Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book! The synopsis had me intrigued, and even though this was a DNF for me personally at thirty-six percent, I think that same things were done really well here.

I think that the steampunk style was fresh and interesting. I think that there was no lack of world building and the details and descriptions were thorough and set up nicely. Unfortunately on the other hand, it was just slow and I found myself quite bored. The character dialogues and interactions felt forced and disjointed and it truly just seemed like typical fantasy with nothing new and didn't feel like the story was going anywhere.

However, I didn't get far enough in that I am comfortable leaving a negative review. I hope other readers really enjoy this one but it just wasn't for me unfortunately.

It was an amazing experience to read this book. World building and magic system are complex. We have heroes who fought and saved the world years ago and we have young characters who are learning from them.
Overall, this book feels like a prequel to something epic.

I’ve never read steampunk before, and I must say I was intrigued! The magic was cool and I liked most of the characters! The story wasn’t for me, but from an unbiased perspective the writing was good and the story was pretty unique

'The Binding Tempest' by Steven Rudy is a complex fantasy with detailed world-building and an intricate storyline. This fantasy is action-packed, with twists you won't see coming. If you like reading books with multiple point-of-views, this one's for you. Every character had his/her place in this story, making this read quite unique.

This story has so many layers that sometimes it's quite difficult to keep up with it all. But the brilliant characters in this made up for it. I loved Elaria, she's a fierce protagonist who'll stop at nothing. While Qudin, Tali, Learon and Wade's characters grew on me gradually. Reading this book felt like watching an action movie at times, where a group of fighters and veterans with a purpose is trying to save the day for everyone else.

The Sagean Empire ruled over Territhmina for years with an iron fist, by oppressing it's population and taking away their freedoms. But when they lost their power fighting the coalition of nations. Ever since the people of Territhmina have lived free, until that freedom is threatened again.

If you're an epic fantasy lover, you'll love this fantasy with a political twist.

I tried so hard with this book! I didn’t quite know what to expect, but this wasn’t my cup of tea. The writing is fantastic and the characters are well-developed, but the plot was too slow and dry for me. I stopped before the hundred-page mark because it drained all of my energy to focus and concentrate.

This wasn’t for me. 😕

The Binding Tempest by Steven Rudy asks what happens when people grow so comfortable with freedom that they neglect to see the rise of a new dictator in a world that blends steampunk with high fantasy.

Steven Rudy’s debut novel gives us a character-driven story about a world on the brink of disaster. Having left the oppressive Sagean empire in the past, the people fail to realise the quiet instalment of a new oppressive regime, while a greater existential threat looms in the distance. It all comes down to a ragtag group of six people to stop it.

The characters grew on me as the novel went on. Split into two groups, we first meet the old revolutionaries who overthrew the dictatorial empire forty years prior. Ellaria, Kovan and Elias remain a force to be reckoned with, especially Ellaria as she’s the first to suspect something is amiss and effectively drives the group’s decisions. From the younger generation, Tali stands out in this book. Wade often came off as the wacky sidekick, though he does have some important moments, with Learon being the most discreet. There are hints of his abilities throughout and his family history make him a character to look out for. The side characters stood out less than I’d like, but I do hope to see more of some of them in future books.

The actual villain of the story was a surprise. The entire book talks about the new Sagean, but I would have never guessed who it actually was, making that plot twist delightful. Throughout, their tactics were extensive enough that their presence was felt strongly. Yes, the characters talk about a rise of a new empire, but Rudy also brings these changes to the setting through increased security and geopolitical machinations, among other things.

The worldbuilding is expansive. The extensive descriptions, the history lessons provided by the characters, and the many locations we visit throughout make this world feel old and lived in. Each city has a particular feel to it, while the history we get is backed up by artefacts, ruins, even the odd archaeological dig here and there. While I’m still a little unclear about some small details, I’m excited to see how Rudy will expand from here.

However, the writing was, overall, the worst part of the novel. The first few chapters jump POVs, so it was already a little confusing, but the dense writing made it even harder to get through. There were pages of descriptions at times, while characters often went out of their way to explain a specific phrase or object instead of letting the reader figure it out from context. As such, the dialogue was often stilted, while the inner monologues of the characters were much wordier than they needed to be, especially for the first half of a high fantasy book. The pacing did get better further into The Binding Tempest as the plot took over for the worldbuilding, really showing Rudy’s potential as an author.

The Binding Tempest by Steven Rudy has a lot of potential. A captivating story with dynamic characters is buried beneath the dense writing while the fascinating world is the cherry on top. I look forward to seeing where he takes it because that epilogue opened up a new realm of possibilities.

As soon as you start reading, you know you're in for an epic fantasy story. I did like all the maps provided, and they were helpful because a lot of this book is spent on worldbuilding. And the world is interesting - it just contains a LOT of small details. This leads to some info dumping, and a lot of telling and not showing. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing! Sometimes you need to tell and not show, but doing it over and over again makes me lose my focus a bit. Even with all the descriptions, this wasn't super hard to read as a fantasy, but it did have a lot of names and such to keep track of.

The beginning was especially a little difficult to get through. I skimmed a few of the larger paragraphs and could still understand what was happening. Once the plot started going, I was more invested. What made this a slower read for me was the large amount of typos/awkward sentences. Besides dialogue not having a lot of descriptions outside the quotation marks, commas were awkwardly placed, sentences stopped abruptly and didn't flow with each other, and there were question marks at the end of sentences that weren't even questions. There were also sentences that SHOULD be just one sentence but were instead awkwardly split into two. In short, the book needed a bit more editing, which I hope the most recent edition achieved. I imagine it would take a while to sift through this book, simply because it's so long.

I liked how one of the main characters, Ellaria, is in her 50s. We don't get to see older protagonists that often, especially in a fantasy. I did find her POV to be the least interesting to me for half the book, and I especially liked Kovan.

The plot itself was interesting, and as someone who likes adult fantasy, it had its merits. The journey there was what slowed me down, and I felt some of it lag towards the middle. If you like detailed fantasy, this book will be for you.

This book has SO much potential, but unfortunately, it didn't live up to that. It read like a first draft before the author had gone back to edit or revise, and that made it VERY difficult to read.

A major strength was the worldbuilding--unique, intriguing, with just enough details given to make me want to see how the history hinted at the beginning tied into the rest of the characters' storylines. However, there were so many POV characters, introduced one right after another, that honestly, I couldn't keep them all straight. They all sounded the same, which didn't help, and the dialogue.....Oh, the dialogue. It was painful to read at times, so much so that I couldn't make myself finish the book. Around chapter 17, I gave up. Between the repetitive nature of the characters' conversations and the dragging descriptions of every...single...thing, I couldn't stay engaged.

Which was disappointing, because the actual story felt really interesting--I just got bogged down in how tedious the dialgoue and excessive description were, and it took me right out of the story world so often that it wasn't worth it to me to continue reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

2.5*

The Binding Tempest is not a bad book. It is the beginning of an epic steampunk fantasy series, and it delivers on politics, machinery, and other pleasantries.

However, this is not enough for a great first book. Yes, it is enjoyable, and I like the characters and some of the scenes, but the plot sounds a bit recycled from all of the fantasy plot points we have read through the years. It is the author’s debut novel, which says something, but I do believe it is way bigger than needed be. It was enjoyable, but also a bit tiresome at times, and I felt like it was lacking in making you feel a part of the adventure.

That said, if you do like steampunk and a nice adventure, it is a good starting point to epic fantasy, in my opinion. Its easy and I loved how in every chapter we had a map to point us to the right place.
Just maybe not completely my cup of tea.

The Binding Tempest” follows several main characters – Ellaria, Elias and Kovan the figures from the old war who depending on who you ask are either hero or enemy to the new regime coming into power. Then you have the new blood – Learon, Wade and Tali, the young impressionable youth that have been caught up with the war heroes and their quest to stop the new regime threatening to unleash an old and deadly evil on the land and all those living there.

Firstly, I wanted to say that worldbuilding here is spectacular. The author has done a great job of tying in so many different aspects: steampunk, alchemy, fantasy and science-fiction - so bravo to the imagination on that. The descriptions of the world were done really well, however sometimes I think we got so lost in descriptions and worldbuilding that it sometimes detracted from the characters and the plot. When it came to the characters, I feel we were told more than shown much about them, and as much as they were enjoyable, they didn't feel particularly fleshed out and relatable. also, with multiple POVs, it was hard at points to keep track of learning about the characters. Overall, I think this was a good debut, though I wish we had gotten more time in the minds of the characters because I feel it was to their detriment that we were more focused on what was happening in the world around them.

3.5 Wow, this was an epic fantasy. Blends steampunk and high fantasy together with representation of older MC's

It is carefully planned and written exceptionally in narration. What I really liked is that the main character, Ellaria, is aged in her forties, which we don't see in a lot of fantasy genres, and is still a badass. There is not a lot of representation in women of middle age in fantasy, which I found to be delivered well and made for a compelling main character.

It is very detailed-orientated, which I found to be too much sometime. Everything is described is in minute detail.. At the start it is quite confusing and often overwhelming meeting all the characters and the info-dumping of the world and its history. There were too many elements happening at once

A good start to this grand new saga.

Thankyou to Netgalley and MysticHawk Press LLC for this eARC in exchange for an honest review

The Binding Tempest by Steven Rudy

This is a solid debut by Steven Rudy who created a beautiful blend of steampunk and fantasy showcasing an age-diverse cast.

Elaria - The badass war veteran and the protector of all knowledge who fought to overthrow the last sagean emperor
Qudin - The enigmatic war hero who also happens to be a powerful luminary
Kovan - Another of the war vetaran struggling to come in terms with his past
Tali - A kind soul with a knack for danger
Learon - A grieving son trying to find his father's killer
Wade - A brother trying to find his missing sister who also happens to complain alot

Steven rudy starts with all the characters scattered around his world and knits them together slowly. This allowed me to view all of his world bit by bit. The world building was rich and sophisticated with many steampunk elements like cloundpartner, winddrifter, pulsators and many other creative details. Sometimes it did get too architecturally detailed that it felt a bit distracting. I hope in the next book we get to see how the nations differ from each other in terms of their citizens and not just there infrastructure.

I loved the magic system!! Was it unique? No, Did i enjoy it? Yes definitely!! Here some humans being called The Luminary are able to sense and control the energy of every matter, . There are also Magic crystals of all kind that can provide healing, power, protection and so on.

As for the Characters, my favorite was Elaria. Actually i loved all the three war vetarans and Tali. Learon and Wade seemed like background noise. I felt this book was more plot driven and so the characters felt a tad bit surfacy. Hoping to see more of character build up and bonding in the next book.

And lastly, it got both world and city maps. What i loved most was that the city maps were right at the start of the chapter. Just where it was needed.

This being my first step into steampunk genre, i enjoyed it overall. Indeed a thoughtful and a creative debut. The plot gives a feel of treasure hunting (well here they are more like Ancient relic hunting) So if you have a knack for similar quest or even a knack for architecture then you will really enjoy this.

This book was interesting with a lot of worldbuilding and unique characters. At times it was slightly confusing but i'm looking forward to reading more from this author.

Around May, in one of my lit classes, I began studying steampunk novels (or novels with certain steampunk nuances/elements). The truth is that I had never read anything like that before, but I was certainly interested in trying. Fast forward a few months later... I found this book, and I was immediately intrigued by it.

To be honest, it took me some time to getting into the story. The beginning of the book (the first few chapters, or so) got me a bit confused and lost, as there was a lot of information being presented. Maybe because I had never read a book like this one before, I was just not ready for it. However, as the story developed, I got more and more into the story, and was not able to put down the book until the end.

I loved the world-building. This was such a well-developed world (you just can tell that the author put a lot of thought into it), and exactly what I was expecting. It had the fantasy/magic elements to it, which blended amazingly with the steampunk technology and aesthetic elements. Also, I found the maps and glossary to be fantastic additions to the book.

I’m so looking forward to read future installments of “The Luminance Saga”!

Thank you to @NetGalley and @StevenRudyAuthor for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book!

Firstly, I wanted to say that worldbuilding here is spectacular. Rudy has done a great job of tying in steampunk, alchemy, fantasy and science-fiction. The descriptions of the world were done really well, however sometimes I think we got so lost in descriptions and worldbuilding that it sometimes detracted from the characters and the plot.

When it came to the characters, I feel we were told more than shown much about them, and as much as they were enjoyable, they didn't feel particularly distinctive in terms of their separate voices. Of course, there were also a few POVs so it was a fair number of characters to keep track of in any case.

Overall, I think this was a solid debut, though I wish we had gotten more time in the minds of the characters because I feel it was to their detriment that we were more focused on what was happening in the world around them.

I went into this book without many expectations and I was pleasantly surprised with it! It´s not your usual type of book, it was a very complex read to say the least. I loved following each characters´ stories before and after they eventually came together, and how they dealt with the things that happened in the book as a team. My favorite character was Ellaria, I found her fascinating and a true inspiration for myself. My favorite thing in general was definitely the world-building! It was so well-developed and I loved the map segments throughout the book, making the book feel even more visual. One thing that I didn´t like as much was the pacing. I found it very slow in the beginning and in certain parts of the book, specifically more in the middle of it. This was a very strong book as a whole and I think it has the potential for greatness! Can´t wait to read the future installments!

This was a really interesting book with a really interesting premise. Pitched as Wheel of Time meets Indiana Jones with a layer of steampunk, I believed that it would be the perfect book for me.
I was not wrong.
I really loved the fantasy built world with the incredibly unique magic system in addition to the steampunk technology aspects which made it a perfect blend of technology and magic. The reader can clearly tell how much thought was put into the world-building because it was fantastic
The pacing was a bit fast with all the dumping of information but was relatively alright for something pitched as fantasy and steampunk. Considering it's the first in a series, I let the pacing slide a little.
I really enjoyed seeing the differences as to how the older generation of heroes and the younger generation of heroes felt and how they were treated.

The book focuses on a steam punk element of worldbuilding giving it an original flare and while the first few chapters had me a bit lost the characters and development that happens along the way draw you into a historical and political fantasy with each of the characters growing and developing through their problems and eventually coming together to face an ancient evil with a united front.

I am starting to feel extremely lucky with my pull of ARC's from various sites. But this was my favorite one so far this year. The Binding Tempest was one of my favorite reads of the year at this point. It was definitely a heavy fantasy built world with a unique magic system but it was my first read this year with other technological aspects giving it a bit of a steampunk feel too.

I felt the character development and world building were both paced really well. It was interesting to be thrown into the story and then watch the story develop and kind of come back together as our main characters are introduced.

I had previously read some other reviews where readers were disappointed in the usual tropes. Personally if those are the tropes someone enjoys reading and that was what the writer was going for, don't fix what isn't broken! I personally loved the tropes in this one.

By the end of the book I just had to keep turning the page to see what was going to happen. The way the story unfolds letting us know the history and the older generation of heroes and their struggles then also brings us up to speed with our younger generation of would be heroes was nice. I was always looking for the next connection that was going to be made between the members of our group.

I can't wait to see what Steven Rudy brings us next in this series!