An ambitious debut that hits, but doesn’t always draw blood.
In a world where advanced technology crumbles into decay, a scant few holding its secrets, magic is practiced and feared, and an empire hangs in the balance of war, Ryle is a young man, single minded in his passion to right past wrongs, all of them his — borne of a long lost father.
Ryle has a dark past, in this gritty epic fantasy with steampunk trimmings, and takes to years of training with the fabled Professor Mero to prepare him to cleanse the darkness that dogs him every day. He trained hard to become a master swordsman and deadly fighter, but this all means nothing if he can not find his target.
Gearspire takes us on a downward spiral as Ryle finds a great, storied champion who is his last hope to help him find and end his father. And when I say last hope: he is willing to follow blindly, do anything, take insult without reproach; all in the hopes that he can stop the nightmares that are his life. I sympathized with Ryle, but at the same time he pissed me off.
Ryle goes back and forth between being annoyingly compliant, overly confident, and obnoxiously cursing as if the world was ending on every single page. This conflicts with a young man that has seen much, and survived the Professor’s training that garners even the legendary Champion Lastrahn’s (fickle) attention. For someone with such life experience, Ryle should be nigh-unflappable; but instead of upping the ante, it usually felt like the posturing of an immature teen.
Still, Ryle means well and for that he gets a passable grade.
I was often confused why Ryle had no sword. The lack seemed odd, considering a violent world, placing him at often disadvantage when a simple acquisition for one of his talents should have resolved it. I did mention he was a thief, right?
There are redeeming moments, such as a compelling first chapter that sucks you in, and a run-in with a mysterious vampire culled from the trappings of Southern refinement. Tea time? After that scene, no thanks! (You’ll know what I mean, when you get there.) To the city of Del’Atre, where intrigue, addiction, and the deprivation of the masses makes for a crowded and putrid mass; ripe for great story.
When Ryle isn’t muttering about the woes of life, or the prose doesn’t strike a point with a heavy hand, debut novelist Reinmiller can work some evocative scenes and the world is cut from a rich tapestry where future adventures will only uncover more of the beauty of his craft.
Reinmiller’s world is filled with the good and smeared with the bad; the story revolving around two characters tossed in by circumstance. The bigger picture was often too removed (or too oblique?) for epic fantasy, but when it came down to the main story, the ending wrapped up nicely with a character arc that rewards and an action scene that delivers. (Make that two…or is that four?)
As a debut novel with large aspirations, Gearspire does not disappoint; even if it, at times, develops a squeaky wheel.
3 out of 5 stars.
© 2017 Clifton Hill – Author of the Fantastical and sometimes reviewer.
www.CliftonH.com
Jeremiah Reinmiller Website | Gearspire Landing Page
Published: October 2016 | Disclaimer: I know the author, but this has not factored into my rating or review.
