Prayers in Steel by Michael McClung: A Book Review

“You know what is happening, then.” “Yes, Andine. We are about to be besieged.” “How do you know?” She stood, and gently knocked her own king over with a single, slender finger. She had just conceded the game that she was decisively winning. “I know every move being made, brother Caida. By Roumney, by Ardesh, by the empire. Even by Jaga Khun. I know exactly what they will do, and to a great degree, when they will do it. The only piece I did not account for is you.”

Brother Caida is a monk with a sword that follows the rules of the religion of Andos. The monastery serves the emperor and therefore so does Brother Caida. He is called upon to save the Princess Anya from an apparent kidnapping while she was travelling to her wedding. He soon realizes that not everything is what it seems, not his brothers, not his beliefs, and especially not the headstrong Princess Anya.

Caida is my smart, strong, loyal and easily confused Paladin™ and Anya is my sexy, badass, wicked, so-not-the-damsel-in-distress Sorceror™ and man, do I want them to "a bang, bang, bangity, bang. I said a bang, bang, bangity, bang, bang, bang, bangity bang."

Now that I've gotten that out of my system - I must say that I definitely love this book, in almost every single way possible. The characters are more than just interesting, they're hilarious, creepy and so very compelling.

It's hard to know who and what to cheer for - do you cheer for the "good" imperial position that seems to be about order or for what appears to be the "bad" magical position that possesses people and possibly includes zombies? You'd think the answer is simple, but definitely not in this book.

Also: the world. The world is tantalizing and I want to just find a textbook that just talks about this world. I want to know more about Andos, and that nunnery that Anya grew up in. I want to know about guardian and the book that he guards. I want to know about the College of the Magi.

My only problem - and this is just a personal preference, to be honest - is that the book just jumps right into it. I like my fantasy with a little world building at the start. But, as I said, it's a personal preference and I believe doesn't take away from my eventual enjoyment of the book.

I definitely will look forward to the second book.

Rating: 5/5