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79 points/100 (4 stars/5)
Alert: Gushing ahead

Wow, I liked this. I really, really liked this. The Ingenious reminds me of so, so many other stories I have read. Yet it is unique to Darius Hinks. I was drawn into the story itself, which isn't always easy for me to do. I am typically a character reader, I get drawn into the characters themselves. Yet, in The Ingenious, it was the story that got to me. The characters were just secondary.

I'll say right up front: I could not get into the start of this book. I felt like I was being tossed into the deep end, and someone was holding me under the water and yelling at me to stay afloat. The world, the characters, and the feel of the book was all tossed at me at once. I swear, in the first beginning bit, it felt like there were a hundred characters to memorize. It made it really difficult to read. However, by a few chapters in, I fell into the story and stayed there. I didn't want to leave for anything.

The world is great, and I loved all the descriptions of everything (even if it did seem a bit verbose in the beginning). Everything is so fantastical while also being down to earth in a nitty gritty way. The society is completely fucked up. Throughout the whole book, we find more and more about the society that just turns my stomach. Everything we learned, I wanted to know more about. What I like so much about the world is how dark it is. I love how the society is structured for maximum pain. I like how corrupted the magic we see is. I also like how, by the end, we know very little on how the world actually functions. It isn't a case of the author not explaining, it is a function of who our main character is.

I always hate when people describe a book like something else that is super popular. It tends to set the reader up for disappointment. Yet I'm going to do it anyway. The Ingenious feels like it has a little part of every book in Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere. It is like Hinks took the parts he loved from the Cosmere and put them back together again. And it worked. I have no idea if Darius Hinks has ever even read a single book by Sanderson. Yet this is the way it feels. Only Darius Hinks made it his own story. As much as I have tried to ditch this idea in my mind since I first thought it, I keep coming back to it. The Ingenious is great because it takes something I have already loved, and reimagines it.

Isten is our primary character, and she is really fun to read about. I never really connected with her like I typically like to do, yet I really enjoyed reading about her. Isten is a contradiction of a character. At the start of the book, we find her trying to reconnect with her old friends, trying to give life itself yet another go. Yet she has mostly given up on life, content to wallow in her drug of choice instead. She wants to stay out of things, but she also keeps coming back to fight again and again. Some indefinable part of Isten knows what she has to do, even if she doesn't want to think it and doesn't want to believe it.

Isten is also heavily addicted to a drug called cinnabar. I always enjoy reading about drug addict characters. They always add something to a character's traits that I really enjoy. Mostly the despair. I like to read about the despair characters go through. Yet Isten isn't the only one. Almost everyone in this city is addicted to some drug or another. It makes life where they live easier. It also adds a really great dynamic to the story.

There really aren't as many people in the story as it appeared there were going to be in the beginning. Most of them just aren't full characters, just mentions. There for an appearance or two. Isten's ragtag band of potential political uprisers are interesting, but they kind of annoyed me at the same time. Their ideas are fine, their actions suck. Yet, it wouldn't be the story it is if everyone was good. It wouldn't be the story it is if everyone was competent. The Ingenious is a story of desperation, not competency.

Then, there is the guy on the other side. Phrater Alzen is one of the Elite. He has all the power, and he wants more. He is researching a new type of alchymia. I loved him more than I should have, for how evil he is. I really wanted to see more out of him, because I liked him so much. For what he does over the course of the book, I should hate him, but I don't. I hate all of the elites, but at least Alzen is honest about his intentions. Their actions have made the society the way it is - awful.

Hope is a crazy thing. Everything I hoped for out of this book, I didn't get. Not a single thing. Yet, I'm happier this way. I'm happy I didn't get what I wanted. It is a much better story than if I got what I desired. If what I wanted to happen happened, I wouldn't have liked this nearly as much. I'm happy with the book I got. Ecstatic, even.

I don't know if this is planned as the start to a series. If it isn't, it is a great standalone. If it is, I am looking forward to the next installment, and would read it right away.

I received a copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Darius Hinks, Angry Robot, and Netgalley for providing this copy for review! ( )

The Ingenious never quite capitalises on the promise of its worldbuilding, but it offers a fun, fast-paced adventure with a surprisingly sympathetic antihero.

I'm considering adding "secondary world fantasy cities" to my list of "favourite genres that aren't really genres". Cities that go beyond just being a spot on the map surrounding whatever medieval-ish castle the kingdom's monarchs live in; cities with their own magic, with recognisable neighbourhoods, with immigration patterns and multifaceted politics and secrets known only to kids who pay attention (but don't spend enough time in school). From Bulikov to Sharakhai to Janloon, there's a ton of great epic fantasy whose urban settings are just as much characters as the people within them.

With that in mind, it's easy to see why the blurb of The Ingenious, a book about Exiles trapped in the city of Athanor. Unfortunately for them, Athanor operates on inequality and deeply creepy magic, and leaving is a far from certain proposition. Rather than staying in one place, it moves through space and time using that magic, apparently leaving a path of wholesale slaughter and destruction everywhere it goes. Brought into the city years ago, Isten and her group are Exiles from a land called Rukon, where they were on the verge of revolution against their emperor. Now, they're unable to leave the city let alone return to the land which rejected them. Isten herself has been raised up to be a saviour for her people, and is still looked to as a leader by the rest of the Exiles despite being an addict, a criminal and a general mess of a human.

Enter Alzen, an elite mage (or "Curious Man") who, even by the deeply creepy standards of the city, really pushes creepy to a new, murderous, self-serving level. Alzen realises that Isten can be manipulated to his own ends, which involve introducing widespread drug addiction into the city and then pulling people's souls out through a weird skin monster, all in pursuit of power. Although his partnership with Isten is initially reluctant, he quickly discovers that despite being a commoner and an outsider, Isten may have power of her own that complements his ambitions. In return, Alzen offers Isten a chance to refocus her people's efforts around improving their position within the city - where they are outsiders surviving on the criminal margins - albeit at the cost of her long-term plans for escape.

I see from Hinks' bibliography that his previous work has been Warhammer tie-in fiction, and although my experience with that franchise is limited, I know enough to see the influences here. It's echoed in some of the plot beats, and in the grimdark elements of the setting, especially the ageless, quasi-religious aspects of the city's leadership. That said, The Ingenious definitely feels first and foremost like its own thing, though the worldbuilding is probably best described as serviceable: it gives Athanor depth and history, and the set-up of the Curious Men and the city's wandering nature adds a decent amount of novelty, but there's nothing that really leaps out upon reading. In theory, Athanor is full of various unique fantasy races, but these only turn up in passing, which feels like a missed opportunity. Instead, we get a laser focus on the two specific groups the novel comes into contact with - the exiles and the Curious Men - and while both do interact with (and sometimes murder) people from other groups in the city, the trials of the rest of this enormous city aren't explored outside a general "inequality is bad, overthrow tyrants" message that winds up being interchangeable for both Rukon and Athanor.

Read the rest of the review at Nerds of a Feather ( )

The Ingenious is an amazing original story. It's unlike anything I've ever read. Thrilling and mysterious. It's also bleak and frightening. Sort of an up and down feel about it. Likeable characters. A good fun read. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review. ( )

~~~ 3.5 Stars ~~~

When I first read this book's synopsis I was SO excited I immediately bumped it up to the top of my TBR. I was elated to the point that I tore right in and boy was I.... confused!?! It started off as a slow to percolate, wildly innovative, confusing at first (and second) glance read that was hard to visualize... not a good sign. The characters and world building were both exotic.... maybe too much so?? Both were so unique that I had no idea what was going on for a span in the beginning. NOW, that may have been a ME defect but I definitely think it's something to mention in the review because, on the off chance that you are experiencing the same mental disconnect, I am here to encourage you to trooper on. If you are on the DNF fence then I want to let you know it's going to be okay...better than okay. I really enjoyed how everything came together in the end, it was extremely satisfying. I'm glad I stuck with it because the last 20% was really good. It was total HD- surround sound- mental movie immersion!

The MC, Isten, was an unlikely heroine. She was a character with many vices and little prospect/desire to change. She fought her destiny at every turn and was a hot mess! Her past, present and possible futures were constantly stewing in a messy mixture of substance abuse and self destructive behavior. Every decision she made was clouded and without knowing what she was truly running from/towards, it was hard to fully get behind her BUT by the 70(ish)% mark I was a fan... a comrade, a loyal backer of her wildly effective ways. By the 80% mark I was reading at the edge of my seat... ummm bed... and couldn't put the kindle down until I knew how things wrapped up. In the end Isten was a force to be reckoned with and also in need of some taming. Puthnok seemed like the perfect person for the job. Speaking of the tertiary characters, they were robust, rich and relatable... except you Alzen, you little self-aggrandizing, murderous maggot! Him I was glad to see get his comeuppance.

Overall, the writing was enjoyable. Its quality kept me motivated to push on when I was confused, slightly bored, and seriously considering throwing in the DNF embroidered towel. I'm quite pleased that I saw it through to its satisfying end.

Great addition to the Fantasy genre!

*** I was given a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review *** ( )