This was purely delightful. A disgraced paladin, a resigned forger, a cheerful assassin, and a naive scholar are thrown together in a last-ditch effort to try to stop giant clockwork soldiers from destroying their town: a classic oddball group on a suicidal quest. There’s also demon possession, a spreading plague, ancient magical wonders, and a journey into enemy territory; it’s all urgent enough but it’s the interaction between the characters, and their internal monologues, that make the story amazing. The members of the party banter and trade snarky jabs at one another (and sometimes actual jabs with knives; they have issues), but since they take turns being POV characters, we also know that they’re just as hard on themselves, even though they don’t show it outwardly. The writing is simply addictive. Book 1 of a duology, but at least it doesn’t end on a cliffhanger.
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