Sins of Empire

McClellan (The Autumn Republic) begins his Gods of Blood and Powder series with this tale set in Landfall, a city where mercenary troops and secret police may not be enough to prevent revolution. Michel Bravis is an operative in Landfall’s secret police who has been assigned to find who is behind the seditious pamphlet titled Sins of Empire. Gen. Vlora Flint is a powder mage and the commander of the Riflejacks, a mercenary army summoned to Landfall to find Mama Palo, leader of the disaffected Palo minority. Benjamin Styke is the former colonel of the Mad Lancers and still a formidable killer; he’s just been released from a work camp and is newly arrived in the city. Each of them runs up against the mysterious figure of Gregious Tampo, an individual who’s both dapper and deadly. They must all brave the Palo stronghold of Greenfire Depths, where street thugs are common and legendary Dynize dragonmen lurk. Several characters first appeared in McClellan’s Powder Mage trilogy but this work stands well on its own. The combination of fantasy and firearms compares favorably with Brandon Sanderson’s work and the milieu recalls Thieves’ World. This is a great start to what promises to be a terrific series. Agent: Caitlin Blasdell, Liza Dawson Associates. (Mar.)