Books › Promise Of Blood
Promise Of Blood
560 pages
A gritty, gunpowder-scented plunge into the bloody aftermath of a revolution where magic and muskets collide.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like standing in the smoke-choked aftermath of a guillotine execution, where the adrenaline of revolution quickly gives way to the crushing weight of its consequences. The narrative moves with a propulsive, cinematic momentum, driven by the crack of muskets and the visceral thrill of a hard magic system fueled by snorted black powder. It is a gritty, pragmatic world that balances the grit of military campaigns with the awe of awakening gods. The emotional texture is defined by strained loyalties, estranged family dynamics, and the desperate scramble to hold a fractured nation together. It will deeply satisfy readers who love their epic fantasy laced with political intrigue, tactical combat, and a distinctly industrial atmosphere.
- Mood
- gunpowder-scented
- tense
- revolutionary
- bloody
- Tone
- pragmatic
- gritty
- intense
- cynical
- Pace
- propulsive
- Themes
- the cost of revolution · father-son estrangement · shifting loyalties · collision of old gods and new technology · burden of leadership
- The writing
- Direct, cinematic, and action-oriented, the prose prioritizes relentless momentum and visceral combat over ornate description.
- The arc
- The journey begins in the adrenaline-fueled aftermath of a successful coup and spirals into a desperate, high-stakes struggle for survival as the consequences of rebellion take hold.
- Who it's for
- Readers who crave military fantasy with hard magic systems, political maneuvering, and the smell of black powder.
Content notes
- graphic violence
- gore
- drug addiction
- execution by guillotine
- torture
About the book
The Age of Kings is dead... and I have killed it.
It's a bloody business overthrowing a king... Field Marshal Tamas' coup against his king sent corrupt aristocrats to the guillotine and brought bread to the starving. But it also provoked war with the Nine Nations, internal attacks by royalist fanatics, and the greedy to scramble for money and power by Tamas's supposed allies: the Church, workers unions, and mercenary forces.
Stretched to his limit, Tamas is relying heavily on his few remaining powder mages, including the embittered Taniel, a brilliant marksman who also happens to be his estranged son, and Adamat, a retired police inspector whose loyalty is being tested by blackmail.
But when gods are involved... Now, as attacks batter them from within and without, the credulous are whispering about omens of death and destruction. Just old peasant legends about the gods waking to walk the earth. No modern educated man believes that sort of thing. But they should...
In a rich, distinctive world that mixes magic with technology, who could stand against mages that control gunpowder and bullets? PROMISE OF BLOOD is the start of a new epic fantasy series from Brian McClellan.
Description from Open Library.
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