While the world itself is interesting, I found the characters and plot to be a bit too inaccessible. The book takes a good long time to get into, and while there are some highlights and crazy good fun in the mix, I wish this book had been able to get me invested more quickly.

This was a first for me. Engines of Empire turned out to be a total rage read that I enjoyed anyway – and does that ever need a bit of an explanation!

The story is fascinating – and compelling. It’s a political story about empires – well, duh – rising and falling. This first book, at least, is about the fall. Or at least the fall-ing. Since this is the first book in the series, I expect the rising to happen later. Whether that will turn out to be the rising of the empire from its own ashes, or merely the rising of the family through whose eyes we saw this chapter of the saga, remains to be determined.

So far, neither of them deserve it. Which is where the rage part of my rage reading came into play.

The story of the falling of the empire maintained by the Guilds of Torwyn is told through the first person perspectives of five characters; Rosomon Archwind Hawkspur, her three adult children, Conall, Tyreta and Fulren, and her secret lover, Lancelin Jagdor.

And I hated all of them except Lancelin. I particularly detested Rosomon, to the point where I’d have been more than thrilled to read a book about her getting EXACTLY what she deserved – if there hadn’t been quite so much collateral damage in giving it to her.

Of those five characters, Lancelin is the only one who has ever had to face ANY of the consequences of his actions. It’s not just that the rest of them have led very privileged lives, it’s that they never seemed to have grasped the concept that their privilege comes on the back of just so damn many other people.

They are all arrogant and they are all thoughtless about that arrogance. This is particularly true of Rosomon – in spite of a whole bunch of crap that should have given her some insights into the ways that the other half lives.

Instead, she’s a narcissist, to the point that she only sees her children as extensions of herself and not so much as people in their own right. So a big chunk of this story is about how they all escape her very clutching clutches and how those escapes help to make their world burn.

But those escapes manage to send them to the far corners of Torwyn’s empire, which gives the reader the opportunity to see just how the whole empire is hanging by a thread. A thread that is fraying anyway and that can be all too easily snipped if someone provides the right pair of scissors.

Which of course is exactly what happens. With catastrophic results – and an aftermath that we’ll see in the future books in the series. Which I will be unable to resist reading, pretty much in spite of myself.

Escape Rating B: I hate most of the characters in this book SO HARD. But I still feel compelled to see what happens next.

Part of the fascination with this story is that it becomes clear early on that something is very rotten in the heart of Torwyn. A rot that is hidden so completely in plain sight that no one even suspects it is there until it is much, MUCH too late for pretty much everyone.

At the same time, the source of that rot, once it is revealed, turns out to be just the kind of villain that we’ve seen before, and that is so often effective and not just in fiction. It’s someone who truly believes that everything they are doing, no matter how morally repugnant in the moment, is in the service of some “Greater Good” that only they can see. So when the manipulator of events is finally revealed, it makes for a lovely, thoroughly disgusted AHA! It’s obvious in retrospect, but as you’re going along, it’s only the barest whisper of a possibility.

One of the good things about the way this story is told is that in spite of my hatred of pretty much everyone, the voices are very distinct, and not just because the audiobook narrators (one for each POV character) did a damn fine job. Still, even in print it is impossible to mistake Conall’s voice for Tyreta’s or Fulren’s.

Howsomever, one of things about those distinctive voices was that it seems that both Rosomon’s and Tyreta’s roles are restricted to a significant extent BECAUSE they are women. And yet, we don’t see that in the female secondary characters, who seem to be everywhere doing everything. Conall’s own second-in-command in the military is female, and it’s clear that she has lower rank not because she’s female but because she’s of a lower caste in the social hierarchy.

So the quasi-secondary status of noblewomen may be because they are noble, or it maybe because Rosomon’s a bitch and she’s treating her daughter the way she herself was treated. But it’s left for the reader to assume because of our history – not theirs. It doesn’t have to be that way in a fantasy world and isn’t always. I didn’t like the transfer of assumptions – especially once self-indulgent Tyreta turned into a total badass.

Which, I think is part of the story being told, and what I hope will redeem the later books. That Rosomon may go on being the overbearing, thoughtless narcissist that she has always been, thinking she knows the one true right answer only to discover that she was led astray by her own hubris feels likely – as well as likely to lead to several falls before any ultimate rise. Conall’s future, whether he sinks or swims after his experiences in this book, still feel up in the air. But Tyreta looks like she’s set on a fascinating, redemptive and possibly even heroic path. The question is whether she will let her mother push her off it yet again.

I can’t wait to find out.

Engines of Empire is a multi-perspective story that follows 4 people from the same family. I really enjoyed following people from the same family, since it’s not something that is frequently done.

The prologue is really good!

The family that we follow is influential and wealthy. They are the matriarch of a prominent guild and her three children. As the story progresses each family member is forced to take part in their own dangerous adventure to protect themselves and their empire.

I listened to this book via audio, and enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the audiobook for Engines of Empire.

I love the story's concept but I couldn't keep up with the narrators. This was a book i would have enjoyed as an ebook

Engines of Empire is my first R.S Ford book and I enjoyed it very much! Thank you to Orbit for the chance to read it, and to Hachette Audio for the chance to listen to it.

The world that Ford built immediately sucked me in. I’m a fan of political intrigue so I was delighted to see the backstabbing and maneuvers started almost immediately. I felt like I was pleasantly strolling through the book and then it all exploded within a blink of an eye. Every character in the book is thrown into a different sort of mayhem and it was anxiety inducing, but pleasurable, to watch them work through that mayhem.

The book was only enhanced by the audiobook. I loved that with the wide range of POV characters, we had a full cast of narrators. This helped to differentiate tone and personalities of each character. I love books with multiple POVs, I think it adds to the overall experience and keeps books flowing. The only downfall is usually some of the effect of that gets lost with one narrator, so I think it was an excellent decision to do a full cast. Well done to Alison Campbell, Ciaran Saward, Phoebe McIntosh, Ewan Goddard, Andrew Kingston, Martin Reeve, and Stephen Perring. Each delivered a superb but unique performance that made this novel easy to listen to.

Engines of Empire was a constant whirlwind of adventure and mishaps. Some of our characters are learning about themselves along the way and some of them are losing themselves a bit. My favorite is the brainy and kind Fulren, and to say that he goes through a transformation is understating it. Tyreta is also forced to harden up from the privileged life she is used to which leads to important revelations that help to fuel the plot. Conall seems to have lived the least sheltered life and his character develops in an interesting way. All of these siblings have their own path and you can slowly see how their paths are going affect one another.

Ford builds a world that feels natural even though it is very unique. Majestic airships, diverse groups of people, and intriguing magic systems all add to the rich atmosphere he is weaving. By the end of the book, we have a good sense of the world but it also feels like we still have so much to learn. That’s not a bad thing, though! I like unwrapping the mysteries of new worlds over time.

Engines of Empire was a gorgeous first installment in The Age of Uprising series!

It is always fun when an author is able to successfully merge fantasy and science fiction. Ford has begun a yarn with characters that are interesting and relatable, living in a world where magic and science work together. The world building is robust and the plot keeps you guessing.

While the story is not perfect, it is really well developed. One particular plot element was overused and while this is not listed as a YA, it reads like one to me. I’m not exactly “over” YA, but I am less enamored of it than when Maas, Stiefvater, and Collins burst onto the scene. Nevertheless, there are points where the youth of the protagonists advances the story line in inevitable ways. Surprisingly this does not make the bulk of the tale predictable, only the general direction.

Four stars is where “Engines of Empire” lands for me. I am invested enough in the characters, their struggles, and the mystery of the overall story to want to read the next book when it becomes available. If you are a steampunk/archaic sci-fi/fantasy reader, I feel confident you will like this book. My thanks to Orbit via Netgalley.

#Orbit #EnginesOfEmpire #SciFi #Fantasy #Steampunk #IfCatsCouldRead #CatsAndBooks #BooksAndCats #Audiobook #Audiobooks

I listened to this book primarily on audio and I have to say, the audiobook was fantastic! Each POV had a different narrator and all of them did a great job at performing the book, I was engaged the entire time. I think the narrator for Fulren was my favorite.

So, Engines of Empire.... super mixed feelings but overall an enjoyable start to a new series!. My biggest issue is that it felt like Ford was too afraid to let things breathe. I've read non-stop action books before but they usually feel a lot more confident, this felt like he was worried if he didn't throw a giant lizard or a betrayal or an explosion into every single chapter people would DNF. Some of the time, he would introduce a twist or an obstacle or kill a character and then the following chapter would bring entirely new circumstances so the previous thing was almost an irrelevant event meant to keep the plot "moving" at all times. Many aspects of the world are just introduced for a chapter or two and then never spoken about again- some of the early stuff I almost forgot was even introduced. A secondary aspect of this is that there were times where he let the reader know about a reveal or some juicy information *immediately* and I think the reading experience would have been better with a bit more delay to build the tension. The dialogue was never better than serviceable and was cliche at times. It felt like Ford took a lot of inspiration from ASOIAF for characters/plot but took all the wrong lessons from the back half of the show- he went for spectacle every time over substance. There's a character that is so clearly inspired by Jaime Lannister that it's almost funny.

But all that said, I was super entertained the whole time. I devoured the book quickly and set aside every other book to read it. The plots introduced were really cool and I greatly enjoyed learning more about the world, the multiple magic systems, the types of sentient creatures, and the technology in Torwyn, the main civilization we follow. The book follows four major POVs (with another POV joining later) and each of these four POVs are in the same family and go off on their separate adventures, like the Starks. I enjoyed every POV character which is a difficult feat, although my favorites were Fulren and Tyreta. The end of the book was a bit of a forced cliffhanger, but I enjoyed reading the climax immensely. I'm definitely going to read the second book. I just hope Ford can learn to trust his story. I'm gonna say 7.5/10

“This epic fantasy tells the tales of clashing Guilds, magic-fueled machines, intrigue and revolution— and the one family that stands between an empire’s salvation or destruction.” (quoted from Goodreads.) I could not put it in better words!

This is masterfully written. There was so much depth to the story but also to the characters. The Hawkspur family are sent to different ends of the nation. As the heirs, their responsibility is great. They each have a mission but they face attacks, brutal killings, an uprising and more all while their home is being overrun. This is where the story started building what would be a tremendous adventure.

We hear from multiple POV and I was astonished at the simplicity of being able to tell each story apart without any sort of backtracking. With such depth to this story, that is extraordinary. We are taken through jungle and sea, we ride in the air on giant animals, we are taken to exotic places that hit every spectrum of the world. This story is not short on adventure and I loved being able to experience it all.

The story builds slowly, giving you background stories and in-depth character development before the climax of the story hits and it all comes together. The audio was phenomenal. It is narrated with a full cast that brought life to the story. Each voice matched perfectly with the character just as I imagined each to be. I will be watching for book 2, I cannot wait to hear beyond that conclusion!


Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for the gifted ALC in exchange for an honest review.

The book releases January 18, 2022.

Thank you to Netgalley, Orbit, and Hachette Audio for letting me listen to an early copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review. Because this was an audio listen and I don't yet own a physical copy (I will!), I may spell some of the names wrong.

TLDR
Characters - 5/5
Plot -4/5
Setting - 5/5
Writing - 5/5
Final Impression - 5/5
-
Everything about this was chef's kiss to me. Detailed world-building, characters with developed arcs, intricately woven plots, high stakes, plot twists, and to top it off, fantastic writing. There's nothing about this book that I didn't like. I'm not even going to pretend this isn't a five star read because it is more than worthy. I fucking loved it. If you enjoyed Arcane on Netflix, then you will LOVE this book.

Full Review

So wow. This book just came out of nowhere and knocked me for six. I thought the premise sounded cool but I didn't expect to be so enthralled. This was fucking great. Seriously. Possibly a new favourite. I'll definitely be buying a copy of this for my collection.

Characters
Out of the five POVs in this book, I enjoyed all of them, though I think I found Tyreta's the least interesting. My favourite was Fulren, then Conall, then Rosomon, and then Lancelyn. This isn't to say I found any POV boring because I found everyone one of them exciting. And neither did I dislike Tyreta or her story, I actually thought she was great, I just didn't invest in her quite as much as the others, but I didn't resent returning to her chapters at any point. I actually thought she was a fantastic character.

There are multiple narrators for each POV and all of them were fantastic. Read in crisp English accents which perfect diction and annunciation. They read with zeal and emotion which only made the story more exciting and really brought the characters' personalities to life. Excellent work.

Setting
I would LOVE to see a map for this world. I really want to see where the countries are situated in relation to the Drift. Even without the aid of a map, I can feel this is a vast world brimming with culture. So much of this world is explored in detail. It's incredibly well-developed.
Each culture is completely different and supports a separate set of customs, all of which are explored.

A heavily steampunk-inspired fantasy, from the level of technology and transportation, such as airships and landships (trains), cog references and machines powered by crystals called pyrestones. There are different colour pyrestones that have different effects and are used to power various machines. It expertly blends science and magic and finds a perfect balance. It was really fascinating and gave me vibes of Arcane on Netflix. Seriously, if you enjoyed Arcane, then you will LOVE this book.

The city of Torwyn is run by an emperor and a collection of wealthy guild houses that fund and offer patronage to the industrial progression on the city

The Drift, described as a scar across the land caused by a magical war initially made me think of the Shadow Fold from Shadow and Bone. Then it made me think of the Misery for Blackwing, and beyond The Wall in GoT. Other times it remained me of planet Arrakis, especially with the sand and the mention of wyrms (made me think of sandworms). Then I realised it just felt like a glorious mix of them all, and I loved it.

Plot
Five different storylines told through five different POVs. We see these stories unfold through the eyes of the four members of the Hawkspur family, a wealthy and powerful guild family, and the Hawkslayer, Lancelyn
Rosomon is the matriarch and head of the guild.
Conall is the eldest son and an officer in the army.
Tyreta, the middle child and only girl, has magic abilities.
And Fulren is the youngest and an artificer, building machines powered by pyrestones.

My goodness, this book has some serious stakes. People actually get hurt. Badly hurt. And people die, shockingly and unexpectedly, and it caused me pain. On more than one occasion, my mouth fell open in shock. One thing this book can't be accused of is being predictable. So much happened and all those shocking moments slapped me right out of nowhere when I least expected it. This book certainly doesn't pull its punches.

I loved the plot, but I would've liked if the different narratives connected somehow at the end. Only Fulren, Lancelyn and Rosomon's stories were connected, and Connal and Tyreta's stories both felt like they were left drifting and didn't really fit the bigger picture of this book, but I'm assuming they will fit the bigger picture of this series in general. Also I didn't pick up on the relevance of the prologue, again, I'm assuming this is merely set up for something bigger to come. But in this case, I feel the prologue could've been the epilogue and a cool hint of something to come. If not, I really couldn't figure out how the prologue fits within this narrative. But these are only minor criticisms and I still loved the story.

Writing Style
Gorgeous. The prose is stunning and paints such unapologetically gruesome but poetic pictures.

Continuing my point from above about the book not being predictable, I think it shows the quality of the writing from the fact that everything is so perfectly timed. Just when you think the characters are safe, boom! Something unexpected happened. It's fucking great. In the end, I just learnt to never trust any of them were safe at any moment, constantly on the edge of my seat waiting for the next sucker punch.

The pacing is super quick, but I don't think this is a bad thing. I never got bored because I never had a chance. The story is constantly evolving, constantly moving. Once the action really gets going, there's no time to even breathe and I loathed having to stop listening to this one to go to bed. Quality writing.

Final Impression
Is this going to be a series? Cause I will definitely be reading the next one. Everything about this was chef's kiss to me. Detailed world-building, character's with developed arcs, intricately woven plots, high stakes, plot twists, and to top it off, fantastic writing. There's nothing about this book that I didn't like. I'm not even going to pretend this isn't a five star read because it is more than worthy. I fucking loved it.
I NEED the next one!!

He tenido la oportunidad de escuchar el audiolibro de Engines of Empire, una novela de fantasía épica del autor R.S. Ford. Se trata de una obra monumental, con uno de los elencos de lectores más amplios que me he encontrado hasta ahora en un audiolibro y una longitud nada desdeñable.


La historia está narrada desde cinco puntos de vista diferentes y a cada uno se ha asignado una voz diferente, que es bastante acorde con la personalidad que entrevemos de cada uno de ellos. En este sentido entiendo que la labor del director del audiolibro ha sido extensiva, ya que no debe ser lo mismo buscar una sola voz para narrar que varias que se puedan aunar de forma homogénea. Los narradores son: Alison Campbell, Ciaran Saward, Phoebe McIntosh, Ewan Goddard, Andrew Kingston, Martin Reeve y Stephen Perring, pero por desgracia no puedo identificar a quién pertenece cada voz, intuyo que los nombres están puestos por orden de aparición, pero no he podido confirmarlo.

Se trata de un libro bastante largo pero afortunadamente el cambio entre puntos de vista y por lo tanto de voz que narra hace que sea bastante ameno en su escucha. Por supuesto, el contenido del libro también se presta a ello. Ya puedes poner todas las voces más maravillosas del mundo juntas que si el texto es un ladrillo, el audiolibro acabará siéndolo también.

En cuanto al contenido, se trata de una fantasía épica bastante convencional. Los personajes son los miembros de una misma familia (y un añadido) que pertenecen a uno de los gremios más poderosos del Imperio. Se trata de una sociedad eminentemente mercantil, por lo que lo que se antepone al resto de las consideraciones es el valor pecuniario de las inversiones. La matriarca de la familia, viuda tras un duelo de honor por causas desconocidas, es la hermana del autoproclamado Emperador, y mueve a sus hijos como valiosas piezas en un juego de estrategia. El mayor tendrá que ganar la gloria militar en la frontera, la mediana (con poderes mágicos) está destinada una colonia conflictiva y el pequeño es víctima de una conspiración que también tendrá consecuencias.

Hay que reconocer que el autor ha hecho un sólido trabajo de creación de mundo, con un sistema mágico que si bien no está explicado del todo se ve que puede dar mucho juego y con amenazas tanto externas como internas que son las que mueven todo el engranaje de la novela. No obstante, estos mismos elementos con los que juega Ford no dejan de ser bastante usuales en la fantasía de este estilo, así que no gana puntos por originalidad.

La historia también tiene su parte de culebrón, como debe ser, como la causa del duelo de honor del difunto marido y las dinámicas de la familia, aunque los puntos de vista se separan casi al principio de la narración y transcurren de forma casi independiente durante la mayor parte de la novela.

Quizá la parte más atractiva sea la interacción entre el trabajo de los artificieros y la magia, no me atrevería a llamarlo steampunk por no cargar de un significado erróneo el sistema, pero sí que lo recuerda. De todas formas, no queda muy claro el funcionamiento, supongo que lo iremos viendo en las próximas entregas.

Engines of Empire es una atractiva primera novela que gustará a los seguidores de la fantasía épica, que no ofrece mucha novedad respecto a otras historias del género y que puede resultar demasiado larga para ciertos lectores, pero que deja con intriga y ganas de saber qué pasará en las siguientes entregas.

Overall 4/5 stars for this read. Thank you for providing me with an ARC to review.

I've attached both the Goodreads and Instagram reviews to this post.

My favourite aspect of this novel was the intersection between technology and magic. In this world, some technology exists, but it is controlled and powered through technology rather than through traditional means.

Yet despite this worldbuilding, I was surprised to find this to be a very traditional fantasy narrative. The story is very action based while hitting on a lot of the classic tropes of the genre. The characters are all quite young and immature, despite this being an adult fantasy.

Overall, this was a good fantasy story, but not as new or inventive as I expected. I liked but did not love it. I would recommend primarily to readers who do not tire of traditional fantasy narratives.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review.