted to looming peril and marching or running and fearing the pursuers. THere's a secondary main plot focused on political machinations, but is again mostly reduced to looming peril as the primary poverty thinks about what he needs to do. Very little is actually done.
The narrative improves over the second half as that's when the story implements tangible obstacles and actively present danger for the characters to face. I still disliked the secondary main pov-character's narrative as it relied to heavily on said character being incompetent. His incompetence is consistent throughout the story and made it hard to invest.

[Joshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

5/10*

It was enjoyable enough, a decent flintlock story

[Alexander Marchenko · Rating 1 out of 5]

CHAPTERS WITH SOLE PURPOSE OF INDICATION OF TRAVELLED DISTANCE SHOULD NOT EXIST!!! That was the short version of the reason why I dropped this book. The long version is, this book just doesn't work. It is not a problem that all cast of POVs have the same character flaw. Characters could be foils for each other, find different solutions or fail to find any, contribute to the theme together, you know, the good stuff. It is not a grave problem that flaw in question is a combination of frustration and self doubt, and, as a result, indecisivness, which is why all POVs pretty much doing nothing half of the book. "What is The Grave Problem then?" - I hear you cry. Well, in the world where Empire is falling, literally in a real time, time is never estabilished as valuable! There are two timers that supposed to do precisly that: peace summit in totally-not-Austria and invasion of Evil totally-not-Russians. But both are absolutely hollow. Why should I care about peace summit? it's not like they actually make decisions about anything important.There were two questions worth mentioning: concerns about Evil totally-not-Russians gaining all the glory and social change in recently liberated countries. Both of this questions could be potentially estabilished to be central conflict. Maybe they were. Not in the first half of the book, where it was sensible thing to do. Evil totally-not-Russians gaining all the glory? Which is bad exactly why? What are political ramifications of Evil totally-not-Russians winning contest of pride? Do they gain more power? Do they use conquered territories as a foothold to invade the north? Maybe. Even probably. But what exactly peace summit can do about it? They are not doing anything as far as I can tell, and nobody treating this like a matter of utmost importance. And Evil totally-not-Russians ignore their decisions, so it doesn't look that they can do anything even potentially, so why would I care if things will go south? As fellow Russian-GO! TEAM! as far as I am concerned.
Social change? It is only implied, because nobody actually talking about such boring matters. Why revolution happened in totally-not-France? Why Totally-not-Napoleon has rose to power? What exactly Empire stood for? Am I supposed to project real history on the book and answer all my questions myself? I have a degree in History, so I can. I can also use it as a blunt weapon and imprint my rage on the author's face, but I am not going to do it, since I am not an orcish barbaric creature and do not live in tundra among mamoths and wolwerins. As far as I can tell after half of the book Emperor rose to power because of his charisma, military prowess and alliance with some generic inhuman race I couldn't care less about, and he conquered the continent pretty much for religious purpose, or, maybe, just because he could.So Emperor he might as well be Alexander the Great and live in ancient Greece, story probably would lose nothing if this was the case.
So summit is irrelevant, and nobody bothers to tell when it will end, so as a timer it does not work. What about invasion? It doesn't work either since it is as well irrelevant. Why would we care about territory which is obviously will be liberated later and obviously can not be saved now? Army, which does actually matter, doesn't has a timer. Morale is high, supplies are in ambigious state, so everything is fine exept for plot.
Without timers, characters can have all the time in the world to be indecisive, and since characters doing nothing, and the word around them is stagnating this book is booooring. Book is also just badly written: characters annoingly have a habit of repeating in their inner dialogues all their goals, fears and doubts every chapter and performing same actoins time after time. It is worse than infodumps, really. I came here to read about a girl who conquered her insecurities and by the end of the book saved the Empire (Or at least made noticeble progress), not about a girl, who conquered her insecurities and by the end of the book decided to save the Empire.

[Nick Warner · Rating 3 out of 5]

The thing with this book is it's pretty much a one trick pony. Fleming writes war and battle on a grand scale fantastically well. It's muskets and magic, with a stronger emphasis on the former, set in a world that allows for war on an epic scale.

It should be emphasised that Fleming writes war on a grand scale well, really well. And there are a few other nice touches as well. The bad guys have a rather unique Russian vibe, with a few rather interesting units - including a wolverine riding scouting unit. There's also the fact that this book sets up a wider story arc for the series, with some great questions. Who or what are these two warring gods and what are they warring over? And why has the protagonists mother seemingly abandoned them? And focussing on the muskets over magic certainly sets this apart in this genre, giving it a historical feel, with a bit more flexibility and intrigue.

That said the book has some weaknesses too. In many ways, bar the bad guys, the world is quite bland. But given it can be the canvas for the epic battles that isn't that big a concern. A much bigger issue is the blandness of the characters. None are particularly noteworthy or developed which stunts the engagement and story. Likewise, outside of the sprawling battles, at times the writing isn't of the highest quality - you don't feel like you are a fly on the wall, or "in" the book, or watching it play out, like you would with top quality writing. You feel like you are reading. Poor dialogue and a not particularly evocative world probably don't help you feel absorbed by the book.

Despite these criticisms I think the series has promise. As I mentioned the trick the pony can do is impressive - it's good military fantasy - they're setting up a wider story arc which has some intrigue and it's a fairly unique placement in terms of the musket to magic emphasis. There's hope too that some of the weaknesses of the book can be ironed out in the second, especially the character development. 3 stars out of 5 a 6 out of 10. It's no Gemmell or William King but it's decent with potential to get better.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll start out by saying that I'm going to continue reading the series. The book shows plenty enough promise for me to do that. The characters are interesting, and the plot exciting. Throughout most of the book I liked the pacing, and the setting has great promise.

I think that Fleming could have done a better job of fleshing out the world. Maybe it's just because I finished a Sanderson recently, but I would have enjoyed more character development through interaction. There are the main viewpoint characters, maybe three other important named characters, and that's it. For a large portion of the book the characters are traveling with a squad of men only a dozen strong, yet none of them are named. It's simply the sharpshooter or the cavalryman. With just a little extra time spent with them, I feel like the world would feel a lot more fleshed out. And it would give the main characters just a little more breathing room and screen time, enhancing their development.

That said, I don't want to take away from the fact that this was an enjoyable book, and that I'll be continuing. I feel like a lot of my complaints are about things that authors grow into, and may be redeemed as the series progresses.

[Anya Josephs · Rating 4 out of 5]

What It's About: Elisa is a princess, but her parents' empire has crumbled. Now an exile, can she survive long enough to see her kingdom restored, or simply to see her family again?

What I Thought: I'm not the biggest fan of military fantasy, and this book was very, very much in that subgenre. There is a lot of strategy and combat that frankly didn't win me over, but if you like those concepts in fantasy, I would guess they're very well-done here, because the rest of the writing is fabulous. My favorite part was Elisa's character. She's sort of a classic figure in fantasy, the young girl separated from her noble birthright and trying to survive on her own. Think Arya from Game of Thrones or Ciri from the Witcher books. But Fleming is a strong writer, and he gives this character a life all her own.

Who I'd Recommend it To: Honestly, I'm gonna recommend this book to my dad. Anyone who reads a lot of war books or history books or things like that could probably get into fantasy this way! But it also has a strong adventure story for fans of classic fantasy.

[Kman · Rating 2 out of 5]

the best i can give this series is 1.5 stars. i am assuming based on the short chapters, one dimensional characters, simplistic plot and the total absence of sex and profanity that these books were intended for young readers. even so, the only thing the author did well was the battle scenes. fortunately there were a lot of battles, unfortunately it felt like everything between battles was an endless internal monologue of self doubt and self pity. i can't give any points for creativity because the muskets and swords fantasy theme has been done before and done better. the biggest disappointment was the magic system or lack of one. a few people can do magic, you never learn why they can do magic, how they do magic or what magic they can do. to top it off the author did the thing i hate the most when it comes to magic, he created an all powerful bad guy that can not be defeated. worse yet he did it twice. i think the series would have been better without any magic in it at all.

[Tyler · Rating 1 out of 5]

Prepare for entire chapters with zero dialogue and zero plot movement. You could quite literally skip over every page between the 15% mark and the 45% mark and the story would be unchanged. (I mean it, there's an entire chapter that goes over 3-4 different POVs, and not a single word is spoken and not a single action is taken)

You could take each POV and swap them out randomly with the other's plots and it wouldn't change anything since none of them had personalities.

Zero tension when the "good guy" just makes up a Plan A and it works every time. I read till the end hoping the author's knowledge of warfare might make the final battle worth it. It wasn't. It was just the MC taking the only available course of action and everyone commending him for being a genius for it, while the "bad guys" mindlessly throw themselves into the meat grinder until they're easily defeated.

[MR GEOFFREY W FABRON · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting premise for a fantasy 'epic' in that it is based in 'Napoleonic' times rather than dark ages/medieval as is common. Extensive use of names from the age of Napoleon (Nelson Wellesley for example) reinforces this.
Sorcery is mentioned as is some sort of agenda from the 'gods' but not much evidence of it in practice so far. May develop in future books.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Good

I don't usually enjoy Gunpowder fantasy, but this one is very good. A Princess of a once powerful empire is given a task by a mysterious entity... " go north and survive " basically. We see other points of view, a scholar king, an arrogant warrior prince, two generals, and a soldier type from the dark side. I reccomend.

[T. Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, I will be reading more of the series. A slightly unusual style in that it is written from numerous peoples perspective, so it took a bit of time to get into. But worth it.