Engines of Empire by R.S. Ford – Review

Published: January 18, 2022

Publisher: Orbit Books

Series: The Age of Uprising #1

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 624 (Paperback)

My Rating: 4.5/5.0

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:
This epic fantasy tells the tales of clashing Guilds, magic-fueled machines, intrigue and revolution—and the one family that stands between an empire’s salvation or destruction.

The nation of Torwyn is run on the power of industry, and industry is run by the Guilds. Chief among them are the Hawkspurs, and their responsibility is to keep the gears of the empire turning. It’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’s sorcerous connection to the magical resource of pyrstone that fuels the empire’s machines makes her a perfect heir–in theory. While Tyreta hopes that she might shirk her responsibilities during her journey one of Torwyn’s most important pyrestone mines, she instead 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 consort to a foreign emissary. Soon after, he is framed for a crime he never committed. A crime that could start a war.

As each of 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.

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I had my eye on this release, then I got an ARC (yay!), read it before the end of 2021 and added it to my best books of the year list. To be honest, I was surprised to find I liked it as much as I did because I was expecting sort of a generic book starting off. I had to reevaluate that opinion shortly thereafter because it took some unexpected turns and found myself thoroughly engrossed.

Engines of Empire is set in a world where there are powerful guilds and steampunk technology, yet there are still knights, an emperor, and a fading religion based on the worship of dragons. This tale of change and upheaval follows the three heirs of the powerful Hawkspur Guild as they go down their separate paths in life. Conall, the eldest son, has joined the military and is headed to the frontier lands to prove himself. Tyreta, the only daughter, is destined to take control of the Hawkspur Guild but she’s a bit of a rebel and resents being sent to a pyrestone mine to learn the trade. Fulren, the youngest son, is a talented artificer but his life is forever changed when he is accused of the murder of an important emissary and is sent back with the emissary’s entourage as a prisoner. 

As you follow the three heirs and their mother Rosomon it quickly becomes apparent the empire is crumbling from the inside. The religious order is taking advantage of the instability to assert its power, the oppressed tribal nations are preparing for war, and the guilds bicker among themselves as usual. Political upheaval and conspiracies abound making for an exciting read and that’s in addition to all the action! Plus, since the emperor is Rosomon’s brother and the religious leader is Rosomon’s nephew all the drama is essentially within the family and that makes everything delightfully fascinating.

I found this to be a great story with a solid foundation for even further worldbuilding in later installments. It’s also pretty exciting (and rare, it seems) to get reptilian humanoids that are more than just vaguely unsettling filler material or straight up villains. I really enjoyed Tyreta’s chapters because she was experiencing a whole new culture and abandoning many of her notions about the people forced off their land by the guilds. To be fair Conall’s chapters weren’t as exciting at first, but they got better as the story progressed. Fulren’s POV chapters were pretty awesome, especially as the reader was introduced to a whole new country that had been in isolation for ages. Whole new, rather dark magic system and all that good stuff! I’m most definitely picking up the next book when it’s released!