The Aeronaut's Windlass

Jim Butcher

Sep 2015 · The Cinder Spires Book 1 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

Jim Butcher, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Dresden Files and the Codex Alera novels, conjures up a new series set in a fantastic world of noble families, steam-powered technology, and magic-wielding warriors...
 
Since time immemorial, the Spires have sheltered humanity. Within their halls, the ruling aristocratic houses develop scientific marvels, foster trade alliances, and maintain fleets of airships to keep the peace.
 
Captain Grimm commands the merchant ship Predator. Loyal to Spire Albion, he has taken their side in the cold war with Spire Aurora, disrupting the enemy’s shipping lines by attacking their cargo vessels. But when the Predator is damaged in combat, Grimm joins a team of Albion agents on a vital mission in exchange for fully restoring his ship.
 
And as Grimm undertakes this task, he learns that the conflict between the Spires is merely a premonition of things to come. Humanity’s ancient enemy, silent for more than ten thousand years, has begun to stir once more. And death will follow in its wake...

Ratings and reviews

I love JB and can't get enough of his books, this one being no exception. My only complaint is that if you've read codex alera you've already met half these characters. The captain of the slive becomes cap. Ransom and Grimm, the Journeyman is the First Spear, their XO is Crassus, Rowl is Kitai, etc. Can't wait to read the next one though

Just go read some Brandon Sanderson instead. Steampunk in the harlequin tradition. Mary-sue main character who is too smart for engineer school, too much of a firebrand for lady-like pursuits, and just badass enough to be a...guard? And her parents are rich and well respected. And she's beautiful. And all the servants like her. I couldn't read past the first couple of pages, but I assume when she meets her love interest, he intrigues her with piratical swashbuckling while they battle with wits and swords in the most ineloquent ways imaginable. Because I can't get past the first few pages, 3 stars. If I ever finish it, I might go back and give it one. What a bunch of inane, pseudo-intellectual blathering. And I LIKE Jim Butcher. Sort of. I havent kept up with the dresden files But the dialogue in this is just... so stilted. The prose is stilted as well. The book might as well be sold on stilts.

Jim Butcher is one of those authors I've alway meant to read, but never quite got around to it. So when this book came up as the book of the month in one of my reading clubs, I was happy to start it. Now, I'm wishing I had made time to read Jim Butcher's work much earlier. This book and I got off to a rough start, as I encountered one of the things I had heard about Butcher's style; he stops the action to shoehorn in paragraphs of explanation about things the reader may not necessarily care about. The book opens on aeronautical battle, and knowing how the cannons worked and what the cannon charges were made of didn't really add anything to me, especially before I had been given a reason to care. All I really needed to know was that the cannons went boom. But I stuck with it, and I was glad I did. As I continued through the book, I was introduced to one of the better cast of characters I've ever encountered. I usually dislike or am ambivalent towards one or two characters in multi-POV books. Not so here. I liked every character. Every one. Even the cat. And on top of that, I never felt like I was wading through a chapter or POV to get back to a preferred one. All of them held my interest. Each character had a distinct personality, one's own motivations, and they all react like people to the situations and stimuli they encounter. These characters were exceptionally life-like. Even the cat. On top of the lifelike, wholly empathetic characters, the plot propelled me along as well. It was filled with intrigue and mystery, as well as lots of action and danger. The stakes were high, but never outlandish. And losses were had. Butcher's writing isn't fancy, but it is competent and effective. His characters are compelling and reason enough to read the book. I'm eagerly awaiting the next book in this series, and until it comes out, I suppose I will look into these Harry Dresden books I've heard so much about.

About the author

A martial arts enthusiast whose résumé includes a long list of skills rendered obsolete at least two hundred years ago, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher turned to writing as a career because anything else probably would have driven him insane. He lives mostly inside his own head so that he can write down the conversation of his imaginary friends, but his head can generally be found in Independence, Missouri. Jim is the author of the Dresden Files, the Codex Alera novels, and the Cinder Spires series, which began with The Aeronaut’s Windlass.