It's a prequel to the Gods of blood and powder series and... well I don't really know where in the timeline it is with the powder mage trilogy. I could probably look it up but I don't want to and it doesn't really matter anyway. It's also short, it's just a novella and only 90 pages long so the plot is rather straightforward.
Ben Sykes who is big, strong and seemingly immune to all injuries. to the point where I thought the twist of GOBAP would be that he was secretly some kind of god. if you have read either series then you understand that this isn't as far fetched as it sounds.
It takes place before the Fatrastan rebellion or rather during the events leading up to it. Where tension are rising between the paolo, the settlers and the distant Kez government. Sykes is at this point an officer in the Fatrastan militia (I have already forgotten the specifics) garrisoned at a small town. A Kez regiment is passing through and staying for the night. In the morning Sykes stops their drunk colonel from beating the local innkeeper (he was asking them to pay for the drinks they'd had the night before) breaking both his arms in the process. A few hours later the colonel returns, along with his brother (who is the governor). And then things escalate from there.
This and the rest of he series are for people who likes military things. If reading about cavalry charges and infantry flanking maneuvers doesn't interest you then this isn't the book for you. I personally quite like the battle strategy parts but did in general like powder mage trilogy better. Mainly because I find Sykes and his anger management issues slightly annoying. Not so much in this one but in GOBAP he could avoid a lot of trouble if he just showed some patience.
All in all it's a nice and short little book mainly for fans of the other series.
If you have read it what did you think? Leave a comment. If you haven't read it you can check it out here Mad Lancers
