Shadow Campaigns – serie

In the wake of the King’s death, war has come to Vordan.The new queen, Raesinia, is nearly powerless as the government tightens its grip and assassins threaten her life. Together with Marcus D’Ivoire, she sets out to turn the tide of history.But as all the powers of the continent rise against Vordan, Janus bet Vhalnich and Winter Ihernglass face a bloody battle against enemies not just armed with muskets and cannon, but dark priests of an ancient order, wielding forbidden magic.

"An immensely entertaining novel" (Tor.com) from the author of The Thousand Names...The King of the Vordan is on his deathbed. Soon his daughter, Raesinia will be the first Queen Regnant in centuries-and a target for those who seek to control her. The most dangerous is Duke Orlanko, Minister of Information, and master of the secret police. He is the most feared man in the kingdom, and he knows an arcane secret that puts Raesinia completely at his mercy.But Raesinia has found unlikely allies in the returning war hero Janus bet Vhalnich, and his loyal deputies, Captain Marcus d'Ivoire and Lieutenant Winter Ihernglass. As Marcus and Winter struggle to find their places in the home they never thought they would see again, they help Janus and Raesinia set in motion events that could shatter Orlanko's powers, but perhaps at the price of throwing the nation into chaos. But with the people suffering under the Duke's tyranny, they intend to protect the kingdom with every power they can command, earthly or otherwise.

Set in an alternate nineteenth century, muskets and magic are weapons to be feared in the first "spectacular epic" (Fantasy Book Critic) in Django Wexler's Shadow Campaigns series.Captain Marcus d'Ivoire, commander of one of the Vordanai empire's colonial garrisons, was serving out his days in a sleepy, remote outpost-until a rebellion left him in charge of a demoralized force clinging to a small fortress at the edge of the desert.To flee from her past, Winter Ihernglass masqueraded as a man and enlisted as a ranker in the Vordanai Colonials, hoping only to avoid notice. But when chance sees her promoted to command, she must lead her men into battle against impossible odds.Their fate depends on Colonel Janus bet Vhalnich. Under his command, Marcus and Winter feel the tide turning and their allegiance being tested. For Janus's ambitions extend beyond the battlefield and into the realm of the supernatural-a realm with the power to reshape the known world and change the lives of everyone in its path.

As the roar of the guns subsides and the smoke of battle clears, the country of Vordan is offered a fragile peace. After their shattering defeats at the hands of brilliant General Janus bet Vhalnich, the opposing powers have called all sides to the negotiating table in hopes of securing an end to the war. Queen Raesinia of Vordan is anxious to see the return of peace, but Janus insists that any peace with the implacable Sworn Church of Elysium is doomed to fail. For their Priests of the Black, there can be no truce with heretics and demons they seek to destroy, and the war is to the death. Soldiers Marcus d'Ivoire and Winter Ihernglass find themselves caught between their general and their queen. Now, each must decide which leader truly commands their loyalty and what price they might pay for final victory. And in the depths of Elysium, a malign force is rising. Defeating it might mean making sacrifices beyond anything they have ever imagined.