Brian McClellan drops the reader in the middle of a war zone where the platoon is playing a cat and mouse game with the enemy:

Teado has been part of the war since he was a child working in the aircraft and ammunition factories to begin with and then when he got older and his shifter powers presented themselves he was moved to the front lines of the war. Now with his platoon behind enemy lines with little support, they attack the enemy when they can in a cat and mouse game. Though it looks like the end may be near, the enemy has pushed their forces back leaving one of their bases vulnerable and loaded with supplies and the platoon is determined to take advantage but this supposed to be last raid is about to change the course of the War forever.

This book had some really interesting aspects going for it especially around the main character Teado and his abilities but this were overshadowed by the lack of world building, backstory and lack of overall premise as well. Yes, Teado and his platoon are playing a deadly cat and mouse game with the enemy but who is the enemy and why? Why is the platoon who are serving an important job have little support or resources? What planet or world or wherever is this story set? It has an early WWI feel to it but there is also magic and shifters abilities. I think my main problem with this book is I had more questions than answers. I know this was a novella but I have read other novellas that are better laid out and give some sort of backstory and world building so the reading gets the idea of what is going on and why. The story did get more interesting the further you read with Teado going on a mission, but it just wasn't enough for me.

The one aspect I liked in this novella was the main character. His abilities are really interesting and different from other shifters more like a lizard alien thingy, with armor that bullets are unable to pierce. I liked that he was extremely brave and was willing to push himself to his limit and beyond as well as sacrifice himself in order to save his team. However, other than those qualities we do not really know much about him and why he joined the war, once again missing some form of a back story.

So this novella left a lot to be desired for me as I just have too many questions left off after reading this book. If this does lead into a series or a second book i'm not sure I would continue on even though it got a little more interesting near the end.

Cheers!!!

My only complaint about this novella is that it's just that, a novella. This could be a six hundred page novel and I still would beg for more. I love the weird, WWII-esque steampunky magical world McClellan establishes in such a short period of time. I really hope he plans on expanding on this for future novels.

Please? Please? Pretty please?

I haven’t read any of McClellan’s longer work yet, so this novella from Tor seemed like a good point to jump in, really! It’s set during a war in a fantasy setting, with very familiar attributes — there’s propaganda, there’s airplanes, everyone’s running short and coaxing coffee out of months’ old grounds… but there’s also wizards, of at least two kinds: shapeshifters, and those who can cast illusions. We don’t get some big overview of the war: it’s fairly tight in to a little squad who have been taking losses, fighting hard, and living right on the edge. They get a chance to do a risky mission to get some supplies so they have food and maybe even coffee. And, predictably, it goes wrong.

It feels like there’s a lot more room for story in this world, whether that be an extended version of this story or a series of novellas. It’s not terribly unsatisfying on its own, because there is a kind of end to the immediate plot, but there’s so much more in the world that we don’t get to see, so much more for the characters to do, that it doesn’t feel like a stopping point (more just a pause). There’s room for awesomeness, but it feels like it’s mostly potential right now — an opening act, rather than a story in itself.

'War Cry' by Brian McClellan is a novella about a war that has gone on too long and the tired people who have to fight on.

A group of fighters is hidden in the mountains. They are running out of supplies and haven't heard from their headquarters for a while. They decide to take some daring action to get food and ammunition. This is where things take a different turn because some of the members of this military unit have gifts like being able to change into a monstrous beast, or the ability to hide a position in plain sight.

I liked this story of the bonds made during war. I also liked the magical elements. They worked very well for me. This is my first time reading Brian McClellan, but it won't be my last.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Macmillan-Tor/Forge, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

This is not a bad book. Let's make that clear. This has more to do with my expectations, and not the writer's talents. I've never read this author before, so I didn't know what to expect as far as writing style. For me, the writing style was little dry. The story was a lot slower, and a little less action-y, than I expected. I expected a lot more hack and slash, and I didn't get that and was mildly disappointed. I generally liked the characters, and the plot isn't bad, but ultimately this book was not a good fit for me.

From the publisher: Brian McClellan, author of the acclaimed Powder Mage series, introduces a new universe, new armies, and new monsters in War Cry

Teado is a Changer, a shape-shifting military asset trained to win wars. His platoon has been stationed in the Bavares high plains for years, stranded. As they ration supplies and scan the airwaves for news, any news, their numbers dwindle. He's not sure how much time they have left.

Desperate and starving, armed with aging, faulting equipment, the team jumps at the chance for a risky resupply mission, even if it means not all of them might come. What they discover could change the course of the war.

I've put off writing this review for about 6 months, mostly because I didn't know what to write. I really enjoy Brian McClellan's Powder Mage stories (both novels and short stories), so I expected to like War Cry as well. This novella length introduction to the world of War Cry had an interesting premise. However, something in it just didn't connect with me. I'm not sure if it was the characters, the short format (which prohibited full immersion in the world), the writing style, or some combination of all of that.

War Cry follows Teado and his squad as they try to wait out the enemy, in a war that has been going on for years. Teado is a shape changer, and other members of his squad have powers, too. But, none of them really stuck with me; I don't have a lasting impression of any of the characters. I remember a few of the details of the story (a battle, a plane crash, a long journey across the wilderness) and an somewhat interesting, yet bittersweet, ending. There was definitely potential there, and plenty of room for more stories. I would probably even give this world another shot (after all, I didn't get totally sucked into the Powder Mage series until the second book).

Overall, I would give War Cry by Brian McClellan an average rating. It was just okay. As an introduction to a new world, it was alright, but didn't capture my imagination. It actually seemed like a story that had been written for a themed short story collection - Book of Swords; Unfettered - that type of thing). Anyway, if you enjoy Brian McClellan's writing, you should give it a shot; you might connect with it more than I did.

I received a preview copy of this book from Tor Books and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've enjoyed Brian McLellan's other books very much so started this with high expectations, though I only had access to an excerpt, not the entire novel.

Readers are introduced to a platoon in dire straits, in a war that their side seems to be losing. Each member of the platoon has different special abilities. Our hero, Teado, is a shape-shifting Changer.

We see his team launch a desperate mission, in which he is separated from the others. He makes his way back to find they have been betrayed by their own people.

This is as far as the excerpt took me - I'd love to read more.

Brian McClellan is best known for his excellent Powder Mage trilogy, which is a bit of flintlock fantasy / military fantasy. War Cry marks his first time (to my knowledge) stepping away from that Powder Mage milieu. The results are mixed, perhaps because the lead character, Teado, is fairly one dimensional.

War Cry takes place during a decades (longer?) long war, a war that has gone on so long that few of the fighters remember why they are fighting, only that they are born to serve and fight and die and repeat the cycle through generations. Teado's squadron is in a remote outpost, struggling to get supplies, struggling to make a meaningful strike at the enemy.

What is most effective in War Cry is the desperation of the soldiers, the not quite hopelessness but the raw exhaustion. That, and the climactic battle sequence, which is also extremely well done. The problem is that the characters, including Teado, are mostly just names and cutouts. The stakes feel lessened because of that. I don't know that McClellan has a novel worth of story to tell in this setting, but a bit more room to let the characters breathe and develop and take shape would certainly be worthwhile.

I received this novel from Tor, through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review: my thanks to both of them for this opportunity.

As a huge admirer of Brian McClellan’s work with the Powder Mages saga, I was more than eager to sample his foray into a different genre, and even though I enjoyed this intriguing novella, I ended up feeling somehow unsatisfied – not because of any negative reaction to story and writing, but because I would have liked to know more, read more about this world.

McClellan is not new to the novella format, and while I found that his shorter writings in the Powder Mage setting filled out the background and added interesting facets to the story and the characters, they worked so well because they were part of a greater whole, one I was already familiar with. Here the author starts from the other side of the road, giving us a glimpse of a new, different world that simply begs to be expanded and deepened, and that’s the reason War Cry feels somehow… incomplete.

The main character here is a young man, Teado, who grew up during an unspecified conflict that has been going on for years, if not decades: we are not given any detail about the war, or the motivations and identity of the opposed factions, all we know is that the civilization level has a mid-twentieth century flavor, and that there is magic involved in the mix. Teado, for example, is a Changer – a shapeshifter who can morph into a taloned creature almost impervious to bullets. There are also Smiling Toms, who are able to create illusions either to fool the enemy or to mask one’s own activities; and there is mention of Fire Spitters or Wormers, whose abilities are not actually explained but sound quite intriguing.

Teado’s platoon has been entrenched in its position for quite a while, carrying out guerrilla raids against the enemy, but their meager supplies dwindle and morale gets lower every day: the young man himself often toys with the idea of giving in to the enemy propaganda he listens to on the radio and turning himself over to the other side, since he’s tired and hungry and demoralized – only the thought of leaving his friends and maybe being forced to betray them has stopped him until now. A risky operation against the enemy base that might offer the platoon the opportunity to resupply and hold on for some more time turns into something else, something that will expose the futility of a long, drawn-out conflict and the grey areas of warfare strategy.

The actual story takes second place to the intriguing background that in some way reminded me of the trench warfare from WW I or the long sieges from WWII, sharing with the latter the perception of technological level and society orientation: in particular the use of propaganda for the extra push on the war effort sounded like something out of the mid-40s’ historical records, and reminded me of the many documentaries on the period that I saw on the History Channel.

Still, it’s all just barely touched on, as is the use of magic: as a reader I kept wondering at the reasons for the war, at the identity of the opposing factions and their goal, and at the appearance of magic and its users in what looks like an alternate version of our own world. It was slightly frustrating to be offered so many clues but no clear resolution, and I hope that this will not be just an isolated attempt at something different by Brian McClellan, but that it will develop into something more detailed and articulated, because what I saw in War Cry is not enough to satisfy my burning curiosity…

A breathtaking entry from one of speculative fiction's rising stars. War Cry is an addictive and enthralling read that left me yearning for me once I had turned that final page. I can't wait to see what McClellan does next!

A soldier in a losing war is part of a small group of very special combatants isolated on the border is still doing its best to hang on to its position and continue to monitor the enemy. McClellan carefully reveals details about his characters and setting, creating a compelling new world. Events move quickly, but not so fast that the reader isn't pulled into the story. This novella is a perfect piece of short fiction with a limited story goal, only a few scenes, and plenty of emotional involvement.

An extended war with the use of wizards performing a variety of magic is the basis of this tale. Teado can’t remember a time when there wasn’t a war happening around him. It has been going on for almost all of his life and now in his twenties he is considered an old man among the crew he is stationed with behind enemy lines. Their one mission is to create havoc for the enemy in any way possible. But things are bleak; they have very little in the way of supplies and no extra support seems to be coming. But if his team can get to the enemy supply, they might be okay for a few more months.

As a novella set in a new world, the thing you want when you are reading is more story, if it is good. Since this doesn’t overlap with anything else McClellan has written, there isn’t a lot of time to build a bond with Teado and his team. I enjoyed the idea of wizard warfare. Some wizards can change shape, other manipulate their surroundings with illusions and then there are those that can manipulate fire. Teado is a shape changer and very useful to his platoon and while I got a slight feel for the desperation of his team, I didn’t have enough time to really care about any of them.

This has a good pace and the actual story was interesting. I almost wish it was expanded a little more as I liked the idea. McClellen is a strong writer of battle tactics and adding magic into the mix. This felt like a WWII battle with magic added in for me and it was a good switch up to my normal fantasy reading. I definitely prefer the Powder Mage series but this was a good short story to see if you like the style and imagination of the author.

Ahoy there me mateys! I received this fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  So here be me honest musings . . .

war cry (Brian McClellan)

Title: war cry

Author: Brian McClellan

Publisher: Tor.com

Publication Date: Available Now! (paperback/ebook)

ISBN: 978-1250170163

Source: NetGalley

Okay so me crew raves about this author.  I haven't read any of his work.  So when I saw this book which "introduces a new universe, new armies, and new monsters," I thought I would check out his writing before I made the leap into his long and established Powder Mage series.  And I loved it.

The story follows Teado who is part of a military campaign that has been going on for generations.  Each side is always claiming victory is around the corner.  But Teado isn't buying it.  His platoon is isolated, starving, and hanging on by a thread.  So when command fails to restock provisions again, Teado's unit takes a desperate gamble for survival.

I was completely engrossed in Teado's struggle and watching the events unfold.  What is interesting about this war story is that it has an older feel to it.  The war machinery feels like something out of WWI.  There are prop planes and motorbikes and such.  But the addition is magic.  For example, Teado is a shape-shifter and can become a super-human fighting machine.  Others make illusions.  It be awesome.

The only problem with this is that it be a novella.  I didn't realize that and was startled when I ran out of book.  I want more!  The story that has been set up is fascinating and I hope we get more tales set in this universe.  In the meantime, I have some Powder Mage books to catch up on!

Goodreads has this to say about the novella:

On the high plains, war is life.

Teado has been a part of the war effort for as long as he can remember. His childhood was spent in the aircraft and ammunition factories until his power manifested. Now he is on the front lines, fighting the great war as one of the monstrous shapeshifting wizards that are all but extinct after decades of battle.

Behind enemy lines, Teado’s special operations platoon plays a deadly game of cat and mouse, sabotaging and demoralizing the enemy. But food is scarce. The enemy has pushed their main forces back further and their requests for resupply have gone unanswered. They will make one last dangerous bid for survival and, maybe, change the course of the war forever.

To visit the author's website go to:

Brian McClellan - Author

To buy the book go to:

war cry - Book

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Yer Ports for Plunder List

Previous Log Entries for Tor.com Novellas

Bear, Elizabeth – stone mad – book 2 (Dry Dock – Fantasy Western)
Brennan, Marie – cold-forged flame – book 1 (On the Horizon – Fantasy eArc)
Brennan, Marie – lightning in the blood – book 2 (On the Horizon – Fantasy eArc)
Clark, P. Djèlí – the black god's drums (On the Horizon - Fantasy eArc)
Cole, Myke – the armored saint – book 1 (Captain’s Log – Fantasy)
Hutchinson, Dave – acadie (Captain's Log - Sci-Fi)
McGuire, Seanan – every heart a doorway – book 1 (Captain’s Log – Young Adult Fantasy)
McGuire, Seanan – down among the sticks and bones – book 2 (Captain’s Log – Young Adult Fantasy)
McGuire, Seanan – beneath the  sugar sky – book 3 (Captain’s Log – Young Adult Fantasy)
Newman, Emma – brother’s ruin – book 1 (On the Horizon –  Fantasy Steampunk Arc)
Newman, Emma – weaver’s lament – book 2 (On the Horizon – Fantasy Steampunk eArc)
Okorafor, Nnedi – binti – book 1 (Captain’s Log – Sci-Fi)
Okorafor, Nnedi – home – book 2 (Captain’s Log – Sci-Fi)
Okorafor, Nnedi – the night masquerade – book 3 (Captain’s Log – Sci-Fi)
Thompson, Tade – the murders of molly southbourne (Captain’s Log – Sci-Fi)
Wells, Martha – all systems red – book 1 (Captain’s Log – Sci-Fi)
Wells, Martha – artificial condition – book 2 (On the Horizon – Sci-Fi e-Arc)
Wells, Martha – rogue protocal – book 3 (Captain’s Log – Sci-Fi)

War Cry is a short, action-oriented novella by Brian McClellan. Like his previous works in the Powder Mage Trilogy universe, the author mixes magic and more modern methods of warfare together to create a unique world; a tantalizing backdrop for this tale of soldier Teado and his small band of soldiers caught up in a brutal conflict. Here shape changers, illusionists, and fire wizards fight side-by-side with men riding motorcycles, flying World War II era fighter planes and bombers, and waging war with rifles and handguns. And while the narrative itself doesn’t vary far from the tried-and-true narrative of a classic war tale, War Cry is fast paced, filled with action galore, has several nice twists, and is addictive entertainment like all McClellan’s stories up to this point.

The war began before Teado was even born. The dark, horrific embrace of the endless struggle branding every one of his memories from earliest childhood to the present. All rumors of peace ridiculous lies to be scoffed at. The brutal, nearly forgotten struggle of his platoon the only real thing left in a world filled with shadows. His nights spent listening to the enemies radio broadcasts causing him to wonder if he should give up this fight, desert his comrades, and see if the promises of amnesty, food, and a soft bed are more than just lies. Yet Teado fights on, because his only family is the men and women whom he fights beside every day, and he cannot bear the thought of forsaking them or bringing them harm!

As I’ve already mentioned, War Cry is a rather short (112 pages) novella; its sole desire to tell an entertaining war story in a limited page count. To accomplish this feat, McClellan quickly introduces the main characters, sketches in a world caught up in a decades long war, then drops his readers into a non-stop, action-packed adventure. All of which means this isn’t a tale filled with penetrating introspection, detailed descriptions, endless commentary, or fully developed characters, so no one should pick this one up expecting all that.

Many reviewers seem to have issues with the complexity of War Cry though; its supposed failure to “flesh out” all the characters and fully reveal the world viewed as failures by the author to take full advantage of this premise. My response to these criticisms is that War Cry is not only a damn fun war story to read, but it’s exactly the type of fiction SFF needs more of these days. No, the novella doesn’t preach at its readers like it’s a holy text. Nope, it doesn’t endlessly expound upon meaningful social commentary. What it does is entertain its readers. And I, for one, am very happy it does, because we all need an escape from reality from time to time, and War Cry is exactly what I personally was looking for.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. I’d like to thank them for allowing me to receive this review copy and inform everyone that the review you have read is my opinion alone.

So, War Cry. It’s a new novella from Brian McClellan, whose flintlock fantasy ‘Powder Mage’ series has taken the world by storm.

War Cry is an introduction to a new series, a new world. It has new characters, and new secrets to discover. Is it any good though? Well, yes, actually. It really is. The short version is, this is a tautly plotted war story with enough steady characterisation to keep you reading, and enough cool bits that you’ll want to.

The long version starts here. It starts in a world devastated by war, and tired of conflict. It’s a small world, granted. Just a few kilometres across. But that’s enough for a team of military scouts, lurking in a camp in barren, rough terrain, keeping an eye on an enemy they’ve never found a reason not to hate. This is a world which lives in a war that, for its inhabitants, has no end. They’ve grown up with war, they’ve lived with war, they’re fighting a war, and they fully expect to either die in combat or later, with the conflict rumbling on in the background. The mood evoked is one of exhaustion, seeping off the page in draughts of crappy coffee and all-nighters. There’s a sense in there, too, that this is a war old enough that no-one can remember why it happened, or how to stop it. Everyone seems tiredly resigned to the conflict grinding on, and their resignation seeps through the text. This is a place where everyone is performing their duties by rote, where blood and death are a matter of procedure, rather than ideology.

The environment is interesting as well. There’s something in the biplanes, in the geography of quiet plains and mountains which recalls the Spanish civil war, and the sense of wide open spaces backed by plunging heights is one which will stick with me for a while.

Into this space march the strange and unknowable; the Changers are monsters, killers, able to turn into something more and less than human. The Shining Tom’s, a last survivor of a different, less conflict-driven world, wield illusion like a knife, hiding aircraft, supplies, armies on the march. This is a world tired of war, to be sure, but it’s also rather good at it – and that professionalism wars with a sense of fatigue, to give us something which feels real – not the ra-ra patriotism of a TV advert, but the feeling of people dragging themselves out of an uncomfortable bed every day to do what they feel they must. It’s a job, a job backed by a long tarnished ideal, and by necessity.

Into that job walks Teado. He’s a Changer. A monster. A killer. A man trying to figure out what the point of it all is, bemoaning the crappy coffee and debating whether its worth springting over the border and seeking asylum with the enemy. Teado has a sense of singular purpose about him, but that purpose is now riven with doubt, in the face of a long, grinding war where ideals have long ago given way to mud and blood. Still, he has a refreshing honesty behind the fatigue – loyal to his squad, to the friends they’ve now become. Acerbically cynical about the war and its causes, but fatalistically accepting of a rle within it. Teado carries the sense of a veteran about him, as do his team – and if he’s special for is powers, they think no less of him for that.

Make no mistake, this is a war story, an introduction to a world steeped in a long running national grudge match. But it’s not a story where force of arms and glorious charges win the day, but one where individuals are doing their very best to survive, and perhaps incidentally, to win. Teados squad are a delightful pack of individuals – a superior broken by tragedy, a hardened colleague, a flyer obsessed with his machine, an illusionist trying to work out who they could be in another, quieter life. In their mundane concerns and their passionate responses, they help carry and convince Teado as human.

The plot – well, it rattles along at a good pace. There’s excitement, adventure and high stakes derring-do. There’s battles, for sure. There’s blood and guts and the sort of emotional punch that leaves you wanting to have a quiet drink and a think about what it means to be people. There’s thoughtful subtext about the shapes of conflict and they way it resolves. And also there’s magical war-lizards, illusionists and bombing raids.

This is a fearless, imaginative, scintillating work of fantasy, with some intriguing ideas, expressed with a sense of wonder. I’d say it’s more than recommended as a stand-alone, and also worth keeping an eye on as the start of a larger world. I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens next

I find that most novellas, while entertaining, just don’t quite satisfy like a full length novel. In some ways that is just as true in the case of War Cry. From what I can find, this is a standalone so it isn’t going to give you the same depth as if it were going to be a series or if it were an addendum to a larger world that already existed like the Powder Mage novellas. But that’s ok and here’s why.

War Cry is fascinating stuff – it’s set in a world that’s is technologically equivalent to World War II but with the added bonus of magic. The magic isn’t particularly unique and features shapeshifters, illusionists, and fire summoners though it was really interesting to see how McClellan incorporated types of magic users into the more modern warfare. The story itself was extremely gripping and I actually really liked the characters from the beginning. The nature of novellas is that the reader is dropped into a situation with pretty minimal explanation of the world and current events, but in this case it wasn’t a big deal.

War Cry may be one of the best novellas I’ve read and I would absolutely read a full length series set in this world. I have so many questions that I need answered! I read this in a single sitting because it clocks in at a mere 112 pages, so I would pick this up in digital format (personal preference).

Don't yawn while reading or you will miss this very short novella. It is a fun read for the little it gives you. The story is not well developed with the war not fully explained or why the 'mutants', 'witches'? whatever, do not take control and end the war on their terms.

A lovely little book that leaves you eager for more. McClennan creates a fascinating tale of future war and magic that rollocks along at a cracking pace. Tor are really knocking out of the park with these novellas.

I wish it were longer!  Military Fantasy that gets to the heart of long-term special forces battle. Weariness, hunger and a lot of waiting...

Terrific and engrossing, this novella cuts right to the chase, introducing character and world building by throwing us straight into a war, a lengthy one where the combatants are weary and bitter. In a seemingly never ending fight, the platoon are holdouts who still manage to cause great damage to the enemy. The mystic characters - Changers and Smiling Toms - are fascinating concepts I want to see more of. Teado the Changer and main character is riddled with doubts and flaws, and these fuel his desperation to get back to his platoon (his family) when everything seems to be against him. His struggles and ability to get back up when all hope seems lost carry this story to its end and give the character depth and purpose. An enjoyable read.

Brian McClellan is among my favourite epic fantasy authors having given us door-stopping tomes like the Powder Mage trilogy and his new one, Wrath of the Empire, second book in the series set in the same world that started off with Sins of the Empire coming out this year as well.
When I got the ARC of his new novella, War Cry - I had no idea it was a novella. I expected it to be a full on, tour de force epic fantasy novel. A epic fantasy based on the World War was indeed pretty intriguing and then Brian had me reading this at one stretch, this whole Saturday wrapping it up early evening. It is that good, damn addictive.

So War Cry introduces us to a world, in the state of a perpetual war, an area called Bava or Bavares high plain, possibly one of largest plateau in the world - through the eyes of this shape-shifter called Teado. He is a Changer ( and I will just let you experience what he really is, through the book without divulging much details!) and he holed up in a small canyon with his platoon, Bavarean soldiers set to do guerrilla warfare on the enemy. All of the members of the platoon have become his friends and a sort of family. As they wait for supplies from the main company, Teado also listens to the radio often tuned into the enemy's stations. Seditious propaganda to induce them to desert camp and move over to the enemy. We are introduced to his friends, Aleta - a sharp shooter who makes dreadful coffee, Rodrigo the die-hard ever cheerful pilot who makes his weekly runs to get supplies and ration to the platoon from the headquarters with his single-seater plane and his sister, Bellara - a sixteen year old sorcerer who maintains the illusions so to keep the platoon hidden from the enemy plane recon missions.

On a daring mission to capture a supplies plane, Teado gets separated from his friends and lands up in no-man's land, scouted and hunted by enemies. How he makes it back from behind enemy lines makes up the rest of the edge-of-the-seat thrilling narrative that takes no prisoners and just spritzes along till the unexpected twist at the end of the story.

It's a slim novella and it's a wonder how Brian has packed in so much world building, magic systems and a thoughtful examination of war and the after-effects of the same. Bellara has a question early on in the book that is the perfect example of how powerful and yet simplistic this process has been - "What is more important? Killing the enemy or creating wonders for the children?"

In fact, Bella's character is one of my favourite in this book. Teado is mostly reactionary, a young man whose fervour and fortitude is unquestionably high, his intentions noble and his actions definitely speak louder than his words. Needless to say, I loved the frenetic action set-pieces (as I have come to expect from Brian) and the edge of the seat tension as it unfolded through to the very climax making me glued to my kindle reader for better part of this day.

And yet the gentler moments between these hair-raising battle sequences and treacherous tight-rope walking amidst grenades and back-stabbing war politics, are what won my heart. Like when Aleta and Teado discuss the taste of coffee, soft doughy bread and the prospects of a never-ending war. Or when Bellara questions Teado about the futility of this war and her intentions to make illusions that would make people happy.

It is a wonderful dissertation on the psychology of war-weary soldiers on the ground. And its also a pulse-pounding adventure featuring some heart-stopping magical action sequences in a world where the war is eternal. A Must Read.