The Autumn Republic, Brian McClellan

Publishers: Orbit

Pages: 577

Main Characters:

Tamas, Taniel, Adamat, Nila.

After absolutely flying through The Crimson Campaign I was extremely excited to start The Autumn Republic. I thought McClellan left the threads of each individual character perfectly placed at the end of The Crimson Campaign to make this final book in the series incredibly epic! Tamas was on his way back to his soldiers with sixty thousand new men. Taniel had escaped his captures and looked ready to enact revenge on the Kez, and Adamat was prepared to go behind enemy lines to find his kidnapped son.

It saddens me to say that though I was excited to read The Autumn Republic, it left me feeling underwhelmed and a little disappointed. These stories never seemed to materialise at all. Much of the first half of the book was devoted to characters such as Nila, Vlora and Olem and I felt that the main plots for the three leading characters were almost rushed, as they seemed to be concluded so quickly. In addition, as the start of the book was so heavily focused on it; I became invested in Nila’s story. But then the novel then seemed to trail away from her tale and onto something else (Lord Claremonte) and again, only rounded up her story quickly at the end of the book. It almost felt like McClellan wedged in the problem with Lord Claremonte without considering how he could properly round up everyone else’s plots from The Crimson Campaign. And though I did like that the author added a new antagonist, I thought that the big reveal surrounding him was a little too obvious, making me want to read on past Adamant’s detective work around Claremonte until the big fight scene at the end.

However, though I have painted a bleak picture of the book there was some parts that I really liked. Firstly, I still love the world McClellan has created and feel he has left the ending open to expand on that world with new characters. Plus, I did enjoy the events in the book but they didn’t turn out how I expected them to be. If this was a stand-alone novel I would definitely give it five stars, but with the build up from The Promise of Blood and The Crimson Campaign I expected more from McClellan in this final novel.

To conclude, this was an enjoyable read but was a little underwhelming. If you’re a fantasy fan you must read this trilogy though, it’s one of the best!

For author’s official website click here.

The Crimson Campaign, Brian McClellan

Publishers: Orbit

Pages: 596

Main Characters:

Taniel, Tamas, Adamat

The Crimson Campaign is the second book in Brian McClellan’s epic Powder Mage series and pretty much picks up the story where it was left off in The Promise of Blood. Like the first novel, book two is also split into three different plot lines which revolve around three different characters: Tamas, Taniel and Adamat.

Field Marshal Tamas is protecting Adro’s borders from a gigantic Kez army that plans to invade and reinstate the monarchy Tamas worked so hard to topple. Though his army is greatly outnumbered, the Field Marshal feels confident that his well trained and disciplined troops will overcome the rabble of Kez soldiers. Though he believes in his troops, Tamas knows that nothing in war is certain and when a chance arises to outflank his enemy and possibly end the war; Tamas takes two of his best brigades and his infamous Powder Mages to finally wipe out the Kez threat. However, the Field Marshal is deceived and has to watch as his army is destroyed. Now Tamas is trapped behind enemy lines and must march his men hundreds of miles through enemy territory to get back to Adro and save his country from another despot.

Killing a god can have serious consequences and when Taniel Two-Shot put a bullet through Kresimir’s eye, his life changed forever. After waking up from a coma, Taniel tries to forget his old life as a soldier and falls into a vicious cycle of drug abuse and denial as he wastes away in a Mala Den. However, when a new breed of assassin is sent to kill him, Taniel decides that his fate lies with the army and returns to the front-line to help defend his country. Nonetheless, life in the army has changed drastically since his father’s (Tamas) disappearance and Taniel finds that he is no longer the golden-boy of the Adro army. Plus, with defeat after defeat pushing the Adro forces back towards the capital Adopest, Taniel feels that something is amiss with the ruling elite and has to ruffle a few feathers to find a traitor in his father’s camp.

Art from Napoloenic Wars, reminds me of Adro's army!

Inspector Adamat is still on the hunt for his kidnapped family. With the help of Tamas, he manages to free his youngest children from the lair of Lord Vetas; a conspirator against Tamas and a royalist who wishes to see Adro returned to the rule of the King. Vetas is even more cunning than Adamat imagined and though he saved his children, the Lord still has Adamat’s wife and eldest son locked away in his stronghold. Adamat has to face the challenge head on and tasks himself with recruiting allies to tackle Vetas. However, when Adamat learns the Lord has a Privileged, the Inspector must look to someone from Adro’s despotic past for help.

My Youtube Review

Like the first book in the series (which I’ve read but haven’t reviewed) The Crimson Campaign was amazing! I am a huge fan of fantasy books and authors, but for me Brian McClellan goes above and beyond with this series for his original story and setting. Basing a novel in a Napoleonic-like era really hits a soft spot with me because I am such a history nerd about the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. Then to mix in the fantasy of magic, sorcery, Powder Mages (mages that gain their power from gunpowder) and epic Gods ultimately makes this series truly great.

Honestly, if you are into fantasy books or authors like Mark Lawrence or Patrick Rothfuss you have to check out this series. I thought the first book; The Promise of Blood was equally as good as this one and I can’t wait to read The Autumn Republic! It’s so exciting to find that there are these great fantasy trilogies out there and that they are not just dragging out series like what seems to be happening in the historical-fiction genre at the moment.

For author’s official website click here.