Reviews

The Guns of Empire by Django Wexler

iiro's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

4.5

metalandteacups's review against another edition

3.0

Starting to notice some gaps in the magic structure. A lot of things aren't explained properly, which is bothering.

inkandscholar's review against another edition

5.0

Absolutely incredible and, if anything, more compelling than the last one. I'm so delighted to find my fears that Wexler would eventually drop the ball were entirely unfounded. There were so many directions he could have taken this tale and so many possible fates for these characters, and yet every death and continuing arc has been gratifying and thrilling. It's so rare to get to this point in a series and realize that every single major female death scene was well-orchestrated and not one of them was fridged, or sacrificed for shock value, or worse yet, punished for the ways in which she transgressed societal norms. The book waves farewell to some of my favorites, but even as it hurts I'm cognizant that each one got the death she earned, and for that I'm more grateful than I imagined. Beyond that, while the main plot was plainly predictable, I don't think that's a bad thing-- things simply come together in a way that is equal parts inevitable and horrifying and I'm going to sit here on the floor of my bedroom crying about Bobby and Jane and Sothe and Winter and Janus until someone gives me the release date for book five.

tl;dr IT HURTS SO GOOD AND I NEED MORE.

blodeuedd's review against another edition

4.0

I do like military fantasy and Wexler does it so well. You do have to like battles to precipitate this series. Because they are on the move the entire time, fighting, marching, trying to survive.

Janus is, oh I do not know about him, his end goal and why. But he will keep on marching to destroy the church. I get that he wants to keep his country and queen safe. He is the mystery in the book.

Marcus follows his general and will think nothing about him. And I do like Marcus, he is a great general, his men loves him. But he does follow blindly.

And then is Winter. The woman pretending to be a man, and who now is a general. She has risen to be sure. She is a great leader too and then there is the fact that she has a demon inside of her.

Oh yes the demons. I get it more now. Not everything is black and white, there is a lot of grey, and yes I did not like the church to begin with. They are blind zealots who use demons to gain power. He sure keeps it interesting.

Conclusion:
A great story that has me wanting more. I can't wait to read the next book in this series

lundos's review against another edition

4.0

Not as good as the last one. The characters are so likable and the story - until now - so interesting. This would probably be a 5 star book and it continues everything that I expect from the series, but
I have two major critique areas:

The motive of Janus bet Vhalnich

Spoiler

is just looking for someone (Mya - demon or carrier)? So basic. So dull.

Spoiler

But I guess that doesn't matter anymore.

And I must admit

Spoiler

that all the political games, the Penitent Damned, and Pontifex of the Black, which seem to just to bring another Big Bad with hive mentality, is very disappointing. This has been done way too much the last 5+ years in the genre, and I would appreciate if the writers could be a little more original. Especially someone as innovative as Wexler.

Poor Winter. She never has it easy, does she?

bakiavelli's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

tmarthal's review

4.0

The next installment of the series. Lots of setup, and more of a beginning than a continuation.

Also kinda weird when plot devices take out the main characters focus, but still a decent read.

nwilliams96's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

lazylys's review

4.0

4,5

What the hell is that ending?!?!? No, no, no, no.

I'm so, so crossed with Raes and Marcus both. Ungrateful and naive brats.

chawlios's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0