irritatedThe Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher
This 2015 dreck was supposed to be Book 1 in a new fantasy steampunk saga called 'The Cinder Spires'. Reading this overly long, incoherent mess it is easy to see why no more books in it have been published. It's crap, full of padding and an anti-hero named Grimm does stuff while idiot teenagers and cats do other stuff. This reads like it was written for and by sub-literate teenagers. What little worldbuilding there is makes no sense. This was written with plodding intractable deliberation.
Best Lines:
“Most destructive violence known to man.”
“The coat's skull-shaped silver buttons had seemed a bit excessive to him, but he had to admit that they did lend the outfit a credibly piratical air.”
“Horrible risk.”
“Was that damned ship and the chocies he made upon it to haunt him for the rest of his days?”
“Hellish fury.”
“Cast in disgrace.”
“Men in disgrace.”
“Ill spoken.”
“Disgraced status."