Book 1 in the Powder Mage trilogy - Promise of Blood

If you are looking for a new twist on your usual fantasy books this is it. Well developed characters,that have heart and soul. Plot twits that keep you guessing. Action and plenty of it. Looking forward to the next in the series. It did get off to a bit of a slow start,but that gust gave you the groundwork for the story.

It took me a little while to really commit to reading this, but as the book progresses the characters gain depth and the world gains complexity and roars to a brilliant and heart-pounding conclusion, with more to come. Loved it.

Very good first book in a series I'm looking forward to finishing. Good characters with fully developed battle scenes. Love the gun and magic mix along with the multiple plots. Well worth your money and time.

Best book this year. And I've read at least 30. I was a bit disappointed when I first started reading. I was told it was the french revolution with magic. Please note there is no France in this book. In retrospect I do not think the story could have been as good if France was involved.

Completely new and unique. This book will keep you on the edge of your seat until the end. From Adamat the sherlock Holmes of the story. To Tamas himself, this book profound characters and awesome magic systems makes it a must read for any fantasy readers.

It's a good to start to a promising trilogy. Fast paced and action packed. It never bogs down or gets tedious. I like the characters and the world they live in. It has an interesting magic system that isn't unnecessarily overcomplicated. I will check out the rest of this trilogy. The author does leave you thirsty for more.

This is a fantastic book. I loved it. I want more. I can not wait for the next book. I have preordered it. A great take on fantasy. I love the rough and tough powder mages. The characters are great, and the story line has just the right amount of different things going on. Buy it.

I was impressed with the author's innovative systems of magic. He introduces countervailing dangers to accompany many of the magical powers, so that the conflicts are more complex than simple tests of wizarding power. Also, many of the characters show adult emotions and understandable character flaws. I look forward to the next book of the series.

I love the story and characters. It was the sort of book I just want to keep reading because I'm so curious what will happen next. It feels appropriate that the cover has a Brandon Sanderson quote as I feel any fellow fans of his stuff will really enjoy this one. Looking forward to book 2!

I really enjoyed this first book in the series. An intriguing system of magical powers, believable characters, and a good plot line all made this book worth reading to me. I'll definitely pick up the second book in the series.

This is my first "Flintlock Fantasy" book, and I have to say that I am very impressed. Interesting characters coupled with an innovative magic system makes for a refreshing change of pace. Extremely entertaining read that leaves me looking forward to the 2nd book, as well as the assorted novelas/short stories already out there.

I grabbed this one on a lark mostly because Brandon Sanderson spoke of it highly on the cover. I was not expecting such a fantastic tale! If you like Mistborn or Elantris especially the way those novels of Sanderson's mix magic and science with political and social turmoil, you'll love Promise of Blood.

If you can power through the somewhat confusing beginning and begin to familiarize the characters you begin to fall in love with the powder mage world. If you're looking for a book with magic but still has that war, strategy, horror of war feeling you will absolutely love this book. (and more than one of the war speeches given in the book will give you goose bumps)

We heard great reviews about this book... and it was... *meh* Kind of a disappointment because the characters were not well-developed and the writing felt immature. This isn't "Brandon Sanderson" quality, even though he gives his student good reviews.

Again, a complex world created for a Fantasy series, with interesting characters, good guys and bad guys, and inbetweens. There has been so much simplistic Juvenile e-literature put out lately, so that you don't know what you are getting. This came out in hardback first and is very good. Heros, magicians and evil creatures; buy it for your Kindle

I found this book due to a recommendation from Brandon Sanderson, probably my favorite author right now. Considering Brandon's endorsement I was expecting a lot and I wasn't let down. The plot was quick paced and each character drew me in.
I am looking forward to future books in this series.

I'll admit that the first 1/4 of the book or so was tough for me to get into, however once I really got deeper into the story I was hooked. I can feel some traces of Brandon Sanderson's style in the book but it's not at all derivative; it unquestionably has a life of its own. The mix of sorcery with muzzle loader era warfare was executed well and the characters made sure I came back for book 2 (which I did).

I normally do not enjoy books that have multiple characters to follow.
This one is exceptional.

Great magic setup, good setting, really, really cool characters....read this story.

I cant tell you more right now, I have to get the next book (possibly the only downside--this is definitely not the end!).

I really don't know what to say about this book, other than meh. I got through it but the characters seemed stilted, poorly developed, and so flat that the story wasn't that overall. I read through it to give it a shot, but I won't continue with the series.

He really established characters that you could care about,(and some you don't)
Its not very nice of him to make us wait until the next book to find out what happens to these people.
Yes, I know its a fantasy book, and the people are not real. But they felt real to me as I was reading it.

A fantastic book - something like a cross between Brandon Sanderson and Joe Abercrombie. Magic system is fun, characters are engaging, and the story pulls you along. Just reread this (to prep for book 2) and liked it the scond time as much as the first - great fantasy!

This started off slow but this quickly became a great read. While I felt unclear on some of the background of the world being thrust into it, but the immersion worked as i quickly grew attached to the characters and their growth. Taniel quickly became my favorite as he struggled with his own personal demons.

When I first started this book I had, for lack of better words, culture shock. The completely different route that the author traveled to bring us into his world was worth every moment. The story conveys a sense of Napoleonic fantasy that was executed superbly. I just can't wait for the next installment.

The characters are one dimensional, cartoon-ish. The many different plot threads don't come together in any meaningful way, so the whole is less than the sum of its parts instead of more. And the author fails to build any tension, so despite the occational action the story comes off as boring.

I found this book a little difficult to follow. Possible if I had read other books by the author I would have understood some of his terminology.
If you are a sci fi/fantasy fan looking for an amazing "can't put it down" read then this isn't the book for you, in my humble opinion.

The author has hit a tried and true formula with this book (think mistborn). Not many books can keep me up at night reading, but this one did. For that I thank him. I will be following this story and its characters to the conclusion of the series, and hoping for more. Thank you!

Coming off of years of Wheel of TIme, I've been looking for new fantasy to sink my teeth into and stumbled upon the Powder Mage Trilogy. What you'll find inside is an excellent intrigue driven story set in a fully realized world of interesting characters. If you dig stories of court intrigue or epic fantasy, you'll love this book.

Anything different in fantasy is good. In this case it's the time period. This is a little different than every fantasy book out there which sets it apart. Nicely written, interesting characters, interesting Magic system

I am an avid fantasy reader and really enjoyed this story. It was a fast read with interesting characters that ranged from kings to assassin gangs to gods. The magic in this story was unique and made for a fun read. I recommend this book to any fan of the genre.

Very well written, engaging, and action packed. The characters are believable and so is the dialogue (something it seems most writers stumble with). The authors take on a magic system is unique and very intriguing. I'm really looking forward to reading the next book.

Obviously inspired by Alloy of Law, to the point of feeling a bit like a ripoff. The one dimensional character development in this book is frankly distracting from the story. This reads like a mediocre movie script.

Bought this book on a whim and let me tell you what I was sure glad I did. Really enjoyed the magic system that was put into place in this book. Enjoyed all the characters, how well they were written how fleshed out they were. Just an all around good read.

Like a locomotive it takes a little while to to get up to speed, but then it's a great ride. It was almost a "You'll be late if you don't put that down" book. Immediately went looking for the follow up.

Just awesome. Great character development. Moral dilemmas with no clear right answer. A bit of mystery, betrayal, and whodunit. And a whole lot of badass fighting, with an interesting and novel magic system, especially the powder mages. Can't wait to read the next book!

I liked the writing of the book, detailed and well written, and the idea, but it was rather boring and could hardly get into it. I forced myself to finish it, the fight scenes are cool though. I don't know if I will be purchasing the second book.

I really enjoyed this story and the characters brought to life in it. The world this author brought to life was different and interesting. If you enjoy Sanderson then you'll probably enjoy this book. There is an obvious influence there. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

I have not read the book because I have not purchased it! Why, because as a debate novel for a first time author, I do not consider a price of $9.78 to be very reasonable!!! I want new Authors to succeed and provide a living for themselves and theirs but I believe that this price for a first time published Novel is a bit too much (even more so for established Authors who peddle crap at high prices because of an established name).

Look at Anthony Ryan's Blood Song @4.74 (fantastic book!) and he is also a first time Author (originally the price was $2.99 but he was picked up by a Publisher and the price raised)

Brian McClellan comes out guns blazing with his novel "Promise of Blood". I'm used to seeing new authors struggle somewhat to find their voice over their first few books. Not so here. Solid characters, good dialog, novel ideas for world/magic/divinity. I'm very impressed and will be looking forward to the next book in the Powder Mage Trilogy.

My reading of this book came to a stuttering halt after a few chapters. I suppose that the author intends to eventually somehow portray the French revolution in a positive light, so I suppose I have to give him credit for attempting the impossible. Unfortunately the characters introduced at the opening are utterly unsympathetic and nondescript, and the early events create no tension or interest. There was nothing to latch onto or follow, so after yawning mightily for a while, I put the book away for good.

This is a fantasy with a very unique magic system, which is one of the things I enjoyed the most about it. It also has a fast paced plot that contains a twist that truly surprised me, and the story itself was actually much more fascinating than I thought it would be. The characters are well developed, and though the protagonists are morally ambiguous in many ways, I still found myself liking them a lot. McClellan has created a unique and fun fantasy, and I cannot wait to read the second book in the series.

The book is well written though not challenging for a prolific reader. The system of magic used in this world is wonderful and unique. One can relate to the characters even if every character isn't 100% likable.

I really enjoyed Promise of Blood. I picked it up because idea of gunpowder and sorcery was intriguing and I really enjoyed the book. The characters are really well written, although I wish they had developed the female characters better, especially Vlora. She was introduced as Taniel's cheating ex-fiance and I thought that story line would go somewhere. However, it didn't, and Vlora ended up getting very little characterization or page time. It felt like she was being set up as someone I was supposed to sympathize with, but I ended up not caring about her at all. I hope the author changes this in the next book.

The plot moves a little slowly at first, but picks up speed as the book moves along and the author no longer has to introduce the characters and their concerns. It's a promising start to a new trilogy and I'm looking forward to the next one.

I am not a fantasy novel junkie or anything of the sort. I came into this with being someone who has read only a few books from the genre. I thoroughly enjoyed the story/writing in Promise of Blood and I am definitely looking forward to the second installment.

I really enjoyed this story and the characters brought to life in it. The world this author brought to life was different and interesting. If you enjoy Sanderson then you'll probably enjoy this book. There is an obvious influence there. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

I liked the plot, in particular the intrigue, but it was not well executed. There is potential here but I quit in the middle because the first half was a labor and I got tired of having to try so hard. It just wasn't interesting. It could have been, but it wasn't. The writing didn't grab me at all, and the magic felt like a "Mistborn" rip off. If McClellan comes out with another series I will give it a try, because this could have been good. But I'm out, because it was not.

Poor mans Sanderson, still a pretty solid read. Plot unfolds nicely leaving a few questions left unanswered at the end. I think a character or two could have been explained a bit better, but I'm in for book 2 regardless.

The book is well written though not challenging for a prolific reader. The system of magic used in this world is wonderful and unique. One can relate to the characters even if every character isn't 100% likable.

I can't understand all of the five stars review for this book. The magic system borrows heavily from Sanderson's far superior Mistborn books and, as many reviewers have noted, I finished the book caring not at all what happens to any of the characters. I feel cheated having paid $9.99 for the Kindle edition for a book that isn't worth reading for free. No interesting or surprising twists in the plot. Plenty of action, but hard to be entertained if you don't really care what happens to the characters. No romantic plot lines of note. How is this guy selling his work? Why didn't I buy a copy of Joe Abercrombie's "Sharp Ends" instead?

I liked the writing of the book, detailed and well written, and the idea, but it was rather boring and could hardly get into it. I forced myself to finish it, the fight scenes are cool though. I don't know if I will be purchasing the second book.

This was so close to being awesome. And, to be honest, I kept turning the pages. However, it felt like it never quite hit the mark. I do think, however, that McClellan has a lot of promise (and is already better than plenty of authors out there). In fact, this effort is probably better than a couple of Sanderson's (his mentor) less stellar efforts. So - not a bad book by any means.

This new, imaginative, and innovative epic fantasy will blow your mind. It starts off with a bloody coup and just ratchets up the tension every step of the way. The plot follows three protagonists amid industrialization, court intrigue, and old gods rising. The old sorcery of tradition, or the Privileged, is being supplanted and replaced by the dangerous and foreign powder mages, men and women who can manipulate gunpowder with their minds.
Most of the novel deals with the fall-out of the coup, the protagonists set against royalists, assassins, traitors, and rogue Privileged, all culminating in an explosive ending (pun intended). It is a wild ride, the tension escalating the entire novel and delivering a terrific novel in a completely new setting and fantasy.
If you want a break from the old and an awesome story, buy Promise of Blood now.

Promise of Blood is an interesting debut novel.

Likes:
Interesting magic
Decent characters
Fast-paced plot

Dislikes:
Basic plotting/scene structure issues
Suspense never really builds; the stakes are raised, but it doesn't feel like they are. Even when crazy, world-changing events are happening, I didn't really get all that invested in them.

Overall, this was an enjoyable book to read. It took me a while to get hooked, and even then it wasn't a crazy I-can't-put-this-down kind of hook.

I think this is a pretty good debut though, and I look forward to seeing what McClellan comes out with next.

I found this book a little difficult to follow. Possible if I had read other books by the author I would have understood some of his terminology.
If you are a sci fi/fantasy fan looking for an amazing "can't put it down" read then this isn't the book for you, in my humble opinion.

Could have been good...but it wasn't. Characters are flat and pretty bloody stupid. The story isn't especially gripping. I'm a little more than halfway through the first book and I doubt I'll get any further.

The characters are one dimensional, cartoon-ish. The many different plot threads don't come together in any meaningful way, so the whole is less than the sum of its parts instead of more. And the author fails to build any tension, so despite the occational action the story comes off as boring.

This poor review has nothing to do with the authors content. My issue is with whomever decided to not make this digital download incompatible with the Cloud Reader on PC. This book cannot be read on my desktop. It can only be downloaded to my smartphone or my Kindle. I paid $10 for a digital book and I should be able to read it on any medium I damn well choose! On the product description it clearly states, "available on these devices: Kindle for PC." In the store's FAQ, it states, "Note: If the title isn't compatible, the device or reading app won't be selectable in the drop-down menu." That's exactly what's happening to me. It's not a selectable option. Other books work fine, so it's not a glitch.

This review is for the series and does not contain spoilers.

I'll start with the good, which is most of the series. The story is well crafted, the plot makes sense, and each book is satisfying through to the end. That's not easy to do in a longer story, but these work.

Like most fantasy books, the stories branch off and switch back and forth. I'm not a big fan of the practice usually. Too often fantasy authors (Robert Jordan, for example) have too many stories running, and you're never sure whether the people in the side plots will reappear or exist only to communicate one piece of information. Other authors just tell two parallel stories that only intersect when the characters physically meet up again. McClellan's side stories are better than most. There aren't any characters that bored me, and the side stories actually end up mattering and contributing to the overall plot. For example, one character learns a crucial piece of information related to another character's current situation. The readers learn something at the right time, and it can add tension to the story while the other character doesn't know what we know.

There are some negatives worth pointing out, too. The writing style and quality had their off moments. One of the more common rules you'll hear as a writer is "show, don't tell." There's a lot of telling in these books. McClellan relied heavily on telling us what the characters were thinking rather than getting to know people by their words and actions. There are also moments where the bad (or at least missing) writing leads the reader to not care very much about things we're supposed to care about. I'm trying to avoid spoilers, so I apologize if the example is vague. The plot makes heavy use of Tamas's past regarding his wife, and that plays out in the affairs of neighboring nations. This hugely important part of the story is told in a few paragraphs, and never shown. We never have a flashback and never witness the past, people, and relationships. This makes it hard to care very much. Don't get me wrong: I cared about the characters and stories, but not the histories we're told and people we barely meet.

Wildly inconsistent, Promise of Blood is packed full of characters who behave mystifyingly and irrationally. From the "Tactical genius" Field Marshal Tamas, who walks blithely into any assassination attempt or obvious trap he can (on three separate occasions) To the boogeyman bad-guy of the novel Julene, who turns into some kind of large cat halfway through the book, never to return. I'm not one to harp on crap names in a fantasy novel, but Julene? Is she supposed to dredge up all of my primal fear of white trash trailer park queens? How about the mute demi-god following around one of the main characters who for no reason at all, doesn't use her astounding powers until the last chapter of the book? Adamat, the investigator who has the most amazing lack of personality or motives I've ever had the displeasure to read about. And let's not forget the greatest crime of plot mediocrity, Bo and Vlora, Two side-plots that are individually more interesting than the entire book, but are casually glazed over in the whitewash of boring and repetitive dross that fills the main character's thoughts, I hate my father, I hate the kez, I'm in over my head: superb!

The setting is contrived and unbelievable, and nothing about the universe's politics or governances is the least bit convincing or original. The actions of the nations as a whole don't make sense, and the role that the shadowy predeii play in the world is so illogical it hurts. If they've got godlike power, and ruled the world before, AND the privileged that could keep them in check are getting weaker by the year, why aren't they ruling the world now? Things simply go unexplained in Promise of Blood for vast swaths of pages, and you're left to infer more about the world than you're ever told.

There's a repetition to the book as well, as McClellan channels The Wheel of Time, especially when dealing with the description of characters, which I guess is probably a good thing, because they're all so one dimensional you forget everything about them when the viewpoint changes. Let's not forget that one doesn't simply become a Brigadier in the Wings of Adom, and make sure to remind the reader of this fact eight thousand times and never on a single occasion demonstrate this to be true, as far as I'm aware, they're all easily manipulated morons, and completely incapable. Tamas's co-conspirators always show up in sequence, each getting a one-liner and maybe a swift introduction before another one is shouting through the door, in a fun little song and dance repeated every single time they're on screen.

Referred to on several occasions as "magery" (lol), there are three, four, maybe seven (I lost track) different kinds of magus in the Nine, and none of them seem to have very well established abilities. With the exception of knacked, none of them are explained with any clarity or assuredness. Taniel is the only one who uses his powers with regularity, and when he does it's quite different than what Tamas does, or what Vlora does, or what Sabon does. The abilities of the characters are so vague, that in one of the climactic showdowns of the book, Tamas appears to be beaten, and then Tamas "lights a touch of powder" and his opponent is crippled, without any explanation of what he did. Privileged, for no discernible reason, have insatiable sexual appetites, and need gloves to work their power, though what purpose the gloves serve or why they need them is never adequately explained, after all the chef has no need of the gloves to do his magic, and it's admitted that they're simply more powerful versions of predeii and privileged, who do need them. And on a more conceptual level, the mages don't feel magical, save for the privileged. Powder mages are foiled by air rifles, which seem to be everywhere and in the hands of everyone, wardens are killed by basically normal humans, and aside from the first appearance of such a one, they're everywhere afterwards, making them commonplace and boring.

But all of this pales in comparison to the plot. Vlora's infidelity: unresolved. Ka-poel's powers: unexplained. Taniel's relationship to his father: untouched. Taniel's relationship to Ka-Poel: unexplained. Taniel attempting to kill Bo: ignored. Bo's compulsion to kill Tamas: unfinished. The Kez invasion: unfinished. The fate of Kresimir: unexplained. The fate of Julene: unexplained. The fate of Duke Nickslaus: unexplained. The fate of Charlemund: captured, but uncertain. Adamat's family: still missing. Nila and Jakob: unexplained. Lord Vetas: unexplained. Maybe you've gotten the idea by now, but there is only two answers in this entire book that come to mind: Kresimir's promise, which comes to fruition about a third of the way in, and the story of the mad Chef, who it turns out is in fact who he says he is. I don't know how you can write a book and not actually conclude a plot within it, but apparently it can be done, and it will be published.

The kindle edition formatting is egregious, sometimes jumping between characters viewpoints without a line break or carriage return, and inconsistent about it when the formatting does acknowledge a change. If the book were worth reading, I'd say the kindle formatting ruins it, but that might be impossible considering how abysmal everything else is as well.

$2 is a pretty low price of admission for a fantasy novel, but pretty a pretty high one to be mentally abused by Mr. McClellan. So I guess depending on your level of tolerance for that kind of thing, this might be right up your uninteresting and unresolved alley. As is, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone with a pulse, and probably not to anyone outside of that category either.

This is a case where I picked up the book because the mechanics of the setting sounded interesting: a more or less traditional medieval fantasy world where sorcery is super-rare and super-powerful, but there are also "powder mages" who can tap into and control the energy of gunpowder. I was sucked in almost immediately because it opens immediately after a coup that overthrows a corrupt king and his noble allies.

It's chaos as the Field Marshal behind the coup struggles to consolidate the peace, while royalists rally, the neighboring enemy masses at the border, a traitor from within threatens to undo all, and a powerful sorcerer seeks to summon one of the ancient gods back to cleanse the earth... One strand follows the Field Marshall, another follows his powder mage son who's at the border on the front lines, and the third storyline follows an investigator hired to root out the traitor.

On the whole, it's an engaging, if somewhat workmanlike story. It moves along nicely, and the tension ratchets slowly up, but the characters aren't rich enough to really drag one deep into the story. Each has a dash of personality and quirk or two so you can keep track of who is who, but I never quite got invested in any of them. It doesn't help that there's a supporting character who is pretty obviously very important, but is kept loitering in the background for the vast majority of the book until they finally get a chance to "surprise" everyone with how powerful they are.

I did like elements of the setting, such as the role of the church, and the ambitions of a workers union, which felt a little more thought out than in most fantasy books. But then there are other potentially interesting threads (such as one character's apparent addiction to gunpowder) that never end up going anywhere (at least in this first book). On the whole, it's a perfectly fine bit of entertainment, and I'll probably catch up with the others in the series, but it's not special.

I really enjoyed this book. It has the most unique flintlock fantasy take I've seen. The cast of characters and constant flipping back and forth between the various scenes had me taking notes just to keep all the protagonists and antagonists in order. There is something here for everyone, mystery (Sherlock holms style with a super sharp detective), marine style soldiering action, hints at a romance, god level magics, and in the trenches fighting both campaign style and street thuggery. The volume of characters made it hard to get tied to one particular. I'm sure most will feel that Taniel, the Field Marshal's son and a master sniper powder mage is the main character. But there are at least four main characters Field Marshal Tamas (commander of the Adran Army), Adamat (our Sherlock Holmes-styled former police inspector), Taniel (a super soldier level sniper and the Field Marshal's son), and Nila (an Adran laundress for a duke who gets swept up in the mess).

Why only four stars? Because the problem with this book is it isn't a complete book. It is just the beginning of an epic so large it won't fit in a single book (or two for that matter, you have to read the entire trilogy). Nothing started in this book is finished by the end. There are just too many characters, too many locations, and too many things happening all at once. It is epic in every possible aspect of the word. I appreciate a vast world, I love complex stories showing a living breathing world. This is all that and frankly, it manages to pull it all off. By the end of the book, I really did care about some of the characters.

The book doesn't end, it just stops with absolutely nothing even close to being resolved. Honestly, the story just takes on too much of the world all at once. It's like trying to drink from a firehose on full. Here are most of the primary characters: Adamat, Ajucare, Astrit, Borbador, Charlemund, Cenka, Eldaminse, Erika, Faye, Ganny, Gothen, Heathlo, Ipille, Jakob, Josep, Julene, Ka-Poel, Lajos, Manhouch XII, Mihali, Natalija, Nikslaus, Nila, Olem, Ondraus the Reeve, Palagyi, Prime Lektor, The Proprietor, Ricard Tumblar, Rozalia, Sabastenien, Sabon, Saddie, Tamas, Taniel, Uskan, Vadalslav, Vlora, Westeven, and Lady Winceslav.

And then there are the locations: Adopest, Adopest University, Adro, Adsea, Budwiel, Dynize Empire, Elections Square, Fatrasta, Gates of Wasal, Gurla, House of Nobles, Jileman University, Kresim Kurga, King's Garden, Kirkamshire, Lighthouse of Gostaun, Nafolk, Nine Nations, Nopeth University, Norport, Novi, Offendale, Oktersehn, Public Archives, Skyline Palace, and South Pike Mountain to mention only a few.

This is a really fun book. I love the magic system in it (though a lot of it is still a mystery after completing the book). The setting is really cool too. Not too often you read fantasy in the gunpowder age but this mixes magic and guns in a really neat way. It’s always refreshing to see a pretty unique spin on things and, for me, this definitely had that going for it. I enjoyed the setting right from the start.
The characters are pretty interesting and the story bounces between 3.5 perspectives, I say half because one of the story lines is a pretty tiny part of the book. The author does a pretty good job flowing from one to the other and the best part is none of them are terribly boring. I feel like a lot of times, books that have multiple perspectives have one or more storylines that is an absolute bore and really detracts from the book. I can say that only one of the storylines here would be considered close to boring but it’s a pretty minor part of the book and I still enjoyed the story arc.
I try to never go into plot very much on reviews because, personally, I love not knowing very much going into a new book. But the plot is fun, not terribly fast paced but the time in between events is filled with deception, intrigue, and all sorts of interesting developments. The scope is pretty big but not too overwhelming. Overall, I’d definitely recommend it to fantasy lovers. If the civil war was fought with wizards, bullet bending marksmen, and gods picking sides and watching over it, I would imagine this would be the result.

It was an entertaining book. Interesting twists on magic, sorcery, and 18th century weapons. The characters are a bit too intertwined for my tastes. Many characters are in completely disparate occupations, but then surprise, they are brother in laws/ best friends/ etc. I recommend you give it a read. It's not the best book out there, but it'll keep you interested.

*Spoilers from here*

I feel that there were a lot of people who died in this book, where I just didn't care. Sabon died at the end, and I sorta shrugged my shoulders. That guy who could stop privileged magic was melted, and I all could think was "huh." If there was more development for these characters, then I think it would have made moments like that more impactful.

Also, I listened to the audiobook while I was bottle feeding, so I probably am spelling these names wrong. I couldn't help but think that Olem was a nightmare as a baby. The man never sleeps. His parents probably found out he was a knacked pretty early on.

This book came up as a suggestion as I was browsing my library online. I started reading with no knowledge or expectations and I'm happy that I did. I'm horrible at writing reviews but let me just tell you, you won't be disappointed with this one

I have two thoughts on PROMISE OF BLOOD.

1) Interesting world and magical/societal dynamics. The story takes place in the equivalent of the industrial revolution. But with magic.

2) I quite dislike cliffhanger endings.

Promise of Blood is a book that fascinated me before I even cracked it open. There is something irresistibly evocative about the cover; an older man in military uniform sits on a throne, an old black powder rifle across his knees and a weary look on his face. The tagline on the cover reads "the age of kings is dead and I have killed it." This is not going to be the usual epic fantasy fare.

As I started to read Brian McClellan's debut novel, I was pleased to find that the contents lived up to the promise of the cover. The setting, reminiscent of Europe during the early parts of the Industrial Revolution, is like a breath of fresh air for the fantasy genre. The action takes place immediately after the King of Adro has been overthrown. There are obvious parallels to the French Revolution and it makes a very compelling backdrop for McClellan's story.

This book moves at a breakneck pace, propelled by prose that is spare but effective. There are three main POV characters: Tamas, a military commander and leader of the afore mentioned coup, Tamas's son Taniel, a young soldier returning to a city in turmoil after a long a campaign abroad, and finally Adamat, a retired police inspector and private investigator. The POV characters are well written and interesting, but I did find that the point of view switched too often, leaving a slightly disjointed feel.

While the main characters are interesting, there were some others on the periphery who seemed to have a ton of potential but were left as bare sketches. I particuarly wanted to learn more about Taniel's mute companion, Ka-Poel, and his former fiance, Vlora. It was nice to see two older characters in the book, Tamas and Adamat, proving that epic fantasy does not have to be a young person's game.

Finally, the book features several distinct magic systems, all of which were well-defined and balanced. The tremendous power of the Privileged, more traditional fantasy magic users, balances well with the long range deadliness of the Powder Mages. We get to see how these magics work in McClellan's well-written, visceral fight scenes.

Despite some flaws with pacing and some two-dimensional characters, Promise of Blood is a tremendous debut novel. The mix of action, intrigue and mystery in a fresh fantasy setting kept me turning pages and left me eager to read the next volume.

This was an absolute beauty of a book. I loved the mix of fantasy and a bit of mystery. The story was incredibly compelling and the action was heart pounding. I found myself blasting through this book in only a few short days and o am immediately reaching for the next one.

Promise of Blood is just the first to get you sucked into the Powder Mage world. After this I devoured the other 2 books as well as all the Novella's. Thank the Gods for an author who finishes his stories. McClellan builds a world that is fantastic and believable all at once. You feel with and for the characters. Highly recommend starting this series but be warned you will keep wanting more......

I really enjoyed this book. The world and its history were well-constructed and explained. The magic was wholly original, which is an achievement in itself. I loved that the author managed to evoke various historic revolutions (the first French revolution, the first and second Russian revolutions, the Thirty Years' War, even the Mexican revolution) but still made the final product entirely original. For the most part I cared for the characters, or at least understood their actions. Even minor characters were treated with something like dignity.

I gave 4 rather than 5 stars for two reasons, which probably won't matter to some readers. That's fine. They did to me and may to similar readers. The first is a complete lack of naming patterns for characters. I'll grant it's mostly aesthetic, but consistency can help readers quickly identify a character's background and possible allegiance. Shared characteristics can help create a culture and make it easier for readers to imagine.

(very minor spoilers) The second reason is that important ideas tended to appear or disappear at convenient times, and not reappear. In one battle scene a lot of explanation about "Towers" is given and the characters go to enormous lengths to destroy one. It's unclear whether they do and no others appear in other equally important battles. There are several characters who just happen to be surviving members of an ancient group of sorcerers.

I'm a geographer by training and inclination and that colors my review. I hope it's helpful. I enjoyed the book and will likely read the rest when published.

This is a fantasy with a very unique magic system, which is one of the things I enjoyed the most about it. It also has a fast paced plot that contains a twist that truly surprised me, and the story itself was actually much more fascinating than I thought it would be. The characters are well developed, and though the protagonists are morally ambiguous in many ways, I still found myself liking them a lot. McClellan has created a unique and fun fantasy, and I cannot wait to read the second book in the series.

I love the world this book creates. I'm all for magic and guns. The combinations of technology and fantasy always make me giddy. That said, this book isn't Steampunk in its atmosphere; it's too fantasy for that. If it's on the Steampunk meter at all it would be on the very miniscule side. It's more military to me, but who cares.

It's a very fast-paced book in that it doesn't take the time to really ever info-dump. While confusing at first, I caught on to what things like a powder mage and the Privileged were through the context which is pretty neat. I'm neither professional reader or dumb in that I like being allowed to figure things out on my own without it being too complex that I can't make heads or tails of it.

... If that makes any sense.

I gave it four stars instead of five simply because of one thing: I am picky with my women. I think I liked all of them except Nila. Maybe I'm jealous because Olem liked her.

(... Olem=<3)

But I like to think it was more because at this point she seems just more of an add-on. I know she'll play a larger role later. For now, though, it took the whole book to set her up for her story. The other women could have been treated better for my tastes as well.

Still, I recommend it for anyone that has army-esque fantasy tastes. It's a wonderful book! I hope the second one comes out soon!

In brief, I didn't realize Napoleanic-punk was missing from my life until I read this book.

Not in brief, Promise of Blood is a great introduction to an incredibly original world crafted by Brian McClellan. Imagine a world set during the French Revolution(an apt metaphor in more ways than one) where magic is still alive and well. Add to that a group of men and women who can control gunpowder with a thought. It's old school wizardry against "techno" mages and it sets up for some fantastic scenes. The sorcerous ideas are gradually introduced as the book goes on, so by the end you are totally engulfed in the world.

For a first time outing, Brian easily manages the multiple plot threads and bevy of unique characters and ideas throughout the book; very rarely did I ever feel lost or confused by what was going on. The twists are fun, the battles exciting, and the book difficult to put down. I was hooked from chapter one.

Looking forward to the rest of the trilogy!

Promise of Blood is a fantasy debut that shows epic promise. The action, plot, dialogue, pacing, and world-building are all top notch.

Promise of Blood opens as Field Marshal Tamas--the ranking military officer in Adom--completes a successful coup over the rightful, but dissolute, king. The coup is a success, but things get very interesting very quickly. A powerful female sorcerer escapes Tamas' purge of the king's cabal of sorcerers, those sorcerers die with an enigmatic warning on their lips, royalists remain, a traitor is in their midst, and a mysterious master chef arrives (yes, a chef). Tamas is joined as a main character with Adamat, a retired police inspector with a photographic memory, and Taniel, Tamas' son and a powerful powder mage in his own right.

What is a powder mage? This is where Promise of Blood's world-building gets interesting. Unlike most epic fantasy worlds, the world of the Nine (nations) has gun and gunpowder technology. It's a 18th century-esque world where men have tired of kings and gods. Powder mages are a very special type of magic user--their magic consists entirely of manipulating gunpowder, whether using it to give themselves superhuman abilities, to angle a bullet around a wall, or to "float" a bullet two miles over a battlefield. "Privileged" are more traditional magic-users who manipulate the five elements (here, aether instead of spirit) using their fingers. "Knacked" have a single ability (one minor character never needs to sleep) and Taniel has a young companion with mysterious abilities.

Taniel and Adamat are usual character types--a young hotshot and a hard-bitten detective--done very well. Tamas is more interesting. Where fantasy heroes often start young and powerless, we are introduced to an older Tamas that at the opening chapter is at the height of his power. He comes into the story with deep scars already, and he's as hard as an out-and-out hero gets.

Promise of Blood is not without its flaws. It wears the influence of Jordan, Sanderson, and Martin on its sleeve a little too openly at times. McClellan commits the twin world-building sins of giving us a world a little bit too generic Europe but loaded down with pointless invented terms nonetheless. The magic of the Privileged isn't given quite enough development. A little over halfway through the book McClellan falls back on one of the lazier tropes in speculative fiction, a sequence that has bizarrely little effect on the rest of the story--something that probably should have been cut and replaced. The arc of a minor character is utterly uninterested, although it may be important to the rest of the trilogy. But these are just nits, and do little to take away from the book (hence it still gets a 5-star review).

The final verdict? Promise of Blood is a dang good book, McClellan is a bright new name in fantasy, and the Powder Mage is one of the more promising series to open in recent times. Oh, and the cover is beautiful.

Promise of Blood is a nice change from the stereotypical fantasy genre. Rather than being based in the middle ages, this novel is based during the French Revolution. The novel has three classes of mages with defined rules for 2 of them.

The only drawback to the novel is the characters are rather flat. This is certainly no Song of Ice & Fire (though Martin tends to kills them all off). Given this is the first of the trilogy, hope remains for the novels and the characters are certainly interesting.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the novel and highly recommend it.

Meh. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't mind-blowingly awesome as well. I feel like the characters in this book were paper thin; Ka-Poel in particular. We hear vaguely of her backstory about how she was rescued by Taniel, but that's it. The world created by McClellan seems unique but it could be fleshed out more. For example, how are people tested for their powers at a young age? What are the ranks of the cabal (if there are any at all...). It just seemed very superficial fantasy to me.

All in all. If you're looking for some deep fantasy this really isn't for you.

This book has such amazing reviews, I had to give it a shot. But McClellan is just not a good enough writer to pull it off.

I thought that this was a weak universe built on other authors efforts. The foundation here had me thinking often of Sandersons Mistborn stories. Its very similar in that some of the characters could wield magic. Those that could were kind of like Superman (indestructible hero's). I don't know why anyone would bother being in the army only to be used as cannon fodder for the delight of these super beings. Other than the fact that magic is used by some and gunpowder is being used as a sort of Mistborn elemental tool, this world built by McClellan is empty. He doesn't explore its streets or what makes it tick. Instead he tries to set up a few clashing enemies in a Game Of Thrones kind of way.

Characters here are very flat. McClellan jumps from one to another, but he does not do very much to distinguish them from each other (personality wise). Some of the motives behind these characters were laughable.

The narrator Rodska has a British accent. I'm not anti British accents, but here it got in the way of enjoying the book. It was hard enough to get past McClellans sub par writing with confusing names without also straining to interpret what Rodska was saying.

So this story is in my opinion poorly written, the characters are interchangeable twits, the plot is confusing and in retrospect silly, the universe built here is sub par, and the narration makes it even harder to get into what is going on. Stay away from this book. Try Patrick Rothfuss or Sandersons Way of the King instead.

Admittedly, I was a little lost to begin with, because the author brings you in on fully realized world that you have to take a bit of time to grasp (at least on my part.) Once it gets going, it's extremely difficult to stop reading. It reminds of my favorite elements in Bernard Cornwall's "Sharpe's Rifles" series. A very compelling, imaginative book with complex interesting characterizations. I'm looking forward to reading the remainder of the trilogy.

The Promise Of Blood is a fantastically fun story which opens in Tamus’s coupe and takeover of the nation. He removes the king and inherits all his problems plus some. This book is Unique Unique Unique. McClellan offers us a story of daring, intrigue, betrayal, and war, all wrapped in a fantastically new and fun magic system.
I'm the author of Mist Falcon: Book One Of The Warrior Poet Archives (Volume 1) and The Touch Heist: A Warrior Poet Archives Story (The Warrior Poet Archives) , and I read a ton of fantasy books. Trust me when I tell you, You don't want to miss out on this series.
In The Promise Of Blood there are actually several magic systems woven into one world. First we have privileged who you might think of as sorcerers, able to do incredible things at short range by manipulating the else with their gloved fingers.
Then we have Powder Mages who can manipulate gun powder to make incredible shots out of their muskets or pistols, ignite the powder from a distance, channel the explosion of powder into other things, or, and delightfully, consume gun powder in small doses to enhance their bodies strength and senses.
Knack would be classified as an ordinary person with one incredible ability such as a perfect memory or never needing sleep.
There is also a mysterious fourth kind of magic that “the civilized world” doesn’t seem to have much knowledge of, but that one of the supporting cast is inclined towards.
This book is completely immersing. It’s hard to put it down as we follow not only Tamus, but his son, Taniel, a slightly imbittered brilliant fighter with a slight addiction to gun powder, and Inspector Adamant, the determined investigator with everything to lose. Read this book. Seriously, Read This Book!

This book is awesome..the story is original and once you get into it you won't be able to put the book down...i like how the magic system is approached and how the characters are not black and white..this is part of a trilogy that is already FINISHED(I hate you Mr Martin)..highly recommended..the best fantasy book i have read in a while..

Tried reading it, couldn't finish. Basically it's the French revolution in a fantasy setting complete with a revolution at the very beginning. After the first few mentions or attempts of rape, and one of the characters snorting gunpowder, I found better things to read with my time. Not sure if I ever got to what a powder mage really is.

I've read quite a bit of fantasy as well as military history and that's what initially drew me to this title and story. Once in, I was hooked. Loved the combination of limited magic and supernatural beings (wardens). While I enjoyed the action sequences, involving all sorts of skirmishes and battles, I also enjoyed the secondary detective story line and its associated characters. I have little in the way of criticisms and would recommend the trilogy very highly.

One of the most concise, exciting, and well written new fantasy books on the market. The books have a 1st person alternating narrative that focus's on a few main characters intertwining stories. The Trilogy an interesting action-packed plot set in an exciting world with twist and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat and looking for more. After reading the entire Game of Thrones Series, the first few books of the Black Company novels, all the Witcher novels,and multiple other stories this year, the Powder Mage Trilogy has stood out as one of the smoothest, most interesting set of stories, I have read in a quite a long time. Will look for more work from McClellan in the future. A+ material!

I just finished Brians debut fantasty novel and Im near speachless. Time and time again we see new authors and their debuts are awful. Of course they usually improve as time goes no, but this is usually over the course of several years. After finishing Promise of Blood it becomes clear to me that Brian is soon, if not already, on the same par as Brandon Sanderson and Orson Scott Card.

Brians novel begins with a bang; and never really ceases to be gripping. From one scene to the next I was pulled from page to page and found myself reading until deep into the night; only to wake and plan my day around contiuning on. Brians characters are amazing in detail and depth. Tamaz, Taniel, and Adamat (not to mention dozens of others) are portarayed is such a real and vibrant fasion that after you read a few pages the scenes come to life in your mind as though they were memories seen by your own eyes. Well done Brian!

This is a novel that will be taken down off the shelf and be read, reread, and read again. I sincerely can not wait for the rest of the trilogy and pray that Brian is working diligently on the next two. But in the meantime I will be more than thrilled to reread Promise of Blood and enjoy every word that was so brillantly placed on the page.

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last few months, you should already know about Brian McClellan's Promise of Blood. The amazing cover has sparked a lot of talk recently. It is said you shouldn't judge a book by its cover; in this case, it is okay if you do.

Promise of Blood starts off with a military coup that has the backing of the various guilds and organizations of the city. This includes the church. The king and nobility have been living a life of luxury, while the citizens fall deeper into debt and despair. The debt incurred by the King has left the nation vulnerable, leaving no choice but to wrestle the throne away from the nobility and set up a new government. From there the story really takes off and never lets the reader go.

Promise of Blood has a few different points of view and story lines. The first is Field Marshal Tamas. He led the coup overthrowing the king and nobility and is in charge of bringing order back to the city. He is a very capable man who values the worth of a person and not their bloodline. He himself rose through the ranks and earned everything that was given to him. He has no desire to sit upon the throne. He only wants to secure his country's borders and keep other nations (specifically the nation of Kez) from taking over. He is also a Powder Mage, which I will talk about later.

Tamas' son, Taniel, Known as "Two Shot" for his uncanny ability to use his sniper rifle on the battlefield, is a very able commander who has just returned from a successful military campaign. He and his mysterious companion, Ka-poel, are charged with hunting down any remaining resistance and to make sure that any of the king's remaining magicians are killed off and no longer a threat to the new regime. He is also a very gifted Powder Mage.

The third individual is Adamat, a former military officer, now retired police investigator. He is hired by Tamas in order to discover if an ancient oath, that could ruin Tamas' plans, is a credible threat.

It is difficult to pick which of these three characters I like more. Each have their strengths and weaknesses, yet all of them are so well written that they feel real. It also helps that McClellan has placed some spectacular supporting characters, who only serve to enhance the three above.

In addition to great characters, we have a very unique magic system, or should I say systems as there are at least two types of magic found within Promise of Blood. The first is your traditional magic system, with a small population able to manipulate the ether through gloves containing mystical runes. They perform magic with what appears to be limitless abilities.

The second magic system used in the novel are Powder Mages, they can perform magic when in the presence of black powder. As far as I can tell, it is offensive magic. The Powder Mages must eat or inhale the powder in order to work their magics.

The two magic houses do not care for one another, or it should be said the traditional magic users do not care for the Powder Mages. The Powder Mages don't seem to care one way or another, or would prefer to work together. One nice touch that McClellan added to the mix was that each magical system has a unique bane that interferes with the ability to work. It was something that I felt enriched the story.

The world building is fairly limited. We have a little bit of knowledge of political climate before the coup and we learn some of the world's history, but for the most part we only know what is crucial to the story at hand. However, I don't think that it detracts from story.

The minor complaints that I have regarding Promise of Blood, is early on in the story someone goes to load their rifle and loads the ball first before adding gunpowder. While I don't have a lot of experience with black powder rifles, I do have some, and I have never known anyone to load the ball (or bullet) first, before adding in the gun powder. However, with people able to create magic from the explosive powder, perhaps it doesn't matter what order you load them into the weapon. but like I said, it is a minor issue and probably something that most would overlook.

With strong characters, a unique magic system, and a compelling story that looks to just be getting started, Promise of Blood is, hands down, my favorite read of the year (so far). Brian McClellan has written an instant classic and will be hard pressed to top what he has already written. Promise of Blood is a series that could very well knock George R. R. Martin off his throne. Highly Recommended.

If you can power through the somewhat confusing beginning and begin to familiarize the characters you begin to fall in love with the powder mage world. If you're looking for a book with magic but still has that war, strategy, horror of war feeling you will absolutely love this book. (and more than one of the war speeches given in the book will give you goose bumps)

Great story. There is an air of mystery regarding the various magics in play in this story as the author does not define them very heavily, which just adds to the depth of the narration. Overall a very good story with strong character development and enough world building to fit the structure. I am definitely looking forward to the next book.

Promise of Blood encompasses an epic scope of events, including war, politics, and religion amongst other things. It is a complex, well-constructed and thought-out world, with every aspect of life considered, which really helped to immerse me into the story. The setting is reminiscent of late 18th-century France, thanks to the image of the uniform on the cover as well as the book's theme of revolution and the symbol of the guillotine. The industrial age is in full swing, with talk of steam-powered printing presses (when they're not exploding for our hapless characters) and other technologies associated with the era. This setting and its ambiance alone sets the book apart for me, makes it special and something else.

At the same time, I felt really comfortable reading this. There are a lot of original ideas in the book, but also a familiarity to them that made me feel right at home. In a way, it was like reading an amalgamation of some of my favorite epic fantasies: a magic system that's as creative as anything by Brandon Sanderson, backstabbing and political scheming that reminds me of A Song of Ice and Fire, and a complex religion with a pantheon of gods that bring to mind Jacqueline Carey and her Kushiel books. All of these can potentially be built upon and filled out a little more, of course, which I'm sure will occur throughout the course of the Powder Mage trilogy, but I'm also intrigued and quite happy with what's been established for now.

The magic system could definitely do with a little more praise from me, though. Here, Sanderson's influence is really apparent, which is not surprising given how Brian McClellan is a former student of his. The world of Promise of Blood is home to many types of magic users, not the least are the Marked, powder mages who ingest or snort black powder into their system to reach a state called "powder trance", giving them greater strength, sharper senses, and enabling them to do things like ignite nearby sources of powder or guide bullets to their targets. Then there are the Privileged, who are more your traditional type of mages, manipulating the elements to hurl fireballs and create shields, etc. Then there are the Knacked, who are only in possession of a single "talent", but are able to do that one thing really, REALLY well.

Characters who are Marked, Privileged, and Knacked alike are central to the book's story, since so often their abilities are the main driving force. I find that powder mage sorcery is explained pretty well, but wish there were more details provided for the other classes of magic users too. What's up with those white gloves with the red and gold runes the Privileged wear, for example, and why exactly do they have to wear them in order to do magic? Knacked magic is also somewhat unclear, as despite their having only one talent, what I read makes it seem like anything might be possible with them.

I feel a similar way about the character development. Some, like Tamas, are written really well. He's a completely fleshed-out and multilayered person, at various times making it difficult for me to make up my mind about him. Some of his decisions, like the coup, are motivated by his well-intentioned desires to do right by the Adran people, but I also have to question how much of him is driven by raw emotion and pure hatred for the Kez, especially at the beginning. In the aftermath of all the executions, I admit I did wonder for a brief moment if the author is setting Tamas up to become a misguided villain. Getting to know his character was one helluva ride.

However, my favorite character had to be Adamat. His role in the book provided a bit of mystery to the story, and I always looked forward to returning to his sections. I thought his character and others were given varying degrees of attention when it comes to development, though. I felt more connected to many of them towards the beginning of the novel, only to find myself questioning more and more their perspectives as I progressed. For example, one blackmailed character went on with his work seemingly clearheaded enough, even when presented with the severed finger of his son, while I imagine a family man like him would probably be freaking out like any parent, or at least be feeling a bit more distracted.

Also, the female presence in this book could have been more efficiently presented. A story not having enough of a female perspective isn't actually something I mind, quite honestly not something that would normally occur to me at all, and I probably wouldn't even have noticed here if not for Nila, the royalist laundress who gets caught up in the consequences of the coup. Nila's character is introduced early on in the beginning, but her sections come up sporadically, and once she disappeared for so long that it took me a while to remember who she was. I'm hoping I'll get to see more of her in the second book. Same goes for other female characters like Vlora and Ko-poel, both of whom I found very interesting but underutilized and deserving of more focus.

I want to point that out that none of these weaker points were major enough to take away from my overall enjoyment, though. As with a lot of debut novels, there's a certain raw quality to the writing and storytelling, which becomes slightly more noticeable in the later stages of the book, but it didn't really bother me at all -- mainly because I was so enraptured by the magic and the plot. A lot of great fantasy books have been written over the years, and despite being new on the scene, Brian McClellan has definitely written a novel that can stand on the shelf next to any of them.

Promise of Blood is a fantastic read. Completely engrossing! It’s a flintlock fantasy with a detailed magic system, great political intrigue and awesome characters. I admire McClellan’s ability to infuse tremendous world building into the story seamlessly. It’s masterful.

Seriously one of the best debuts I've read. For me, he outshines his mentor/teacher in Brandon Sanderson in writing style, suspense and world building. In a genre that has been crowed lately, this series stands with the best. "Autumn Republic" is already on order and paid for thru Mr. McClellan website, signed to boot!!! A must read series.

This book came up as a suggestion as I was browsing my library online. I started reading with no knowledge or expectations and I'm happy that I did. I'm horrible at writing reviews but let me just tell you, you won't be disappointed with this one

A great book series. It had me semi-interested at first, but once I really dug in , the series has me hooked. Just finished book two and I have absolutely loved this world and storylines.
If you enjoy the Wheel of Time series, GoT, etc. you will love this.
Would recommend to anyone!

I'll admit that the first 1/4 of the book or so was tough for me to get into, however once I really got deeper into the story I was hooked. I can feel some traces of Brandon Sanderson's style in the book but it's not at all derivative; it unquestionably has a life of its own. The mix of sorcery with muzzle loader era warfare was executed well and the characters made sure I came back for book 2 (which I did).

I really enjoyed Promise of Blood. I picked it up because idea of gunpowder and sorcery was intriguing and I really enjoyed the book. The characters are really well written, although I wish they had developed the female characters better, especially Vlora. She was introduced as Taniel's cheating ex-fiance and I thought that story line would go somewhere. However, it didn't, and Vlora ended up getting very little characterization or page time. It felt like she was being set up as someone I was supposed to sympathize with, but I ended up not caring about her at all. I hope the author changes this in the next book.

Two stars awarded for superb world building, two for gripping action. One lost for lack of direction. Worth reading if you are okay with the writing style.

The world McClellan builds is exciting for sure. Bloody coup combined with mages that get power from snorting gunpowder? Sounds pretty good. The action in the middle is jolly good fun. Definitely a hard book to put down once you're invested.

The book suffers from inconsistency in just about everything. For most of the book I had no idea what the plot was building up to. The characters had well written, developed moments, but also those where they behaved like 2D tropes. The prose itself could have flowed much better. The ending also wasn't my favorite.

This would probably be a better read for those used to the tropes in fantasy writing rather than someone just getting started.

It’s a wonderful book, with beautifully constructed world and plot, full of great, likeable characters. It's heart-poundingly exciting. For the last hundred pages at least you won't enjoy being away from it for a moment.

Just devoured Promise of Blood over a 5-day vacation. Great book! I cannot wait for more. For anyone who likes Brandon Sanderson, you will love the story, magic system and strong characters Brian McClellan lays down. Pick it up.

Gritty, fast-paced action sequences. Well written characters and banter that will actually make you laugh. An epic storyline that isn't predictable.

It has all the makings to be an excellent trilogy that I cannot wait to read and to see more from Brain McClellan.

My reading of this book came to a stuttering halt after a few chapters. I suppose that the author intends to eventually somehow portray the French revolution in a positive light, so I suppose I have to give him credit for attempting the impossible. Unfortunately the characters introduced at the opening are utterly unsympathetic and nondescript, and the early events create no tension or interest. There was nothing to latch onto or follow, so after yawning mightily for a while, I put the book away for good.

A very strong start for a talented author. The magic, story, and characters are wonderful (mad chef especially), but the book is not without it's flaws. I could have done with some more female POVs, especially from ones that were strong characters rather than just camera/plot devices. There are strong women in this book, but we never really get inside of their heads. That small issue aside, amazing work, I cannot wait to read the rest of this series. Even more excited at the prospect of three more books once this trilogy is complete.

I really liked the sound of this book when I first put it on my "to read" list. Then I picked it up from the library and was looking forward to it. The night I started it the coup attempt in Turkey happened, so then things got a little weird, with the news and my reading being so topical to each other.

At first I enjoyed the book. The characters seemed interesting and the plot seemed well grounded. But as we went on, the promises of interesting characters and plot didn't really go anywhere.

The magic of the world, particularly the powder mages, were a little odd for me. I try to give magic systems a lot of leeway, but I just couldn't get a grasp on how the magic system worked.

I wish I could have given it more of a chance, but a poorly chosen word just annoyed me too much and ruined any chance of enjoying the book. While researching something in a library one of the main characters asks if they have any books from "The Bleakening". It's described as a period in time that sounds very similar to the Dark Ages. But that name. "The Bleakening". It's just too ridiculous for me to take any part of the book seriously. Not everything in a fantasy world needs a fantasy name - "The Dark Ages" would have been perfectly acceptable here.

This book started a little slow, and I wasn't immediately sold on the private investigation angle of one of the subplots. But I eventually found myself enamored of these characters and intrigued by the magic system. I hope the next books explore the magic system to a greater degree. Favorite characters: Taniel, Mihali, and Ka-poel. If anything happens to Ka-poel, I will riot in the streets! This novel definitely ended strong. Can't wait for the next one!

Promise of Blood is the debut novel of Brian McClellan featuring a world brimming with creativity and sweet chaos. It is a damn cool novel full of action, energy, gods, special powers, magic, and old-school snipers with muskets. You can't go wrong with snipers with muskets, particularly of the gunpowder snorting kind. It's the first novel of what is currently known as The Powder Mage Trilogy.

"The age of kings is dead... and I have killed it." After a coup the dethroned its monarch, we follow the attempted recovery of the Adro nation amid civil unrest, betrayals, an invading army, and the threat of gods returning to devastate the land. Tamas is the powder mage Field Marshal, and has become the de facto ruler attempting to restore order in Adro by any means necessary as he also prepares for war against the Kez nation. Taniel, his son and powder mage himself, has been tasked to hunt down a Privileged sorceress who gives the impression of being more powerful than the usual, while he tries to achieve an even more impossible task, earning his father's recognition. Adamat, who's concerned with his family's safety with the impending riots and his future role, is a retired investigator with a Knack for perfect memory and employed by Tamas for some special investigations that threaten his rule and the well-being of the Adro nation. Nila is a laundress for a duke and in the aftermath of the coup, as the nobility is being destroyed and executed, she rescues and flees with the duke's son, a possible heir to the throne.

The world McClellan has created has been well constructed. He took the time to build a proper support for it with religious, economic, social, military, and political considerations. Some better detailed than others, but it provided a good backbone for a well grounded universe that will pay dividends as the series continues. If you look hard enough you can draw parallels to modern concerns, whether intended or not. That said, the world-building is not expansive, quite controlled as demanded by the story and each plot thread. In a way, you might call it focused, but McClellan has provided enough seeds of information that will enable him to enrich the world in future installments in the stories he intends to tell.

The magic system was awesome and creative. Brian McClellan appears to give plenty of credit to Brandon Sanderson for his development as a writer, and it seems to me is that in the creation of this magic system is where the influence is most noticeable. Sanderson in my experience is partial to hard magic systems, and I found McClellan's quite softer, but I don't know if it'll remain so in future installments. But it's really of little consequence. In all, the magic was my favorite aspect of this series. We have people who have Knacks that provide them individualized abilities that could range from super hearing to the ability to eating without getting fat. Then we have the Privileged who are more like sorcerers who can access the Else and do a variety of magical phenomenons. Lastly we have the Marked, also known as the powder mages who can control gunpowder in a variety of ways, including ingesting and snorting the black powder in order to gain a myriad of physical enhancements. There are other considerations that aren't as developed yet, like the nature of gods and some magical powers that some of the savages seem to possess.

Along with the magic system, Promise of Blood featured some great characters further enhanced by an abundance of good dialogue. I thought them well characterized and McClellan did a good job of keeping each plot thread fresh, different, but interconnected. With Tamas we focused more on the political drama aspects, with Adamant a more of an investigative mystery thread is present, and Taniel is more action adventure oriented.

My favorite POV character was Taniel "Two Shot". For some reason I kept picturing Billy the Kid portrayed by Emilio Estevez in the Young Guns movies. Other than their awesomeness, they really didn't have much in common, but my mind works in mysterious ways and I let it run wild. The very nature of Taniel being a powder mage almost guaranteed that he'd be a favorite of mine, to go along with his gunpowder sniffing addiction and all the cool actions sequences he was part of. The author also did a good job with his side characters too, in particular with Tamas' Knacked bodyguard Olem and Taniel's savage mute girl Ka-poel. Not going to say much about Ka-poel other than she was awesome, and every fantasy novel should add a mysterious mute girl, it'll instantly make the story better. With Olem though is where the book really shone for me and his back-and-forth dialogue with Tamas. He was interesting, with a number of deadpanned wise-cracks that won me over since the very first time he appeared.

As one reflects on the impossible task to write the perfect novel, this novel wasn't without its flaws too despite it being an excellent debut. First and foremost you might have noticed my omission of Nila as I discussed the POVs above, and honestly she was the weakest link for me of the whole novel. Her story was uninteresting, and when compared with the multitude of good characters the story had, she just didn't measure up, despite giving us a perspective from the other side of the conflict. She instantly joined the characters authors need to kill off to make their stories better. Also, I lament how underused the character of Vlora was by the author. She was powder mage prodigy and Taniel's ex-fiance. I felt there were some missed opportunities to include her in some scenes, and make her a more active participant in the ones where she was included.

I also felt the second half of the story wasn't as good as the first half, and not as tight. In part because it made me question some of the characters' inaction and motivations. For example, it made me question why a character from a neutral party didn't expose certain character's allegiance and identity when it served his/her interest to do so while being satisfied with a vague flimsy warning. Also, I question why Tamas was seemingly unconcerned with a great army invasion at one of Adro's borders, and when the situation was addressed at all some poor rationalization was used which was really inconsequential to the matter at hand. Further more, weeks passed since the confrontation started so there was ample time for a better military response.

Lastly, from a technical standpoint I thought McClellan could use better timing and transitions when he utilizes time jumps. Seems like a few of them were overall not necessary and also seemed to deprive the readers from some scenes that could have been of interest and served the flow of the story better. Also, a bit more care with the use of pronouns in certain situations were it confused me as to who the author was referring to considering that the sentences in question could have applied to any of the characters involved in the situation, even if one allows for the idea of him being distracted by other happenings.

I also respected how McClellan forced his characters, in particular our heroes, to make difficult decisions and didn't shy away from making them do monstrous and despicable acts that would surely alienate some of the readers. But the author stayed true to what the story demanded of its characters, and I think that's very important. Not everything is as it seems on first impressions, there are many characters who'd make wonderful actors if that were their calling, but in all I thought McClellan did his damndest to give his characters the opportunity to be perceived one way, while giving allowance of redemption in the eyes of readers through other means as it was with the character of Tamas.

Promise of Blood kept reminding me of the early efforts by Brent Weeks with his Night Angel novels. There was a rawness to them, but there simply was an overwhelming entertaining element and an abundance of great action and energy that made them very enjoyable reads. Then I compare it to his most recent series, and he's become a much better and skillful writer. Brian McClellan debut is more polished than an early Weeks, yet has that same combination of action, energy, and entertainment to make this a worthwhile read based on this factors alone, despite it having more to offer. I'm quite excited in seeing this author grow as a writer and I'm very much of the opinion that he'll be responsible for some of my favorite stories in the future. As it is, I'm practicing my gunpowder sniffing skills... people keep telling me I'm special, so who knows what might happen.

Brian McClellan has written an extremely good debut in Promise of Blood and easily one of my favorite novels so far this year. I was tempted to use "awesome" and "cool" in just about every sentence describing this novel, but I decided to control myself as best as I could. Promise of Blood is indeed an awesome and cool novel, highly recommended, and with the explosive ending it had, I'm very excited to see where McClellan takes us next in this world.

After all of this, let's just ignore everything I've said and focus on the awesome cover. A book with that cover deserves to be bought and read, everything else is of little importance.