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A review by pjonsson
Servants of War by Steve Diamond, Larry Correia
4.0
This is the first book in a new book series from Larry Correa. The book is co-written by Steve Diamond whom I have not really read anything from until now. Larry Correia however is one of my favorite, if not the favorite, author. Unlike, for example, Michael Anderle who is a quite good author himself but unfortunately seems to be happy putting his name on a lot of rubbish written by other authors having Larry Correia’s name on a book is always a sign that it is a good book.
This one is no exception. It is a very good book indeed although I have to confess that I do like his Monster Hunter International and Grimnoir Chronicles series more than I liked this book. Maybe that’s just because this book is a lot about trench warfare which is not exactly my favorite subject. That still leaves this book in the top of the back range of books I have read lately though.
The books is set in a fantasy world where magic exists and monsters and gods roam the land. Out main protagonist, Illarion, is thrown into a war between the two largest nations of this world by one of the goddesses when everyone else in his small village is slaughtered.
The world that Larry has created is a mix of science a’la first world war and magic. There are guns, gas warfare, snipers and… mechs. Yep, that is right, mechs. No it is not steam punk. As we learn these mechs, or Objects as they are called for reasons I never really understood, are magical constructs with a human driver inside. Some drivers are better at controlling there mechs than others and I’m sure you can guess which end of the spectrum Illarion finds himself.
During the course of the book we learn much about this world and how it works. The Tsarist nation and its military is, not surprisingly, quite autocratic and it doesn’t take long before the political KGB-style apparatchiks and political officers makes their appearance.
There are plenty of political scheming and plots within plots going on. The book starts with the story line of three different main characters which are weaved together as the story progresses. A few twists follows of course and by the end the plot has evolved quite a bit and what started of a foes have become friends. Perhaps a bit out of necessity but still on the same side of the good-bad line.
The book is somewhat dark and the world is quite dark and gritty. There are a lot of combat and gruesome deaths in between the plotting and scheming and sometimes it feels like a borderline horror story. The book is also much less humorous and serious than, for instance Monster Hunter International which is perhaps also why I could not bring myself to give it a 5 out of 5 rating.
Still, this is a very good book. It’s as well written as one would expect of a book with Larry Correia’s name on it. Not surprisingly this is a series I will continue.
This one is no exception. It is a very good book indeed although I have to confess that I do like his Monster Hunter International and Grimnoir Chronicles series more than I liked this book. Maybe that’s just because this book is a lot about trench warfare which is not exactly my favorite subject. That still leaves this book in the top of the back range of books I have read lately though.
The books is set in a fantasy world where magic exists and monsters and gods roam the land. Out main protagonist, Illarion, is thrown into a war between the two largest nations of this world by one of the goddesses when everyone else in his small village is slaughtered.
The world that Larry has created is a mix of science a’la first world war and magic. There are guns, gas warfare, snipers and… mechs. Yep, that is right, mechs. No it is not steam punk. As we learn these mechs, or Objects as they are called for reasons I never really understood, are magical constructs with a human driver inside. Some drivers are better at controlling there mechs than others and I’m sure you can guess which end of the spectrum Illarion finds himself.
During the course of the book we learn much about this world and how it works. The Tsarist nation and its military is, not surprisingly, quite autocratic and it doesn’t take long before the political KGB-style apparatchiks and political officers makes their appearance.
There are plenty of political scheming and plots within plots going on. The book starts with the story line of three different main characters which are weaved together as the story progresses. A few twists follows of course and by the end the plot has evolved quite a bit and what started of a foes have become friends. Perhaps a bit out of necessity but still on the same side of the good-bad line.
The book is somewhat dark and the world is quite dark and gritty. There are a lot of combat and gruesome deaths in between the plotting and scheming and sometimes it feels like a borderline horror story. The book is also much less humorous and serious than, for instance Monster Hunter International which is perhaps also why I could not bring myself to give it a 5 out of 5 rating.
Still, this is a very good book. It’s as well written as one would expect of a book with Larry Correia’s name on it. Not surprisingly this is a series I will continue.