Black Cross (Black Powder Wars #1) by J.P Ashman

The antiheroes make you root for them! Their gritty, dark deeds blend with their odd but righteous sense of justice.

I’m surprised this book doesn’t have higher ratings and isn’t more popular than it is. It’s a really great book.

Characters

The author has managed to create really memorable characters here. They’re all well-fleshed out. The book’s reading is even more thrilling by the discovery of each of the individual characters. Each has a different role to play. Each is unique, making the resulting blend truly exquisite. I also noticed an element of mystery in every POV character. It makes the whole thing even more intriguing, as the characters are complex and highly unpredictable.

I didn’t exactly fancy the author’s portrayal of the race of elves, especially their women. The grace, sternness, and dignity I’ve come to associate with fictional elves are missing. In the book, they’re more or less humans with only enhanced beauty and magical powers.

While this book would be classified by most to be Grimdark, its extensive use of magic and creatures such as dwarves, elves, goblins, and griffins, among others, bring it to the realm of pure epic fantasy.

Plot

It’s a great story, elastic, really flexible, and continually expands. Those are the best stories. Despite there being quite a lot of magic, it doesn’t distract from the story. It’s also a complex story. At some point, I had to slow down with my reading because I was missing too many things.

As well as being a great story, it’s also unique. It’s not typical Grimdark like Mark Lawrence or Joe Abercrombie. Instead, it’s got a blend of Tolkien as well. There are antiheroes, heroes, and villains.

Themes

We have the usual evil vs. good theme, which characterizes nearly every work of fantasy, but it’s cleverly covered with other layers. The entire thing is intriguing enough to distract from the main theme in the story, which is the fight against an unknown evil.

The antiheroes make you root for them! Their gritty, dark deeds blend with their odd but righteous sense of justice. Love is a lightly treated issue, but I prefer it that way.

Setting

Much of what happens in the book only occurs within the city of Wesson. There are no mind-blowing descriptions of the continent of Brisance or the countryside. Despite the book’s really epic scope, it’s more plot-driven and doesn’t dwell too much on the setting.

It’s a really great read, and I recommend it to anyone and everyone who reads this review.