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Blood of Empire

(Gods of Blood and Powder #3)

Brian McClellan (Goodreads Author)

4.45 · Rating details · 192 ratings · 14 reviews

As the final battle approaches a sellsword, a spy, and a general must find unlikely and dangerous allies in order to turn the tides of war in this epic fantasy tale of magic and gunpowder by acclaimed author Brian McClellan.

The Dynize have unlocked the Landfall Godstone, and Michel Bravis is tasked with returning to Greenfire Depths to do whatever he can to prevent them ...more

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592 pages

Published December 3rd 2019 by Orbit

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· 192 ratings · 14 reviews

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Nov 21, 2019 Brian McClellan rated it it was amazing · (Review from the author)

I mean, *I* certainly liked it.

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Dec 02, 2019 Silvana rated it really liked it

Shelves: fyeahfantasy, kindle-google, mine-mine-mine, sff-2019-reading-challenge, reading-with-friends, sff-2019-seriescompletion-challenge, sl-sword-challenge-2019

Whew, what a ride.

Brian McClellan is one of my favorite ~~military~~ ~~flintlock~~ fantasy writers. His Powder Mage trilogy has one of the best magic systems I ever read while his characters were compelling and memorable.

Three years ago I was pleasantly surprised when he announced a new trilogy set in the same world, featuring one of the characters that I felt was underused, misunderstood and even marginalized in the first trilogy, Vlora Flint. There are of course two other main POV characters, a ...more

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Sep 25, 2018 Linda rated it really liked it

It's a good book when your only complaint is that it's too short.

(I did not get an advance copy, nor am I related to author)

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Nov 30, 2019 Reggie Kray rated it it was ok

And yet, another great series that ends horrifically. Disappointed is a gross understatement.

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Oct 17, 2019 Dance With Me Then marked it as to-read

Well I certainly regret reading the blurb. It's way too spoilery.

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Dec 02, 2019 Vagabond of Letters rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Been waiting for this one a while; just found out the author has novellas in the same universe. It's not often that I wait for something that's not a Sanderson, Lynch, or Rothfuss.
___
8/10

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Nov 21, 2019 Josh rated it it was amazing

Amazing. Perfect bow on top of the gift that is the powder mage universe.

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Dec 05, 2019 Andrew Jaden rated it liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Alas, I think this will go down for me as another series that started off strong, then ended limply. Where it all went wrong, I think, was plot and characterization. The premise of each viewpoint character's arcs, in and of itself were great -- Ben Styke and his Mad Lancers are forced to use guile and subterfuge, instead of brute force, Michel Bravis is for once fighting for the side he holds an actual allegiance to, and Vlora is now powder-blind and nowhere near peak physical condition, due to Alas, I think this will go down for me as another series that started off strong, then ended limply. Where it all went wrong, I think, was plot and characterization. The premise of each viewpoint character's arcs, in and of itself were great -- Ben Styke and his Mad Lancers are forced to use guile and subterfuge, instead of brute force, Michel Bravis is for once fighting for the side he holds an actual allegiance to, and Vlora is now powder-blind and nowhere near peak physical condition, due to her heroics in *Wrath of Empire*. Brian McClellan tossed all the characters into unfamiliar situations, and that can make for an excellent narrative. The problem is it didn't really seem to go anywhere, and at points I thought it even felt rushed (despite being over 500 pages)!

For starters, Ben Styke's subterfuge doesn't really work and his arc essentially consists of 'stand around watching people politicking until someone needs to get violently murdered'. This was essentially, Michel Bravis's arc in the previous book, and there it works since Michel is actually a character whose strengths lie in subterfuge and politicking. Ben is *not*, and will never be that kind of character, so this makes him a glorified observer, for the most part. While we do get a look at Dynize culture again, it's not as interesting as when Michel does it; simply put, Michel was participating in said culture, Ben was looking from the sidelines.

As for Michel himself, his chapters and arc felt like your typical 'freedom fighter encourages the oppressed to rise up' narrative. It was very bland, there wasn't a lot of interesting stuff to ponder in it, beyond the mob he helps create getting beyond his control. It feels like McClellan was trying to talk about something deeper with that, but it never goes anywhere.

Vlora's arc however, is probably the one I am most disappointed in. Being a depowered powder mage was a really interesting angle, and that coupled with her injuries, I thought, could create a narrative where she shows why she's the true heir to Tamas, and a worthy field marshal in her own right. Instead, we kinda get a brooding asshole Vlora who kills Dynize officers out of spite, is sad about not having Olem and being a magical cokehead (this will never stop amusing me about powder mages), commits a massacre of enemy troops that's kinda sorta hinted to be a war crime but never actually leads anywhere, and kinda sorta stops being an asshole when he comes back. Oh, and her conflict with General Etepali never actually happens.

Etepali's non-show actually ties into a bigger problem I have with the book: There's an implication of things happening (either from the end of the previous book, or insinuated in this one) that don't actually happen, such as (off the top of my head):

- Ka-Sedial seemingly takes a crippling injury via sorcerous means from Ka-Poel, but beyond a stabbing pain in his head never seems affected. He's built up as an enemy, but doesn't show any good reason to be feared (his master plan of the Great Household Purge gets exposed by a maid).

- The Dynize emperor is implied to be a puppet, but all we see is some buff tattooed asshole fighting at the end, with no indication of why he's helping Ka-Sedial attain godhood beyond earlier implications (in that case, how?).

- The Mad Lancers' armor is supposedly magical, but isn't really shown as being unique beyond some Styke sniffing and bullet protection.

- Lindet is mentioned throughout the entire novel as well as her army, but doesn't actually come into play.

All these things, I think, and probably others I've failed to mention, contribute towards a somewhat unappealing ending to a mostly-impressive trilogy for me. I was not a fan of the original Powder Mage trilogy, but the Gods of Blood and Powder trilogy really turned it around... until this final entry to the series. Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed reading it all, but it is a shame that it couldn't 'stick the landing', so to speak
...more

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Dec 05, 2019 Tomi Heimonen rated it liked it · review of another edition

Good wrap-up but somewhat rushed

Another enjoyable read in the Powder Mage universe. It was good to see the trilogy come to conclusion but I couldn’t help feeling like the ending was very rushed just to wrap up all of the different storylines — sort of like the last season of Game of Thrones.

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Dec 05, 2019 Sean You rated it really liked it

Solid book, I especially enjoyed the Michel Braxis arc, though I think other characters could have done with more time, especially the setup for the final battle felt relatively rushed given the series setup for it.

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Dec 04, 2019 Adrian Race rated it it was amazing

An excellent finale to the trilogy! I felt the ending was a tad rushed, but, otherwise, excellent.

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Nov 05, 2019 Shubham Kapoor rated it really liked it

looks great
will read sooner

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Beverly Freese rated it it was amazing
Jul 17, 2019

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About Brian McClellan

Brian McClellan

5,148 followers

Brian McClellan is an American epic fantasy author from Cleveland, Ohio. He is known for his acclaimed Powder Mage Universe and essays on the life and business of being a writer.

Brian now lives on the side of a mountain in Utah with his wife, Michele, where he writes books and nurses a crippling video game addiction.

Brian's novels include the Powder Mage Trilogy (Promise of Blood, The Crimson ...more