Sins of Empire Is a Thrilling Introduction to a Flintlock Fantasy World

The Powder Mage books take place in a fantasy world in which technology has reached levels on par with the Napoleonic era: flintlock pistols, blunderbusses, cannons, sail-based warships, armies with both an infantry and a cavalry. Of course, there are also the powder mages—sorcerers of different disciplines—and their magic is integral to the rise and fall of empires.
Though this is ostensibly the fourth book in the series, it begins a new story and stands well on its own. I never felt lost, which is quite a feat, considering the plot teems with a huge cast of characters and at least three (possibly four) hidden conspiracies. Laying out the plot takes time, but even in the early going, the characters kept me riveted.
Michel Bravis is a member of the aptly-named Blackhat spy agency that keeps order in the city of Landfall.
Michel Bravis sat at the back of an empty pub, nursing a warm beer at six o’clock in the morning. Outside, he could hear the local teamsters already at work hauling cotton and grain down to the docks, cursing the heat with every other breath. He wondered if there was a single person who actually liked summer in Landfall, but decided such a thing would be an affront against every good that ever existed.

General Vlora Flint (aka Lady Flint), is a powder mage, commander of a mercenary army hired to help put down a local insurrection in Landfall.
“No, Lady Flint, I was stealing it.”
“Well,” Vlora said. “At least you remembered how little I like a liar.” She considered the situation for a few moments. The battle had been short but fierce, and Dobri had been one of the first of her soldiers through the walls once their artillery had battered down the gates. He was a brave soldier, if light-fingered, “Give the silver to the quartermaster for inventory, then tell Colonel Olem you volunteer for latrine duty for the next three weeks. I wouldn’t suggest telling him why, unless you want to end up in front of a firing squad.”
Mad Ben Styke is a former war hero but now a criminal sentenced for unnamed crimes in a work camp near Landfall.
Styke could hear someone yelling in the hallway. They’d heard the racket, and the yellling was soon followed by the pouding footsteps of the guards. Styke crumpled up the note and flicked it into Raimy’s face. “You can stop your damned trembling, then. I don’t hurt my friends.”
He turned away from here, spreading his arms wide, and waited for the first guard to come through the door.
Juggling three different angles to the myriad conspiracies infecting the city is no mean feat, and dependent on McClellan’s skill in making Michel, Flint, and Styke equally interesting, lest we be tempted to flip past one or even two chapters to get to our preferred point of view character.
But as I finished the novel, I couldn’t pick a favorite. Is it Michel, the principled spy who longs for his mother’s approval, who secretly buys her the books she loves? Or Ben Styke, a brutal man with a restless intelligence, who insists on taking care of a girl whose father died in the camps?

Or is it Flint? It’s rare to see female characters features in this type of military fantasy, and rarer still to find one as fully realized. Flint is a general, a talented powder mage, and a woman with a strong set of morals. That’s the focus of her characterization, as it should be, and so she comes across as a person, not a “female general.” There’s a touch of romance in her relationship with her second-in-command—sweet but unflinching, and perfectly in character.
All the characters, no matter their gender or class, have something to offer, from the Ice Baron who literally made his name selling ice, to the leather-clad dragonman, and the various Blackhats. Even characters who aren’t given point-of-view chapters are across alive and vital, none more so than Chancellor Lindet, the complicated woman who rules Landfall.
As the book begins, Michel’s search for those fomenting revolt in the city intersects with Flint’s assignment to find Mama Palo, the head of a rebel group that has built their slum in the remains of deserted quarry so deep it’s hard to see the bottom. (This slum is my favorite setting in the book, though we only visit it in a few tantalizing scenes.)
Styke is the wild card, sprung from his work camp by a mysterious figure who wants him to spy on Lady Flint (and maybe kill her). Why, we don’t know, but if you’re hoping these two cynical, clear-headed, surprisingly sentimental types will become friends, well…

The book ends with a rousing battle, as an invading army reaches Landfall’s beaches, putting all three of our protagonists into the thick of it. For those counting (I did), we’re treated to at least three cavalry charges, numerous exploding boats, a sea battle at ramming speed, and several nasty one-on-one fights. By that tally, I’m guessing McClellan’s existing fanbase will be more than pleased. As a new reader, I certainly was.
A word about why this fourth volume works so well as a stand-alone: First, the trio at its heart complete distinct character arcs. Second, the narrative focuses on the now of this story (clearly, there’s a ton of backstory to this world, but it never interferes or detracts from the focus of this particular tale). Third, the plot is resolved satisfactorily, though the larger war certainly isn’t over.
Already, I find myself missing these people, eager to read more about them. Happily, while I wait for the sequel, I can go back to the beginning, Promise of Blood. Sometimes joining a series late can be a blessing, because there’s nothing so pleasurable as a reading binge.