bordering on a 3. There were things I really liked about the book and I am interested in the next one. But it took me a really long time to get into it, care about the characters, etc. ( )

almost non stop-action of various kinds, memorable characters (the colonel and Winter), some nice, original magic ideas (I loved the idea behind the last magic confrontation), good, fast writing style, good twists (great even, towards the end), never boring, always catchy.
The world is very well shaped - a fantasy mixture of the French colonial wars in Algeria with the French (Napoleon) campaign to Egypt (Khandarai here), with hints of a France similar to that in the Dumas novels (kind of a Richelieu against the interests of the king, in this book only suggested, perhaps developed in the sequels). It is not actually a gunpowder fantasy, but a gunpowder novel with added fantasy elements - and a captivating one at that.
The opposite of many other reviewers here on GR, I absolutely loved the first 2 thirds of the book, which could be summarized as march-battle-march-battle and so on, or manly men doing manly stuff while being soldierly and, well, very manly, and also some women doing... manly stuff? I did not enjoy that much the last third, an Indiana Jones style adventure with a tint of YA for girls - but it compensated with some good twists. So this volume is 2/3 military fantasy and 1/3 adventure fantasy (actually the fantasy elements are quite low, generally).
In the military part, the author proves a very good understanding of tactics (though also some typical civilian misunderstanding of the actual military life, even hilariously wrong - like the trick pulled by Winter on the training field - it could not have worked, since the second officer was NOT in her chain of command) - helped by enemies that oblige to mostly be dumb and tactically ridiculous (which is not a mistake, there were plenty of such examples in wars). The battles themselves are very captivating and exhilarating - great reads, congrats on that! (since battles are very hard to describe realistically, I could only think at Abercrombie as another author that gets those right).
To summarize: a very entertaining read, having no flaws as a fantasy (just a few as a military, but even those only noticeable to actual military readers) - I look forward to read the rest of the series! Also, one of the very few books that provided me with a believable ”strong woman” character that I actually ended up rooting for - congrats on that, too!
Bonus: you could get a taste of the Shadow Campaigns universe with a free story available here:
https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-coolest-fantasy-story-youll-read-this-week-514117561
No gunpowder or military fantasy there, but at least 3 major characters from the books. ( )

This has been on my shelf for a very long time and I finally picked it up.
I mostly enjoyed it a lot too. Really good characters with some twists and turns and hints of a wider world background. I did have some issues but that is more my taste than the book itself. I find battle descriptions pretty boring so there was a bit too much of that for me. But I enjoyed it enough to get the next in the series. ( )

A military flintlock fantasy in a setting similar a Napoleon-era but with a small amount of fantasy elements. The book has two protagonists in the same army as they are going to war. It is filled with a wide variety of characters that give the environment an enjoyable and exciting read. I really enjoyed the book and if you liked any other military-based fantasy books, you will likely enjoy this one too. ( )

What would a young Napoleon have done to get his hands on magical weapons?

That’s essentially the question Django Wexler explores in his flintlock fantasy The Thousand Names. But he uses an alternate universe to run his literary simulation.

The story is set in Khandar, an arid colony of the Vordanai empire. A local religious movement known as the Redemption has overthrown the Khandarai prince and chased the Vordanai garrison from the capital. Things look grim for the evicted troops until an eccentric and uncommonly intelligent colonel arrives with orders to crush the rebellion. More covertly, he’s also seeking a Khandarai artifact imbued with arcane power.

The early parts of the novel are light on magic, though. Much of the book reads like military fiction, focusing on the campaign the Vordanai wage against the acolytes and allies of the Redemption. Muskets figure heavily into the fighting, as do cannon, cavalry, and Napoleonic-era infantry formations. At times, I felt as if I were revisiting one of Bernard Cornwell’s Richard Sharpe novels. (Not a bad thing!)

I also enjoyed the protagonists. Wexler primarily tells the story through the eyes of two Vordanai officers, one a senior captain and the other a “ranker” on the climb. They’re both easy to root for. So are the majority of the supporting characters.

But I wish we’d gotten more of the Khandarai perspective.

In the book’s acknowledgments, Wexler writes that, “This is not, in any sense, a historical novel. At best it was inspired by history, in the loosest Hollywood sense of the word.” The Thousand Name’s imperial dynamics feel like more than a loose parallel to reality, however. The Vordanai, no matter how sympathetically drawn, are ultimately pale-skinned invaders; the indigenous Khandarai have darker complexions, ranging in hue from “pale ash” to “brown-black.” Given that the colonel is modeled after Napoleon and possesses similar military genius, it makes sense that the Vordanai often have a tactical advantage. Yet some of their victories made me wince; I didn’t always appreciate being expected to cheer for the occupying force. Replacing one of the Vordanai officers with a Khandarai point of view might have complicated the reader’s loyalties in more compelling ways.

To be fair, we do get a few chapters featuring native characters. Wexler also generally depicts the Khandarai as a complex people composed of multiple subcultures and factions. And the Vordanai don’t come off as morally superior; there are plenty of bad apples serving under (and opposing) the colonel. The book isn’t an apology for colonialism—I’d still recommend The Thousand Names to anyone who enjoys historical fantasy with a martial bent.

But the story could have been even better if it were more balanced.

(For more reviews like this one, see www.nickwisseman.com) ( )