I usually don’t like to jump into a new series while I’m in the middle of writing my own stuff. It tends to muddy the waters a bit, but after a friend recommended this book to me, I decided to give it a shot. I was not disappointed.
The Thousand Names isn’t like your normal sword-and-sorcery fantasies. It’s part of a growing sub-genre lovingly referred to as “flintlock fantasy”. That’s right–it’s got cannons, muskets, and magic. I thought that it would be hard to get into, but I was wrong.
I got this one at Audible, and the audiobook was really good. The narrator did a great job of bringing the story to life, and the book itself instantly grabbed my attention. I love a good military element in my fantasy stories, and Wexler did an amazing job of making this sort of combat gritty and interesting. On top of that, the magic in his story is a little darker and different than I was used to, which ended up being awesome. Every point of view character was really well written and interesting, and the story itself was awesome. This series is right up there with The Gentlemen Bastards for me, so I thought I would rave about it and recommend it to you guys.
Also, I was wondering if you all could make some recommendations to me. I’d like to read a good indie sci-fi/fantasy series, and who better to let me know where to find them? Anyone know of any hidden gems?