/r/Fantasy Discussion Group discussion

Discussion 2: No need for spoiler tags as this discussion is for people that have read the book in its entirety.

Just finished.

Near the end, I thought some of it felt a little rushed, almost like I could have benefited from making it 100 pages longer, but not adding too much more plot.

All in all, I really liked it. Lots of setup for the rest of the series, which is always fine, but more importantly, I felt pretty immersed into the world and invested in the characters. I'm ready to learn a lot more about Ka-Poel and the different kinds of sorcery, as well as the "gods" (or really powerful sorcerers) and how they'll interact with each other as well as with the political landscape that's set up.

Peter wrote: "Just finished.

Near the end, I thought some of it felt a little rushed, almost like I could have benefited from making it 100 pages longer, but not adding too much more plot."

I know what you mean, it did seem to come to end rather quickly. The pace seemed to pick up quite a bit and suddenly it was mostly action/events. But I think I was OK with that.

For some reason, as much as there was to enjoy in this book, I felt like it did take more time for me to get into it than I expected. But still good, I'll definitely follow up with the next ones because I think this was a very strong debut. Honestly, my expectations are that I will enjoy the coming books even more. Especially if I get more of Vlora or Ka-Poel.

I'm feeling a little mixed about this book. On the one hand, I thought it was a very solid effort--a cohesive narrative, a nice array of characters, and plenty of sequel hooks. I'd say, all in all, that I enjoyed it.

On the other hand...I really don't feel the need to read the next installment. The uniqueness of the central conceit (the whole "powder mage" thing) just isn't enough to keep me going.

If I had to try to pinpoint the issue, I'd say it's probably the characters; there are no "bad" characters, per se, but I don't find any of them (with the possible exception of Ka-Poel) at all compelling. Then again, I've never really been hugely into the "gruff men making hard decisions" narrative.

Like I said above, it was a solid book...but it didn't really get above "solid," for me. Probably not a book that's going to stand out to me in years to come.

First off , I loved it and would recommend it to a friend. That's how I would gauge a book regardless of specifics.

I see what people mean about the increase in pace towards the end, but by that stage I was eager enough that I didn't find it jarring. In fact I wouldn't have thought about it much until I read it here !

And I think the character/plot immersion got a lot stronger as the book progresses, more so than the norm, so again I agree with whoever said it took a little longer to get me hooked than I would have thought given the premise. But hooked I certainly was !

This would be one of my favorite reads this year , and the others on the list are Ocean at the End of the Lane, A Memory of Light etc. (i.e. the fantasy heavy hitters!) so for a debut novel I think it's an incredible book and I'm looking forward to the next one!

Happy Holidays Everyone !

Really liked it, couldn't put it down during the last few chapters!

Like most of the people here, I'm looking forward to the rest of the trilogy.
Also Jaylong, 'Ocean at the End of the Lane' is an absolutely fantastic book.

@Marie, I think you nailed it with the 'gruff men making hard decisions' narrative, hah. Yeah don't see someone being really into the books if they are not into that sort of thing. And similarly for me, it didn't get above "solid" either but we should remember its the authors first effort, hopefully even better ones will follow suit.

Harry wrote: "@Marie, I think you nailed it with the 'gruff men making hard decisions' narrative, hah. Yeah don't see someone being really into the books if they are not into that sort of thing."

I really liked how political it was. One of the main reasons I like ASOIAF is that it's so easy to get pulled into the politics of Westeros - to a point where I probably know more about that fictional political landscape than the real-world one. I'm not going to compare this book to Game of Thrones at all, but I did get a similar feeling about the grand political picture.

Definitely! Tamas's council reminded me of the King's small council in ASOIAF, was the initial draw for me to keep reading on. That and the whole "coked up mages" hah. Also I'm glad it wasn't just kept operating in the background but became a major part of the plot with the figuring out the traitor bit.
Really looking forward to finding out more about Prime Lektora and his predeii past! Especially interested in why he would support Tamas's coup when he knew about the gods and more than likely knew about Kresimir's Promise and its repercussions.

I thought it was a good read. Tamas was a bit of your stereotypical 'white male with power who makes hard decisions', but the characters were generally engaging. I liked the powder mage concept, but I'd like to hear more about the Privileged and how their powers work.

Overall, I liked it and will be picking up the next book.

I enjoyed the book—when I was younger I always finished any book I started, but that is no longer the case. So, my finishing a book means that I liked it, which I did with Promise of Blood.

It seems like people are really split on Tamas, but I thought his characterization was the best in the book. With the other characters…I don't know, I just didn't feel as much of a connection with them as I felt I should have, given what was happening to them (inspector having his family kidnapped, Taniel being ordered to kill his best friend). But with Tamas, I really sympathized with his anger over what happened to his wife and his determination to improve the lot of the citizens of Adro. His chapters were by far the most compelling for me. I actually think it would have been more interesting if Tamas had permanently lost his powers when the gold spur is put into his leg…

I see that others also felt that the ending was rushed, which I agree with, especially regarding Taniel's ascent to the crater and the events that transpired there. His shooting of Kresimir struck me as…odd. I really didn't know how to feel about it, since you really don't know much about Kresimir other than that he is all powerful. And then apparently Taniel's shot just delays his arrival without really harming him, which further makes Taniel's shooting him feel unnecessary or at least not that important—not a good feeling to have during the climax of a novel.

I'm looking forward to seeing where the story goes now that the "Gods" have emerged onto the stage.

Harry wrote: "...That and the whole "coked up mages" hah..." My favourite part! (Not really, but I did find it interesting / amusing)

I, too, would like to find out more about how the various forms of magic differ (Predeii vs Privileged vs cokeder mages). Also, the concept of the Knackeds was pretty interesting.

Lastly, let's talk cover art. I usually abhor the cover art on Fantasy novels (I'm looking at you,Tor) but this one was decent.

Shane wrote: "Also, the concept of the Knackeds was pretty interesting."

I loved the idea of the Knacked. Olem remains my favorite character.

The only flaw with the book was that the large cast of characters didn't allow for much development. Some, like Nila, Bo, Vlora, and Sabon, played pivotal parts but I never got to know them well enough to care.

I did enjoy this world enough to go seek out the couple of powder mage short stories that McClellan released; I hope they flesh out the world a bit more.

I enjoyed the book quite a bit, but the transitions between scenes and some of the action felt a bit jumbled. I'm still not quite certain why some things happened. The fight at Bo's cave was probably the worst at being confusing.

I really liked Olem though. I hope he becomes a POV in the next book.

Lucinda wrote: "The only flaw with the book was that the large cast of characters..."

I agree. I think the book could have been a few hundred pages longer to help flesh them out. But that's easier said than done, so overall I was pleased with the end result.

All I have to say is that I hope there is much more Ka-poel in future books, she is my favorite character by far.

I am excited for the sequel book!