Promise of Blood
The Age of Kings is dead . . . and I have killed it. It's a bloody business overthrowing a king... Field Marshal Tamas' coup against his king sent corrupt aristocrats to the guillotine and brought bread to the starving. But it also provoked war with the Nine Nations, internal attacks by royalist fanatics, and the greedy to scramble for money and power by Tamas's supposed allies: the Church, workers unions, and mercenary forces. Stretched to his limit, Tamas is relying heavily on his few remaining powder mages, including the embittered Taniel, a brilliant marksman who also happens to be his estranged son, and Adamat, a retired police inspector whose loyalty is being tested by blackmail. But when gods are involved... Now, as attacks batter them from within and without, the credulous are whispering about omens of death and destruction. Just old peasant legends about the gods waking to walk the earth. No modern educated man believes that sort of thing. But they should... In a rich, distinctive world that mixes magic with technology, who could stand against mages that control gunpowder and bullets? PROMISE OF BLOOD is the start of a new epic fantasy series from Brian McCl
Themes & atmosphere
What you might want to know about Promise of Blood
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
First in the Powder Mage trilogy. Field Marshal Tamas overthrows the king of Adro and finds the dead royal cabal left a strange dying message. Tamas, his son Taniel, and a peasant detective hunt the answer.
Brian McClellan's Powder Mage trilogy has three books: Promise of Blood, The Crimson Campaign, and The Autumn Republic. He has also written a follow-up Gods of Blood and Powder trilogy in the same world.
Yes. Promise of Blood is widely cited as a defining flintlock fantasy novel, alongside Django Wexler's Shadow Campaigns. The setting blends Napoleonic-era warfare with magic systems based on gunpowder consumption.
Promise of Blood was written by Brian McClellan, published in 2013 by Orbit.
Promise of Blood is 560 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Promise of Blood takes most readers 8 to 12 hours to finish.
Promise of Blood is a standalone novel by Brian McClellan, not part of a series.
Promise of Blood is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.