The Crimson Campaign (Book 2 of the Powder Mage Trilogy) by Brian McClellan- An Audiobook Review

Publisher’s Summary:

The hounds at our heels will soon know we are lions. Tamas’s invasion of Kez ends in disaster when a Kez counter-offensive leaves him cut off behind enemy lines with only a fraction of his army, no supplies and no hope of reinforcements. Drastically outnumbered and pursued by the enemy’s best, he must lead his men on a reckless march through northern Kez to safety, and back over the mountains so that he can defend his country from an angry god.

In Adro, Inspector Adamat only wants to rescue his wife. To do so he must track down and confront the evil Lord Vetas. He has questions for Vetas concerning his enigmatic master, but the answers might come too quickly. With Tamas and his powder cabal presumed dead, Taniel Two-shot finds himself alongside the god Mihali as the last line of defence against Kresimir’s advancing army.

Tamas’s generals bicker among themselves, the brigades lose ground every day beneath the Kez onslaught and Kresimir wants the head of the man who shot him in the eye.

 

Author: Brian McClellan

Narrator: Christian Rodska

Publisher: Hachette Audio UK

Running Time: 20 hrs 1 min

Release Date: 06/05/2014

My Rating of ‘The Crimson Campaign’: 5 out of 5

Purchase: Audible UK

 

Review:

My review for the first book in the series: Promise of Blood

Brian McClellan has done a very rare thing with The Crimson Campaign. He has succeeded in writing a sequel that is actually better than the first book (in my opinion) in the series. I can only hope the high standard keeps on into book three.

I say this is better, and that’s purely due to how well the author set the stage in the first book. So many ends are tied up and so many characters feel like they have gotten what’s coming their way. I say that knowing it’s not true what with there being a third book.

The first book saw epic clashes with a god, great war scenes that, despite being set in a fantasy world, had me thinking of the black powder era (Napoleonic etc …). It also saw a wonderful new magic system in the form of Powder Mages.

The second book expands on everything built up in the first book and does so in such a wonderful way. There are some truly evil characters, just as there are some wonderful characters that you just can’t help rooting for. One of the antagonists actually had me reaching hatred levels that surpassed anything I felt for Joffrey from the Song of Ice and Fire series.

Book two sees treason, a desperate bid for survival behind enemy lines, gods, romance, loss and a whole lot more. McClellan’s writing style really helps to bring the world to life in such a vivid way. My ONLY negative about the piece is that the narrator is terrible when it comes to female voices. But I can’t hold that against him. Much like myself, he was born a man and thus has a manly sounding voice that doesn’t bend well towards female vocals.

I’m really looking forward to the third book in the trilogy. I’m also keen to try the novella and short stories set in the same world.