Jim Butcher makes a grand departure from both The Dresden Files and Codex Alera and does so on the decks of The Predator, an airship captained by a privateer named Captain Grimm. The Predator may be a sound vessel but, Capt. Grimm seems to have less than a sound reputation having been kicked out of the Albion Admiralty for cowardice. So, how do members of the aristocracy and military cadets as well as a couple of more unique inhabitants of Albion find themselves entangled with such a person? That can be answered in the pages of The Aeronaut’s Windlass the first book in The Cinder Spires series by Jim Butcher.
This really is a departure from what we have becomes accustom from Mr. Butcher in the past. In a break from stories set in worlds full of magic. Now he takes us to a world of flying ships and people who have learned to harness energy that flows around them. Though we are plunged right into this new world, we are eased into some of the uniqueness of this world by using the best trope for the job: Training some of the characters. We get to meet three parts of Albion society each as they learn and then as they learn to act together. This has long been my favorite way to learn a new world in a book since long explanations of how things work can be made easier to follow. Explaining the next stage of the story and how it’s accomplished breaches my spoiler boundary so, let’s just say, we’ve seen done before but, this is done well.
A new book series certainly means new characters and Windlass has some interesting ones. Along with Capt. Grimm of the Predator, we have his Executive Officer and crew. There’s almost always tension between the XO and the crew, which happens in real life as well (XO’s almost always play the heavy). We also meet a variety of aristocrats and other denizens of Albion and other Spires. I really don’t want to spoil the masterful job of exposition by the author but, I will say, meeting these individuals is unique for each one. Some characters may seem a bit flat in the beginning (especially those in the aristocracy). But, a bit of patience pays off as they allow their true colors to show. For all the cat lovers out there, you may find some of the characters very interesting indeed!
The Aeronaut’s Windlass is a very entertaining story and well worth the effort to read the 600 plus pages. This is definitely the first book in a series evidenced in both exposition and ending and I look forward to the next installment. There is a fair bit of violence and a few discussions of mature matters so, this one lands in the PG13 range but, not too deep in.
This really is a departure from what we have becomes accustom from Mr. Butcher in the past. In a break from stories set in worlds full of magic. Now he takes us to a world of flying ships and people who have learned to harness energy that flows around them. Though we are plunged right into this new world, we are eased into some of the uniqueness of this world by using the best trope for the job: Training some of the characters. We get to meet three parts of Albion society each as they learn and then as they learn to act together. This has long been my favorite way to learn a new world in a book since long explanations of how things work can be made easier to follow. Explaining the next stage of the story and how it’s accomplished breaches my spoiler boundary so, let’s just say, we’ve seen done before but, this is done well.
A new book series certainly means new characters and Windlass has some interesting ones. Along with Capt. Grimm of the Predator, we have his Executive Officer and crew. There’s almost always tension between the XO and the crew, which happens in real life as well (XO’s almost always play the heavy). We also meet a variety of aristocrats and other denizens of Albion and other Spires. I really don’t want to spoil the masterful job of exposition by the author but, I will say, meeting these individuals is unique for each one. Some characters may seem a bit flat in the beginning (especially those in the aristocracy). But, a bit of patience pays off as they allow their true colors to show. For all the cat lovers out there, you may find some of the characters very interesting indeed!
The Aeronaut’s Windlass is a very entertaining story and well worth the effort to read the 600 plus pages. This is definitely the first book in a series evidenced in both exposition and ending and I look forward to the next installment. There is a fair bit of violence and a few discussions of mature matters so, this one lands in the PG13 range but, not too deep in.
