A review by lvl52_grant
Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan

adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

Honestly, was kind of disappointed with this one. The main character is touted as a tactical genius, but he hardly ever does anything, and loses one of the two military engagements that take place. I read that the magic was cool, but it felt rather basic, and the black powder magic that's the star attraction is basically just cocaine that makes you shoot guns better. All the characters felt bland, I can't tell you any identifying characteristic of any of them besides 2 that have substance abuse problems. 
The thing that really got me though was some glaring editing issues. The biggest one was when a character got injured, and woke up afterwards. No specific bodypart was described, and it said that he "touched the bandage, and it flared with pain". I reread the whole section, and there was no mention of his injuries being treated, or of any bandage and it just sucked me right out of the immersion. 
All in all, just a big let down. This book has circled around the edge of my attention for years and I'm just disappointed my high expectations weren't met.
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