The Shadow Campaigns

For a few years now, I'd been seeing a series of books by the impressively named Django Wexler, sitting on the shelves at my local bookstore. Due to an already insanely long reading list, and not quite enough money to justify purchasing it, I held off on purchasing a copy of his books for a while, but I finally picked up the first three installments of the Shadow Campaigns series.

Let me say I have not been disappointed!

It is essentially, in my humble opinion, flintlock fantasy done right. Django Wexler's research and depth of description is impressive. The way he fleshes out his characters and builds them up is excellent. The locations, the tactics, and the magic is fascinating and exciting. Napoleonic Era warfare intermingled with some impressive magic and intrigue that spans a continent. To say it is thrilling is an understatement!

The Shadow Campaigns starts out with the novel The Thousand Names which I must admit is what attracted me to the series in the first place. I saw this title and was immediately intrigued and picked it up to leaf through the first few chapters. I was sucked in by Wexler's attention to detail, interesting descriptions, and subtle world building.

Our story opens at old dilapidated Fort Valor, where the Vordan Colonials have retreated after a religious uprising by a band of fanatics known as the "Redeemers" who have chased out the old Prince of Khandar and established a theocratic state, and intend to chase the foreigners out once and for all.