Finally, I was able to mine a gem in Netgalley. Despite some minor issues, Skyfare didn’t disappoint from beginning to end. The story goes like this: An apprentice sorceress, Aimee de Laurent, just finished school and had a taste of what the real world is by becoming a portal mage for a spaceship named Elysium. As she was learning the ropes, Aimee and the rest of Elysium’s crew crossed paths with an evil, powerful and ruthless mage knight, Lord Azrael, who is on a quest to find the Axiom Diamond by any means possible.

Wow! This was a highly entertaining read. I loved that despite being a standalone (for now, maybe?) and the average number of its pages, Skyfarer managed to paint a world set in the galaxy that is believable and rich in folklore. And the way the author melded science and magic together without confusing me is quiet amazing. Another thing that made me appreciate this book more is that the main characters were full of flaws, each chained to his/her own struggles.  Aimee, the overachiever student, is constantly hungry to prove herself so you can just imagine how devastated she is when her first display of magic outside of school went awry. On another hand, Lord Azrael, the angel of death of the Eternal Order has only one objective in mind and has no qualms on getting his hands bloodied. And yet, every time he kills and wreaks havoc, a part of him screams in pain and agony.

The storyline maybe predictable but I enjoyed how it was executed. There’s a perfect balance of action, adventure, suspense, and drama that I just can’t put the book down. I missed this kind of storytelling, straight up science fiction with no frills and nonsensical turns and twists. At the moment, I am still unsure whether I should pray for a sequel or thank the book gods for giving me the opportunity to read a standalone that is blissfully satisfying.

I've read a few interesting mergers of SF and Fantasy this year -- some that were just that, interesting, some that were good -- a couple that were more than good. Thankfully, Brassey's Skyfarer was in that latter camp. Even in those early chapters where I was still trying to figure out the world, remember which name lined up with what character, and get a handle on the plot, I had a sense that this was going to be one of those books I talked about very positively -- and very often. That sense just only got stronger as the book went on.

I feel like could go on for pages about this book -- but won't let myself (so I can avoid the wrath of Angry Robot and you can actually get something out of reading it yourself -- which you have to go do as soon as it comes out).

So you've got this group called the Eternal Order -- a group committed to death, destruction, power, and plunder. When it comes to numbers, they can't stand up to the civilizations around them, at least when they ally themselves against the Order. But when they (rarely, it seems) can come in with a quick strike against one people they can wreak much havoc. Which is exactly what they do here -- they come in and demand that the rulers of Port Providence hand over the Axiom Diamond, or they will wipe them out -- and it's clear that Lord Azrael, the commander, isn't being hyperbolic. The royal family responds with armed resistance, which has some measure of success, but is primarily fighting losing battles.

Into the midst of this looming genocide comes a wayward spacecraft, the Elysium. The Elysium is a small carrier with more weapons than one should expect (we're initially told this, anyway). The crew has just welcomed an apprentice mage, fresh from the academy, to complete her studies with her mentor/professor. Aimee de Laurent has been pushing herself for years to excel, to be the best -- if there's a sacrifice to be made for her studies, she's made it. All leading up to this day, where her professor, Harkon Bright has taken her as an apprentice on his exploration ship to complete her education. She joins a crew that's been together for years and is eager to find her place within them.

When the Elysium arrives in the middle of this, it doesn't take anything approaching calculus for them to figure out what this particular crew is going to do. There's The Eternal Order on one side, civilians and the remnants of the military on the other. There's a ravaged civilization on one side and the ravagers on the other. There's a group trying to prevent The Eternal Order from getting something they want and there's, well, The Eternal Order. So our band of adventurers tell the remnants of the royal family that they'll hunt down the Axiom and protect it.

This isn't exactly a revolutionary idea for a story -- but man, it doesn't matter. There's a reason everyone and their brother has tried this -- it's a good story. Especially when it's told well. And, I'm here to tell you that Joseph Brassey tells it really well. Not just because of his hybridization of SF and Fantasy, but because he can take a story that everyone's taken a shot at and make it seem fresh, he can deliver the excitement, he can deliver the emotion. There is some horrible stuff depicted -- either in the present or in flashbacks; there's some pretty tragic stuff; and yet this is a fun read -- the pacing, the tone, everything makes this feel like the adventure films and books that I grew up on. You want to read it -- not just to find out what's going to happen next, but because it's written in such a way that you just want to be reading the book, like a having a glass of iced tea on a summer's day.

The characters could uniformly use a little more fleshing out -- which isn't a weakness in the writing. Brassey pretty much points at the places where the reader will more details (especially when it comes to Aimee and Harkon), making us want more than he's giving us. What we're given, though, is enough to make you root for or against them, hope that they survive (or are subjected to painful and humiliating defeat), or simply enjoy the camaraderie. The good news is, that there's more to learn about everyone -- about their past and their present -- and how those shape their future.

You've got magic -- various schools of magic, too, each with its own understanding of what magic is and how it can be used; you've got swords and lasers (and similar kinds of weapons); you've got space ships running of magic (not just hyperspace drives that act like magic); objects and persons of prophecy; beings and intelligences that aren't explicable -- tell me why you wouldn't want to read this? Especially when you throw in epic sword fights, magic duels, and spacecraft action all written by someone who writes like a seasoned pro. Sign me up for the sequel!

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Angry Robot Books via NetGalley in exchange for this post -- thanks to both for this.

Book one of the Mongoliad ended on a cliffhanger with several characters in imminent peril and all of its story lines left twisting in the wind. Instead of picking up where book one left off, after a half-decent but forgettable short story (Dreamer), book two gives readers a snarky middle finger by starting off with brand new characters in a brand new (and utterly superfluous, IMO) story line. Kudos to the authors for trying to make a papal election thrilling and action-packed. Alas, their efforts were wasted on me. When the imperiled characters finally make their appearance in chapter seven, all momentum is lost and it's like trying to start your clunker of a car in subzero temperatures. You turn the key, you pump the gas, and for the longest time all you get is a halfhearted stutter until the motor sluggishly sputters to life. And then you have to clean the snow off the car while the engine warms up before you can get anywhere.

By the time I finished this book, I still didn't feel like I'd cleaned all the snow off the car. Which is to say, it plods along, slowly advancing the main and sub-plots, killing off another character or two (and no, I didn't even feel a twinge), and then grinds to a halt after a couple of characters are finally allowed to accomplish something. Sort of. It was a total non-ending. Another stay tuned for the next episode deal, only minus the imminent peril. I would be stopping at this point if I didn't already own the next two books in the series.