R.S. Ford's opening book in The Age of Uprising trilogy Engines of Empire was such a wonderful blend of epic and heroic fantasy. I really enjoyed it a lot when I read it last year and it definitely struck me as a series with a ton of potential. So when I saw the cover reveal for book two ENGINES OF CHAOS a few months ago I started getting excited again as I couldn't wait to continue my journey with these amazing characters and compelling world. Soon thereafter I was fortunate enough to snag an early copy thanks to the publisher Orbit and away I went, sucked back into what has quickly gone from "potential" to one of the best fantasy series out there right now.

As this is the second book in the series I will stay away from potential spoilers to book one and stick with how this book made me feel and how I believe it advanced the story. ENGINES OF CHAOS is one of the few middle books that doesn't fall into the setup syndrome. In fact, this book takes the action to unheard of levels and doesn't relent one iota from the opening pages to the breathtaking final chapter. Honestly this is one of those sequels that makes you ask yourself why more authors don't take this approach. I found it completely refreshing and the action just made me want to have book three in my hands yesterday.

Having finished the first two books now I can say that I adore everything about this story. The treachery, intrigue, suspense, warring factions, captivating world with an interesting history, just all of it is epic fantasy the way it should be written. And what I love best is that Ford is not shy about putting his characters in extreme peril and yes even killing some off if necessary. Absolutely no one is safe. These to me are the books I enjoy reading the most because they keep the palms sweaty and the nerves frayed at all times, making the reading experience that much more rewarding.

Make no mistake the stakes are upped significantly in ENGINES OF CHAOS and this is all leading up to what I have a strong suspicion will be a finale that will both shock and delight in equal measure. We use the term "must read" series quite often as reviewers but if any series is worthy of that label, this is the one. If you like fantasy that is dripping with conspiracies, political maneuvering, heart-stopping battles, conniving villains and inspirational heroes, then you better get into The Age of Uprising series right now. This truly is fantasy that breaks all of the popular conventions and delves into uncharted areas with extraordinary results. And I for one cannot wait to find out how it all ends.

Review posted to Goodreads
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9/10

Warning, this review will NOT contain spoilers for Engines of Chaos (EOC) HOWEVER it will assume knowledge of Engines of Empire (EOE) so if you have not read EOE yet please stop reading now and go do so.

Once again R.S. Ford has brought to life a fantastic world with a (mostly) great cast of characters who feel genuine. The reader can really understand the characters motivations and what drives them to do the things that they do, whether they agree with them or not.

The story is told mainly from 7 different character POV's, with the occasional chapter from a different POV, or from the POV of multiple people. This allows for a diverse story to be told and for each character to have their own voice, as well as to help build suspense. My favorite POV's were probably Tyreta's, Rosomon's, Conall's (The Hawkspur family is awesome ok), and Lancelin's, but all of them are unique and well done. The only POV I didn't enjoy as much was Keara's, while it was still done well, and I by no means hated it, it just didn't feel as good as the others. This could just be because I am not a huge fan of her character and her ideologies though.

The plot of EOC picks up right where EOE left off and brings us to new locations and into the wider conflict between the Guilds and the Ministry. The unique setting of a fantasy world with elements of industrialization works just as well in EOC as it did in EOE, possibly more so due to certain plot points and what has become a civil war in Torwyn. We continue to see different cultures, religions, and ideologies and how they conflict or synergize with each other. We also continue to see and learn more about the different artifices and magics in the world. Battle and fight scenes are done extremely well, sparing no details of the carnage and grim realities of a civil war. Tactics are cleverly employed between the combatants, you wont just find one army rushing another here.

My only real complaint would be that I wish the magic system was a bit more of "hard magic" system with more outlines rules on how it is governed as that is my preferred style. That being said I suppose given the mystic of magic and how much knowledge of it has been lost to time or only known by certain cultures a softer system makes sense in this case.

The prose throughout the book is easy to understand but by no means dumbed down (Similar to Brandon Sanderson's work) and the pacing of the story feels just right, for a book that is 561 pages (at least my ARC was) it never feels drawn out or like space is just being filled. This is especially noteworthy as this is a notorious problem for second books in a series.

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5/5 stars! This is the second book in the "Age of Uprising" series and I felt like I did miss a bit of the story starting here. But that was on me for not realizing it was a sequel until I'd already dove in. That said, this book blew me away. There were so many intricate plotlines and I found myself getting caught up in Rosomon, Lancelin, Conall. and Tyreta's stories. This book was the definition of epic fantasy and didn't suffer from the filler problem that second books in trilogies often do. This book was fulfilling and packed full of action, angst, mistakes, and consequences. I cannot wait to read the final book in this series.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

To the Publisher: This review will be posted on my socials two weeks before the publication date.

Well, this was a bit disappointing.

Engines of Chaos is in no way a bad book, and in most ways it is even a serviceable multi-POV epic fantasy. But it in no way lives up to the potential of its predecessor, Engines of Empire.

I initially read Engines of Empire when it first came out on the recommendation of Elliot Brooks from Booktube. I didn't fall in love with it the same way that she did, but I saw a lot of promise in the world and story that was being built up there. RS Ford was building this cool steampunk world full of battling families, an autocratic religious authority, and some larger magical power brewing in the background. I think it was the closest thing for readers looking for the next A Song of Ice and Fire. While Engines of Empire didn't really live up to the full potential of was Ford was building (mostly, he built up this really cool steampunk city with lots of cool politics and then put most of the POV characters outside of that cool city), I anticipated a really awesome sequel that would finally deliver.

However, I am disappointed to say, it did not.

Warning: Spoilers for Engines of Empire. This review is spoiler free for Engines of Chaos.

Engines of Chaos picks up right where Engines of Empire left off. The Hawkspur family is in shambles after the Archlegate Sanctan has assassinated the emperor. Rosomon, the matriarch, is trying to cobble together some kind of army in which to unite the Guilds and fight back against Sanctan; Fulren and Connall are both presumed dead after the climatic events of the last book; and Tyreta is returning to Torwyn after discovering magical abilities in herself. Readers should be aware that Ford does no hand-holding in catching readers back up, so it might be a good idea to refresh yourself on Engines of Empire first!

When reading Engines of Empire, I loved the Hawskspur family. I read a lot of books in a year, and these are characters that immediately came back to me. However, in this book everyone felt a lot more muted. Now, this could just be the case that everyone is pretty beat up in this book after the wallops they had taken in the first book but I think it is more than that. Ford seems to have lost the spark of what made the Hawkspurs so engaging and interesting. Many of the characters no longer felt like people, but rather just pieces on a board being moved around so that the political machinations could happen. Everyone was one-dimensional compared to who they were in the first book. Theses were definitely not the characters I remember and fell in love with.

(Side note: I recommend not looking at the table of contents if you don't want spoilers. You will quickly find out who survived and who died at the end of Engines of Empire just by seeing who does or does not have POV chapters!)

The most interesting POV characters are the ones not part of the Hawkspur family - Keara and Ansell. Both of them are much more lively than the hapless Hawkspurs (who in this book resemble budget Starks). They are complex people with conflicting allegiances and contradictory goals. I really enjoyed seeing them try to navigate the increasingly messy political waters of Torwyn as they tried to achieve their goals. I think Ansell especially, who had a relatively minor role in the first book, will become a fan favorite in this book.

Because so many of the character didn't feel like real people, nor did they feel all that different from one another, meant that all of the Guild families and various political factions all just felt the same. The names of different families and battalions kept being thrown around, and I couldn't differentiate them. This made for shallow political games, as everyone felt like faceless pawns on the board rather than a fully realized lived in world with history and culture.

Plotwise, Engines of Empire suffers from middle-book-syndrome. Not a lot happens until about 3/4 of the way through the novel, and then everything happens so quickly that it is hard to follow the nuances of all of the plotting, scheming, and backstabbing. It really felt that for two or three of the POV characters spent most of the book travelling from one place to another.

This impacted the pacing of the novel, which felt like it came in spurts and stops. Because of this, a lot of the plot and character moments that should have wowed me fell flat. There is a climatic battle scene that all of the plot threads are building to throughout the book that comes out of nowhere. Everyone was still getting the troops together, and then the battle just hits. It took me way too long to get my bearings to enjoy the battle that I had been anticipating; this was exacerbated by the fact that the battle jumps between the POV of multiple minor characters that I had no emotional investment in.

Overall, the book just felt a bit cold and distant.

Having said all of that, there is still stuff to like in this book. As much as I just outlined everything I didn't like, I still finished it and at no point was I seriously considering DNFing it. Readers looking for an epic fantasy with dueling families, armies, and religious conflict will find a lot to enjoy here. What Ford does really well is give us all of the tropes of epic fantasy while just tweaking them enough where the book still feels fresh. This book will scratch the epic fantasy itch while serving up some fun conflicts, a couple of great characters (looking at you Ansell and Keara!), a unique spin on magical elements.

As much as there was stuff in this book that didn't work for me, I am still ready to jump into the next book and see how this entire thing plays out. The end of Engines of Chaos once again alludes to the bigger thread hinted at in the beginning of Engines of Empire, and I really want to see what it is all about!

Concluding Thoughts: Disappointingly, this book does not build on the promise of Engines of Empire, but still serves up a fun fantasy read. Readers looking for warring families, religious threats, interesting magic, and multiple POV characters should definitely look for this series. Readers looking for wonderfully complex characters should probably look elsewhere.

Another masterful story in the riveting epic fantasy saga by RS Ford continues this epic story where the previous book left off and takes readers on a high-stakes ride with tightly-plotted twists and horrors that are downright eldritch.

This was such a fun enjoyable read. It had everything I loved in a fantasy book. This was a wonderful follow up to Engines of Empire. Tyreta has become one of my favorite characters