Aeronaut’s Windlass (The Cinder Spires #1) Review

The Aeronaut’s Windlass (The Cinder Spires #1)

By Jim Butcher

Genre: Fantasy Steampunk

Summary (Goodreads): Since time immemorial, the Spires have sheltered humanity, towering for miles over the mist-shrouded surface of the world. Within their halls, aristocratic houses have ruled for generations, developing scientific marvels, fostering trade alliances, and building fleets of airships to keep the peace.

Captain Grimm commands the merchant ship, Predator. Fiercely loyal to Spire Albion, he has taken their side in the cold war with Spire Aurora, disrupting the enemy’s shipping lines by attacking their cargo vessels. But when the Predator is severely damaged in combat, leaving captain and crew grounded, Grimm is offered a proposition from the Spirearch of Albion—to join a team of agents on a vital mission in exchange for fully restoring Predator to its fighting glory.

And even as Grimm undertakes this dangerous task, he will learn that the conflict between the Spires is merely a premonition of things to come. Humanity’s ancient enemy, silent for more than ten thousand years, has begun to stir once more. And death will follow in its wake…

I picked Aeronaut’s Windlass up by chance as I was looking for something to read on the journey home. I didn’t know that Butcher had created a new series so I was intrigued to see this on the shelf. A new series by the creator of Dresden? Hell yes I wanted it.

Aeroanut’s Windlass is a decent (urgh I hate that word, it seems so middle of the road) action book, heavy on steampunk flavour which isn’t usually my cup of tea but the summary caught me enough to make me want to read it. Captain Grimm was a good character, casting a Captain Reynolds (Serenity) feel almost instantly. The idea of talking cats delighted me, Rowl had some excellent moments and was my favourite character next to Grimm.

“I am cat,” Rowl said smugly, “which means I have made better use of my time.”

― Jim Butcher: The Aeronaut’s Windlass

The downside for me was the lack of description for the setting, the world sounded amazing (who doesn’t want to live in the clouds with magical technology) but I found it hard to create an image in my head which was unusual for me. More description on how the world worked and what it looked like would have made this stand out from the crowd.

I struggled to type this because I am really not a fan of movies made from books but Aeronaut’s Windlass could be the exception if given the right budget and actors/effects. I won’t bore you with my long list of casting choices for Captain Grimm but picture a steampunk Captain Reynolds…You are welcome.

Overall a decent (there’s that word again!) read, I’d love to see some concept drawings for the world itself and look forward to seeing if the next book exceeds its predecessor.

NoisyGeek Rating: 4 out of 5