This book is the first in a series by an author who is new to me. I am impressed by the world building, it's inventive and goes deep. Bits and pieces of history are revealed throughout the book, giving insight into the main characters' motivations and decisions. This is tense story-telling from the first to the last page, never obvious, never boring. Also, military action thriller front to back. There's still a lot of mystery left for me to think of and to explore in the other books of this "Machineries of Empire" series.