A soldier with a curse
Tala lost her family to the empress’s army and has spent her life avenging them in battle. But the empress’s crimes don’t haunt her half as much as the crimes Tala has committed against the laws of magic . . . and against her own flesh and blood. 

A prince with a debt
Jimuro has inherited the ashes of an empire. Now that the revolution has brought down his kingdom, he must depend on Tala to bring him home safe. But it was his army who murdered her family. Now Tala will be his redemption—or his downfall. 

A detective with a grudge
Xiulan is an eccentric, pipe-smoking detective who can solve any mystery—but the biggest mystery of all is her true identity. She’s a princess in disguise, and she plans to secure her throne by presenting her father with the ultimate prize: the world’s most wanted prince.

A thief with a broken heart
Lee is a small-time criminal who lives by only one law: Leave them before they leave you. But when Princess Xiulan asks her to be her partner in crime—and offers her a magical animal companion as a reward—she can’t say no, and she soon finds she doesn’t want to leave the princess behind.

This band of rogues and royals should all be enemies, but they unite for a common purpose: to defeat an unstoppable killer who defies the laws of magic. In this battle, they will forge unexpected bonds of friendship and love that will change their lives—and begin to change the world.

Paul Krueger’s Steel Crow Saga is a book that seemed to get TONS of love leading up to its release, especially from some really fantastic authors. Chuck Wendig jumps to mind as one of this book’s biggest champions, as well as folks like Fonda Lee & Sam Sykes. One of the more common sentiments about the book was that it was heavily influenced by both Pokémon and Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Confession time: Pokémon and Avatar: The Last Airbender are two properties that I’m only really peripherally aware of. I guess they are two fandoms that just sort of…passed me by? I’m dying to see the new Pokémon movie, and I really would like to see Avatar: The Last Airbender at some point, but yeah…I don’t know a whole lot about either, so any of the nods to them in Steel Crow Saga went right over my head.

But none of that stopped me from fucking ADORING this diverse, original, and deeply character-driven fantasy novel! Steel Crow Saga is goddamn delightful, and definitely wound up being one of my favorite reads this year!!

Steel Crow Saga is an Asian-inspired fantasy, one that draws on many different cultures & backgrounds. It’s a multi-POV book, and each of the main characters come from different countries & have their own set of values & beliefs. Although the book takes place at the beginning of “peacetime,” tensions from a great war still linger, and xenophobia winds up being one of the bigger themes.

Shang Xiulan was for sure my favorite character in this book. She’s a princess (but something like 28th in line for the throne) turned detective. She speaks in this incredibly circuitous/flowery way, dresses all in white, smokes a pipe, and wears her hat cocked over one eye. She also idolizes a fictional detective named Bai Junjie, so she’s always comparing herself to him & modeling some of her behaviors after him. Early in the book, she sort’ve deputizes a thief named Lee Yeon-Ji, and the two pair off for much of the book. Lee is a character with literally no filter on her mouth, which creates some really funny situations as she is now spending time with someone who is, however far removed from the throne, royalty.

On the other side of things, we have Tala, another character I was completely wild about. She’s a soldier in the Sanbunan army, and she has some serious heartbreak in her past. Tala is just a complete badass…the consummate soldier…gritty, bold, and 100% committed to the job. She’s been tasked with escorting Prince Jimuro of Tomoda back to his homeland, where he will take the throne. Prior to the start of the book, these two were on opposite sides of the war, so needless to say their relationship is…precarious.

What’s cool is that all four of these characters get their own POV, so even though they are paired off, we get to see things from both sides of the evolving relationships. And all four of their stories become intertwined over the course of the novel in a really organic way.

Look, I’m sick & my head feels like it’s gonna explode & so I’m doing a shit job explaining anything about this book. But there’s so much to love about Steel Crow Saga. The magic is fucking awesome, with some characters having the ability to “Shadepact,” where they bond their soul with that of an animal, who can help them fight when necessary. Other characters have the ability to manipulate any kind of metal, helping them fire guns more accurately or even just drive cars. And while this book is much more character-driven than action-heavy, the action sequences in Steel Crow Saga are nothing short of thrilling.

Steel Crow Saga is a book written with a ton of heart & love for all things fantasy. This book works on so many levels…there are lighter moments, lots of humor, and some heart-wringing & sexy romantic elements. It’s incredibly diverse & full of LGBTQ characters. The world building on display is astonishing, as we really get a chance to explore & understand multiple different cultures, from politics all the way down to food choices/preparation.

But what makes this book utterly memorable is the great cast of characters. Each of them with their own biases, flaws, and issues. All of them fully realized & brutally human. Steel Crow Saga is a fiercely original, thought-provoking, and emotionally charged book. This is one I could not recommend highly enough! It works well as a standalone, but I do believe we are getting more books in this series/world…oof…this was just fucking awesome, start to finish!