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A review by tani
The Infernal Battalion by Django Wexler
5.0
You know how there are some series that you just cannot be rational about? You love them in their entirety, and it's only once in a blue moon that you find even a single fault with them? Let me tell you, this series is like that for me. Despite being slightly underwhelmed with book 4, I found my heart once again completely captured by this final book in the series. An honest fact: I was crying on and off for the entire last hundred pages, just because I was so emotionally overwrought, partially by events, and partially by the mere idea that the series was over.
This series houses some of my favorite characters in the recent history of my fantasy reading. In particular, let me tell you of Winter Ihernglass, because she is my heart. She's smart. She's modest. She tries to do the right thing, even when it's hard. She makes mistakes, but she owns them and does everything she can to make up for them. She tries to take too much responsibility, and she doesn't turn aside when the choice is between her own life and the lives of everyone else in the world. In short, she is absolutely fantastic, and definitely a big part of why I love this series so much. Which is not to discount Raesinia and Marcus, as well as the wonderful cast of supporting characters. Wexler certainly doesn't neglect them. Even characters who are little more than background decoration most of the time feel real in these books. Inevitably, that character who's just been hanging around for chapters will take that one action or say that one line that really makes you feel their humanity. I love that.
I also love the diversity of topics that the book covers. I think of it as primarily military fantasy, but it also has religious elements. It has political and social issues that it covers, especially in relation to gender, but certainly not exclusively. The stock market, of all things, plays a huge role in this particular boo, which I thought was awesome. There's just a depth to the world-building that makes me tremendously happy when I read these books.
The emotional themes of the book were another big draw for me. Each character has emotional issues and challenges to face. Winter deals with the burdens of command, with family, both found and blood, with the question of who she wants to be and how she wants to be seen. Marcus also has family issues, but he's additionally confronted again with his issues regarding gender, as well as questions of loyalty. Raesinia has to juggle what she wants from her life with what is traditionally expected of a monarch. For the most part, these issues don't have big and resounding answers, but they do get answered, and I have to admit, I was truly happy with the answers that each character found.
There is one thing about the book that part of me wants to criticize, and that's the ending. On a personal level, I loved it. I couldn't have asked for anything different. But some may find that it's too pat, maybe not messy enough, for all of the events that preceded it. Again, personally I had no problem with it, but not everyone will feel the same way, I'm sure.
Anyway, I'm glad to say that Django Wexler really stuck the landing for me, and this series will remain one of my favorite series ever.
This series houses some of my favorite characters in the recent history of my fantasy reading. In particular, let me tell you of Winter Ihernglass, because she is my heart. She's smart. She's modest. She tries to do the right thing, even when it's hard. She makes mistakes, but she owns them and does everything she can to make up for them. She tries to take too much responsibility, and she doesn't turn aside when the choice is between her own life and the lives of everyone else in the world. In short, she is absolutely fantastic, and definitely a big part of why I love this series so much. Which is not to discount Raesinia and Marcus, as well as the wonderful cast of supporting characters. Wexler certainly doesn't neglect them. Even characters who are little more than background decoration most of the time feel real in these books. Inevitably, that character who's just been hanging around for chapters will take that one action or say that one line that really makes you feel their humanity. I love that.
I also love the diversity of topics that the book covers. I think of it as primarily military fantasy, but it also has religious elements. It has political and social issues that it covers, especially in relation to gender, but certainly not exclusively. The stock market, of all things, plays a huge role in this particular boo, which I thought was awesome. There's just a depth to the world-building that makes me tremendously happy when I read these books.
The emotional themes of the book were another big draw for me. Each character has emotional issues and challenges to face. Winter deals with the burdens of command, with family, both found and blood, with the question of who she wants to be and how she wants to be seen. Marcus also has family issues, but he's additionally confronted again with his issues regarding gender, as well as questions of loyalty. Raesinia has to juggle what she wants from her life with what is traditionally expected of a monarch. For the most part, these issues don't have big and resounding answers, but they do get answered, and I have to admit, I was truly happy with the answers that each character found.
There is one thing about the book that part of me wants to criticize, and that's the ending. On a personal level, I loved it. I couldn't have asked for anything different. But some may find that it's too pat, maybe not messy enough, for all of the events that preceded it. Again, personally I had no problem with it, but not everyone will feel the same way, I'm sure.
Anyway, I'm glad to say that Django Wexler really stuck the landing for me, and this series will remain one of my favorite series ever.