Book Review - ENGINES OF EMPIRE by R.S. Ford

(Title: Engines of Empire / Author: R.S. Ford / Publisher: Orbit / Publication Date: January 18, 2022 / Total Pages: 624)

Book Blurb

The nation of Torwyn is run on the power of industry, and industry is run by the Guilds. Chief among them are the Hawkspurs, and their responsibility is to keep the gears of the empire turning. It's exactly why matriarch Rosomon Hawkspur sends each of her heirs to the far reaches of the nation.

Conall, the eldest son, is sent to the distant frontier to earn his stripes in the military. It is here that he faces a threat he could have never seen coming: the first rumblings of revolution.

Tyreta's sorcerous connection to the magical resource of pyrestone that fuels the empire's machines makes her a perfect heir - in theory. While Tyreta hopes that she might shirk her responsibilities during her journey one of Torwyn's most important pyrestone mines, she instead finds the dark horrors of industry that the empire would prefer to keep hidden. 

The youngest, Fulren, is a talented artificer, and finds himself acting as consort to a foreign emissary. Soon after, he is framed for a crime he never committed. A crime that could start a war.

As each of the Hawkspurs grapple with the many threats that face the nation within and without, they must finally prove themselves worthy - or their empire will fall apart.

Review

R.S. Ford is an author whose books I have been meaning to check out for a while, but for whatever reason it just hadn't happened as of yet. All that thankfully changed when I was fortunate enough to receive an advance copy of his brand new book ENGINES OF EMPIRE from publisher Orbit Books. So it was with much curiosity and excitement that I leapt into the opening pages.

I had a feeling right off the bat that I was going to enjoy this book as things take shape fairly quickly and the intrigue is intense very early on in the story. Not a lot of setup and dilly-dallying about. And in the end that's a big part of what made this a great book and not just a good book for me.

We are told this story mainly through the eyes of three siblings from the very influential Hawkspur guild. Every so often a different POV chapter is interspersed, but the three main characters carry the bulk of the tale. Torwyn is a nation and empire that is at the height of its power, built mostly through industry. And yet there is also a hinting that at one time they were vulnerable, most specifically from a neighboring nation Nyrakkis. There are still worries throughout the kingdom that certain parts of their border are susceptible to aggression from across the border.

Much of this concern begins to dissipate when out of the blue an emissary from Nyrakkis shows up in an airship (i'll get to that later) asking for an audience with the leader of Torwyn. The emissary claims to be there with a peace offering and a deal that would usher in a new era of cooperation and harmony between the two formal rival lands. Old suspicions die hard however, and many in Torwyn speculate whether this is simply a ploy to gain sensitive intelligence rather than the olive branch it is being portrayed as. When something unexpected happens during the emissary's visit, the three siblings each find themselves faced with their own burdens to avoid a catastrophic war, and maybe even save their own lives in the process.

And this is really where the intriguing element of the book I was talking about grabs you and never lets go through the 600 or so pages. Each POV chapter takes you back to a part of the story that is engrossing in its own right and also integral to the overall plot, which we know will at some point come back together again. I love books like this because we aren't focused on one linear viewpoint that can sometimes tend to get boring and stagnant. There's none of that here as each time we jump into another sibling's adventure, it's almost like reading three books in one. Ford handles this very skillfully and keeps the focus on the main conflict, which is quite fantastic and kept me fixated on every word.

But what truly separates this book from just good fantasy and catapults it into great fantasy is the world-building and magic. Yes, the characters are amazing, the story is super intense and interesting, but where I was really dazzled was Ford's brilliant world that didn't fit in the typical box we see in so many epic fantasies. In this world we encounter multiple moons that you would normally see in science-fiction, yet it felt totally unique and mysterious set in this fantasy setting. And those airships! No this isn't a steampunk novel, but a main mode of transportation are enormous airships. And wait until you find out what powers these mysterious flying machines in their "engine rooms". It completely blew me away!

I guess you could say I had a giant crush on this book. It came as a breath of fresh air for me as just when I would think the story was headed in one direction, I was continually kept off balance. Nothing is as it seems in ENGINES OF EMPIRE and Ford has pushed the boundaries to give us an epic fantasy that feels very different and doesn't follow the rules. This is a wonderful thing and I believe that anyone who picks up this book will be treated to a story that while not conventional epic fantasy, still captivates with the same sense of wonder that we find in those reads. Get ready for an entertaining and magical book that will keep you up until the early morning hours dying to know what happens next.

  

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