A Crown for Cold Silver
by Alex Marshall
The Crimson Empire, Book 1
"It was all going so nicely, right up until the massacre."
Twenty years ago, feared general Cobalt Zosia led her five villainous captains and mercenary army into battle, wrestling monsters and toppling an empire. When there were no more titles to win and no more worlds to conquer, she retired and gave up her legend to history.
Now the peace she carved for herself has been shattered by the unprovoked slaughter of her village. Seeking bloody vengeance, Zosia heads for battle once more, but to find justice she must confront grudge-bearing enemies, once-loyal allies, and an unknown army that marches under a familiar banner.
Would read again
Story
The massacre of a small town unleashes Zosia, a rebel general who fought her way to empress before giving it up to become mayor of said small town, back on the world. Her infamous lieutenants, the Five Villains, might be able to provide answers or assistance. As she hunts each one down, it becomes clear that there is more a foot and more at stake than anyone could've imagined.
I love the plot's fast-pace, and there were plenty of unexpected twists and some cool threads linking the long history of the Five Villains together. The story was kept fresh the whole way, with sudden-but-smooth scene changes and escalating stakes.
Characters
I was really impressed by the character voices and how clearly I could picture each one. It was refreshing to see a different cast in fantasy, and while a lot of the language and behaviour was clearly drawn from contemporary culture, it fit well and made for exciting protagonists and dialogue.
Despite the strength of characters, about mid-way through the book I was struck by how similar they were. To me they are stand-alone and unique in fantasy, but relative to one another, they shared many traits, worldviews and ways of speaking.
Worldbuilding
I really liked the continent of the Star and the different cultures spread across it. The use of insect stings as psychoactive and medicinal drugs was also really cool.
There's clearly a strong historical outline behind the story, and it's revealed with great skill through snippets of conversation and character's reflections.
At first I was fascinated by the magic system of capturing and using devils, but by the end of the book it hadn't really been explained or explored any further than the first few teases.
Something that jarred me a little was the proximity of cultures on the star and the thin lines between them, such as central-European-style culture sharing a border with an east-Asian-inspired culture.
Prose
I really liked the style, punchy and bold, with some deep psychological and abstract magical ideas presented cleanly.
I found it really easy to picture each scene and character, and there was a distinct style to adjectives and descriptions that set the tone of the world.
There is some great banter and exceptional insults, one-liners and arguments throughout.
Also
I loved the tribes of the Frozen Savannahs, and think Mr. Marshall did an excellent job of showing how deeply he constructed their culture and folklore.
I had to reread some segments because they were so well put together, revealing something deep about a character or the world with splendid prose.
