Name: Kiersten's review of Steel Crow Saga by Paul Krueger
Item: Steel Crow Saga
Rating: 3.5
Author: Kiersten

Paul Krueger

A soldier with a curse Tala lost her family to the empress's army and has spent her life avenging them in battle. But the empress's crimes don't haunt her half as much as the crimes Tala has committed against the laws of magic ... and her own flesh and blood. A prince with a debt Jimuro has inherited the ashes of an empire. Now that the revolution has brought down his kingdom, he must depend on Tala to bring him home safe. But it was his army who murdered her family. Now Tala will be his redemption - or his downfall. A detective with a grudge Xiulan is an eccentric, pipe-smoking detective who can solve any mystery - but the biggest mystery of all is her true identity. She's a princess in disguise, and she plans to secure her throne by presenting her father with the ultimate prize: the world's most wanted prince. A thief with a broken heart Lee is a small-time criminal who lives by only one law: Leave them before they leave you. But when Princess Xiulan asks her to be her partner in crime - and offers her a magical animal companion as a reward - she can't say no, and soon finds she doesn't want to leave the princess behind. This band of rogues and royals should all be enemies, but they unite for a common purpose: to defeat an unstoppable killer who defies the laws of magic. In this battle, they will forge unexpected bonds of friendship and love that will change their lives - and begin to change the world.

Steel Crow Saga

Jackie Keiser

A soldier with a curse Tala lost her family to the empress's army and has spent her life avenging them in battle. But the empress's crimes don't haunt her half as much as the crimes Tala has committed against the laws of magic . . . and her own flesh and blood. A prince with a debt Jimuro has inherited the ashes of an empire. Now that the revolution has brought down his kingdom, he must depend on Tala to bring him home safe. But it was his army who murdered her family. Now Tala will be his redemption - or his downfall. A detective with a grudge Xiulan is an eccentric, pipe-smoking detective who can solve any mystery - but the biggest mystery of all is her true identity. She's a princess in disguise, and she plans to secure her throne by presenting her father with the ultimate prize: the world's most wanted prince. A thief with a broken heart Lee is a small-time criminal who lives by only one law: Leave them before they leave you. But when Princess Xiulan asks her to be her partner in crime - and offers her a magical animal companion as a reward - she can't say no, and soon finds she doesn't want to leave the princess behind. This band of rogues and royals should all be enemies, but they unite for a common purpose: to defeat an unstoppable killer who defies the laws of magic. In this battle, they will forge unexpected bonds of friendship and love that will change their lives - and begin to change the world.

This was a fun read, but it did take me a while to get through it. I liked Tala's character the best, but I wish that her story had to be considered more thoroughly.

Kiersten

Four destinies collide in a unique fantasy world of war and wonders, where empire is won with enchanted steel and magical animal companions fight alongside their masters in battle. A soldier with a curse Tala lost her family to the empress's army and has spent her life avenging them in battle. But the empress's crimes don't haunt her half as much as the crimes Tala has committed against the laws of magic . . . and her own flesh and blood. A prince with a debt Jimuro has inherited the ashes of an empire. Now that the revolution has brought down his kingdom, he must depend on Tala to bring him home safe. But it was his army who murdered her family. Now Tala will be his redemption--or his downfall. A detective with a grudge Xiulan is an eccentric, pipe-smoking detective who can solve any mystery--but the biggest mystery of all is her true identity. She's a princess in disguise, and she plans to secure her throne by presenting her father with the ultimate prize: the world's most wanted prince. A thief with a broken heart Lee is a small-time criminal who lives by only one law: Leave them before they leave you. But when Princess Xiulan asks her to be her partner in crime--and offers her a magical animal companion as a reward--she can't say no, and soon finds she doesn't want to leave the princess behind. This band of rogues and royals should all be enemies, but they unite for a common purpose: to defeat an unstoppable killer who defies the laws of magic. In this battle, they will forge unexpected bonds of friendship and love that will change their lives--and begin to change the world. Advance praise for Steel Crow Saga "With fierce women, ferocious creatures, and a sophisticated twist on Pokémon meets Avatar: The Last Airbender, Steel Crow Saga is the fantasy epic you didn't know you needed, creating a rich new mythology and characters so real you can smell their pipe smoke and adobo."--Delilah S. Dawson, New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Phasma "Rarely have I read a story with so much glee and wonder at each new revelation. You're going to love cheering for these characters as they fight for honor, love, family, and country, and you're going to love their shades as well. This world of steel and souls completely transported me, and that's what you want from fiction, after all. It's a hexbolt to the heart, and I can't wait to read whatever Krueger writes next."--Kevin Hearne, New York Times bestselling author of A Plague of Giants and The Iron Druid Chronicles

Sarah Sammis

Steel Crow Saga by Paul Krueger is a complex, richly populated fantasy. It takes inspiration from anime and manga. The author has been upfront about his inspirations and at one point announced the publication of this book by calling it Fullmetal Pokemon. Although more recently he's revealed that it's actual working title was Splintered Souls (Twitter).

I'm going to be upfront and say as much as I loved this book, I know I missed things. I know other things went over my head. I know some day when I have more time to read in greater depth, I will linger over Steel Crow Saga. I will take down pages of quotes and do a close live reading of it on Tumblr. So for now, please accept my first impressions.

Sometime when I'm not reading for a deadline, I want to re-read this book more slowly.

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2019/comm...

996600 - S/M home railroad

~Anna~

A checklist of tropes that Steel Crow Saga has:

✔️ Uneasy allies trying their best

✔️ Japanese culture and atmosphere without hitting you over the head with it

✔️ A hardened crook turned antihero

✔️ Angsty Prince Syndrome (with reasonable elements sprinkled in)

✔️ slow. burn. romance.

✔️ A booksmart princess 

✔️ S O U L A N I M A L S.


Ok-

that last one might not be a real trope, but it might as well be at this point!

If any or all of the above interest you, READ THIS BOOK. 

I can tell you right now, that this is the only book that has pulled me out of my introverted shell to write this review- in order to hopefully get more people interested in this novel.

The world building is clear between all three main countries and the key players who participate in the story. The writing is also well done (if not a little lengthy)...

...but the characters are what made me fall in love.

Xiulan, Lee, Tala, and Jimuro are all well-defined and distinct from almost any other characters I can remember- all of them have positive and negative traits, and while one group are refreshingly good communicators, the other group is a slower burn as their distrust keeps them at odds for much longer. 

Maybe if romance isn't your thing, you might want to give it another thought if you like the plot, as romance is a pretty obvious subplot in the novel. But otherwise, I would HIGHLY suggest this book to lovers of Legend of Lorra and Avatar (though it is much more adult than both those shows) and His Dark Materials with the similarity of the animals being a part of one's soul, but with their own unique personalities.

Tl;dr 
I loved this book. 
Great tropes, done well
Characters are //chefs kiss
Read if you like a mix of cultures and good, non-European worlds.

Sheena

An incredible ride from start to finish with asian inspired diverse characters who actually go through noticeable character development (kudos to the author), solid storyline, unique setting, and endless amount action. Thus far a stand out amongst other debuts of 2019 and would recommended to just about everyone since this fantasy novel has a bit of everything has for them and their mother. Sure every good novel has it flaws and “Steel Crow Saga” was no exception. Let's talk about the length of the novel. Holy shit. Over 500+ pages which could have easily been around the 300+ish if it weren’t for the very descriptive scenes that were unnecessary to add to the overall storyline. I was barely able to see the light at the end of this very long (and possibly endless) read and lesbehonest I lost my focus more times than I can count. Nevertheless, the world building, magical realism of “Steel Crow Sage” is a knock out and I would recommended this to everyone, including their baby mama.

Four destinies collide in a unique fantasy world of war and wonders, where empire is won with enchanted steel and magical animal companions fight alongside their masters in battle. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR • Tordotcom • Kirkus Reviews A soldier with a curse Tala lost her family to the empress’s army and has spent her life avenging them in battle. But the empress’s crimes don’t haunt her half as much as the crimes Tala has committed against the laws of magic . . . and against her own flesh and blood. A prince with a debt Jimuro has inherited the ashes of an empire. Now that the revolution has brought down his kingdom, he must depend on Tala to bring him home safe. But it was his army who murdered her family. Now Tala will be his redemption—or his downfall. A detective with a grudge Xiulan is an eccentric, pipe-smoking detective who can solve any mystery—but the biggest mystery of all is her true identity. She’s a princess in disguise, and she plans to secure her throne by presenting her father with the ultimate prize: the world’s most wanted prince. A thief with a broken heart Lee is a small-time criminal who lives by only one law: Leave them before they leave you. But when Princess Xiulan asks her to be her partner in crime—and offers her a magical animal companion as a reward—she can’t say no, and she soon finds she doesn’t want to leave the princess behind. This band of rogues and royals should all be enemies, but they unite for a common purpose: to defeat an unstoppable killer who defies the laws of magic. In this battle, they will forge unexpected bonds of friendship and love that will change their lives—and begin to change the world.

Brianna

Apparently I have a thing for royal pain in the asses.

#Jimuro, my beating heart and Iron Lord.

elif sinem

just because you mention fma:b and pokémon as your inspirations doesn't mean you're as clever as either. solid character work, but they came together too late, and too little thought was put on the politics. also I hated the fact that there was an antagonist. I don't know. could've been a lot better if it had its priorities elsewhere. cause where it was here wasn't enough.

Laura Kehoe

Steel Crow Saga is a steampunk, fantasy, action-packed book that combines magic, politics, and a little romance. It took me a bit to get into it, but once I did, I was hooked into this book! 

The characters were one of my favorite parts of Steel Crow Saga. Each one had their own unique history and personality. It was really fun to have chapters written from a few different perspectives so that I could really dig into each character. In the beginning, the multiple different perspectives did make it a little hard to keep track of the story. But once I got to know each character, I ended up enjoying that a lot. Some of the character arcs didn't quite feel finished to me at the end, but overall, Krueger did a great job with their development. 

I really enjoyed the world Krueger created as well. It was a fresh, unique world, but didn't feel so foreign that I couldn't conceptualize it. I felt like I could step right into this world and join the characters. Again, I feel like there were parts of the world I wanted to know more about, but I didn't feel there were too many questions left unanswered. 

This is a really interesting and fun book. I could have used a few more chapters to really close out the plot, characters, and world, but I still had such a great time reading this! If you like steampunk fantasies and strong characters, I'd recommend giving Steel Crow Saga a read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sophia 

queer, diverse, complicated politics, various types of magic users, multiple povs. deserves so much more attention! 

Sahi K

A solid 4.5 in my opinion but slightly fell short of a 5.

I don’t think I even knew about this book until about a month ago. I think stumbled upon it by accident in someone’s blogpost about upcoming Asian inspired fantasy releases, and I was immediately fascinated. And while it took me a bit to immerse myself in it, I am so glad to have discovered this book and gotten hold of the ARC.

The world building is one aspect that impressed me a lot. As the author is Filipino-American, I was expecting some inspiration from his country and their culture, but I was pleasantly surprised to realize that each of the kingdom present in this book is drawn from a different Asian country, and it’s developed so well that we are able to distinguish them pretty well. I particularly loved that one of them was based on India but it’s also the one kingdom which is least talked about in the book, so I kept wishing for more. 

The other interesting aspect of this world is the pacting (or their version of magic). The people of Sanbuna and Shang are capable of shadepacting with animals - which is like forming a soul bond with an animal’s shade and then being able to call upon their familiar to fight alongside them. The Tomodanese on the other hand pact with metals, which helps them in controlling their weapons or using it to power their vehicles. The people of Dahal use their power internally to enhance their personal capabilities. Jeongsonese are the oppressed minority who are capable of pacting but have always been denied the right to gain the knowledge to do so. This distinction between the use of magic across various kingdoms is very helpful in developing differing motivations for each of them, letting us as readers experience varying perspectives and probably finding our own favorites.

The writing style of this novel was also slightly different from what I’m used to but I’m unable to articulate exactly how that was. It is very introspective and we are subjected to many inner monologues of the characters - which I really enjoyed for the most part and helped me understand them better and invest in their development - but it also got long winded at times and may have contributed to the size of the book. I’m usually not a fan of dense writing, so the descriptive writing style should have put me off but I kinda enjoyed it and it made the settings feel more real. The main theme of the book is colonialism but despite the dark themes, there is also a very humorous undertone in the writing. The pacing is also a little slow throughout but it is relentless, with things changing quickly and the characters having to adapt and evolve all the time. This is also essentially a quest/ journey novel and those seem to be my thing this year, so it’s not a surprise that I thoroughly enjoyed this journey with the characters. And the best part was that the author managed to give very distinct voices to each of them, so we are never confused about whose POV we are reading. I’m currently unsure if this is a standalone or a series, but the author did a wonderful job ending it very satisfactorily, so I’m happy if this the actual end; but there are also multiple threads that can be pursued to further this story and I would be delighted to jump into this world all over again.

The characters are definitely the best and my most favorite part of this book, but I don’t wanna talk about them much. I think the beauty of this book is in discovering the various layers of each character and realizing what lays at the core of them. One thing common between all the POV characters is that they are real, flawed, pretty morally grey, not immune from being prejudiced and treating those different from them in a vile manner - but all of them go through a journey of unlearning all the wrong things, understanding others’ perspectives and building relationships with unlikely people. I felt very invested in knowing where the characters were going and what they might do next, so I never wanted to put the book down even though it was all a bit slow going. The characters do fall into familiar fantasy tropes like a grumpy soldier, an arrogant prince, a Sherlock inspired detective type character and a petty thief who gets roped into working for the other side - so it can feel a little predictable, but I enjoyed this slight predictability but also felt highly satisfied with the way things turned out for each of them. 

Though the author chose not to be very subtle in discussing some important themes, it didn’t in anyway lessen the impact of what was being told through the story. The impact of colonialism is very brutally described, along with the blatant disingenuous reasons that power hungry nations can come up with to colonize and occupy another country. It’s very evident that whatever noble the initial intentions may have been, the reality of occupation is always ugly. But the most important point that I think the author tried to make was that even if the colonizer is defeated by a revolution, war always brings out worst impulses and it doesn’t take much for the oppressed to turn into an oppressor. The nature of war and it’s impact on soldiers, and the utter lack of direction and purpose that they might feel during peace time is also deftly talked about.

I also loved how the author decided to give equal weight to all kinds of relationships. The importance of family and sibling bonds, and how losing them can have far reaching consequences forms an important part of the character’s choices and the kind of people they turn out to be. I also enjoyed the way human/animal bonds are shown - while some people can truly treat their familiars as slaves and impose their will upon them, others form bonds based on mutual respect and it was wonderful of the author to show us both perspectives. The book is also very queer and I loved how normalized it was in this world. It was lovely to see lesbian, gay, bi and trans characters all be able to be their true selves without any judgement. 

I guess I’ve gone on long enough in this review. Basically, all I want to say is I really really enjoyed this book a lot and I’m glad I got this opportunity to discover a new to me Asian author. As it has been marketed, if you like anime or Pokémon or are a fan of Fullmetal Alchemist, then this book might be for you, but I can’t vouch for it because I know nothing about them. However, if you do love reading about an ensemble cast of characters going on a physical (as well as metaphorical) journey to discover some hard truths about the world and find themselves changing accordingly, then this might be the perfect book for you. It also works very well as a standalone, so you should definitely give this a try if you aren’t ready to invest your time in a new series.

Nickie Mohler

This book had me right from the start.

I loved the world created here. The cultures are great. The characters are the best part in my opinion. Well, that and the magic system. I really loved the shade pacting. 

This is the first book that I have read by this author and I'm a big fan. I look forward to more by Paul Krueger, especially this series.

I received a copy from Net Galley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rowan Jones

I hate how my kindle app automatically puts this as 'read' on here when I finish lol

Anywayyyyy, 4.5* and only dropped half a star as I feel like it could have been a TAD shorter. This is so so good and would highly recommend for fans of the poppy war !

Also if you like Anime (fullmetal alchemist, any other shounen) you will love the tropes in this. It's also delightfully gay (as in a lot of LGBT+ rep) and has avatar: the last airbender vibes

Lisa Beasley

This was superb! I loved all the characters (even the one I didn't like to start with) and the world building was solid. I became really engrossed pretty quickly and I really like how the chapters focus on different characters so we see what is happening in different places and anticipate when they come together. Adored it.

Jackie Keiser &
Steel Crow Saga by Paul Krueger

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Steel Crow Saga by Paul Krueger