The Autumn Republic

WARNING: THIS REVIEW IS FOR BOOK THREE IN A TRILOGY AND NECESSARILY SPOILS THE FIRST TWO. IF YOU HAVEN’T STARTED, YOU SHOULD PICK UP PROMISE OF BLOOD.Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of this book for free from Brian. This has in no way affected my review.Brian McClellan is one of those authors who has managed, so far, to get better with every book. He also writes at near Sandersonian levels of speed, not only producing a large novel every year, but many side projects, including multiple novellas, short stories, and even another (unpublished) novel in the mean-time, while still managing to keep up the quality of everything. But this review isn’t about the novellas, though I certainly talk about them at some point. Rather, I’m here to talk about his latest novel.Promise of Blood was a good, fun ride. It didn’t utterly blow me away, and there were some minor problems throughout that kept me from being fully engaged. The Crimson Campaign improved on Promise of Blood in many ways, delivering a rousing, brilliant ride with the characters McClellan had introduced us to in the first book.The Autumn Republic, the final volume in the first power mage trilogy, is somehow even better, perhaps because it manages to capture all of the magic of The Crimson Campaign while adding the inevitable adrenaline rush and satisfaction of tying up so many plot threads at once.The characters continue to grow more engaging—especially Nila, whose powers were revealed at the end of The Crimson Campaign. It was refreshing to see her get a larger role in the story, and it also gave some very interesting insights into the life of a privileged, where the rest of the story has been told almost completely from the view of the powder mages. I like her, and was glad to see these viewpoints, as it also helps with the gender balance of the viewpoints, something previously held up almost solely by Vlora.The war worsens, and we are able to witness first-hand some large, deadly, horrific battles. In particular, for the first time, we get to see Adamat’s perspective on the battles, rather than simply his detective work and one-on-one fights, and I felt sorry for him more than any other character in the novel. He’s very well written here, and I hope we get more Sherlock Holmes style novellas from his viewpoint, novellas like Murder at the Kinnen Hotel.Tamas and Taniel and their various friends continue to kick some serious butt as powder mages, and watching them fight is always a pleasure.The plot itself is perhaps the most engaging part of the novel, and not only because it happens to such engaging characters. McClellan manages to ratchet up the tension on almost every page. I read this book as an electronic version on my phone, something I almost never do. I love the feel of a solid physical book in my hand too much, my phone screen is much too small, I get too distracted by the internet, and the light prevents me from going to sleep quite as quickly after reading in the evenings. Despite all of these things, I tore through The Autumn Republic in record time, finishing it in 3 days total, during an intense period of the semester, simply because I could not put it down—I was always picking my phone up to read one more page, one more section, one more chapter. And then another. Many epic fantasy authors—GRRM, Sanderson, Rothfuss—will give you permission to set the book down between chapters to relax and process what has happened. But like Staveley or Weeks, McClellan demands that you keep reading, and several hundred pages feels like only a few dozen by the time you’re done—and wonder how many hours ago the sun went down.While it is clear that The Autumn Republic is the final volume in the trilogy, wrapping up all of the large plot threads and many of the minor ones as well from the first two books, it is by no means the end for the universe. The ending is bittersweet and powerful, and none of your favorite characters may be safe. It ties up everything that is truly important, while leaving some questions hanging and giving meaning to the fact that the story doesn’t end when the book does—and neither does it begin on the first page. The ongoing story leaves plenty of room for the next trilogy, which McClellan has, excitingly, already started writing.In summary, The Autumn Republic is a fitting, bittersweet end to a brilliant trilogy that got better with every book, making some of my favorite characters even more important and expanding the conflict to truly terrifying levels and finally, after hundreds of gripping pages, tied up many threads, leaving me satisfied, yet already drooling for the beginning of the next trilogy in the powder mage universe. Five of five unabashed stars, and if you’ve read the first two, get it now. If you haven’t, why are you here? Go pick up Promise of Blood today and get yourself started—you can come back and thank me when you’re done.

First off, I was really looking forward to this book. The Crimson Campaign was one of my favorite books of last year. The entire trilogy is pretty good even with the slow start to Promise of Blood, but I have to say that McClellan wasn’t quite able to stick the landing with the Autumn Republic. I was hoping to love this book and am somewhat disappointed to merely like it.In my mind the biggest problem is the falling apart of the Adran/Kez conflict. I don’t know if the author got bored with the war or just wanted to throw a twist in, but it didn’t work, especially after two books where this is a central focus. I found it frustrating that it was resolved in too tidy of a manner and all the while no one in the army seems to notice that lines of communication out of the capital are nonexistent, so the “real” conflict is hidden from most of the characters.Along with that, too many characters end up overpowered and yet at the same time, pointless. Seriously, Nila’s storyline was done after the Lord Vetas incident in the previous book, but now she’s the super special Privileged who barely knows how to use her powers but still does awesome magic. Nope. Not buying it. Taniel and Ka-poel have the same issues. I was even okay with her outsized abilities as she practices an entirely different type of magic so conceivably she could be mediocre and still seem powerful against the magic practiced in Adro, but no, she’s apparently insanely powerful too. Taniel’s magic has apparently transcended the normal parameters of powder mages, but honestly, it is used to no effect in this book. As a character, he has managed to go nowhere over the course of the trilogy, which saddens me as he had such potential. I also didn't appreciate that the magic system's internal consistencies aren't as solid as they should be, particularly in reference to gods, dead gods, and those stupid gloves.Lastly, I think McClellan blew the opportunity to explore just how hard it is to establish new forms of government on the ashes of a deposed monarchy. Yes, the royalists were around in the first book, but by the third, we have a country that is on board with all of this change business and the only problem is the foreigners who won’t stop interfering with Adro. I understand the compulsion to not put too much reality there (in real life, Tamas would have never stepped aside and poof, he’s no longer the good guy), but the characters in Adopest would have had real stakes to deal with. Instead, we have a reasonably fair election right off of the bat in a country that had no representative assembly at all and I’m supposed to buy this as the tidy ending. That’s about as realistic as the US’s nation building exercises of this century succeeding. Along this same vein, one of the characters even mentions the religious right. ::head desk:: With no history of representative government, that statement makes zero sense in the world portrayed.So what did I like? Tamas. I would follow this character anywhere, including lifelong dictatorship. Does he make crummy decisions sometimes, absolutely. Is he a terrible father, probably not as much as Taniel thinks, but certainly not going to win any awards. I cared what he cared about even when I didn’t want to, and that’s what makes me like a book. I loved how imperfect of a person he is, and that he knew it, but still worked for what he considered the greater good knowing his less than pure motivations. Additionally, Adamat and his interactions with secondary characters were top notch as it has been the entire trilogy. I overall liked the book, above mentioned quibbles aside, and am happy with the time I’ve invested in reading this trilogy.

Si hubiera leído esta trilogía sin haber leído las historias de los 0 nacidos de las brumas diría que es una serie perfecta pero en mi caso no puedo evitar ver semejanzas hacer comparaciónes con ese universo y la comparación no es positiva para este universo.

Un gran libro y muy buen cierre a la saga. Desde el primero hasta este, un gran viaje. Recomendado a todo el mundo.

I just finished reading this and my emotions are a blur, my mind reeling. A perfect ending to a fabulous and majestic story. I loved this series far more than I expected to. In fact, it's moving up my top ten reads! Read the series. It'll stay with you for a long time.

Oh man, where do I start? Like the rest in the series, the conclusion is a very nicely dressed up typical hero journey story, brilliantly combining political intrigue, solid understanding of battlefield tactics, suspense, and exquisitely descriptive combat. The final novel in the series, it does an excellent job of wrapping up loose ends, while still leaving the stage set for a continuation of the world's story, and there is more depth of emotion in this novel than the previous two, making it a bit more dear to the heart. And the completely never-before-seen magic system is downright exciting for anyone who primarily reads sci-fi/fantasy! Looking forward to more from Brian McClellan!

3rd book in series needed to complete trilogy