Artificer’s Knot + Hostile Contact

Having finished Chasing Naomi, I’ve got two projects next up in my ever-growing TBR pile. The first is The Artificer’s Knot, by Eric Lewis. It’s a gaslamp fantasy set in the world of the Heron Kings, which Lewis created in his previous novels. It’s a world without other races like dwarves or elves, and without magic, just a mysterious, explosive substance called Vril, the control of which leads to all kinds of violence and conspiracy.

The Artificer’s Knot tells the story of Ran, an “Artificer” in this world—kind of like an engineer-ish character. Kicked out of academia without his final diploma and unable to find work, the destitute Ran finds his way into the company of notorious gangster Gouger Nebb. Ran is soon assigned his first undercover work for the gang, and the tension ramps up at once.

I loved Lewis’s last book because it opened almost like a crime thriller set in modern times. The current novel uses more suspense than action to keep the pages turning, but it still works so far. After the first mission, it slows down and digs into worldbuilding a bit, which still works because the world is interesting to me. I’m about 15% in and enjoying it.

When I’m on the treadmill or driving long distances, I switch to the audio version of Hostile Contact by Nick Snape. It’s a first contact technothriller which I might describe as Tom Clancy, but the bad guys are aliens instead of Russians (It would be kind of spoilery to say more than just aliens). The main protagonist, Finn, is a soldier struggling with his own past, in the midst of a training mission when the aliens fall out of the sky and start killing.

It starts a bit slow for my taste, but before long the aliens arrive on earth and Snape stomps on the gas pedal from there. It’s been nonstop action since that first landing, and I’m having a great time. I’m about 35% of the way in.

(All links are Amazon affiliate links)