Mogsy's Reviews > The Aeronaut's Windlass

3.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum http://bibliosanctum.com/2016/01/13/b...

Jim Butcher. I am a big fan. I will read any new Dresden Files book as soon as it comes out, and considering it’s one of only a few long-running urban fantasy series I’m actually all caught up with, I’d say I’m pretty invested and the character and stories. When I first heard about The Aeronaut’s Windlass in his new steampunkish series though, I was both excited and a little hesitant. I feel Butcher is at his best when he’s writing modern characters in modern settings, where his clever humor and penchant for hilarious pop culture references can fully come into play—which is precisely what makes his urban fantasy so delightful and fun to read. That’s probably why I didn’t do so well with his epic fantasy series Codex Alera; even though I love the genre, I missed the easy wisecracks and the more intimate first-person narrative that I’m more familiar with when it comes to what I know of the author’s style.

Still, though. Jim Butcher and steampunk? My wariness notwithstanding, I also knew I wouldn’t miss this for the world. I could see him pulling this off with style.

And hell yeah he does. The Aeronaut’s Windlass might not have been everything I expected, but it was entertaining, action-packed and imaginative. Butcher really pulled out all the stops with this one, blowing me away with his wildly creative world building. This is not your traditional steampunk, with clockwork and corsets. In this world, nations are built upon towering spires, and their armies war against each other using flying warships, battle gauntlets, and other weaponry powered by energy crystals. The book follows a quite a few characters, including Captain Grimm, the airship captain with a tarnished military record he didn’t deserve; Gwen Lancaster, the young noblewoman who means well even though she can be a bit abrasive and overbearing; Benedict, Gwen’s cousin, who is a handsome and charming super-soldier; Bridget, who hails from an impoverished noble house; and Rowl, Bridget’s snobby sentient talking cat. Yes, I said talking cat!

The book begins with Grimm’s airship, the A.M.S. Predator, taking severe damage after engaging with an enemy battlecruiser. Lacking the funds for repair, Grimm has no choice but to accept a mission from the Spirearch of Albion in exchange for the expensive replacement parts required to get the Predator in shipshape again. He reluctantly agrees to join up with a group of young noble guards-in-training and couple of oddball etherealists on an adventurous journey across the skies. Together, this band of unlikely heroes are tasked to uncover a traitorous plot for the Spirearch, but what they end up finding is a threat even more ancient and powerful than any of them can ever imagine.

There’s no question about it; The Aeronaut’s Windlass was a lot of fun, with a plot fully-loaded with interesting and dynamic relationships, aerial combat action, conspiracies and intrigue. On the other hand, I also felt that the pacing dragged a little from the sheer weight of an overly complex storyline and too many character perspectives. Main and supporting characters would be “benched” for long periods of time while the focus was on something else, and I get the feeling Butcher probably struggled to find the right balance between all his POVs. He is definitely much better when he is writing in the first-person, where all the attention is on a single character and story events are more focused and immediate.

The prose also feels slightly different and more formal than what I’m used to from him, which is not surprising given the high fantasy setting replete with aristocratic houses and nobility. However, this is a good thing. Beneath the surface, the tone and humor is still 100% Jim Butcher. Any doubt of that would be removed as soon as you meet Rowl and his feline brethren. Plus, it would be criminal of me to write this review without mentioning the cats, because they were by far one of the most delightful and memorable surprises of this novel. Might Butcher have been a cat in his past life? Because he bloody nailed the attitude.

The fact he is able to adapt his style to make the characters and this new world so convincing is all the proof you need of Butcher’s brilliance and versatility. The Aeronaut’s Windlass was a great read even if it wasn’t perfect—but then, few series openers often are. This book certainly made an impression on me with its dazzling world building and fantastic characters though, and I am most definitely on board for the sequel.