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It’s getting harder & harder to keep track of all the Orbit titles that began their life as self-published books! It seems to be a pretty regular occurrence at this point, and it makes it kind of exciting to look at the wide range of self-published SFF books coming out & wonder which of them might make the leap to trad publishing in the future (and yes, I do know that getting traditionally published is not the endgame goal for all self-pub authors!)

At any rate, the latest such book for me is THE COMBAT CODES by Alexander Darwin. I could be mistaken, but I believe the entire trilogy was previously self-published, and with the second book (GRIEVAR’S BLOOD) due out very soon, I’d imagine this whole trilogy will be released by Orbit relatively fast.

I try to shy away from a lot of discussion around expectations and/or hype. I feel like it’s a slippery slope towards either weird vibes or even backhanded compliments. For me, I’m generally interested in anything Orbit publishes. They’re far & away my favorite publisher, and so I figure anything they do is bound to interest me in one way or another. So THE COMBAT CODES was definitely on my radar, but I don’t think I had any idea how much I was going to enjoy this book.

I think sometimes, when you’re lucky, you pick the exact right book for the exact right time. And that’s definitely what happened to me with THE COMBAT CODES. Some of the holiday blues are slowly starting to creep up on me, and I just found so much excitement & joy & ultimately comfort in reading this book.

Which maybe sounds weird to say about a book with brutal single combat as one of its main features, but there it is.

Also, wow…I didn’t know a whole ton going into this book, so imagine my surprise to find elements (sorta) of two of my very favorite plot devices: the magical school (there’s a lot of this, although not so much with the magic), and the Lone Wolf and Cub (to a lesser extent).

The book has something of a dystopian feel, and we learn right away that the different nations in this world have long ago traded in traditional warfare in favor of single combat. Which is just such a badass premise. I mean, wow. Each country chooses a representative to fight over border disputes, or trade/taxation, etc…basically, if two countries have a problem with each other, it gets settled in the Circle between two Grievar Knights.

The story concerns a mysterious young fighter named Cego, sold into slavery and fighting for his very existence in the seedy Underground. During one of Cego’s fights, he’s discovered by Murray Pearson, a once-famous Grievar Knight who now spends his time scouring the Underground for new talent.

Murray takes Cego under his wing, putting himself on the line to do so, and to help Cego gain entrance to the Lyceum, the prestigious national combat school for the nation of Ezo.

I am an absolute sucker for things like this…that first book in a fantasy series where a group of kids are honing their abilities at a magical school/training academy…oof. Some of my favorite fantasy books feature this…BLOOD SONG, RED SISTER, and THE RAGE OF DRAGONS, just to name a few.

The cast of characters in THE COMBAT CODES completely won me over. Murray has the burly, gruff, “I’m too old for this shit” exterior, but he’s a kind soul, and a patient teacher. He tries instilling the values he’s lived by into Cego, using the Combat Codes to do so. Murray’s reliance on the Codes is considered somewhat old fashioned by many of the characters in the book, but to Murray, the old texts mean everything.

Cego is bright, curious, and sensitive. He has an innate desire to protect those around him who can’t always protect themselves. But there’s also a darkness inside Cego that he’s reckoning with, and a profoundly mysterious past that’s at the heart of this story.

Inside the Lyceum, Cego has a great group of friends to help navigate the challenges ahead. Dozer, Knees, and Solara really complement Cego well, and combine to make a pretty amazing team (known as the Whelps at the school). I especially enjoyed Solara, the meticulous/studious one of the group, and I’m glad to see (based on the synopsis) that her role will be expanded for GRIEVAR’S BLOOD!

The action in this book is bone-crunchingly amazing…not surprising given that Alexander Darwin is an accomplished martial artist himself! It’s always so cool when an author brings a big part of their life into their fiction, and this is one of the best examples I can think of. There’s a thoughtfulness given to the combat sequences that shines through.

Yeah, wow. This book felt like something really special to me. When it was my current read, I always wanted to be reading it, and I never wanted it to end. Definitely one of my favorite books of the year!

Massive thanks to Orbit for sending a copy my way!!