The Crimson Campaign

I lucked out with the Powder Mage Trilogy. I didn't start listening to them until after all three had been published, so I can read them whenever I want. It's pretty convenient. I'm pacing myself a little bit so I don't get completely saturated with the series and start to dislike it for that reason rather than any fault in the books themselves. Anyway, here goes.

Title: The Crimson Campaign
Author: Brian McClellan
Format: Audio

A month or so after the finish of the first book, we return to our characters. Tamas has joined the front, ready to lead his army to another crushing victory over the Kez. He plans a ambush with his two elite battalions only to find all his plans no long matter due to a new type of warden. Instead of destroying the Kez he and his battalions are force to flee across enemy territory to try to reenter Adro before the Kez destroy everything in their path. Taniel, the god-killer, has resorted to keeping himself in a constantly drugged state to try to forget the past few months, but once his father goes missing Taniel is called back to the front as the last hope of the Adran army. Meanwhile, Inspector Adamat has only two goals left in his life: to find his wife and child and to make Lord Vetas pay. Of course nothing is ever so easy. There are traitor's and double crossings and every sort of machination imaginable. Then there's always the question of: is it even possible to kill a god?

This is a good series. I enjoy the premise, the characters are entertaining, and the plot is complex but followable. One thing that many fantasy novels struggle with is the suspension of disbelief. An author must determine how far they can take characters and ideas without having their readers through their hands up in frustration and say "this is too much." McClellan has walked this line perfectly so far, invoking gods, guns, and magic, while making the reader not only believe that all of this is possible in his world, but that it all makes sense. I worry with a development near the end of the book that he may be starting to cross that line, but we shall see what happens in the Autumn Republic.

This book is slightly weaker than the previous book. The main reason I can cite is that the start of the book did drag a little bit. We knew the characters already, but it still took a while to catch up with what had happened since the previous book and to establish where each character would go. Once the story took off, it was fantastic, but it took McClellan just a little too much time to get there. The other potential flaw I've found is McClellan usage of female characters. There are many, and luckily their femininity is not their defining characteristic, but few are truly center stage. Nila, a character returning from the first book, is the only female whose perspective we see are given. Sadly she is also the least interesting and most frustrating female we've been exposed too. It is unfortunate that she is the most visible example when there are many better options to choose from.

That aside, I still think the book is great. One of my favorite aspects is that McClellan took the opportunity to expand, both geographically and in terms of characters. Rather than remaining in Adro and the mountains we get to explore Kez,  Additionally we meet a host of new characters. Some are mentioned only briefly to help move the plot, but there are many more who are well thought out and intriguing, and I hope to learn more of them. A philosophy I hold to in writing is to never treat a character as if they are secondary or unimportant. They should have a story that they are the main character in. We may not get to see this story, but it stills adds a logic and reality to the characters motives and actions. McClellan embraces this concept and so we have a plethora of relatable figures.
Anyone who liked the first one will also enjoy this one. Of course, read them in order.
8/10

Needful Things

Stephen King is one of the best known authors of our time. His works have been adapted for television and movies, many of which are well respected and even award winning. He attacks various topics from innumerable directions. I had read the first two books in the Dark Tower series and had given up, but I'd heard from many that those were different from his other work, so, when I saw Needful Things at a used book sale I decided to give it a try.

Title: Needful Things
Author: Stephen King
Format: Book
Time to Finish: 34 days

I read the introduction and first chapter and was hooked. The stories revolves around the small town of Castle Rock, Maine, where a new business has opened. It is called Needful Things, and sells exactly what you're looking for, but at a price. Part of the price is to play a trick on someone else, but the tricks, seemingly innocent at first become more and more dastardly and harmful. Soon the town is in chaos and watching it all is Mr. Gaunt, the proprietor of this new shop.

The solid premise, and King's writing is good enough to not distract most readers from the content. He's the problem with the book: being hooked for the first twenty pages does not guarantee you will devour the 630. I, in fact, did not. About 250 pages into the story I was ready to be done with the book, but was too stubborn to completely give up on it. I can read a 700 pages book and enjoy every word (A Song of Ice and Fire, King Killer Chronicles, Acacia) because often those books are developing a few characters very well, allowing them to endear themselves to the reader. In this doorstop of a novel, King spends his pages creating brief caricatures so that...SPOILERS...he could kill them a few minutes later. It's extremely tiresome and makes it so that you could not care less what actually happens to most of the characters. Creating a character 500 pages in for the sole purpose of killing some one and/or dying is lazy and meaningless to the story at large. The reader becomes so jaded about these people and their forced in stories that they are wont to roll their eyes and moan, "not another one." The multitude of undeveloped killable characters means that there is no emotional investment, and without that, readers start to wonder why they even bother. For me it was stubbornness, others may just worship Stephen King. Regardless, I'd say give this book a pass. It's not scary, creepy, or horrifying, but most tragically, it's not even interesting.
3/10