Darius Hinks

The Ingenious never quite capitalises on the promise of its worldbuilding, but it offers a fun, fast-paced adventure with a surprisingly sympathetic antihero.

I'm considering adding "secondary world fantasy cities" to my list of "favourite genres that aren't really genres". Cities that go beyond just being a spot on the map surrounding whatever medieval-ish castle the kingdom's monarchs live in; cities with their own magic, with recognisable neighbourhoods, with immigration patterns and show more multifaceted politics and secrets known only to kids who pay attention (but don't spend enough time in school). From Bulikov to Sharakhai to Janloon, there's a ton of great epic fantasy whose urban settings are just as much characters as the people within them.

With that in mind, it's easy to see why the blurb of The Ingenious, a book about Exiles trapped in the city of Athanor. Unfortunately for them, Athanor operates on inequality and deeply creepy magic, and leaving is a far from certain proposition. Rather than staying in one place, it moves through space and time using that magic, apparently leaving a path of wholesale slaughter and destruction everywhere it goes. Brought into the city years ago, Isten and her group are Exiles from a land called Rukon, where they were on the verge of revolution against their emperor. Now, they're unable to leave the city let alone return to the land which rejected them. Isten herself has been raised up to be a saviour for her people, and is still looked to as a leader by the rest of the Exiles despite being an addict, a criminal and a general mess of a human.

Enter Alzen, an elite mage (or "Curious Man") who, even by the deeply creepy standards of the city, really pushes creepy to a new, murderous, self-serving level. Alzen realises that Isten can be manipulated to his own ends, which involve introducing widespread drug addiction into the city and then pulling people's souls out through a weird skin monster, all in pursuit of power. Although his partnership with Isten is initially reluctant, he quickly discovers that despite being a commoner and an outsider, Isten may have power of her own that complements his ambitions. In return, Alzen offers Isten a chance to refocus her people's efforts around improving their position within the city - where they are outsiders surviving on the criminal margins - albeit at the cost of her long-term plans for escape.

I see from Hinks' bibliography that his previous work has been Warhammer tie-in fiction, and although my experience with that franchise is limited, I know enough to see the influences here. It's echoed in some of the plot beats, and in the grimdark elements of the setting, especially the ageless, quasi-religious aspects of the city's leadership. That said, The Ingenious definitely feels first and foremost like its own thing, though the worldbuilding is probably best described as serviceable: it gives Athanor depth and history, and the set-up of the Curious Men and the city's wandering nature adds a decent amount of novelty, but there's nothing that really leaps out upon reading. In theory, Athanor is full of various unique fantasy races, but these only turn up in passing, which feels like a missed opportunity. Instead, we get a laser focus on the two specific groups the novel comes into contact with - the exiles and the Curious Men - and while both do interact with (and sometimes murder) people from other groups in the city, the trials of the rest of this enormous city aren't explored outside a general "inequality is bad, overthrow tyrants" message that winds up being interchangeable for both Rukon and Athanor.

Read the rest of the review at Nerds of a Feather show less

Very interesting short story collection centered on the infamous Blackstone Fortress, space station built at the very beginning of the age of Eldari, forged by the Eldar's deity Vaul. This is mysterious structure, not inert but constantly shifting, transforming from within, and capturing and integrating whatever is left or lost within at the moment of change - whole armies and fleets from various species, long forgotten mysteries and weapons, treasure beyond imagination. For all means and show more purposes this space station is very much like vast and ever-changing city-structure from Blame! comics.

What majority finds here though, is death and horrors. Because in depths of Fortress, itself full of weird robotic systems and unstoppable organic life-forms, Chaos worshipers are building the bridge-head, and they are getting ready to capture and control the fortress to deal the deadly blow to Imperium.

Just outside the Fortress we have Precipice, Babylon-7 type of space station where humans and alien mingle (including mutants and unsavory Drukhari) all aiming to discover that specific treasure or secret that will help them climb the power ladder.

Stories vary, from Drukhari working with Eldari to find objects from Eldari past, Drukhari hunting their kin, mercenaries working with Rogue Traders investigating the depths of the Fortress, zealot Ecclesiarchy agents seeking the Chaos corruption in the depths of Fortress so it can be purged by fire, ancient Iron Men (UR-205 is magnificent) trying to stay hidden from ever curious Mechanicum forces, and war veterans trying to escape the hell of war that is Warhammer 40k, the last Longhorns, and definitely my favorite characters in this collection - ratlings and brothers Raus and Rein, veteran snipers and for all means and purposes W40K version of Lucky Logan's.

Very interesting story collection, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Weren't it not for high temperature and inability to do anything but sleep on and off during the hot summer :) I would finish the book much earlier. As it was it took me almost 2 weeks, but not because of the stories themselves.

Highly recommended to all fans of W40K. show less

~~~ 3.5 Stars ~~~

When I first read this book's synopsis I was SO excited I immediately bumped it up to the top of my TBR. I was elated to the point that I tore right in and boy was I.... confused!?! It started off as a slow to percolate, wildly innovative, confusing at first (and second) glance read that was hard to visualize... not a good sign. The characters and world building were both exotic.... maybe too much so?? Both were so unique that I had no idea what was going on for a span in show more the beginning. NOW, that may have been a ME defect but I definitely think it's something to mention in the review because, on the off chance that you are experiencing the same mental disconnect, I am here to encourage you to trooper on. If you are on the DNF fence then I want to let you know it's going to be okay...better than okay. I really enjoyed how everything came together in the end, it was extremely satisfying. I'm glad I stuck with it because the last 20% was really good. It was total HD- surround sound- mental movie immersion!

The MC, Isten, was an unlikely heroine. She was a character with many vices and little prospect/desire to change. She fought her destiny at every turn and was a hot mess! Her past, present and possible futures were constantly stewing in a messy mixture of substance abuse and self destructive behavior. Every decision she made was clouded and without knowing what she was truly running from/towards, it was hard to fully get behind her BUT by the 70(ish)% mark I was a fan... a comrade, a loyal backer of her wildly effective ways. By the 80% mark I was reading at the edge of my seat... ummm bed... and couldn't put the kindle down until I knew how things wrapped up. In the end Isten was a force to be reckoned with and also in need of some taming. Puthnok seemed like the perfect person for the job. Speaking of the tertiary characters, they were robust, rich and relatable... except you Alzen, you little self-aggrandizing, murderous maggot! Him I was glad to see get his comeuppance.

Overall, the writing was enjoyable. Its quality kept me motivated to push on when I was confused, slightly bored, and seriously considering throwing in the DNF embroidered towel. I'm quite pleased that I saw it through to its satisfying end.

Great addition to the Fantasy genre!

*** I was given a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review *** show less

Some fine action and some wonderfully evocative goblin body-horror can't hide the fundamental lack of a meaningful plot. A decent bedtime read though, Hinks' pacing abilities keep it from being a complete washout!