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{{Short description|2013 novel by Brian McClellan}}
{{Infobox book | <!-- See [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Novels]] or [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Books]] -->
{{Infobox book | <!-- See [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Novels]] or [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Books]] -->
| name = Promise of Blood
| name = Promise of Blood
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| language = [[English language|English]]
| language = [[English language|English]]
| series = [[The Powder Mage trilogy]]
| series = [[The Powder Mage trilogy]]
| genre = [[Fantasy]]
| genre = [[Fantasy literature|Fantasy]]
| publisher = [[Orbit Books]]
| publisher = [[Orbit Books]]
| release_date = 16 April 2013
| release_date = 16 April 2013
| english_release_date =
| english_release_date =
| media_type = Print ([[hardcover]] & [[paperback]])
| media_type = Print ([[hardcover]] & [[paperback]])
| pages = 545 pp
| pages = 545
| isbn = 978-0-316-21903-7
| isbn = 978-0-316-21903-7
| dewey=
| dewey=
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}}
}}


'''''Promise of Blood''''' is the first book<ref>http://www.brianmcclellan.com/books/promiseofblood/</ref> in ''[[The Powder Mage trilogy|The Powder Mage]]'' [[trilogy]] written by [[United States|American]] author [[Brian McClellan]]. It was first published by [[Orbit Books]] in 2013.<ref>http://www.orbitbooks.net/2013/04/16/powder-mage-trilogy-begins/</ref> A sequel titled ''[[The Crimson Campaign]]'' was released on May 6, 2014.<ref>http://www.brianmcclellan.com/books-2/the-crimson-campaign/</ref> It won the 2014 Morningstar Award for Best Fantasy Newcomer.<ref name="gemmellaward1">[[David Gemmell Legend Awards]], 13 June 2014, retrieved 13 June 2014. {{cite web |url=http://gemmellaward.com/profiles/blogs/gemmell-awards-2014-the-winners |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2014-06-14 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140707073649/http://gemmellaward.com/profiles/blogs/gemmell-awards-2014-the-winners |archivedate=2014-07-07 }}</ref> The audiobook was narrated by [[Christian Rodska]].<ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Audible.com - Promise of Blood|url=https://www.audible.com/pd/Promise-of-Blood-Audiobook/B00C2DMXCG|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=}}</ref>
'''''Promise of Blood''''' is a [[fantasy novel]] by [[United States|American]] author [[Brian McClellan]], the first book<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.brianmcclellan.com/books/promiseofblood/ |title=» Promise of Blood |website=www.brianmcclellan.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228035414/http://www.brianmcclellan.com/books/promiseofblood/ |archive-date=2013-12-28}} </ref> in ''[[The Powder Mage trilogy|The Powder Mage]]'' [[trilogy]]. It was first published by [[Orbit Books]] in 2013.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.orbitbooks.net/2013/04/16/powder-mage-trilogy-begins/|title = The Age of Kings is dead, but the Powder Mage Trilogy has just begun!|date = 16 April 2013}}</ref> A sequel titled ''[[The Crimson Campaign]]'' was released on May 6, 2014.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.brianmcclellan.com/books-2/the-crimson-campaign/|title = All Books}}</ref> It won the 2014 Morningstar Award for Best Fantasy Newcomer.<ref name="gemmellaward1">[[David Gemmell Legend Awards]], 13 June 2014, retrieved 13 June 2014. {{cite web |url=http://gemmellaward.com/profiles/blogs/gemmell-awards-2014-the-winners |title=Gemmell Awards 2014 - THE WINNERS! - the David Gemmell Legend Awards |accessdate=2014-06-14 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140707073649/http://gemmellaward.com/profiles/blogs/gemmell-awards-2014-the-winners |archivedate=2014-07-07 }}</ref> The audiobook was narrated by [[Christian Rodska]].<ref>{{cite book|last=|first=|date=|title=Audible.com - Promise of Blood|url=https://www.audible.com/pd/Promise-of-Blood-Audiobook/B00C2DMXCG|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref>


== Background and Setting ==
== Background and setting ==
The novel takes place in the [[monarchy|kingdom]] of '''Adro''', one of the Nine Kingdoms founded by '''Kresimir''', a semi-mythical figure now worshiped, along with his nine siblings, as a [[deity]]. [[Magic in fiction|Magic]] users are usually divided into three classes:
The novel takes place in the [[monarchy|kingdom]] of Adro, one of the Nine Kingdoms founded by Kresimir, a semi-mythical figure now worshiped, along with his nine siblings, as a [[deity]]. [[Magic in fiction|Magic]] users are usually divided into three classes:
*'''Knacked''' are the least powerful, with few or no active magical powers; instead, they have a variety of uncanny abilities;
*Knacked are the least powerful, with few or no active magical powers; instead, they have a variety of uncanny abilities;
*'''Powder Mages''' are wizards with the ability to [[metabolize]] [[gunpowder]] and use it as fuel for various magical powers, including [[telekinesis]]; they can also manipulate gunpowder, such as causing it to explode spontaneously;
*Powder Mages are wizards with the ability to [[Metabolism|metabolize]] [[gunpowder]] and use it as fuel for various magical powers, including [[telekinesis]]; they can also manipulate gunpowder, such as causing it to explode spontaneously;
*'''Privileged''' are powerful [[sorcerer (fantasy)|sorcerer]]s; being exceedingly rare, they are almost exclusively gathered into "Royal Cabals" in direct service to the Nine Kingdoms' various monarchs.
*Privileged are powerful [[sorcerer (fantasy)|sorcerer]]s; being exceedingly rare, they are almost exclusively gathered into "Royal Cabals" in direct service to the Nine Kingdoms' various monarchs.


== Plot ==
== Plot summary ==
===Prologue===
===Prologue===
[[Field Marshal]] '''Tamas''' has just committed a brutal coup against Adro's monarchy. To ensure the success of his coup, he orders the assassination of every member of the Royal Cabal, all of whom utter the same mysterious phrase as they are killed: "You can't break Kresimir's Promise". Concerned about what this could mean, Tamas summons '''Adamat''', a former soldier and police inspector who is now a [[private investigator]], to the Skyline Palace in the center of the capital city of Adopest, as the coup is unfolding. The field marshal instructs Adamat to find what the words mean and what the threat could mean for the future. Tamas arrests Manhouch XII, the current King of Adro, and his queen while his soldiers round up the nobles present in the city. During the purge, a young laundress named Nila, who worked for one of Manhouch's cousins, is saved from [[rape]] by a sergeant named Olem, and escapes the purge with the duke's son, Jakob.
[[Field Marshal]] Tamas has just committed a brutal coup against Adro's monarchy. To ensure the success of his coup, he orders the assassination of every member of the Royal Cabal, all of whom utter the same mysterious phrase as they are killed: "You can't break Kresimir's Promise". Concerned about what this could mean, Tamas summons Adamat, a former soldier and police inspector who is now a [[private investigator]], to the Skyline Palace in the center of the capital city of Adopest, as the coup is unfolding. The field marshal instructs Adamat to find what the words mean and what the threat could mean for the future. Tamas arrests Manhouch XII, the current King of Adro, and his queen while his soldiers round up the nobles present in the city. During the purge, a young laundress named Nila, who worked for one of Manhouch's cousins, is saved from [[rape]] by a sergeant named Olem, and escapes the purge with the duke's son, Jakob.


The next day, Manhouch, his queen and many of the arrested nobles are executed by [[guillotine]], ending the monarchy in Adro and leading the country on the path to civil war.
The next day, Manhouch, his queen and many of the arrested nobles are executed by [[guillotine]], ending the monarchy in Adro and leading the country on the path to civil war.


=== Adamat ===
=== Adamat ===
Adamat conducts his investigation while also dealing with his own issues; his attempt to start a printing press business had failed and he had fallen into debt with some dangerous people, reporting to a mysterious employer. In order to ensure their safety from his creditors but also to protect them from the growing unrest, Adamat sends his wife and children away from Adopest.
Adamat conducts his investigation while also dealing with his own issues; his attempt to start a printing press business had failed and he had fallen into debt with some dangerous people, reporting to a mysterious employer. In order to ensure their safety from his creditors but also to protect them from the growing unrest, Adamat sends his wife and children away from Adopest.


As he researches the source of the Royal Cabal's mysterious words, he discovers that all the books which could have answered his questions have had pages removed, suggesting someone did not want him to find out about it. Adamat eventually travels to the South Pike, a large mountain fortress in southern Adro where he meets with the last remaining member of the Royal Cabal, Privileged '''Borbador'''. Borbador explains that "Kresimir's Promise" was a story told among Privileged Cabals, dating from the original founding of the Nine Kingdoms: supposedly, when Kresimir left to resume his travels between the stars, he promised the nine kings he had appointed that he would return if their lines were ever overthrown. Both Adamat and Tamas believe the story to be a myth, but Borbador reveals that a curse was placed on the Cabals to ensure that, if their king was killed, they would be compelled to destroy their killer. As the last surviving member of Manhouch's Cabal, Borbador is magically bound to kill Tamas, or else he will die himself.
As he researches the source of the Royal Cabal's mysterious words, he discovers that all the books which could have answered his questions have had pages removed, suggesting someone did not want him to find out about it. Adamat eventually travels to the South Pike, a large mountain fortress in southern Adro where he meets with the last remaining member of the Royal Cabal, Privileged Borbador. Borbador explains that "Kresimir's Promise" was a story told among Privileged Cabals, dating from the original founding of the Nine Kingdoms: supposedly, when Kresimir left to resume his travels between the stars, he promised the nine kings he had appointed that he would return if their lines were ever overthrown. Both Adamat and Tamas believe the story to be a myth, but Borbador reveals that a curse was placed on the Cabals to ensure that, if their king was killed, they would be compelled to destroy his killer. As the last surviving member of Manhouch's Cabal, Borbador is magically bound to kill Tamas, or else he will die himself.


=== Taniel ===
=== Taniel ===
'''Taniel Two-Shot''', Tamas's son, returns to Adopest shortly after the coup, accompanied by a Fatrastan savage named Ka-Poel. Taniel, like Tamas and several of his officers and soldiers, are Powder Mages, humans with the ability to [[metabolize]] [[gunpowder]] and use it as fuel for various magical powers, including [[telekinesis]] and the manipulation of gunpowder, such as causing it to explode spontaneously. Considered an anomaly by most sorcerers in the Nine, the Adran military has started relying on powder mages and using them as sharpshooters. Taniel, who has a strained relationship with his father since his mother's death, has been fighting in the Fatrastan War of Independence from the kingdom of Kez. Back in Adopest, he is instructed by his father to find an uncommonly powerful member of the Royal Cabal who managed to escape during the coup. To assist him, Tamas assigns a Privileged mercenary named Julene, who Taniel struggles to get on with. Taniel, Julene and Ka-Poel corner the Privileged, a woman named Rozalia (who had previously helped Adamat in his investigation), at Adopest University. Julene and Rozalia, who seemingly have a history, engage in a battle of magic of such scale that Taniel begins to wonder about their true nature. Following these events, Tamas gives Taniel another mission: to find and kill Privileged Borbador to prevent him from completing the curse. Despite Taniel's reticence, Julene is assigned to go with him to South Pike.
Taniel Two-Shot, Tamas's son, returns to Adopest shortly after the coup, accompanied by a Fatrastan savage named Ka-Poel. Taniel is one of the Adrastan army's most proficient powder mages, who, despite being considered an anomaly by most sorcerers in the Nine, have been increasingly used by the Adran military as sharpshooters. Taniel has been aiding the Kingdom of Fatrasta's war for independence from the kingdom of Kez. Taniel's relationship with his father has been strained since his mother's death, and is even more strained since Taniel broke off his engagement to his fiancee, Vlora, another one of Tamas's powder mages, after catching her in bed with a Fatrastran noble (which Tamas suspects was a plot engineered by the Kez).
Back in Adopest, Taniel is instructed by his father to find an uncommonly powerful member of the Royal Cabal who managed to escape during the coup. To assist him, Tamas assigns a Privileged mercenary named Julene, who Taniel struggles to get on with. Taniel, Julene and Ka-Poel corner the Privileged, a woman named Rozalia (who had previously helped Adamat in his investigation), at Adopest University. Julene and Rozalia, who seemingly have a history, engage in a battle of magic of such scale that Taniel begins to wonder about their true nature. Following these events, Tamas gives Taniel another mission: to find and kill Privileged Borbador to prevent him from completing the curse. Despite Taniel's reticence, Julene is assigned to go with him to South Pike.


=== Tamas ===
=== Tamas ===
In Adopest, Tamas forms a council to govern Adro until a permanent replacement for the monarchy can be established:
⚫
In Adopest, Tamas forms a governing council to govern Adro until such time they can establish a permanent replacement for the monarchy. The councillors are all men and women who had been involved in the planning of the coup alongside Tamas: Ricard Tumblar, the leader of the Warriors of Labour (Adro's largest union); Lady Winceslav, an Adran noblewoman who leads a powerful mercenary company known as the Wings of Adom; Ondraus the Reeve, responsible for Adro's finances; a [[eunuch]] representing the Proprietor, a major figure in the Adran underworld; and Arch-Diocel Charlemund, the leader of the Adran branch of the Kresim Church. The first challenge for the coup plotters comes when a royalist uprising twenty thousand strong attempts to reestablish the monarchy with young Jakob (the boy saved by Nila during the purge of the nobles) as king, the remaining nobles to serve as his regents. Tamas's forces put down the rebellion and Jakob is taken and seemingly executed. Nila, angered by the boy's death, joins Tamas's service to get close to the field marshal and kill him. She is stopped by Olem, who has been chosen as Tamas's bodyguard due to his ability to go without sleep, who reveals that Jakob is still alive and will be sent to the countryside to be raised unaware of his claim to the vacant throne. Nila tries to free Jakob but discovers he has been taken by a shadowy figure called Lord Vetas, who coerces her into joining them as the boy's nanny.
*Ricard Tumblar, the leader of Adro's largest [[labor union]];
*Lady Winceslav, an Adran noblewoman who leads a powerful [[mercenary]] company known as the Wings of Adom;
*Ondraus the [[Reeve (England)|Reeve]], Manhouch's finance minister;
*A [[eunuch]] representing the Proprietor, a major figure in the Adran underworld; and
*Arch-Diocel Charlemund, the leader of the Adran branch of the Kresim Church.


⚫
The first challenge comes when a royalist uprising of 20,000 attempts to reestablish the monarchy with young Jakob as a [[figurehead]] king, with the remaining nobles acting as his regents. Tamas's forces put down the rebellion and Jakob is taken and seemingly executed. Angered, Nila becomes a domestic servant in Tamas's household, hoping for a chance to assassinate him. She is stopped by Olem, who has been chosen as Tamas's bodyguard (due to his ability to go without sleep), and reveals that Jakob is still alive and will be sent to the countryside to be raised unaware of his claim to the vacant throne. Nila tries to free Jakob but discovers he has been taken by a shadowy figure called Lord Vetas, who coerces her into joining them as the boy's nanny.
After the royalist uprising, Tamas and his council prepare to receive a delegation from the neighbouring kingdom of Kez, a longtime rival of Adro. King Manhouch had been preparing to sign accords with Kez, effectively turning Adro into a [[vassal state]] in exchange for gold to pay off his mounting debts. When the delegation reaches Adopest, its leader is revealed to be Duke Nikslaus, a Kez Privileged who had ordered the execution of Tamas's wife Erika when she had been caught saving powder mages from Kez persecution. Tamas throws Nikslaus into the Adsea and, aware the move was designed by the Kez king to provoke a war with Adro, prepares for war. Sometime after the failed negotiation, a Warden (a human mutated by magic and used by the Kez as guards for their Privileged) unsuccessfully attempts to assassinate Tamas in the secret lair beneath the Skyline Palace where he and his co-conspirators had planned the coup. As only he and the members of the council knew where he would be, Tamas hires Adamat again to discover who among them is working with the Kez.


After the royalist uprising, Tamas and his council prepare to receive a delegation from Kez. Manhouch had been preparing to sign accords with Kez, effectively turning Adro into a [[vassal state]] in exchange for gold to pay off his mounting debts. Tamas is aware that Adro is in a precarious position and cannot currently afford to go to war with Kez again, but his restraint dissolves when the leader of the delegation is revealed to be Duke Nikslaus, the Kez Privileged who personally executed Tamas's wife, Erika. Tamas throws Nikslaus into the ocean and, fully aware that the Kez intentionally sought to provoke war with Adro, prepares his army.
On South Pike Mountain, Taniel tracks Borbador but, at the last moment, cannot bring himself to kill him as they had been brought up together and remain best friends. When Taniel approches Borbador, they are attacked by an unusually fierce and strong [[cave lion (disambiguation)|cave lion]]. Taniel, Borbador and Ka-Poel fight it off with difficulty, Ka-Poel's abilities as a Bone-eye sorcerer giving them an edge. Borbador reveals to them that the cave lion had been Julene, who wasn't a Privileged as they had believe. She belonged to an ancient cast of [[immortality|immortal]] sorcerers known as Predeii. It had been the Predeii who had summoned Kresimir and assisted him in establishing the Nine with themselves as the main advisers to its royal families. The Predeii had been culled and virtually disappeared in the aftermath of a war involving all Nine Nations called the Bleakening. Julene, eager for more power, has been planning to summon Kresimir back to the world and use him to establish herself as the main new power. Shortly after the confrontation, the group find the Kez army marching on South Pike, its Royal Cabal coming to assist Julene in reaching its peak where sthey will summon Kresimir. Alongside Adro's Mountain Watch, Taniel, Borbador and Ka-Poel fight for months to hold off the Kez forces.

Sometime after the failed negotiation, a Warden (a human mutated by magic and used by the Kez as bodyguards for their Privileged) unsuccessfully attempts to assassinate Tamas in the secret lair beneath the Skyline Palace where he and his co-conspirators had planned the coup. As only he and the members of the council knew where he would be, Tamas hires Adamat again to discover which one of the Councilors is a Kez agent.

=== Taniel (II) ===
At South Pike Mountain, Taniel tracks down Borbador but, at the last moment, cannot bring himself to kill him as they had been brought up together and remain best friends. When Taniel approaches Borbador, they are attacked by an unusually fierce and strong [[cave lion (disambiguation)|cave lion]]. Taniel, Borbador and Ka-Poel fight it off with difficulty, Ka-Poel's abilities as a Bone-eye sorcerer giving them an edge.

Borbador reveals to them that the cave lion was Julene, who is not a Privileged, but rather a member of an ancient caste of [[immortality|immortal]] sorcerers known as Predeii. In mythology it was the Predeii who summoned Kresimir into their world and assisted him with establishing the Nine Kingdoms, acting as advisors to the royal families. The Predeii were thought to have been wiped out during the Bleakening, a world war among all nine kingdoms. Julene, eager for more power, has been planning to summon Kresimir back to the world and use him to establish herself as the main new power.

Shortly after the confrontation, the group find the Kez army marching on South Pike, its Royal Cabal coming to assist Julene in reaching its peak where they will summon Kresimir. Alongside Adro's Mountain Watch, Taniel, Borbador and Ka-Poel fight for months to hold off the Kez forces. At the climax of the summoning ritual, Taniel uses his mage abilities to shoot the resurrected Kresimir directly in the eye, apparently killing him.


== Reception ==
== Reception ==


''[[Kirkus Reviews]]'' gave the book a starred review<ref>https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/brian-mcclellan/promise-of-blood/</ref> stating: "A thoroughly satisfying yarn that should keep readers waiting impatiently for further installments."<ref>[[Kirkus Reviews]], 15 March 2013, retrieved 4 February 2014. [https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/brian-mcclellan/promise-of-blood/]</ref> ''[[Publishers Weekly]],'' gave the book a generally positive review, stating "McClellan neatly mixes intrigue and action..."<ref>[[Publishers Weekly]], 18 March 2013, retrieved 4 February 2014. [http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-316-21903-7]</ref>
''[[Kirkus Reviews]]'' gave the book a starred review<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/brian-mcclellan/promise-of-blood/|title = PROMISE OF BLOOD &#124; Kirkus Reviews}}</ref> stating: "A thoroughly satisfying yarn that should keep readers waiting impatiently for further installments."<ref>[[Kirkus Reviews]], 15 March 2013, retrieved 4 February 2014. [https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/brian-mcclellan/promise-of-blood/]</ref> ''[[Publishers Weekly]],'' gave the book a generally positive review, stating "McClellan neatly mixes intrigue and action..."<ref>[[Publishers Weekly]], 18 March 2013, retrieved 4 February 2014. [http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-316-21903-7]</ref>


In 2014, ''Promise of Blood'' won the [[David Gemmell Legend Awards|Morningstar Award]] for Best Fantasy Newcomer.<ref name="gemmellaward1"/> The book's cover, by Gene Mollica and Michael Frost, was also nominated for the [[David Gemmell Legend Awards|Ravenheart Award]] for Best Fantasy Book Jacket/Artist.<ref>[[David Gemmell Legend Awards]], 19 April 2014, retrieved 20 May 2014. [http://www.gemmellaward.com/page/ravenheart-1] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140520220055/http://www.gemmellaward.com/page/ravenheart-1 |date=2014-05-20 }}</ref>
In 2014, ''Promise of Blood'' won the [[David Gemmell Legend Awards|Morningstar Award]] for Best Fantasy Newcomer.<ref name="gemmellaward1"/> The book's cover, by Gene Mollica and Michael Frost, was also nominated for the [[David Gemmell Legend Awards|Ravenheart Award]] for Best Fantasy Book Jacket/Artist.<ref>[[David Gemmell Legend Awards]], 19 April 2014, retrieved 20 May 2014. [http://www.gemmellaward.com/page/ravenheart-1] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140520220055/http://www.gemmellaward.com/page/ravenheart-1 |date=2014-05-20 }}</ref>
Line 63: Line 80:
* ''[[The Crimson Campaign]]'', the sequel to ''Promise of Blood''
* ''[[The Crimson Campaign]]'', the sequel to ''Promise of Blood''
* ''[[The Autumn Republic]]'', the third and final volume of the trilogy
* ''[[The Autumn Republic]]'', the third and final volume of the trilogy

⚫
== References ==
⚫
{{Reflist}}


== External links ==
== External links ==
* [http://www.brianmcclellan.com Official website of Brian McClellan]
* [http://www.brianmcclellan.com Official website of Brian McClellan]


⚫
== References ==
⚫
{{Reflist}}


[[Category:2013 American novels]]
[[Category:2013 American novels]]
[[Category:American fantasy novels]]
[[Category:American fantasy novels]]
[[Category:Orbit Books books]]

Latest revision as of 14:07, 15 February 2024

Promise of Blood
Cover of first edition (hardcover)
AuthorBrian McClellan
Cover artistGene Mollica and Michael Frost
LanguageEnglish
SeriesThe Powder Mage trilogy
GenreFantasy
PublisherOrbit Books
Publication date
16 April 2013
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardcover & paperback)
Pages545
ISBN978-0-316-21903-7
Followed byThe Crimson Campaign 

Promise of Blood is a fantasy novel by American author Brian McClellan, the first book[1] in The Powder Mage trilogy. It was first published by Orbit Books in 2013.[2] A sequel titled The Crimson Campaign was released on May 6, 2014.[3] It won the 2014 Morningstar Award for Best Fantasy Newcomer.[4] The audiobook was narrated by Christian Rodska.[5]

Background and setting

[edit]

The novel takes place in the kingdom of Adro, one of the Nine Kingdoms founded by Kresimir, a semi-mythical figure now worshiped, along with his nine siblings, as a deity. Magic users are usually divided into three classes:

  • Knacked are the least powerful, with few or no active magical powers; instead, they have a variety of uncanny abilities;
  • Powder Mages are wizards with the ability to metabolize gunpowder and use it as fuel for various magical powers, including telekinesis; they can also manipulate gunpowder, such as causing it to explode spontaneously;
  • Privileged are powerful sorcerers; being exceedingly rare, they are almost exclusively gathered into "Royal Cabals" in direct service to the Nine Kingdoms' various monarchs.

Plot summary

[edit]

Prologue

[edit]

Field Marshal Tamas has just committed a brutal coup against Adro's monarchy. To ensure the success of his coup, he orders the assassination of every member of the Royal Cabal, all of whom utter the same mysterious phrase as they are killed: "You can't break Kresimir's Promise". Concerned about what this could mean, Tamas summons Adamat, a former soldier and police inspector who is now a private investigator, to the Skyline Palace in the center of the capital city of Adopest, as the coup is unfolding. The field marshal instructs Adamat to find what the words mean and what the threat could mean for the future. Tamas arrests Manhouch XII, the current King of Adro, and his queen while his soldiers round up the nobles present in the city. During the purge, a young laundress named Nila, who worked for one of Manhouch's cousins, is saved from rape by a sergeant named Olem, and escapes the purge with the duke's son, Jakob.

The next day, Manhouch, his queen and many of the arrested nobles are executed by guillotine, ending the monarchy in Adro and leading the country on the path to civil war.

Adamat

[edit]

Adamat conducts his investigation while also dealing with his own issues; his attempt to start a printing press business had failed and he had fallen into debt with some dangerous people, reporting to a mysterious employer. In order to ensure their safety from his creditors but also to protect them from the growing unrest, Adamat sends his wife and children away from Adopest.

As he researches the source of the Royal Cabal's mysterious words, he discovers that all the books which could have answered his questions have had pages removed, suggesting someone did not want him to find out about it. Adamat eventually travels to the South Pike, a large mountain fortress in southern Adro where he meets with the last remaining member of the Royal Cabal, Privileged Borbador. Borbador explains that "Kresimir's Promise" was a story told among Privileged Cabals, dating from the original founding of the Nine Kingdoms: supposedly, when Kresimir left to resume his travels between the stars, he promised the nine kings he had appointed that he would return if their lines were ever overthrown. Both Adamat and Tamas believe the story to be a myth, but Borbador reveals that a curse was placed on the Cabals to ensure that, if their king was killed, they would be compelled to destroy his killer. As the last surviving member of Manhouch's Cabal, Borbador is magically bound to kill Tamas, or else he will die himself.

Taniel

[edit]

Taniel Two-Shot, Tamas's son, returns to Adopest shortly after the coup, accompanied by a Fatrastan savage named Ka-Poel. Taniel is one of the Adrastan army's most proficient powder mages, who, despite being considered an anomaly by most sorcerers in the Nine, have been increasingly used by the Adran military as sharpshooters. Taniel has been aiding the Kingdom of Fatrasta's war for independence from the kingdom of Kez. Taniel's relationship with his father has been strained since his mother's death, and is even more strained since Taniel broke off his engagement to his fiancee, Vlora, another one of Tamas's powder mages, after catching her in bed with a Fatrastran noble (which Tamas suspects was a plot engineered by the Kez).

Back in Adopest, Taniel is instructed by his father to find an uncommonly powerful member of the Royal Cabal who managed to escape during the coup. To assist him, Tamas assigns a Privileged mercenary named Julene, who Taniel struggles to get on with. Taniel, Julene and Ka-Poel corner the Privileged, a woman named Rozalia (who had previously helped Adamat in his investigation), at Adopest University. Julene and Rozalia, who seemingly have a history, engage in a battle of magic of such scale that Taniel begins to wonder about their true nature. Following these events, Tamas gives Taniel another mission: to find and kill Privileged Borbador to prevent him from completing the curse. Despite Taniel's reticence, Julene is assigned to go with him to South Pike.

Tamas

[edit]

In Adopest, Tamas forms a council to govern Adro until a permanent replacement for the monarchy can be established:

  • Ricard Tumblar, the leader of Adro's largest labor union;
  • Lady Winceslav, an Adran noblewoman who leads a powerful mercenary company known as the Wings of Adom;
  • Ondraus the Reeve, Manhouch's finance minister;
  • A eunuch representing the Proprietor, a major figure in the Adran underworld; and
  • Arch-Diocel Charlemund, the leader of the Adran branch of the Kresim Church.

The first challenge comes when a royalist uprising of 20,000 attempts to reestablish the monarchy with young Jakob as a figurehead king, with the remaining nobles acting as his regents. Tamas's forces put down the rebellion and Jakob is taken and seemingly executed. Angered, Nila becomes a domestic servant in Tamas's household, hoping for a chance to assassinate him. She is stopped by Olem, who has been chosen as Tamas's bodyguard (due to his ability to go without sleep), and reveals that Jakob is still alive and will be sent to the countryside to be raised unaware of his claim to the vacant throne. Nila tries to free Jakob but discovers he has been taken by a shadowy figure called Lord Vetas, who coerces her into joining them as the boy's nanny.

After the royalist uprising, Tamas and his council prepare to receive a delegation from Kez. Manhouch had been preparing to sign accords with Kez, effectively turning Adro into a vassal state in exchange for gold to pay off his mounting debts. Tamas is aware that Adro is in a precarious position and cannot currently afford to go to war with Kez again, but his restraint dissolves when the leader of the delegation is revealed to be Duke Nikslaus, the Kez Privileged who personally executed Tamas's wife, Erika. Tamas throws Nikslaus into the ocean and, fully aware that the Kez intentionally sought to provoke war with Adro, prepares his army.

Sometime after the failed negotiation, a Warden (a human mutated by magic and used by the Kez as bodyguards for their Privileged) unsuccessfully attempts to assassinate Tamas in the secret lair beneath the Skyline Palace where he and his co-conspirators had planned the coup. As only he and the members of the council knew where he would be, Tamas hires Adamat again to discover which one of the Councilors is a Kez agent.

Taniel (II)

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At South Pike Mountain, Taniel tracks down Borbador but, at the last moment, cannot bring himself to kill him as they had been brought up together and remain best friends. When Taniel approaches Borbador, they are attacked by an unusually fierce and strong cave lion. Taniel, Borbador and Ka-Poel fight it off with difficulty, Ka-Poel's abilities as a Bone-eye sorcerer giving them an edge.

Borbador reveals to them that the cave lion was Julene, who is not a Privileged, but rather a member of an ancient caste of immortal sorcerers known as Predeii. In mythology it was the Predeii who summoned Kresimir into their world and assisted him with establishing the Nine Kingdoms, acting as advisors to the royal families. The Predeii were thought to have been wiped out during the Bleakening, a world war among all nine kingdoms. Julene, eager for more power, has been planning to summon Kresimir back to the world and use him to establish herself as the main new power.

Shortly after the confrontation, the group find the Kez army marching on South Pike, its Royal Cabal coming to assist Julene in reaching its peak where they will summon Kresimir. Alongside Adro's Mountain Watch, Taniel, Borbador and Ka-Poel fight for months to hold off the Kez forces. At the climax of the summoning ritual, Taniel uses his mage abilities to shoot the resurrected Kresimir directly in the eye, apparently killing him.

Reception

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Kirkus Reviews gave the book a starred review[6] stating: "A thoroughly satisfying yarn that should keep readers waiting impatiently for further installments."[7] Publishers Weekly, gave the book a generally positive review, stating "McClellan neatly mixes intrigue and action..."[8]

In 2014, Promise of Blood won the Morningstar Award for Best Fantasy Newcomer.[4] The book's cover, by Gene Mollica and Michael Frost, was also nominated for the Ravenheart Award for Best Fantasy Book Jacket/Artist.[9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "» Promise of Blood". www.brianmcclellan.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-28.
  2. ^ "The Age of Kings is dead, but the Powder Mage Trilogy has just begun!". 16 April 2013.
  3. ^ "All Books".
  4. ^ a b David Gemmell Legend Awards, 13 June 2014, retrieved 13 June 2014. "Gemmell Awards 2014 - THE WINNERS! - the David Gemmell Legend Awards". Archived from the original on 2014-07-07. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  5. ^ Audible.com - Promise of Blood.
  6. ^ "PROMISE OF BLOOD | Kirkus Reviews".
  7. ^ Kirkus Reviews, 15 March 2013, retrieved 4 February 2014. [1]
  8. ^ Publishers Weekly, 18 March 2013, retrieved 4 February 2014. [2]
  9. ^ David Gemmell Legend Awards, 19 April 2014, retrieved 20 May 2014. [3] Archived 2014-05-20 at the Wayback Machine
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