The Crimson Campaign by Brian McClellan Series: The Powder Mage #2
on 2014-05-06
Genres: Epic, Fantasy
Pages: 608
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GUNPOWDER AND BULLETS WILL DETERMINE THE VICTOR. When invasion looms... Tamas's invasion of Kez ends in disaster when a Kez counter-offensive leaves him cut off behind enemy lines with only a fraction of his army, no supplies, and no hope of reinforcements. Drastically outnumbered and pursued by the enemy's best, he must lead his men on a reckless march through northern Kez to safety, and back over the mountains so that he can defend his country from an angry god, Kresimir.But the threats are closer to home...In Adro, Inspector Adamat wants only to rescue his wife. To do so he must track down and confront the evil Lord Vetas. He has questions for Vetas concerning his enigmatic master, but the answers will lead Adamat on a darker journey.Who will lead the charge?Tamas's generals bicker among themselves, the brigades lose ground every day beneath the Kez onslaught, and Kresimir wants the head of the man who shot him in the eye. With Tamas and his powder cabal presumed dead, Taniel Two-shot finds himself as the last line of defense against Kresimir's advancing army.In a rich, distinctive world that mixes magic with technology, who could stand against mages that control gunpowder and bullets? THE CRIMSON CAMPAIGN is the epic sequel to Brian McClellan's Promise of Blood.
FEBRUARY! I have to wait until February for the third book to be released! I can’t believe I have to wait that long! FEBRUARY!
Okay, I might have gone a tinsy bit character crazy. I loved them in the first book, and now I’m thoroughly character obsessed. Needless to say, the night I finished this I got little to no sleep. I kept playing over what could possibly happen in book 3. I should have stopped with Promise of Blood. I should’ve waited to start the second one. I just didn’t think I’d fall any further in love with the characters. But I did.
It only took me the first few chapters to be addicted to Taniel. He was already the front runner. Half way, I was just as crazy about Tamas. I can’t get enough of the father and son duo. We get to hear about Tamas’s past just a bit and see him have an emotional breakdown. Taniel also shines with some new talent. Great character development for both! Surprisingly, I was still even enjoying Adamat’s story. I didn’t skim anywhere. It was perfectly balanced.
And the action? Oh heck yeah! Still as amazing! TINY SPOILER: Taniel beats through the chest of a warden, rips out its rib, and stabs the warden in the eye with its own rib!!!!! How friggin awesome is that?!?! END SPOILER
The magic is still incredibly fun to read, and we’re even getting some new types introduced. It wasn’t necessarily needed, but it definitely didn’t take away from my enjoyment in the least.
The only negative I can scrape together is that the storyline itself moves a tad bit slower than the first book. Only on reflection, with hours of trying to think of negatives, did I come up with that one. I’m just too involved with the characters and thoroughly engaged in the story and writing to think of it as a truly negative point. Though the beginning was slower, much like the first book, it picked up quickly and then never stopped. I can honestly say that I love the actual story as much as the first one, but overall, because of some of the scenes with the characters, I was just a bit more in love with this book.
So to end my ramblings, I cannot recommend this series enough. I’m now a huge, HUGE fan of McClellan and will buy anything he spits out!
About Brian McClellan
Brian lives in Cleveland, Ohio with his wife, two dogs, a cat, and between 6,000 and 60,000 honey bees (depending on the time of year).
He began writing on Wheel of Time role playing websites at fifteen. Encouraged toward writing by his parents, he started working on short stories and novellas in his late teens. He went on to major in English with an emphasis on creative writing at Brigham Young University. It was here he met Brandon Sanderson, who encouraged Brian’s feeble attempts at plotting and characters more than he should have.
Brian continued to study writing not just as an art but as a business and was determined this would be his life-long career. He attended Orson Scott Card’s Literary Bootcamp in 2006. In 2008, he received honorable mention in the Writers of the Future Contest.
In November 2011, The Powder Mage Trilogy sold at auction to Orbit Books. The first two books, Promise of Blood and The Crimson Campaign, are out now with book three, The Autumn Republic, due out in February of 2015.
