It shames me to admit it, but I go hot and cold on reading.
Sometimes I'll be overwhelmed by the desire to sink myself into the world of a book, which can be much more detailed, intense and better-paced than a video game, movie or TV show. Other times, however, I just can't be bothered doing all the work of creating an entire world in my head.
Strangely, I started reading Promise Of Blood, book one of the Powder Mage trilogy, in the middle of the former mindset, and ended in the latter.
By all means, this had nothing to do with book. I purchased it just before flying home to Sydney and read more than half of the novel in a single day - but it took about three months to finish the end of the novel because of reasons.
It's an interesting premise that grabbed me from the start. The aristocracy and monarchy of Adro have been dicking around for ages and the recent king is the most inept to date. The military, run by a guy called Tamas, gets the shits and decides to have a massive coup and instate a democracy. To do this he gathers up crooks, the church, scholars and pretty much everyone who isn't high-born.
The thing is, all of this happens before or at the very start of the book. This isn't some novel focusing on a civil war - it does what only a few (that I've seen) and focuses on the aftermath and the power vacuum created by such a coup.
The setting seems to be in a renaissance period (to me, at least). There are swords, robes, poor conditions for the masses and an active aristocracy mixed in with guns and a feeling of technological advancement. McClellan also injects a fantasy element with three distinct classes of "magic" users - but I'll get to that later.
Most of the story revolves around the neighbouring country, Kez, wanting to invade. Before the novel started, the old king had planned to annex the country to Kez, which then would have imposed taxes and disbanded several groups that had formed in Adro in recent years.
Other elements of the story include an investigator called Adamat, who has a literally perfect memory, looking for a traitor in the midst of Tamas' co-conspirators; and Tamas' son Taniel - a fellow military man who is on the front line of royalist insurgency and is essentially his father's dog.
McClellan has introduced three unique forms of magic so far in Promise of Blood. The "Privileged" who manipulate the elements and are treated as rock stars; the "Knacked" who have small talents (infallible memory, the ability to survive without sleep); and "Powder Mages" who can manipulate gunpowder.
The Powder Mages are by far the most interesting of the three groups, which is not to say the other two aren't interesting. Powder Mages can not only ignite gunpowder, they can sense it, use their abilities to "nudge" projectiles, and even snort/ingest the powder to make themselves stronger, faster and more efficient.
The cocaine parallel was very interesting to me, especially when both Taniel and Tamas start to slip into deep powder trances and have withdrawals from overusing, essentially dancing with an overdose.
Pacing-wise, Promise Of Blood keeps things moving constantly, introducing new elements when not throwing the reading into action-heavy sections.
Adamat's traitor mystery was handled very well, with enough intrigue to keep me guessing at the identity of the traitor. Each character he investigates felt distinct, but lacked enough depth to feel like real people rather than mere character devises. Adamat himself also felt strangely blank to me, but there's plenty of development opportunity for future books.
Tamas' storyline was also engaging, focusing on a soldier trying to deal with the pressures of leadership and "ruling" a country under martial law.
Taniel's "adventure," for want of a better word, had the greatest variety of characters. While that kept things interesting for a short amount of time, many of the characters were forgotten or forgettable - there were times when I'd have to look back to find out which characters were which.
All that aside though, it was an enjoyable read and I recommend it to fans of the fantasy genre.
I have high hopes for the next installment of the series and I hope to see other countries explored and the world expanded upon. One thing I dread is to see the book fall too far into "standard fantasy."
