First, Denland's revolutionaries assassinated their king, launching a wave of bloodshed after generations of peace. Next they clashed with Lascanne, their royalist neighbor, pitching war-machines against warlocks in a fiercely fought conflict. Genteel Emily Marshwic watched as the hostilities stole her family's young men. But then came the call for yet more Lascanne soldiers in a ravaged kingdom with none left to give. Emily must join the ranks of conscripted women and march toward the front lines. With barely enough training to hold a musket, Emily braves the savage reality of warfare. But she begins to doubt her country's cause, and those doubts become critical. For her choices will determine her own future and that of two nations locked in battle.
If you're looking for a war time fiction that is overall very realistic and follows the horrors and change that can occur to a person when they go to war, look no further.
All the characters had depth and were interesting, even the lowliest of side characters felt like a real person. Emily is a wonderful heroine, trying her best to do the right thing, for all the right reasons. She was immensely believable and relatable.
Not a lot of magic if that's your thing, but I didn't find that in any way a problem. Loved this story, would read again.
This is what I get for getting into books without reading anything about them first. "Oh, I loved science fiction books by this author, must be I'll love any book by him!". Well, kind of true, it's a really good book. Only I didn't want to be listening to depressing stuff (war) about past peoples (muskets and horses). Even if they are fantasy ones And send women to war. (I kind of wish there was a bit about how unprepared the army supply was for the monthly needs of women soldiers of reproductive age.). The best thing for me in this book was an effin love triangle. Well, it was done well, in the sense that we (the readers) could see where it was coming from, no nonsense insta-loves.
The stupid part is that I'm probably just going to jump into the next book by same author still with no …
This is what I get for getting into books without reading anything about them first. "Oh, I loved science fiction books by this author, must be I'll love any book by him!". Well, kind of true, it's a really good book. Only I didn't want to be listening to depressing stuff (war) about past peoples (muskets and horses). Even if they are fantasy ones And send women to war. (I kind of wish there was a bit about how unprepared the army supply was for the monthly needs of women soldiers of reproductive age.). The best thing for me in this book was an effin love triangle. Well, it was done well, in the sense that we (the readers) could see where it was coming from, no nonsense insta-loves.
The stupid part is that I'm probably just going to jump into the next book by same author still with no regard for what I want to listen to.
I picked this up because I absolutely loved "Children of Time" but this is a very, very different genre of book. Still beautifully written, and with a great heroine; even though many male authors just can't write female protagonists, Tchaikovsky writes Emily Marshwic very believably and I never found myself dismayed by some jarring description or characterization that an actual woman would never write.
I listened to this on audible and the narrator was truly excellent as well, conveying subtleties of rank with different accents in such a skilled way that it wasn't at all obvious and look me a long time to notice. Listen to Emily's accent vs Brocky's or her brother-in-law -- very cleverly chosen.
I think this was a 4 star instead of 5 star read for me just because it isn't entirely a genre I enjoy - it's sort of a cross between a 1800s fiction …
I picked this up because I absolutely loved "Children of Time" but this is a very, very different genre of book. Still beautifully written, and with a great heroine; even though many male authors just can't write female protagonists, Tchaikovsky writes Emily Marshwic very believably and I never found myself dismayed by some jarring description or characterization that an actual woman would never write.
I listened to this on audible and the narrator was truly excellent as well, conveying subtleties of rank with different accents in such a skilled way that it wasn't at all obvious and look me a long time to notice. Listen to Emily's accent vs Brocky's or her brother-in-law -- very cleverly chosen.
I think this was a 4 star instead of 5 star read for me just because it isn't entirely a genre I enjoy - it's sort of a cross between a 1800s fiction of manners and a military fantasy. While it's not set on our Earth and there are warlocks and magic in the world, neither of these spend long in the spotlight and most of the story is just about a variety of interesting characters embroiled in a miserable war in a swamp. And while I enjoy the occasional military fantasy, I felt that maybe it was a little TOO long on swamp warfare and I'd have enjoyed learning a little bit more about the warlocks or other aspects of the world. Still, the author writes skillfully and I was captivated until the end.
This is no fun book. This is a serious book. About war. And... by the end I loved it. (There was a part in the middle where I wasn't sure where the book was going...)
This is as heavy as the hard-cover looks and if you think the prologue where Emily - the hero and protagonist of the book - crawls through the swamp shooting enemies with a musket - is not for you, the rest of the book is going to be difficult.
The story starts out Jane-Austen-esque enough with an unlikable man - Mr Northway - who pursues Emily and a bit of family drama surrounding her air-headed younger sister Alice who seems to be taken straight out of [b: Sense and Sensibility|14935|Sense and Sensibility|Jane Austen|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1397245675s/14935.jpg|2809709]. Emily and her two sisters are minor nobles in a country at war. Her brother-in-law is already fighting and soon enough her …
This is no fun book. This is a serious book. About war. And... by the end I loved it. (There was a part in the middle where I wasn't sure where the book was going...)
This is as heavy as the hard-cover looks and if you think the prologue where Emily - the hero and protagonist of the book - crawls through the swamp shooting enemies with a musket - is not for you, the rest of the book is going to be difficult.
The story starts out Jane-Austen-esque enough with an unlikable man - Mr Northway - who pursues Emily and a bit of family drama surrounding her air-headed younger sister Alice who seems to be taken straight out of [b: Sense and Sensibility|14935|Sense and Sensibility|Jane Austen|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1397245675s/14935.jpg|2809709]. Emily and her two sisters are minor nobles in a country at war. Her brother-in-law is already fighting and soon enough her younger brother is conscripted as well. Finally, Emily has to become a soldier herself as even women are conscripted - in this fantasy world that is an uncommon thing.
The book follows her change from a young noble woman into a soldier. Along with that personal growth, her relationship with the people around her changes and all the while the war and what it means to be part of it for her is explored in depth and detail. Emily's journey is difficult and perilous and she has to make a lot of hard decisions and suffer... and with every decision I was rooting for her to make it.
I don't particularly like military SF/F books or books about war. They are grim and usually full of death and tragedy and so is this one. But this book is strongly character-driven, the world-building and the plot move into the background while Emily and how she changes grips the reader.
Time and again, the reader is on kept on edge, always asking the same questions: will she find the strength to do what must be done? Will she grow? Will she accept the responsibility? Or will she go under because the pressure becomes too much for her? And as the war turns her into a hardened soldier fighting for her country, will she in the end be able to see reason? Will she be able to overcome that which helped her survive the war in order to survive the end of it? Emily's most heroic moments are those that seem least like it and those are the hardest for her... (and the reader).
Besides the darkness of the war in the swamp, moments of joy, friendship and love brighten this story including the black humor of the soldiers and the Survivor's Club.
There was a point where I couldn't put down the book anymore and just had to know how it all ended... and when it seems to be all over there are another two chapters exploring what happens after the war.
The ending both for Emily and the plot are very satisfying and hard-won for both her and the reader or so it felt. I doubt I could watch a movie version because I was thinking "Shoot! Will you finally shoot!" for about the last hour of the - beautifully read - audiobook.
