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Bright Steel
(Masters and Mages #3)
by
Every war comes down to the flash of bright steel, even when the air is full of magic . . .
Aranthur and his friends have come together across different continents and realms with one purpose: to strike back against the forces which have torn a hole in the heavens and threaten to rip the world beneath them apart as well.
With time running short, and treason at home, there ar ...more
Aranthur and his friends have come together across different continents and realms with one purpose: to strike back against the forces which have torn a hole in the heavens and threaten to rip the world beneath them apart as well.
With time running short, and treason at home, there ar ...more
Paperback, 392 pages
Published
August 22nd 2019
by Gollancz
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Here is the review of Bright Steel, folks. Please check it out on Grimdark Magazine and any other fantastic reviews of books you are interested in.
“Selfishness and tyranny do not make for stable allies.”
“Can I quote you on that?”
Bright Steel. Wow. Masters and Mages is now a finished trilogy, and Bright Steel ramps up every aspect that made Cold Iron and Dark Forge utterly brilliant. Fearsome battles with swords and sorcery, emotional punches, back-alley dealings and one of the best coming-of-age ...more
“Selfishness and tyranny do not make for stable allies.”
“Can I quote you on that?”
Bright Steel. Wow. Masters and Mages is now a finished trilogy, and Bright Steel ramps up every aspect that made Cold Iron and Dark Forge utterly brilliant. Fearsome battles with swords and sorcery, emotional punches, back-alley dealings and one of the best coming-of-age ...more

Brilliant
Normally I had read only his historical fiction work but this series was amazing, it had everything and shows he is just as good at fantasy as he is in fiction. Looks like I will have to add all his fantasy works to my tbr pile 😏 unusually the kindle is more expensive than the paper but pricing has nothing to do with the author and the book deserves only praise. Bravo Mr Cameron, now get the head down and write us some more
Normally I had read only his historical fiction work but this series was amazing, it had everything and shows he is just as good at fantasy as he is in fiction. Looks like I will have to add all his fantasy works to my tbr pile 😏 unusually the kindle is more expensive than the paper but pricing has nothing to do with the author and the book deserves only praise. Bravo Mr Cameron, now get the head down and write us some more

A good if somewhat rushed end to the series.
Again we start pretty much where we left off at the end of the last book. As usual I won't go into too many details this being the final book of the series. This book contained elements of both previous books. The first was Aranthur getting used to the city and the politics, the second was a military campaign. This contains both as the first part of the book is back in the city and dealing with the ambitions of certain factions there. The second part i ...more
Again we start pretty much where we left off at the end of the last book. As usual I won't go into too many details this being the final book of the series. This book contained elements of both previous books. The first was Aranthur getting used to the city and the politics, the second was a military campaign. This contains both as the first part of the book is back in the city and dealing with the ambitions of certain factions there. The second part i ...more

Somehow unsatisfying
Felt like the last red Knight book, with an all knowing hero saving the world in very similar circumstances. Left me somehow unsatisfied. There were also a lot of very similar large magical fights, which dragged on after a while. The master/pure conclusion almost felt like an afterthought, which almost betrayed one of the hooks of the first book. This is an odd feeling as it's the first Cameron book I haven't flat out loved. ...more
Felt like the last red Knight book, with an all knowing hero saving the world in very similar circumstances. Left me somehow unsatisfied. There were also a lot of very similar large magical fights, which dragged on after a while. The master/pure conclusion almost felt like an afterthought, which almost betrayed one of the hooks of the first book. This is an odd feeling as it's the first Cameron book I haven't flat out loved. ...more

What a great finish to the series! Like the first two books, its paced very well with action and intrigue. All the characters continue to grow individually and have interesting arcs that serve the story well. All the primary characters have really changed and grown, finding themselves with great responsibilities at this stage of the story. Some happily so and others (Aranthur) a little more reluctantly.
Aranthur has turned out to be a very memorable character who is always grappling with the mo ...more
Aranthur has turned out to be a very memorable character who is always grappling with the mo ...more

Publishing Date: 2019
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 3.6/5
Review: This ending did not disappoint yet also leaves room for more novels in the series. I liked that the novel focused more on the political/spy game while leaving room for sword play and magic to flourish. A real gifted writer that enfolds you into his world.
Sparthos was my favorite character and sadly did not have a big role in the all the novels. The author does a great job of prefacing each chapter with a stanza from the master that relates ...more
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 3.6/5
Review: This ending did not disappoint yet also leaves room for more novels in the series. I liked that the novel focused more on the political/spy game while leaving room for sword play and magic to flourish. A real gifted writer that enfolds you into his world.
Sparthos was my favorite character and sadly did not have a big role in the all the novels. The author does a great job of prefacing each chapter with a stanza from the master that relates ...more

A good ending to the trilogy. This book blends the best parts of book 1 and book 2, and as such it was highly entertaining. It was thrilling to read this coming-of-age story, filled with grit, humour, action, magic, and camaraderie. Cameron's elegant writing carries the story in an enthusiastic manner, and this 'saving of the world from evil' tale is fastidious, and filled with all the interesting flaws that makes a fantasy story delightful in its own way. There are grim and dark moments juxtapo
...more

I finished this book last night! What a great story. Bright Steel is the conclusion of Masters & Mages. I really enjoyed the main character Aranthur and well, all the characters, really. Dahlia is essentially someone who could leap out of an Alexander Dumas swashbuckling tale. Wow! I don’t think anyone can write military action like Miles Cameron (Christian Cameron). Additionally, I really enjoy the magical elements of the story. Reading back over this, I’m not doing this story any justice. I ha
...more

Better than the second book in the series. In this book things actually happens, and the story progresses. It even tries to go back and touch on some dropped plot points from the first book, but nothing done satisfactory.
The book is just making the main character and his possy more and more Mary Sue & Co, and most tension is lost as our main characters are just the best at everything for reason.
The book is just making the main character and his possy more and more Mary Sue & Co, and most tension is lost as our main characters are just the best at everything for reason.

Perfect ending of a great book
What a great book to end on it both beautifully raps up the story but as is fitting doesn't make it perfect or unreal. I do hope there will be more books set in this world. ...more
What a great book to end on it both beautifully raps up the story but as is fitting doesn't make it perfect or unreal. I do hope there will be more books set in this world. ...more

Honestly, this is a lackluster ending to an astounding series. It's still well above par for the current fantasy landscape (in my largely irrelevant opinion) but given how intricate and... inventive the first two were, this is a somewhat low ending for me.
...more

I simply did not vibe with this book. It alternated between moving too fast and not moving at all: not letting the complex segments breathe while spending too much time retreading boring shit. I also felt like we lost connection with the protagonist for most of this one, like I ended up in an adversarial relationship with the guy whose perspective I'm stuck in. Perhaps I only felt that way because I hated his stupid boring demon wife.
However, the climactic sequence was absolutely stupendous and ...more
However, the climactic sequence was absolutely stupendous and ...more

Bright Steel concludes the stellar, atply-named trilogy "Master & Mages" by Miles Cameron.
Briskly told, the adventures of Aranthor, Dahlia and Inonques (hopefully I spelled her name correctly) delves a bit deeper into the 'Mage' and 'Master' aspect of the trilogy.
In it, Aranthor comes to assess the 'cost' of war, the effect his choices have on others- and, frankly, the incredulous state that he finds himself (given how he started, if you will, as a 'farmer' in book 1). It's good, it's brisk and ...more
Briskly told, the adventures of Aranthor, Dahlia and Inonques (hopefully I spelled her name correctly) delves a bit deeper into the 'Mage' and 'Master' aspect of the trilogy.
In it, Aranthor comes to assess the 'cost' of war, the effect his choices have on others- and, frankly, the incredulous state that he finds himself (given how he started, if you will, as a 'farmer' in book 1). It's good, it's brisk and ...more

Terrific closer with, as in the first two volumes, enough plot in itself for an entire trilogy. The only reservations I have are, 1) the author continues to punish his characters really severely, but without killing any of them off permanently, which is nice but gets silly after the fifth or sixth fatal encounter, and 2) the way the hole in the heavens is finally sewn shut doesn't make a lot of sense--even if, as I think we're supposed to assume, the entire world here is about the size of Greenl
...more

Wow. This was the first time in a LONG time that i pulled an all nighter to finish a book!
I'm still a little sour over the whole "world ending threat" that came up in this series... although i'm partially satisfied by how he resolved the situation - seriously, this ending was a good one for this book - much better than most "epic fantasy" delivers.
I really loved our PoV Aranthur, especially that he was a truly good-hearted character who strived to be better (even though circumstances were consta ...more
I'm still a little sour over the whole "world ending threat" that came up in this series... although i'm partially satisfied by how he resolved the situation - seriously, this ending was a good one for this book - much better than most "epic fantasy" delivers.
I really loved our PoV Aranthur, especially that he was a truly good-hearted character who strived to be better (even though circumstances were consta ...more

So this trilogy is finally over. I've been feeling pretty meh about the first two books, and that stays pretty consistent with the last book. There's a lot that happens in this case, so much so that when I thought it was a much longer book and was surprised to see the page count at only 400 pages.
**Warning: Spoilers**
At this point the cast of characters has really grown. Thank goodness I'm reading all three books back-to-back, otherwise I would really struggle with names. As it is, there are som ...more
**Warning: Spoilers**
At this point the cast of characters has really grown. Thank goodness I'm reading all three books back-to-back, otherwise I would really struggle with names. As it is, there are som ...more

At first I was a little hesitant when I picked up Cold Iron, something about a coming of age story about a student didn't draw me in like the appeal of Cameron's other work.
Never the less I took the plunge and was delighted to find I loved it, to the point where I couldn't put it down.
And here we are, two books later with Bright Steel, at the end of the trilogy that has me wishing for more.
Cameron consistently proves he is a master at drawing you into his world with its dynamic power struggles ...more
Never the less I took the plunge and was delighted to find I loved it, to the point where I couldn't put it down.
And here we are, two books later with Bright Steel, at the end of the trilogy that has me wishing for more.
Cameron consistently proves he is a master at drawing you into his world with its dynamic power struggles ...more

Good read
Enjoyed the book but it was difficult to remember where exactly the previous book picked up without any reintroduction into the minor characters and various factions.
I found the plot to be interesting and the action very well written, but again without being and to recall some of the previous characters and plotlines it was slight confusing.
Enjoyed the book but it was difficult to remember where exactly the previous book picked up without any reintroduction into the minor characters and various factions.
I found the plot to be interesting and the action very well written, but again without being and to recall some of the previous characters and plotlines it was slight confusing.

I have been waiting for this for months and ended up reading it in a day and a half and loved every second of it.
I was a bit wary going in as the end of the last book was getting "taking, magic sword" for me, but that was dealt with very well in the end.
In short, this is a superb book. Nothing else needs to be said. ...more
I was a bit wary going in as the end of the last book was getting "taking, magic sword" for me, but that was dealt with very well in the end.
In short, this is a superb book. Nothing else needs to be said. ...more
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“Aranthur had a moment to savour the odd feeling of another warrior’s absolute faith.”
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