Even though I've read the Rory Thorne books, this felt a bit confusing with the worldbuilding. I think this book takes place some time after the others, but I'm not entirely sure. I was confused about the different alien races as well and had trouble keeping track of them. Interestingly enough, this does have a different writing style compared to Rory Thorne because this book isn't told by the Chronicler. It's less of a stream of consciousness/long-winded style here which I think will actually be more readable for most people.

The book was decently paced overall, but I just wasn't super invested in the story for whatever reason, perhaps because I didn't connect with the characters. I felt just okay about the mystery itself, though I did like a subplot with the riev (these battle mechas) because it's sort of a "how do you define sentience/humanity" type of plot. But generally speaking, I felt like I was just missing something with this story.

I didn't really connect to the characters here, unlike the Rory Thorne books. We have a Templar, Iari, who fought in the war. I did like like how she wanted to investigate things to protect her city. We also have Gaer, an ambassador for the Vekari which are looked down on and hated because of previous wars. Gaer doesn't shy away from helping with the investigation, even though people don't necessarily welcome his help. He's an arithmancer, so I loved getting to see some of this again since it's basically like magic math. I also continue to enjoy how it can be used to read people's auras where different colors represent different emotions. This was such a cool part of the Rory Thorne books, and I was happy to see it again here, though it wasn't as present as I would have liked.

In general, this was fine, but I still vastly prefer the first Rory Thorne book (perhaps because of the fairy tale retelling aspect that really works for me). I don't think you necessarily have to read those books before jumping into this, especially because they feel very different. While this wasn't my favorite, I would still recommend it to those looking for a sci-fi mystery.

My video review can be seen on my booktube channel (around minutes 0:22-3:37 of this video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKD7YP5P3f0

8/10 stars

My full review on my blog (link attached).

An opening to a new series set in the Rory Thorne universe, Nightwatch on the Hinterlands is a fast-paced SF noir mystery inspired by WH40K and D&D, featuring a duo of unlikely allies embroiled in a conflict that starts small but grows exponentially – and quite satisfyingly – throughout the book.

I haven’t read the Thorne books, but the author and publisher are adamant that Nightwatch can be read without prior knowledge of the world – and honestly, I think it’s better this way, because discovering the context and various subtexts is a big part of the fun. There might have been some references to the Thorne books or characters which I missed, but generally the plot of Nightwatch is independent and moved far into the future, with completely new protagonists and problems. The Warhammer inspiration is surprisingly enjoyable, with nanotech-enhanced and devout Templars clad in full-body, mecha-like armor and dedicated to fighting against chaotic Brood swarming out of multi-dimensional fissures in the void (the Weep).

The D&D allegiance of Eason is also worn on her sleeve, as Nightwatch’s world is populated with orc-like race of tenju, dragonborn-like race of vakari, gnome-like wichu specializing in artifice, and human-like humans as well as a mysterious and slightly elf-like race of k’bal (there’s also one other race, but it’s only mentioned a few times and I forgot the name ;)). There’s also a separate group which I hesitate to call a race or species – the riev, which seem to be a cross between Frankenstein’s monsters (animated corpses sewn from disparate body parts) and cyborgs, with a rudimentary form of hive mind. Riev were created as a weapon in the war against vakari, and later Brood. Now, decommissioned, they search for a new purpose. Each race has its own culture and aptitudes, and a lot of technological progress among humans and tenju came from the original inequalities between the colonizing dominant race of vakari and the rest. Taking a leaf out of Clarke’s book, Eason depicts magic in her world as a highly advanced mathematical science (arithmancy) to which certain races have more propensity than others.

All in all, it’s a refreshing mix, making something maybe not original but at least its own from old tropes and themes.

There is a lot of exposition, but to be fair, a lot of it actually comes handy – at least at the beginning. Then it gets too much, but fortunately the repetitions are minimized. The worldbuilding is extensive, and enjoyable, with various factions, plenty of historical and cultural baggage (yes, there was a war on, not that long ago, and now the former enemies must learn to live side by side in the face of greater threat that was a direct result of the war they made), and a lot of stereotypes and general inter-species mistrust that feels quite natural.

[...]

Nightwatch on the Hinterlands is an enjoyable and satisfying mix of fantasy, light SF, and noir mystery. It takes old ingredients, spices them up with just the right amount of references and nostalgia, garners them with appetizing hints of politics and history, and makes a fresh, tasty dish. Quite a pleasant surprise, indeed! I was hoping for a standalone when I picked it up on NG, but now I’ll be looking forward to the next installment. The cover is pretty neat, too! 🙂

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks.

K. Eason, the beloved author of the Rory Thorne series, is back with a new spinoff book. Nightwatch On The Hinterlands is a new sci-fi mystery set in the universe of Rory Thorne, following an unlikely duo who must discover the motive behind an unusual murder. The book takes place in the very rich and immersive world of RT and adds a buttload of worldbuilding to the galaxy. But, it features a very different tone and cast than Eason’s core series set in the same setting. Is Hinterlands another smash hit or will it deviate from Eason’s current track record? Find out below.

Hinterlands is a fun buddy cop experience with a pair of improbable partners. First, we have Lieutenant Iari, a templar and pseudo space cop charged with protecting the peace in her small backwater-esque planet. It’s not an ideal place to live because of its proximity to the Weep, a horrifying tear in space that spills out Lovecraftian horrors from time to time. Iari’s duties run the gamut; she breaks up bar fights, serves bodyguard detail for important political figures, and beats eldritch horrors to death with her bare hands. She is a very versatile employee. At the start of our tale, Iari stumbles into an impossible case involving the hacking of decommissioned and unhackable war machines. Where the case will lead her, nobody knows.

The other half of this strange duo is one of the aforementioned political figures that Iari is guarding. Officially, Gaer is an ambassador from the Vakari—an advanced buglike race that is pretty much universally hated by all other races. They were once the undisputed taskmasters of the galaxy, and their fall from grace involved hitting every limb of the tree on the way down. Unofficially, he’s also a spy, sending information back to his government, unfiltered by diplomatic channels. However, Gaer is a complicated and empathetic being, and he’s not going to let Iari come to harm when he can prevent it. Plus, he’s as fearful of eldritch horrors as everyone else.

The mystery of the book is fun, but not Hinterland’s greatest strength. That award belongs to worldbuilding. If you have read the Rory Thorne books, this entry has a ton of interesting information about other races, locations, and entities in the universe. It explores some of the lore that is only mentioned in the background of the core series, and Eason has a real talent for building engrossing and intricate worlds that feel both whimsical and real at the same time. It gives her writing a really nice fairytale aesthetic while also making it feel grounded in our own harsh reality giving more emphasis to the themes and topics. Yet, though Hinterlands has a lot of the bells and whistles of the core series, it has noticeably less heart.

Personally, I saw this book as a great little spinoff adventure from the main core series, but I didn’t find it nearly as deep or as meaningful as the Rory Thorne books. Yes, the characters are strong, the mystery is quirky, and the worldbuilding is excellent. But it felt like it lacked any sort of weight or complexity, which the core series has in spades. I struggle to find parts of the book that I can talk about that aren’t direct spoilers to the plot of the mystery, and I keep coming back to the overall summation of “yeah, it was fun.”

I recommend Nightwatch On The Hinterlands, but know that it is walking at a slower and more casual pace than the Rory Thorne books on which it is based. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, I am sure there will be many who like Hinterlands more than the other books. For myself, it was enjoyable but could have used a little bit more punch.

Rating: Nightwatch On The Hinterlands – 7.5/10
-Andrew

The nitty-gritty: A complex world full of fascinating characters, Nightwatch on the Hinterlands is an excellent start to a new science fiction series.

I was so excited when this book was announced, a story set in K. Eason’s Rory Thorne universe but far in the future with different characters. And wow, was this a lot of fun! Nightwatch on the Hinterlands takes many of the world-building ideas I loved in Rory Thorne and expands on them even more. This is a very tech-heavy, tightly focused story that falls on the “hard” science fiction side of the spectrum, which doesn’t always work for me. But Eason tempers the technical elements with fascinating world-building, carefully developed characters and plenty of high stakes action, all of which made this a blast to read.

The story is set on the remote planet of Tanis and follows several main characters. Lieutenant Iari is a tenju templar, born and orphaned during the Expansion War. Iari joined the templars in order to fight, but now that the war is over, her job is to stop the Brood, the deadly monsters that appeared after the vakari inadvertently created a rip in the void called the Weep. The other main character is Gaer, a vakar ambassador who has been sent to the planet to work with Iari, but who in fact is acting as a spy and is secretly sending critical information back to his people.

Iari and Gaer have an uneasy relationship, but when the body of a murdered wichu is discovered, and when witnesses claim that a riev was responsible for the murder, Iari knows something isn’t right. Riev, the giant robot-like creatures that were created during the war to kill the vakari, haven’t been able to kill anything since the war ended, and why would one kill a wichu anyway? Wichu are a peaceful race who use magical arithmancy to repair broken riev, so the reasons behind the murder are a big mystery.

Iari takes a chance and decides to question a group of riev in the area where the murder took place, and is shocked to discover a much deeper and disturbing mystery: someone has figured out a way to reprogram riev to kill. With the help of two riev called Char and Brisk Array, Iari and Gaer start investigating the murder, but someone doesn't want them to find out the truth.

Readers who love complex worlds will adore this book, and the world-building was by far my favorite part of the story, closely followed by my love of the characters. And do note, if you haven’t read the Rory Thorne books, you can easily start here. Eason imagines a multiverse set far in the future where a mysterious rip in the universe—called the Weep—was accidentally created with magic during the war. The Weep allows a terrible breed of monsters to come through called Brood. There are different types of Brood, like boneless and swarm, and wow were they terrifying! The scenes where Iari and her friends are trying to kill them reminded me of the bone-numbing terror I felt when I watched Alien for the first time. 

Then there are the riev, whose original purpose is gone—the war is over and the vakari are no longer the enemy. Char was one of my favorite characters, and I loved the way Eason delves into the moral issues of robots and sentience. Riev were linked together by the Oversight, a network that gave them a hive mind, so to speak. But the Oversight is no longer in use, and a funny thing is happening: Char starts using the “I” pronoun, suggesting that riev are becoming individual entities. I loved seeing Char and Brisk Array develop their personalities over the course of the story, and the fact that Iari has a soft spot for the riev made me like her even more.

I also loved the wichu, tiny artificers who love to surround themselves with bright colors. The wichu started out as the enemy during the war, but defected over to the side of the Confederation. I pictured them as Munchkins from the Wizard of Oz, although I’m not sure if that’s what the author was going for!

In fact, most of the characters in this story aren’t human. Instead, we have Iari, who is tenju, a rather large humanoid race with tusks, and Gaer, a vakar who is skilled in arithmancy and reading auras. Iari is a devout templar, a religious group whose members are also fierce fighters. Iari has been exposed to fighting her entire life, raised as a war orphan and later as a templar. She’s had a needle socket surgically installed at the base of her skull which monitors her vital signs and communicates with her battle rig during a fight, a highly specialized suit of armor that not only protects the wearer but gives them super strength and speed. Iari takes her job seriously and shakes off injury in order to keep fighting, but she’s sometimes rash and jumps into the middle of the action without thinking things through.

I loved Gaer’s character as well. The vakari were enemies of the Confederation until only recently, so he’s still treated with suspicion. I loved his ability to read auras, which is rather intrusive, sort of like reading someone’s mind. There are some funny scenes where he can see Iari’s emotions—the ones she’s trying to hide—but reading auras also comes in handy because Gaer can tell whether or not someone is lying. Gaer is also adept at arithmancy, the ability to see and create magical mathematical equations called hexes, which we were first introduced to in the Rory Thorne series. In Eason’s world, mathematics is used to shape reality, and the multiverse depends on math to keep it in order. This unusual combination of magic and science is one of my favorite elements in the book, and I especially loved that Gaer, whose race is still feared by some people, is one of the most talented arithmancers in the story.

A third main character—another tenju named Corso—appears around the 25% mark in the story and joins in the search for the killer. Corso is an old war buddy of Iari’s, and they appear to have some history, but he wasn’t in the story enough for me to really get a feel for him.

As for the plot, it’s a fairly simple murder mystery. But what makes this story so complex are all the world-building details and the relationships between the characters. Because there are so many different alien races sharing space, the dynamics among them can get very tense. I especially loved the relationship between Iari and Gaer, which isn’t a romantic one, by the way, although I can see the author going there eventually. Gaer becomes very protective of Iari, and she does not like that at all. I wouldn’t call this story humorous, but there are some very funny scenes between the two, mostly because they are both fighters and Iari doesn’t want anyone seeing her weaknesses.

The mystery itself is complicated by the fact that certain species aren’t acting in the normal way, and so the reader slowly begins to understand how they interact with each other: tenju and vakari, tenju and wichu, riev and wichu, riev and vakari. The Brood is their common enemy, so they all end up working together to stop the Brood from swarming. Add in a bunch of political intrigue, which I haven’t even touched on in this review, and you have a dynamic story full of unpredictable characters.

The only negative I wanted to mention relates to the author’s narrative style, which tripped me up a bit. In the Rory Thorne books, the story is being told by an unknown narrator who often chimes in with his or her own opinions about what’s happening. It was a little jarring at times and took some time to get used to. In Nightwatch, we mostly bounce back and forth between Iari’s and Gaer’s points of view, and they often insert odd mannerisms into their speech that make it seem like they’re breaking the fourth wall and talking directly to the reader. Eventually I grew to love this quirky style, but some readers might struggle with it.

The stakes become higher and higher as the story progresses, with all of the characters in mortal danger at one time or another. By the end of the story, Eason has neatly set up the next book in the series but at the same time satisfactorily resolved all the big plot points. I can hardly wait to read the follow-up! Highly recommended.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.

Nightwatch on the Hinterlands by K. Eason
4/5🌟

Nightwatch on the Hinterlands feels like a scifi noir detective novel. It is a fast paced ride through a complex alien society, packed full of action and politics.

In this novel you follow the unlikely pair, Iari and Gaer. Two aliens👽 on opposing political factions who stumble upon a murder on a backwater planet.🌏 Whilst investigating, they quickly get pulled into a hidden plot that might have dire consequences for the entire universe.

When I say this book is fasted paced, I mean it. The investigation takes place at a rapid pace, pulling us from frantic action scene to frantic action scene. This made me stay engaged the whole trip and everything felt really high stakes.

The world is quite complex featuring several alien races, a unique mix of technology and magic and a complex history. All this is wonderfully described without feeling like an information dump. I loved visualising everything, especially Gaer a vakari bird/lizard alien.🦎 Apparently this book falls in the same universe as The Thorne Chronicles which I haven't read, but I did not have the feeling I was missing something.

The numbers based magic/science is very cool and blends the fantasy with the scifi genre in a unique way. It also has the awesome Templars who wear mechanical armor linked to their bodies. I couldn't stop imagining everyone looking like knightlike versions of Halo's Masterchief. I would even go as far as to recommend this book to people who normally read fantasy. Oh did I also say it features killer cybors?!🤖🗡

All in all a very accessible, quick and most of all unique read!

Nightwatch on the Hinterlands (Weep 1) by K. Eason is sci-fi set in the same universe as her earlier Rory Thorne series. Not having read that, I can’t say if characters from it make an appearance, but the plot doesn’t hint at a connection and the book can easily be read as a standalone.

That said, the first part of the book seemed to assume a greater knowledge of the world than this reader had. It took a while to get into, but it didn’t slow down the reading much. However, I still have some questions about the appearances of various species and the location of B-town.

The book is set on a remote, unremarkable planet called Tenhu. The only thing that makes it interesting is the Weep, a huge fissure in space to another dimension that runs through it. Deadly creatures called the Brood bleed from there, which requires a constant presence of Templars to make sure they don’t get out.

The world is a combination of (mostly) low-tech sci-fi and high fantasy. There’s space travel and nanotech, which gives strength to and heals the Templars, but hexes are used for powering their armour. Arithmancy and other spells are used in battle (the Weep was created by a massive spell). The town where the events take place doesn’t have any transportation and people walk everywhere, which gives it a fantasy feeling. Both sides, sci-fi and fantasy, go together seamlessly and make an interesting and unique whole.

Iari is a Templar of a large, tusked species native to the planet called tenju. She’s been relegated to babysitting Gaer, an ambassador from the vakari, an insectoid species with highly advanced arithmancy (they’re responsible for the Weep). The vakari used to be the enemy before the Brood became the common threat, and Gaer is the only representative of his species on Tenhu. He’s also a spy.

Both have their own point of view chapters, and I found them interesting and likeable characters. Iari is a highly dedicated Templar with a tight moral core, even if she has a habit of questioning her orders. Gaer was a unique character with his arithmancy and ability to read auras. The third point of view character, Corso, was a down on his luck PI and Iari’s former commander. He was a good addition, even if his POV chapters were mostly plot-related.

Nightwatch on the Hinterlands is a murder mystery that slowly gains larger proportions. An artificer of a species called Wichu, who are responsible for the technology and magic that powers the templars, is killed. The killer seems clear: a riev. They’re battle-mechas, constructs that are part (dead) people of different species, part mechanic, and also Wichu creations. As the first on the crime scene, Iari and Gaer begin to investigate.

From the start they run into anomalies. Riev aren’t supposed to kill. They’re not supposed to have singular identities or individual desires, but they do. One of them, Char, even ends up as part of Iari’s team and was one of my favourites. But the anomalies don’t end there. They run into Brood that act as if they’re being commanded. But who’s commanding them and why?

This was a slow but enjoyable mystery with bursts of violent action. All its elements stem from the unique features of the world, which makes the story feel organic and interesting. The motivations of the killer remained a mystery though, but the next book will be about that. I’m looking forward to reading it.

Usually I would give a book to 20% before DNFing but I just couldn't. I was extremely confused the whole time I was reading. The writing is very flat with little to no emotion and I just couldn't get into it. I felt like I was reading a text book. There were also a lot of terminology used based in this world with very little explanation of meaning. This made the experience very choppy as I was constantly stopping to try and make sense of things that had no explanation. Not to mention the over usage of 'big words' that felt uanessacry. I'm no English major and neither are most people & I feel like a lot of people would struggle with this writing like I did. Between the made up terminology & the 'big words' I had no idea what was a real word that I just wasn't familiar with & what was made up.

I have read books before based around topics I am unfamiliar with. Take This Mortal Coil by Emily Suvada for an example. I have no knowledge of the tech discussed and very little regarding DNA and the science stuff mentioned but it was explained in a way that could make sense to anyone and also didn't feel like info dumping. It can be done but from what I read so far of this book the execution just wasn't there.

Also am I the only one that has a pet hate for every name in a book being impossible to pronounce? I don't mind unique names but if EVERY single character has a name where I literally have no idea where to even start to pronounce it it starts getting annoying and hard to follow. This one had that for both character names & locations! Can we normalise pronunciation guides at the start of books please?!

Thank you to DAW and NetGalley for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was an excellent book with a really good mystery with geat political intrigue and some thriller elements! It was intriguing and suspenseful all the way through, and even the parts without action scenes still maintained the constant tension that made this such a good book. I haven't read the Thorne Chronicles (Nightwatch on the Hinterlands is set in the same universe) so there was definitely a steeper learning curve for me with the worldbuilding, but I thought it was all explained very well without any info dumps and it wasn't hard to pick up the details that you need to understand what's happening.

One of my favourite things about this book was that even though humans were present in the story, none of the main characters were human. A lot of sci-fi books that I've read that have humans in them tend to focus on the humans, and the alien characters often end up as secondary or tertiary characters, so it was a really great and very welcome change to read a book that didn't do that. The physiologies of the tenju, vakari, and wichu were all really interesting and distinct and well explained, and it was really interesting to get different perspectives on how much these physiological differences are understood by other species.

Iari and Gaer were both such great characters, it was very enjoyable to read this story through their perspectives. The characterisation of the non-POV characters through their perspectives was also done really well: Char, Tobin, Iffy, Luki, and all of the other secondary and tertiary characters were all fully fleshed out.

The system of arithmancy in this book was so interesting, and the parameters were very well established. Religion plays a larger role in this book than I usually see in sci-fi but it wasn't intrusive and it fitted into the world really well.

The ending of this book wrapped up the story really well but also left enough open to give the reader an idea of how the story will continue in the next book. I can't wait for the next one to see how the story continues and to learn more about arithmancy and this super interesting world!

I haven't read the Thorne Chronicles, so please contextualize my review within that.

This book took a little work to get into, but again, maybe that's because I started with a strange place mentally with regards to the worldbuilding, mythology, and context. That said, when I got into it this book was absolutely excellent - and honestly a good reminder of how much I miss reading science fiction. This book was really close to fantasy with some of the mythology elements, and I really loved how they kind of blurred some boundaries (though make no mistake, this is very sci fi in nature). It's a fun partnership, and this book made it really difficult to figure out what happens next, which makes reading it really fun. Really solid plot, great characters and generally a really strong read.

ARC from NetGalley.

Whether or not you’ve read The Thorne Chronicles, Nightwatch on the Hinterlands is an engrossing read. The beginning of the novel is a bit slow and it might take new initiates to this multiverse some time to adjust to the mythology, politics, and different species. However, once you’ve gotten a strong hold on the world and once the investigation really picks up, Nightwatch on the Hinterlands blends a lot of the best elements of sci-fi and crime thrillers into a truly enjoyable novel.

Iari and Gaer are a perfect odd couple duo, and K. Eason does a fantastic job of showcasing their evolving relationship from a templar escort and a foreign ambassador/spy to one another’s most trusted friends. The mystery at the center of the crime they’re investigating also takes several exciting turns, and it’s near to impossible to predict what will happen next. The book tackles a lot of common themes in sci-fi works about prejudice and the definition of humanity, but it does so in interesting ways that fuel the plot and character development. Plus, the mythology of arithmancy and the other ways characters use equations and technology to create near-fantasy elements are really fascinating and unique. For anyone who can’t decide whether they’re in the mood for a sci-fi adventure or a mystery novel, this really is the perfect choice.

#NightwatchontheHinterlands #NetGalley
IF you loved Rory Thorne then I think you will enjoy this novel. It is a wonderful addition to the world of Rory Thorne. K. Eason has a wonderful way of bringing characters to life in your head! Please read this one, so much adventure!