Fantasy/Steampunk | The Daemon of Cormagan (book 1 in a 3-book series) | Maarten Hofman
I tend to agree with Machteld Irons’ review on Amazon. There is a sense of something impending right from the beginning, which starts right off with a scream and an abduction. Halfway through the book, you begin to think you know what the mystery is about, you think you now know who the villain is, and what is going to happen, but haha! Fooled you! Maarten Hofman manages to twist and turn the story into new directions.
This is one of the books in which I didn’t much like the main character to start with (kind of ‘meh’), but slowly, the characters gain more life and depth, and then they become understandable and likeable. You suspect one, then another, character of being outright evil... nope, not putting in a spoiler.
The world itself is a character here. There are fantasy/medieval constructs like the Master of a Castle (Cormagan), horses and hounds, a daemon (or is it?), and all the associated paraphernalia of a fantasy novel. Yet, there are talkers with colour-coded crystals, mechanical horses (what a quaint steampunk conceit!), coded messages. At the same time, there are armies that have to be bankrolled and moved by a fleet, which has to be organised, secret societies (plural; each dissing the other in snide competitive style). There are hints that this is a world way in the future from where we are, and the medieval facade is underpinned by something a little different than the world of today. I have a soft corner for fantasy books which get some economics and politics right (like when people go to other countries, they need to find translators and suppliers of provisions), so this ticks those boxes too. A treasurer who makes complaints to the boss! Love it. When I reached the last page, I found this big smile on my face.
The writing and the language are gentle and direct. Hence, even the atrocities don’t seem as gory as they are (if you step back and look at them objectively, they are!). And then there are the gorgeous illustrations by Marlon Teunissen, easily worth half the money (sorry Maarten, but you know it's true!)
Full disclosure: I paid full price for my copy. I know Maarten Hofman personally. Taken together, results in a fair review.
Indian readers may get a hint of part of the mystery from the names Kush and Luv which turn up towards the end, but people from other countries can either guess or research. (Not giving hints).
TL;DR: this book is value for money. Four stars and a gas-giant planet. If not allowed to give a partial star, gets ⭐⭐⭐⭐ aka I really liked it. And there are two more books in the same world...
