Drawing on inspirations from the French
Revolution and Napoleonic wars, Promise of Blood opened The
Powder Mage trilogy, an epic fantasy story of three parts, with a
stunning and gripping story. This trilogy's author, Brian McClellan,
is a student of Brandon Sanderson, a prolific fantasy novelist. Mr.
McClellan debuted in the world of fantasy literature with Promise
of Blood, and this book marched under the flag of a new sub-genre in fantasy
fictions, known as “flintlock fantasy”.
Do not confuse Flintlock fantasy with Steampunk, a genre inclining strongly to the side of science
fictions. Unlike Steampunk (sci-fi with 19th century steam engines), a flintlock fantasy novel is usually set in a
fantasy world resembling the 17th century, a world where
advancing technology is on the rise, with deep magic flowing in its
veins.
Promise of Blood was my first
adventure in flintlock fantasy, and this book captivated me from the
very moment I opened it. Without further delay, let me continue my
book review with a synopsis for it.
Synopsis:
Field Marshall Tamas killed The Age of
Kings. His coup overthrew the corrupt aristocrat government in Adro,
sending the king, the queen, as well as nobility galore to the
guillotine. As many heads went rolling into the baskets under the
crimson edge of the guillotine, Tamas hoped to build a new nation
where bread could finally reach the tables of his starving
countrymen.
The kings of the Nine Nations, however,
were not impressed by Tamas' coup. As a result, Tamas escalated
political tensions between Adro and the Nine Nations, pushing his
country and its neighbor, Kez, to the brink of an open war.
To make Tamas' life worse, following
the coup's aftermath, internal conflicts plagued Adro's society; from
attacks of royalist fanatics, to the power struggles between workers
unions, mercenary forces and the church. These conflicts threatened
to tear Adro apart from the inside.
These circumstances forced Tamas into
relying on his loyal regiment of Powder Mages, whose prominent
members included his estranged son, Taniel, who was an excellent
marksman but embittered by the souring father-son relationship. At
this desperate time, Tamas also employed Adamat, a retired police
inspector, to find the traitor among his allies.
Tamas is a brilliant, and resilient
man, reputed to be the best Field Marshall to have ever lived in the
history of the Nine Nations, but can he prevail against the
onslaughts of external, as well as internal threats?
My thoughts about this book:
Promise
of Blood is both an excellent debut novel as well as a
good initiation into the genre of flintlock fantasy. Brian McClellan
wrote wonderfully in this book. He has a knack for narrating a
complex story and presenting it in a way that can be easily followed
by his readers. I do not want to spoil the story here, so let me just
say the story in this book comes with an abundance of twists and
turns, and they will hit you in the face when least expected.
Another notable quality in Promise
of Blood is its world building, it is masterfully done. When I
was reading Mr. McClellan's story, I felt as if I could almost feel
the cobbled street of Adro under my foot, touching the brick-walled
buildings, seeing the buzzing activities in the city square, as well
as smelling the aroma of food escaping from the taverns and cafes.
Yet, the most intriguing aspect of world building in this book, is
its magic system. After all, Promise of Blood is a flintlock
fantasy novel. A fantasy novel cannot be divorced of magic. In
Promise of Blood, Mr. McClellan presented to his readers a
most fascinating magic system in the genre of fantasy fictions, where
magically talented individuals could control gun powders (hence the
trilogy's name, Powder Mage). In other words, in the world of
Powder Mage trilogy, you have these superhumans who possess the
special power to manipulate gun powders, giving them a spectrum of
super powers such as; directing bullets, igniting gun powders from
distance, ingesting gun powders to achieve superhuman strength, speed
and stamina etc.. I thought Brian McClellan created a very unique
fantasy world, and the world building is indeed one of the best
features in this book.
In terms of characterizations, Mr.
McClellan depicted the characters in this novel vividly and
colorfully. There are three protagonists in Promise of Blood;
Field Marshall Tamas, Inspector Adamat, and Taniel Two Shots (Tamas'
son).
Reckless, determined and courageous,
Tamas is a multifaceted character owning an interesting past.
However, while I thought Tamas was a memorable character, but I was
not overly fond of him due to certain qualities of his personage. On
the other hand, I found Inspector Adamat a very likable character.
Adamat's storyline spelled mystery and suspense akin to the styles of
detective thrillers, and in this book, I liked Adamat's storyline
the most. Finally, Taniel played the role as the third protagonist in
the novel. Taniel's storyline supplied plentiful of actions to the story, and I found the depictions for Taniel's estranged
relationship with Tamas particularly well written and captivating.
Promise of Blood deserves many
praises. However, I do not think this book is flawless. If I have to
pick a minor flaw in this book, then I would say there are some rough
edges around the story's pace. Allow me to explain. Earlier on, I
mentioned this book has 3 protagonists. This means Promise of
Blood uses 3 POV characters to tell a story. In my
opinion, the transitions from one POV to the next were not altogether
smooth. As a result, at times, the POV transitions disrupted the flow
of the story and rendering the book with uneven pacing. Having said
this, by large, the book still moved at a very fast pace and the
uneven pacing issue only crept up occasionally, so it is only a minor
flaw.
In the sea of fantasy literature,
Promise of Blood succeeded in bringing something new and
refreshing to readers' bookshelf. This book is set in a wonderfully
imagined world. It tells a gripping story, a story alive with
memorable and vividly portrayed characters. I think lovers of fantasy
fictions will enjoy reading this book. For me, this book opened my
eyes and showed me the unlimited potentials for the fantasy genre to
evolve and re-invent itself. Promise
of Blood is my first outing in flintlock fantasy, and it
was a memorable adventure. I look forward to reading the next
installment in The Powder Mage trilogy, titled The Crimson
Campaign.
Until the next time, happy reading!
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