War story with a slight touch of Fantasy, but very well written with believable characters. A bit slow and slightly repetitive in the middle in the middle, but with a very powerful ending. ( )

I'm already a big fan of AC, but this is yet another superb offering from him, in yet another genre. It's a pseudo-historical fantasy, obviously a setting around the 1900s but with added Warlocks and indigenous non-humans. There are parallels to many of the wars of that time, and it might be interesting to discuss which sides are represented. But as always the focus is on the characters and their actions and choices.

In this case we only follow Emily. She's of good blood although her family are now in somewhat reduced circumstances, but they can keep a Cook, groundsman, maid etc. The initial third or so is set in interleaving timeline with Emily arriving at the frontline of her Kingdom's war with it's republican neighbour, and process by which she got there. Not my most favourite story telling style, but the enigmatic letters at the start of the chapters flesh out some of the details. Somewhere around the middle of the book it all comes together, all the identities are known and there's just the resolution to achieve. As with LotR, the epilogue is as important as anything else. What do you do when you've come home from war?

Pacing is great characterisation and slow realisation of the murky world of 'truth' is fantastic, the world-building is great as ever. Perhaps if I'm being very picky with the plot, Mallan disappears for a few chapters without mention when logically he would have been Emily's first thoughts. I'm not normally a historical-fantasy fan, but the setting for this is works very well - much slower news dissemination than in our current lives, but doesn't actually change the issue of veracity.

Really enjoyed, yet another reason to read everything he writes. ( )

Ágætis saga hjá Tchaikovsky þar sem hann blandar saman töframönnum og tækni þar sem hermönnum tveggja landa er att saman í langvinnt blóðbað. Annars vegar er konungsríki sem byggir á samtvinnun galdra og skotliða og hins vegar er nýstofnað lýðveldi sem reiðir sig meir á tækniframfarir í hernaðinum. Ríkin berast á banaspjótum og etja sífellt fleiri mönnum á blóðvellina og að því kemur að konur eru líka kvaddar í herinn í öðru ríkinu og er att á vígvöllinn eftir bráðabirgða þjálfun. Tchaikovsky leyfir okkur að fylgjast með Emily sem kemst að því líkt og fleiri að hernaðurinn er ekki eins og stjórnvöld hafa látið í veðri vaka og brátt vakna upp siðferðilegar spurningar um tilgang átakanna og upphaf þeirra eftir því sem örvænting herliðanna eykst. ( )

I absolutely loved this book! Emily Marshwic's journey was riveting and heartbreaking. Going from a gentlewoman to becoming a soldier on the battlefield was an extreme makeover. From the losses, coping mechanisms and survival instincts that takes over when you must do things you never though yourself capable of, this was both a joy to read but also emotionally draining.

The gradual realization and change in Emily throughout the story were some of the best character development I’ve read for some time now.

The combination of Pride and Prejudice (Lizzie's and Darcy's relationship) and Downton Abbey (gentlewoman Emily Marshwic living in a manor house with servants) World War I (the trenches has been swapped out with a swamp) was a very interesting blend, but for me this worked so perfectly.

I loved the relationship between Emily and Mr. Northway, they are a formidable pair, and it was done so subtly and as a compliment to the war plot that takes center stage. But it is the war and how it changes Emily that is the most interesting aspect of this book, and what this war has cost her, both mentally and in terms of friends and family. It’s also fun when the genders stereotypes are swapped, the woman is at war and the man is waiting at home.

It was also interesting to see the difference in mentality between the two fighting forces and all the propaganda that is used to justify the war. The story also managed to surprise me several times as well, which I was very happy about, especially the ending was for me very well done.

The fantastical element in this book is minimal, but it's so well utilized in the story and in the war. I liked the warlocks and how they are used, but I liked even more that Emily is just an ordinary woman who is drafted into this war and her love for her country and her king is so strong that she feels an obligation, though reluctant as it is, to join up.

If anything I just wrote sounds interesting, you should definitely give this a try.
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Fantasy war novel: the protagonist is a minor noblewoman who, when her country starts drafting women to serve in its ongoing war against its revolutionary neighbor, becomes a soldier in the hated swamp country. There is sorcery, conferred on men of breeding by anointing them with the king’s blood, but it is overmatched by the enemy’s guns. Ultimately, she has to decide what honor means in a corrupt and corrupting system. ( )