Jim Butcher’s books are renowned for their detailed world. The Aeronaut’s Windlass, in my opinion, is one of the best of his books because it populates one of his incredible fantasy worlds with interesting, well-written characters. Before I talk about those characters, I want to give an overview of the Windlass’ universe, because it’s pretty much the deciding factor for whether or not you like the book. Chapter one opens aboard the vessel Predator, a privateer airship commanded by one Captain Grimm. The airship, along with all the other vessels of the universe, resembles a ship from the golden age of sail and is kept aloft by a complicated series of vat-grown crystals. currently floating over the Mist. The Mist covers the surface of the planet, which forced the ancestors of the current population to construct massive arcologies known as spires to tower above the deadly creatures that live in the Mist. Moving away from the Predator and to Spire Albion, the spire that Windlass and the upcoming books in the series follow. Spire Albion is ruled by a council and a monarch, resembling the government of 1800’s Britain. Along with that theme, influential family names are referred to as houses, such as house Lancaster. House Lancaster is responsible for the creation of the aforementioned crystals, which makes them an incredibly influential family. The daughter of House Lancaster, Gwen, is one of the perspectives that the book follows. Gwen, along with Bridget Tagwynn, joins the Spirearch’s guard, the infantry defense of Spire Albion. The rest of the book follows them and a cast of other interesting characters as things begin to happen between Albion and another spire.
Before I talk about those characters, I want to give an overview of the Windlass’ universe, because it’s pretty much the deciding factor for whether or not you like the book. Chapter one opens aboard the vessel Predator, a privateer airship commanded by one Captain Grimm. The airship, along with all the other vessels of the universe, resembles a ship from the golden age of sail and is kept aloft by a complicated series of vat-grown crystals. currently floating over the Mist. The Mist covers the surface of the planet, which forced the ancestors of the current population to construct massive arcologies known as spires to tower above the deadly creatures that live in the Mist.
Moving away from the Predator and to Spire Albion, the spire that Windlass and the upcoming books in the series follow. Spire Albion is ruled by a council and a monarch, resembling the government of 1800’s Britain. Along with that theme, influential family names are referred to as houses, such as house Lancaster. House Lancaster is responsible for the creation of the aforementioned crystals, which makes them an incredibly influential family. The daughter of House Lancaster, Gwen, is one of the perspectives that the book follows. Gwen, along with Bridget Tagwynn, joins the Spirearch’s guard, the infantry defense of Spire Albion. The rest of the book follows them and a cast of other interesting characters as things begin to happen between Albion and another spire.
5 out of 5 stars