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Fractured Empire #1
Bitter Sky
War is in the air. In every sense, as the aeronauts of Lauchenland prepare to take their airships aloft against the mighty Beruzil Empire.
It’s the chance for Heino Voss to fulfil his life’s ambition and fly an airship into battle. At his side is his aloof navigator, Saskia von Eck. Soon they realise that war is not a game, and that unquestioning loyalty can take them to some dark places.
Saskia’s brother Erich finds himself fighting for the other side. As the bloodshed and horror mount, he learns there is no place for honour on the battlefield.
As the conflict draws to its grim conclusion, all three realise that the price of victory could be higher than they’re willing to pay. And that, even in wartime, there are fates worse than death…
The start of a breathtaking new series, Bitter Sky explores the cost of dreams and the terrible toll war takes on even the most idealistic.
“A steampunk War and Peace” Stephen Carver, author of Shark Alley
"Vibrant and action-packed" Bookmarked Reviews
It’s the chance for Heino Voss to fulfil his life’s ambition and fly an airship into battle. At his side is his aloof navigator, Saskia von Eck. Soon they realise that war is not a game, and that unquestioning loyalty can take them to some dark places.
Saskia’s brother Erich finds himself fighting for the other side. As the bloodshed and horror mount, he learns there is no place for honour on the battlefield.
As the conflict draws to its grim conclusion, all three realise that the price of victory could be higher than they’re willing to pay. And that, even in wartime, there are fates worse than death…
The start of a breathtaking new series, Bitter Sky explores the cost of dreams and the terrible toll war takes on even the most idealistic.
“A steampunk War and Peace” Stephen Carver, author of Shark Alley
"Vibrant and action-packed" Bookmarked Reviews
493 pages, Paperback
First published December 5, 2020
12 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 31, 2021
Longer review to come if and when I'm in the mood for writing it.
+ interesting world-building (steaampunkish, aeronauts in airships, war, demons, more)
+ plenty of strong ideas, here and thoughtful comments on war and casualties,
+ solid prose
- unconvincing characterization (especially of female characters)
- unbalanced structure (time and setting jumps, omitted fragments leading to main POV's meeting)
- uneven pacing
- weak ending
All told a solid read.
+ interesting world-building (steaampunkish, aeronauts in airships, war, demons, more)
+ plenty of strong ideas, here and thoughtful comments on war and casualties,
+ solid prose
- unconvincing characterization (especially of female characters)
- unbalanced structure (time and setting jumps, omitted fragments leading to main POV's meeting)
- uneven pacing
- weak ending
All told a solid read.
November 12, 2021
Bitter Sky is the first book in the Fractured Empires series written by Tim Stretton. I read Bitter Sky immediately after reading A Little Poison which is the second book in the Fractured Empire series.
This review will be spoiler free.
I would classify Bitter Sky as a steam-punk military fantasy that feature cannons, guns, and air ships.
The setting of this story takes place in several countries during a war between an empire and independent state that was once part of the empire.
Magic plays a small part in this story, and it pertains to demons.
The main character is a pilot that has only wanted to fly air ships since he was a child. A significant minor character is a woman, from a noble family, who attends the same military academy as the pilot and becomes his navigator. They fight for the independent state. Another significant minor character is the brother of the navigator, and he is a captain in the empire’s army.
As with A Little Poison, each character featured in Bitter Sky is fully developed, unique, engaging, and adds to the story. I liked each character in this story even when the character committed abhorrent and tragic acts due to being in war. When I read Bitter Sky, it was a gut punch when I read about a character betrayed another, and the way it was written, I understood why the character committed the betrayal, and I empathized with both characters.
Mr. Stretton has written a dark book about war and what some people can do while fighting in a war.
The story unfolds organically from start to finish and propels forward at a steady clip. Mr. Stretton employs zigs and zags that kept me guessing. Unfortunately, I guessed wrong.
I hope Mr. Stretton continues to write stories in the Fractured Empire series.
I rate Bitter Sky 5 stars.
This review will be spoiler free.
I would classify Bitter Sky as a steam-punk military fantasy that feature cannons, guns, and air ships.
The setting of this story takes place in several countries during a war between an empire and independent state that was once part of the empire.
Magic plays a small part in this story, and it pertains to demons.
The main character is a pilot that has only wanted to fly air ships since he was a child. A significant minor character is a woman, from a noble family, who attends the same military academy as the pilot and becomes his navigator. They fight for the independent state. Another significant minor character is the brother of the navigator, and he is a captain in the empire’s army.
As with A Little Poison, each character featured in Bitter Sky is fully developed, unique, engaging, and adds to the story. I liked each character in this story even when the character committed abhorrent and tragic acts due to being in war. When I read Bitter Sky, it was a gut punch when I read about a character betrayed another, and the way it was written, I understood why the character committed the betrayal, and I empathized with both characters.
Mr. Stretton has written a dark book about war and what some people can do while fighting in a war.
The story unfolds organically from start to finish and propels forward at a steady clip. Mr. Stretton employs zigs and zags that kept me guessing. Unfortunately, I guessed wrong.
I hope Mr. Stretton continues to write stories in the Fractured Empire series.
I rate Bitter Sky 5 stars.
April 23, 2022
A compelling fast read about two people on opposite sides of a war. Good characters and world building.
December 9, 2020
There is something distinctive and distinguished about Tim Stretton’s books. It isn’t just the elegant and precise prose that instantly takes you out of your present location and throws you into something rich, luxurious and intriguing. It is also the setting in time. You open the book and instantly find yourself in an alternative universe and living through alternative history – alternative but very real and believable.
“Bitter Sky” is a steampunk fantasy, but again the setting feels as if it is a snapshot from history – it feels authentic though you can’t quite pinpoint the exact moment in time where it comes from. Despite that, you have this distinct impression that you read about it or studied that period in school. You find yourself somewhere in Germany, perhaps at the turn of the twentieth century. There are hydrogen-powered airships and steam trains/carriages. They would have been experimental in those days, but in “Bitter Sky” they are fully-functional, tried and tested weapons. There is the strife of a small territory to secede from the powerful and dominant empire, to reject tradition and monarchy, and establish its own identity. The small territory, Lauchenland led by its revolutionary elite called Volksbund, has ambitions beyond mere independence: it declares war on the Beruz Empire. The Empire strikes back. I was fascinated with how the author built that world from fragments of history. I delighted in detecting nuanced references to the unification of German states under imperialistic Prussia’s rule, or the degradation of the lofty principles of freedom and equality of people in the reign of terror and bureaucracy that followed the French and Russian revolutions. “Bitter Sky” is full of historical analogies cleverly dressed as fantasy and presented in a vibrant, action-packed fashion.
“Bitter Sky” is a pacey and dramatic war romp, complete with air battles, morally questionable bombings, tragic casualties and grand victories. But there is more to it. There is the human factor. The von Eck siblings, Erich and Saskia are torn between their aristocratic loyalties to the Empire and their citizen duty to fight for their country, Lauchenland. Erich joins the fusiliers on the side of the Empire and Saskia becomes an airship navigator with Lauchenland Air Corp. Again, historical references spring to mind where nations divided by borders found their people fighting – and killing – each other on the opposite sides in the Great War and WWII. Stretton captures that torturous dilemma between duty and loyalty, between following and questioning orders and between glorifying and dehumanising war. He doesn’t idealise or side with anyone. The Empire has its faults as does the belligerent republic of Lauchenland. There is a thin line between good and evil, victory and defeat.
The conclusion of this book was ingenious – tense and ultimately, very satisfying. It tied together all the loose ends, linked to the opening chapters and neatly encased the story.
Tragedy and fatalism, black magic and characters caught up in events beyond their control bring to mind the dark fairy tales of yesteryear. If Hans Christian Andersen was to write a tale for adults, he could well have written “Bitter Sky”.
“Bitter Sky” is a steampunk fantasy, but again the setting feels as if it is a snapshot from history – it feels authentic though you can’t quite pinpoint the exact moment in time where it comes from. Despite that, you have this distinct impression that you read about it or studied that period in school. You find yourself somewhere in Germany, perhaps at the turn of the twentieth century. There are hydrogen-powered airships and steam trains/carriages. They would have been experimental in those days, but in “Bitter Sky” they are fully-functional, tried and tested weapons. There is the strife of a small territory to secede from the powerful and dominant empire, to reject tradition and monarchy, and establish its own identity. The small territory, Lauchenland led by its revolutionary elite called Volksbund, has ambitions beyond mere independence: it declares war on the Beruz Empire. The Empire strikes back. I was fascinated with how the author built that world from fragments of history. I delighted in detecting nuanced references to the unification of German states under imperialistic Prussia’s rule, or the degradation of the lofty principles of freedom and equality of people in the reign of terror and bureaucracy that followed the French and Russian revolutions. “Bitter Sky” is full of historical analogies cleverly dressed as fantasy and presented in a vibrant, action-packed fashion.
“Bitter Sky” is a pacey and dramatic war romp, complete with air battles, morally questionable bombings, tragic casualties and grand victories. But there is more to it. There is the human factor. The von Eck siblings, Erich and Saskia are torn between their aristocratic loyalties to the Empire and their citizen duty to fight for their country, Lauchenland. Erich joins the fusiliers on the side of the Empire and Saskia becomes an airship navigator with Lauchenland Air Corp. Again, historical references spring to mind where nations divided by borders found their people fighting – and killing – each other on the opposite sides in the Great War and WWII. Stretton captures that torturous dilemma between duty and loyalty, between following and questioning orders and between glorifying and dehumanising war. He doesn’t idealise or side with anyone. The Empire has its faults as does the belligerent republic of Lauchenland. There is a thin line between good and evil, victory and defeat.
The conclusion of this book was ingenious – tense and ultimately, very satisfying. It tied together all the loose ends, linked to the opening chapters and neatly encased the story.
Tragedy and fatalism, black magic and characters caught up in events beyond their control bring to mind the dark fairy tales of yesteryear. If Hans Christian Andersen was to write a tale for adults, he could well have written “Bitter Sky”.
January 6, 2021
I received a copy in exchange for a honest review from NetGalley.
Air balloons, steam engine driven, wars and demons.. an excellent start to the steampunk series by the author Tim Stretton. The design and functioning of the balloon driven by steam, the battle scenes, human nature have all been wonderfully captured and written in this book. The story revolved around the three characters: the coward, the warrior and the warriors brother and how each of them are affected by the war and how they behave as a result of this.
Highly recommend this steampunk book and will eagerly wait for its next installment to arrive
Air balloons, steam engine driven, wars and demons.. an excellent start to the steampunk series by the author Tim Stretton. The design and functioning of the balloon driven by steam, the battle scenes, human nature have all been wonderfully captured and written in this book. The story revolved around the three characters: the coward, the warrior and the warriors brother and how each of them are affected by the war and how they behave as a result of this.
Highly recommend this steampunk book and will eagerly wait for its next installment to arrive
March 1, 2022
Mixed feelings about this one.
Not gonna lie, had me at the prologue where the emperor is summoning a demon. Fast forward to 200 years later and bye bye magic.
This is my first fantasy in a German setting. I felt a lot could be inserted but wasn't so as to try to finish the story in 2 books. There's no magical system, no new languages. Just plain steampunk era with simple yet highly polite version of English.
A good read for people who don't want to get too fantasy. But seeing how the book ended, there might still be hope for magic.
Not gonna lie, had me at the prologue where the emperor is summoning a demon. Fast forward to 200 years later and bye bye magic.
This is my first fantasy in a German setting. I felt a lot could be inserted but wasn't so as to try to finish the story in 2 books. There's no magical system, no new languages. Just plain steampunk era with simple yet highly polite version of English.
A good read for people who don't want to get too fantasy. But seeing how the book ended, there might still be hope for magic.
January 18, 2021
Airships and demons, a match made in Hell.
Well I read this quickly and that's always a good sign. Steampunk vibes in a late 19th century europe equivalent. The three main. characters are well drawn and develop well, the politics are nice and grey and it's all told in a dry and witty fashion. Looking forward to reading more in the series
Well I read this quickly and that's always a good sign. Steampunk vibes in a late 19th century europe equivalent. The three main. characters are well drawn and develop well, the politics are nice and grey and it's all told in a dry and witty fashion. Looking forward to reading more in the series
January 24, 2022
Having loved the writing of Jack Vance, since an early age, it is a delight to read Tim Stretton's books which emulate the dialogue-style of Vance whilst offering totally different worlds and scenarios.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews