Engines of Empire

By: R. S. Ford

Narrated by: Alison Campbell, Ciaran Saward, Phoebe McIntosh, Ewan Goddard, Andrew Kingston, Martin Reeve, Stephen Perring

Length: 22 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

“An excellent start to a new series: fast-paced and engaging, with a properly epic setting and a cast of characters I look forward to seeing more of.” (James Islington, author of The Shadow of What Was Lost)

“Epic fantasy fans listen up: This is the good stuff. Highly recommended.” (Kirkus, starred review)

From an unmissable voice in epic fantasy comes a sweeping tale of clashing guilds, magic-fueled machines, and revolution.

The nation of Torwyn is run on the power of industry, and industry is run by the Guilds. Chief among them are the Hawkspurs, whose responsibility it is to keep the gears of the empire turning. That’s exactly why matriarch Rosomon Hawkspur sends each of her heirs to the far reaches of the nation.

Conall, the eldest son, is sent to the distant frontier to earn his stripes in the military. It is here that he faces a threat he could have never seen coming: the first rumblings of revolution.

Tyreta is a sorceress with the ability to channel the power of pyrestone, the magical resource that fuels the empire’s machines. She is sent to the mines to learn more about how pyrsetone is harvested - but instead, she finds the dark horrors of industry that the empire would prefer to keep hidden.

The youngest, Fulren, is a talented artificer and finds himself acting as a guide to a mysterious foreign emissary. Soon after, he is framed for a crime he never committed. A crime that could start a war.

As the Hawkspurs grapple with the many threats that face the nation within and without, they must finally prove themselves worthy - or their empire will fall apart.

“A heady blend of action, arcana, and intrigue.” (Gareth Hanrahan, author of The Gutter Prayer)

©2022 R. S. Ford (P)2022 Orbit

Critic reviews

“Ford succeeds in building a complex fantasy world, complete with warring factions, fearsome creatures, and bloody struggles for power.... Fans of R.A. Salvatore’s DemonWars Saga will be especially hooked.” (Publishers Weekly)

Good start to a series.

The book was pretty good. I will read the next one. I liked some of the characters quite a bit. Although I found one of the main characters pretty generic you will see what I mean.

Definitely worth your time

Looking forward to book 2 to see how certain storylines are fleshed out/tied up. Very fast paced and easy to read. I only questioned how realistic certain story points were a few times.

Slowly moving forward

It’s going to be a great series but needed more momentum in first middle section
It’s a 3.75 but on a reread and 2 more books?, im thinking that it may become a 4.75

Difficult to follow

Was ok, not my cup of tea. Couldn’t get into the story. Too fanciful for me.

Good not great

A good way to pass time. It has everything a great book should have but for some reason I wasnt captivated. I could take it or leave it but it’s definitely a great filler book.

interesting ideas befind its GoT/dangers of imperialism genre

messy collection of storylines with increasingly vague theming. interesting DND world backdrop that unfortunately gets in the way more than it supports it. Additionally, text suffers from repetitions or needless sentences. Great voicework, and some really interesting ideas. execution issue as this seemingly complex world becomes very flat as time goes on.

Phenomenally told

This book is wonderful. The author is able to organically describe the amazing world and all its quirks. I found myself perking up to new facts of the world peppered into the most random conversations. I also loved the characterizations, even if the characters made stupid decisions sometimes, it was always very fitting to their arc.

This is also the first book I’ve read with multiple narrators. They were all SO GOOD at doing voices and bringing out emotion in scenes. I truly love this book and I know this series will be incredible!

great start to a new bookseries

this was so unexpected good
got it recommended by some book tubers and was not disappointed.
voices where great and the story intriguing

Struggled to like this story

I found the story twists and turns to be predictable and very very frustrating. I actually found myself quite angry with the characters at several points for there stupid responses. I really only liked two of the main characters in the story. The others were annoying and I really don’t understand how there plights mattered to the over all story. I am unlikely to continue this story. Though who knows? I might give the author another chance to bring his story together. His writing skills are quite good. Now all he needs to do is tighten the story up.

Solid start

Begins as a derivative fantasy yarn, but quickly unfolds into a Game of Thrones-esque plot coupled with flavor and echoes of Final Fantasy and other magical tech/steampunk variations. Fun, breezy read. One character’s “white savior” trope was rather eye-rolly, but the rest of the main cast’s arcs were enjoyable, if very predictable. Strong performances by the cast (save the final main character’s chapters).