The previous entries in this series have been reviewed here for book 1, and here for book 2. There may well be spoilers for earlier instalments within this review.
Amaranthe and the assorted members of the Emperor’s Edge (think steampunk A-Team) return just as the fictional equivalent of the Olympics are being held. But athletes are going missing, and nobody knows why. The Emperor’s Edge sets about investigating, only for a couple of their most capable warriors to captured, leaving Amaranthe and the rest to try and work out where they are and how to save them.
The side-plot is trying to get a newspaper editor on-side to get some good PR to counteract the widely held but false perception of the group as terrorist, violent nutcases.
One thing I like about this series is the character development, which falls into neither the trap of becoming stale nor into overly rapid/inconsistent changes. The people do change in a natural, credible way, and while each individual adventure is largely self-contained, the underlying group dynamics evolve along the way (reminds me a little of Tales of the Ketty Jay, by Chris Wooding, in that regard).
Similarly, the tone remains as before, adventurous and occasionally a little serious without straying into grimdark. It’s a really easy read, a rollicking tale of good versus evil, with occasional moral ambiguity and genuine tensions between mercenaries. And the ending is very good as well.
In short, if you liked the first two entries in the series, the third book will also be right up your street.
Thaddeus
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