The Guild - Book Review

The Guild (Guardians of Destiny #3)
by Jean Johnson

What is it about:
For centuries, the mages of Mekhana have done their best to hide themselves and their powers from the rapacious needs of their so-called Patron Deity, Mekha. Greatest of their secrets is the Vortex, a Fountain hidden in the heart of the Hydraulics Guild. But even after the dissolution of Mekha and the freeing of his people, Alonnen isn’t ready to reveal his guardianship to outsiders. Particularly when the remnants of Mekha’s priesthood start looking for a new monstrosity to worship.

Rexei has hidden more than her powers for most of her life; she has also hidden her gender, wary of the hungers of the old priesthood. Only in the safety of the Hydraulics Guild’s innermost secrets can she be herself. While the rest of her people struggle to reinvent themselves and find a deity they can trust, Rexei struggles to trust just one man, the Guardian of the Vortex. Events are moving fast, though; the priesthood is desperate for any new source of power, even a demonic one that requires certain sacrifices to access.

What did I think of it:
I've been in a difficult reading mood lately and had trouble finding a book to stick to after the first few pages. This book at least had me intrigued for the entire first chapter so I stuck with it to the end.

And it's a nice read.

It's steampunkish and doesn't even have an airship in it, so that was a big point in favor of this book. Too many authors seem to think they just have to stick an airship in their book to call it steampunk. At least this book had some actual steampunk elements.

I will confess I thought the bad guy was the most intriguing and could have used more screen-time, but Alonnen and Rexei were both enjoyable to read about as well. There are a few times in this book where talk about guilds and a new God got a bit long winded and boring, but mostly it's a nice story.

The romance was nice as well, although I could have done without the smexy talk: piston, cog-star, nethercheeks... It's like putting in that aforementioned airship: if talk like this is meant to convey a steampunk feel, it's not working for me (and it's not sexy either).

All in all this was an entertaining read though, so I might read another book in this series if I come across it.

Why should you read it:
It's a nice Fantasty-Steampunk read.