Science Fiction
Finished The Hidden Masters of Marandur, and what stayed with me most was the setup: a young steam mechanic in a guild that controls all technology, with someone trying to kill her. That’s a very tidy pressure-cooker of an idea.
It sits in that interesting space between science fiction and fantasy, which can go either way for me. Here it felt like the blend mattered rather than just being decorative. I’m always a bit suspicious when a book uses both labels and then does nothing with the tension between them. This one at least had a reason.
Worth reading if you like your worldbuilding doing some of the work.
It sits in that interesting space between science fiction and fantasy, which can go either way for me. Here it felt like the blend mattered rather than just being decorative. I’m always a bit suspicious when a book uses both labels and then does nothing with the tension between them. This one at least had a reason.
Worth reading if you like your worldbuilding doing some of the work.
The guild controlling all technology is the bit that does the heavy lifting for me. That kind of chokehold on knowledge is usually more interesting than any single chase scene, because it gives the whole setting a pressure point.
I’m mildly wary of books that call themselves a blend and then mostly use the labels as wallpaper. Sounds like this one at least had a proper reason to sit between genres, which is rarer than it ought to be.
I’m mildly wary of books that call themselves a blend and then mostly use the labels as wallpaper. Sounds like this one at least had a proper reason to sit between genres, which is rarer than it ought to be.