I've dinged book ratings in the past for essentially just being a chunk of a larger book, but I realize certain series I give a pass on this problem for various reasons. For Kingfisher, I realize the reason is pretty simple: these books are $4 on Kindle. I'm essentially paying for a full-size novel in installments.

That being said, this book seems to fit nicely into a growing subgenre of fantasy capers. I wouldn't be so very aware of these books if it weren't for the fact that one of my best friends, and the primary person I talk to about books, love both fantasy and capers, and she is always loaning or recommending me books.

Kingfisher has a lot in common with Leigh Bardugo, in that they both swim in fantasy tropes but their characters don't seem to know that. In the moment to moment writing, both writers tend to have a style more reminiscent of hard boiled crime novels. It's perhaps the least purple prose I've ever read in a fantasy series, and I very much appreciate it.

The Clocktaur Wars is basically fantasy The Dirty Dozen. Full confession, I am a sucker for stories with the set up of the Dirty Dozen. It's an easy way to get a cast of troubled weirdos to work together towards a common cause, bonding along the way. So this series was always going to be an easy sell for me.

Beyond that, the pace is breezy, the characters feel like they have life to them, and the main threat, the titular Clockwork Boys, are genuinely one of the creepiest monsters I've read in a fantasy story, mostly because it's a reminder that killing machines would not behave the same way that human soldiers would.

This book leaves off just as they reach what's essentially the second act, but again, $4, so I've already purchased the next entry. I'm excited to see what else T. Kingfisher has written.