Book Review: The Aeronaut’s Windlass (The Cinder Spires #1) by Jim Butcher
Book Review: The Aeronaut's Windlass @longshotauthor @AceRocBooks #AceRocStars
My review today is for The Aeronaut’s Windlass by Jim Butcher.
A copy of this book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.
I was very happy when this book showed up in my Ace Roc Stars street team package. I had never read any Jim Butcher books before, but have always wanted to. What better place to start than this new series. I was a little apprehensive, the book description did not really sound like my kind of book. I am pretty set on my favorite reads being a Medieval/Viking type setting. I was pleasantly surprised. I am glad I read it. It was a very fun and entertaining book. I truly enjoyed my time reading it!
I thought the book was fast paced and full of adventure. The story was imaginative, and there are some great characters. I particularly enjoyed Captain Grimm and the naval battles, amazing stuff! I have to say I thought the cats were going to be a little over the top at first but I ended up being very attached to Rowl and thought they were well done. I think overall there could have been more characterization and more world building. I would like to get to know everyone more and learn more of the world around them. I am sure this will happen as the series progresses and I am excited to get to read more from this series.
The only real complaint I could come up with is at times the book seemed a little generic. I think that applies to the characters. A little cookie cutter. I just could not find a character that I could truly relate to or identify with completely. But the story and setting far out weighed that downside. I think some more descriptive world building, a little more dynamic characterization to go along with the fast paced action and adventure, would have this book at the top of my best books of 2015. I can’t wait to see what Mr. Butcher has in store for this series!
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I am glad I finally read a Jim Butcher book. I am definitely in for the rest of this series. I find myself once again being very glad I stepped out of my usual “this is what I like” box and gave this book a chance to entertain me. This was a fun book, isn’t that what it is all about!
As you know if you have read my reviews before I am not about long reviews with synopsis and spoilers. I just give my opinion on my experience with this book and you can take it from there. Now on to the next book.
4/5 STARS
This book is out NOW! So go grab a copy!
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About the book:
BUY HERE: The Aeronaut’s Windlass by Jim Butcher
- Series: The Cinder Spires (Book 1)
- Hardcover: 640 pages
- Publisher: Roc; 1st edition (September 29, 2015)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0451466802
- ISBN-13: 978-0451466808
Jim Butcher, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Dresden Files and the Codex Alera novels, conjures up a new series set in a fantastic world of noble families, steam-powered technology, and magic-wielding warriors…
Since time immemorial, the Spires have sheltered humanity, towering for miles over the mist-shrouded surface of the world. Within their halls, aristocratic houses have ruled for generations, developing scientific marvels, fostering trade alliances, and building fleets of airships to keep the peace.
Captain Grimm commands the merchant ship, Predator. Fiercely loyal to Spire Albion, he has taken their side in the cold war with Spire Aurora, disrupting the enemy’s shipping lines by attacking their cargo vessels. But when the Predator is severely damaged in combat, leaving captain and crew grounded, Grimm is offered a proposition from the Spirearch of Albion—to join a team of agents on a vital mission in exchange for fully restoring Predator to its fighting glory.
And even as Grimm undertakes this dangerous task, he will learn that the conflict between the Spires is merely a premonition of things to come. Humanity’s ancient enemy, silent for more than ten thousand years, has begun to stir once more. And death will follow in its wake…
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About the author:
Jim Butcher is the author of the Dresden Files, the Codex Alera, and a new steampunk series, the Cinder Spires. His resume includes a laundry list of skills which were useful a couple of centuries ago, and he plays guitar quite badly. An avid gamer, he plays tabletop games in varying systems, a variety of video games on PC and console, and LARPs whenever he can make time for it. Jim currently resides mostly inside his own head, but his head can generally be found in his home town of Independence, Missouri.
Jim goes by the moniker Longshot in a number of online locales. He came by this name in the early 1990′s when he decided he would become a published author. Usually only 3 in 1000 who make such an attempt actually manage to become published; of those, only 1 in 10 make enough money to call it a living. The sale of a second series was the breakthrough that let him beat the long odds against attaining a career as a novelist.
All the same, he refuses to change his nickname.
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 by Jim Butcher)
