The Infernal Battalion - Django Wexler

Paperback, 600 pages

Published August 1st 2018 by Head of Zeus (first published January 9th 2018)

Series: The Shadow Campaigns #5

Fantasy

Own

My Thoughts:

Even if I have enjoyed this series, I do feel like it could have been a trilogy, or 4 book series. Some things could have been taken out in earlier books to wrap it up faster. 

Cos in this one something goes wrong yet again! I mean rotten luck right!?

The former commander of the forces had turned sides and calls himself Emperor and that means civil war. Of course he has been eaten by a demon so not really his fault.

Marcus has to keep the army in order to fight his old friend. I do like Marcus, he has always been my fav.

Queen Raes has her hands filled with trying to keep her broke country in order. Raes is, well I never truly warmed up to her cos the whole demon thing was strange.

And then the last POV, Winter who has pretended to be a man all this time and has now risen to general. You go girl! And she leads a female battalion so she has changed the army landscape too.

This is military fantasy, there are battles, there are more battles, there is talking about battles. There are a few other things too but yes this is war. I like that. No idea why, I just do.

Conclusion;

I need to read more by Wexler, he has a new series coming out and I hope I will enjoy that one too. 

Cover

nice

Plot

The Beast, the ancient demon imprisoned beneath the fortress-city of Elysium for a thousand years, has been loosed on the world. It absorbs mind after mind, spreading like a plague through the north. The fell army it has raised threatens the heart of Vordan, and it is under the command of the Beast’s greatest prize: legendary general Janus bet Vhalnich.

As Queen Raesinia Orboan and soldiers Marcus D’Ivoire and Winter Ihernglass grapple with the aftermath of a hard-fought military campaign, they soon discover a betrayal they never could have foreseen. The news arrives like a thunderbolt: Janus has declared himself the rightful Emperor of Vordan. Chaos grips the city as officers and regiments are forced to declare for queen or emperor.

Raesinia must struggle to keep her country under control and risks becoming everything she fought against. Marcus must take the field against his old commander, a man who has seemed an unbeatable strategist. And as Winter recovers from her injuries and mourns her losses, she knows the demon she carries inside her might be the only thing standing between the Beast and the destruction of everything in its path....

The Guns of Empire - Django Wexler

As the roar of the guns subsides and the smoke of battle clears, the country of Vordan is offered a fragile peace…

After their shattering defeats at the hands of brilliant general Janus bet Vhalnich, the opposing powers have called all sides to the negotiating table, in hopes of securing an end to the war. Queen Raesinia of Vordan is anxious to see the return of peace, but Janus insists that any peace with the implacable Sworn Church of Elysium is doomed to fail. For their Priests of the Black, there can be no truce with heretics and demons they seek to destroy, and the war is to the death.

Soldiers Marcus d’Ivoire and Winter Ihernglass find themselves caught between their general and their queen. Now, each must decide which leader truly commands their loyalty—and what price they might pay for final victory.

And in the depths of Elysium, a malign force is rising—and defeating it might mean making sacrifices beyond anything they have ever imagined. 

My thoughts:
I do like military fantasy and Wexler does it so well. You do have to like battles to precipitate this series. Because they are on the move the entire time, fighting, marching, trying to survive.

Janus is, oh I do not know about him, his end goal and why. But he will keep on marching to destroy the church. I get that he wants to keep his country and queen safe. He is the mystery in the book.

Marcus follows his general and will think nothing about him. And I do like Marcus, he is a great general, his men loves him. But he does follow blindly.

And then is Winter. The woman pretending to be a man, and who now is a general. She has risen to be sure. She is a great leader too and then there is the fact that she has a demon inside of her.

Oh yes the demons. I get it more now. Not everything is black and white, there is a lot of grey, and yes I did not like the church to begin with. They are blind zealots who use demons to gain power. He sure keeps it interesting.

Conclusion:
A great story that has me wanting more. I can't wait to read the next book in this series

Cover
ok

Paperback, 480 pages
Published April 6th 2017 by Head of Zeus (first published August 9th 2016)
The Shadow Campaigns #4
Fantasy (military)
Own

The Price of Valor - Django Wexler

After the king’s death, war has come to Vordan. The Deputies-General, led by a traitor-seeking zealot, has taken control. Queen Raesinia Orboan is nearly powerless as the government tightens its grip and assassins threaten her life. Unwilling to see the country come under another tyranny, she sets out to turn the tide of history.

As the Sworn Church brings the powers of the continent to war against Vordan, General Janus bet Vhalnich offers a path to victory. Winter Ihernglass, newly promoted to command a regiment, has reunited with her lover and her friends only to face the prospect of leading them into bloody battle.

And the enemy is not just armed with muskets and cannon. Dark priests of an ancient order, wielding forbidden magic, have infiltrated Vordan to stop Janus by whatever means necessary.... 

My thoughts:

Hmm *reading the review of book 2* It seems I have the same issues with this one as I had with book 2. There I wanted it to be all war and camp, and yes the good parts here were war and camp. That is what he does best.

The parts with Winter were the best parts. She were leading the troops, marching, camping, dealing with issues since they now have the Girl's Own company and that brings out a lot of tensions. There are skirmishes and battles along the way. Winter is growing in her boots as she is a colonel now, and everyone still thinks she is a man! Well, some know the truth. But her parts were the good parts.

Then there is Marcus, I really do like Marcus, but the capital is so boring! And he spends all his time protecting the queen, and Raes is so boring! So yes her POV is boring too. I just do not seem to care about the capital, running around or the politics there. Even if I really like Marcus. I want him out there fighting!

It's a good book, but I still wish it was back to its roots. Here more and more drama shows up, and I wish for what it was before, military fantasy. Good times. Marching in the mud for miles, battle tactics, gods I am weird, I want that here, while in other books I'd love the capital stuff. But hey, he just did it so well in book 1.

Conclusion:
But I will keep on reading since it's an interesting series, but book 4 looks to be less about war. Noooo!

Cover
My first thought was, He is hot...he still is

Paperback, 638 pages
Published June 7th 2016 by Roc (first published July 2nd 2015)
The Shadow Campaigns #3
Fantasy
Own

The shadow throne - Django Wexler

The King of the Vordan is on his deathbed. Soon his daughter, Raesinia will be the first Queen Regnant in centuries—and a target for those who seek to control her. The most dangerous is Duke Orlanko, Minister of Information, and master of the secret police. He is the most feared man in the kingdom, and he knows an arcane secret that puts Raesinia completely at his mercy.

But Raesinia has found unlikely allies in the returning war hero Janus bet Vhalnich, and his loyal deputies, Captain Marcus d’Ivoire and Lieutenant Winter Ihernglass. As Marcus and Winter struggle to find their places in the home they never thought they would see again, they help Janus and Raesinia set in motion events that could shatter Orlanko’s powers, but perhaps at the price of throwing the nation into chaos. But with the people suffering under the Duke’s tyranny, they intend to protect the kingdom with every power they can command, earthly or otherwise. 

My thoughts:

Again I have to begin with; I was disappointed, it was good, just not as awesome as the first book. You all know that story, I went in all YAY, and then it was not YAY it was only yay, I got disappointed.

I think what made it this was that the last one was flintlock, and all war and campaign. This one took place in a city. Cities can work sometimes, but for me they seldom reach those awesome heights. Cities can just be so meh. What can you do there? Politics and intrigues. Which all are good things..yup good, only good.

Winter is sent undercover. Marcus gets a new job. And a new POV is the princess of the country. Rhae is trying to save herself and her country from the bad Duke.

I missed war, sigh. But it looks like the next book will be all war, yay.

Still, it was GOOD! I enjoyed it. There were intrigues, politics, bad people, bad priests, the whole magic thing hidden in darkness. Marcus who is really cool and Winter who is all Winter.

Conclusion:

I look forward to book 3 and hope it will be war war war, camp camp camp, back to its roots. 

Cover

Nice

Mass Market Paperback, 624 pages
Published June 2nd 2015 by Roc (first published July 1st 2014)
The Shadow Campaigns #2
Fantasy
Own

The Thousand Names - Django Wexler

Captain Marcus d’Ivoire, commander of one of the Vordanai empire’s colonial garrisons, was serving out his days in a sleepy, remote outpost—until a rebellion left him in charge of a demoralized force clinging to a small fortress at the edge of the desert.

To flee from her past, Winter Ihernglass masqueraded as a man and enlisted as a ranker in the Vordanai Colonials, hoping only to avoid notice. But when chance sees her promoted to command, she must lead her men into battle against impossible odds.

Their fate depends on Colonel Janus bet Vhalnich. Under his command, Marcus and Winter feel the tide turning and their allegiance being tested. For Janus’s ambitions extend beyond the battlefield and into the realm of the supernatural—a realm with the power to reshape the known world and change the lives of everyone in its path.

My thoughts:

I guess I do like military fantasy, this is like my 4th? series so far and they have all been good. I know it might not be for everyone, the name says it all. They march, they camp, they fight, they march, they fight. Military fantasy. It's also of course flintlock fantasy, no medieval guys running around with swords here. No, they got guns (swords too of course), but this is is a new era. Society moved forward, guns came around, the way of fighting changed. It is different but I enjoy it.

The book then. Let's see, think United Kingdoms and a state they ruled. The king is overthrown, a new religious order cleans out the older more female friendly religion, and the soldiers stationed in the area are pushed back. We have cultural clashes, religious clashes, you name it. But then Vordonai decides to take back power and we begin.

Marcus is a captain and life was pretty good up to the rebellion. He mixed with the locals, he learned the language. All was good. I enjoyed his story and he was a good leader (even if he should have been stricter a few times). 

The other big POV is the one of Winter, who rises to the ranks as the campaign begins. He is actually a she who joined the army. Her storyline was good too. And I believed that she could stay hidden. 

A few other characters, oh do I have to mention them all? Anyway, good men Winter meets. Officers in charge and more. I am not gonna mention them all know. But they were fleshed out. The bad ones and the goods guys.

As I said in the beginning the book is about setting out to push back the rebels. A skirmish here, a skirmish there, bigger battles. Life in camp. Setting out again and then another story emerges too. The one dealing with magic. Of course there is still magic, and there is something people want.

Conclusion:

A great book. I really want to read the next one to see how it all turns out.

cover

cool

Paperback, 609 pages
Published July 1st 2014 by Roc (first published July 2nd 2013)
The Shadow Campaigns #1
Fantasy
Own

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