CF Iggulden is better known for his historical writing under his real name Conn Iggulden. But this is a historical novel like no other. It blends history with fantasy, the real with the imagined and just a pinch of magic.



The premise of the story is a city ruled by 12 powerful families with a weak king at their head. Many people out in the surrounding towns and villages, and even inside the city itself want a change. But only a few will act.

Daw Threefold sees riches and destiny when he meets Nancy, more than just a fumble and a tumble, she has something about her which causes magic objects to fail. Daw has big plans for what they can do with this power but Nancy has plans of her own... revenge.



Elias Post is an incredible hunter. Because he has a gift of his own. A gift he calls 'reaching' but it's about to get him into trouble when General Justan of the immortal army gets wind of it and decides how he can use it.



Then there's Tellius who comes across a small boy who can mimick anything he sees perfectly. Tellius thinks to use him to his own advantage until they get into a scrape and the boy is revealed as not a boy at all but a Golem.



Overall the novel was fairly fast paced. It changed direction quickly which was sometimes confusing as it switched to the different narratives of all the characters involved. I would have also liked to have seen more world building, other than the name of the city, the fact it has 12 families and that the people worship a goddess not much else was given on the world itself and where it is supposed to be set or even when. We also only meet characters from 3 of the 12 families and I'd have liked to have seen more about them. How did they get into power for example and why are they so important? Just their names would have been nice...

I think this book got off to a great start and I really enjoyed the first 50-65% of it. But as aforementioned it lacked too much in world building and also became very fighting strong. That's not necessarily a criticism but I'm not that fussed on books with a lot of fighting for like 35% of the story.

Overall, it was well written and plotted and I think fans of books about action and war with a little magic thrown in would really enjoy it.

Conn Iggulden demonstrates that he's just as good at fantasy as at historical novels. Three paired character plotlines - the magic-drinking Nancy and Daw, the Fagin-like old swordsman Tellius and the boy-golem Arthur, and the assassin Deeds coupled with the prescient Elias, converge in the city of Darien in the midst of a military take-over. The protagonists engage the reader and are solidly believable, the setting, a late Renaissance-type city-state with touches of steampunk and large doses of magic, is vividly rendered, and the episodic sections of the storyline combine in a very satisfying manner which is both logical yet not so predictable as to let the reader put the book down. Brandon Sanderson, look out!