ENGINES OF WAR

Fueled by master-class worldbuilding, the third volume of Ford’s Age of Uprising trilogy concludes an epic fantasy narrative chronicling an empire torn apart by war.

Known for its mining and innovative utilization of magical pyrestones, Torwyn was a prosperous nation ruled by its six major guilds until its emperor was assassinated and ruthless religious leaders of the Draconate Ministry usurped control. A brutal struggle for power ensued. While Sanctan Egelrath, villainous Archlegate of the Draconate Ministry, rules over Torwyn’s capital city and surrounding area with his allies, displaced guild members must put trust in former adversaries and join forces to somehow defeat the Ministry and begin to rebuild their once thriving country. The meticulously detailed worldbuilding and deeply conceived backstory—on par with George R.R. Martin’s Westeros and Raymond E. Feist’s Midkemia—are obvious strengths, but it’s the impressive intricacy and scope of the story that are its real power. Multiple points of view from a diversity of characters (Rosomon Hawkspur, a former guildmaster and head of one of Torwyn’s most influential families; Keara Hallowhill, a head of her family’s guild whose loyalties are questionable at best; Ansell Beckenrike, a conflicted Ministry knight; Tyreta Hawkspur, Rosomon’s daughter and webwainer—a person who can manipulate pyrestones—who is much more than she seems; etc.) keep the narrative momentum pedal-to-the-metal and reveal the complexities of the conflict from numerous sides. Additionally, the author’s descriptive writing style makes for an effortlessly readable, page-turning experience: “[His] knees protested with each laboured step, joints popping like corn kernels in a fire…” And after more than 1800 collective pages, Ford not only ends the trilogy in grand style but plants a tantalizing plot seed in the epilogue that could very well be the beginning of a new story cycle.

Nonstop action, intricate plotlines, deeply developed characters, top-notch worldbuilding—a must-read for epic fantasy fans.