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

Melissa over at My world in words and pages is celebrating, and I am a guest today with my top 5 fantasy books from the last year.

And there are many awesome giveaways to enter!