Echoes of the Imperium by Nicholas Atwater & Olivia Atwater 100% has Firefly / Serenity vibes, if Firefly had Fae and goblins and River got her powers from Faery magic. For the record, I'm here for that! There's a lot of parallels, so I pictured Nathan Fillion in my mind the entire time as the MC, but it worked. Echoes is action packed, which will be appreciated by anyone who loves a plot driven book. There's a lot less on the character development front, but that didn't deter from my enjoyment or connection with certain characters and their found family, but I can see how those who love character driven books will be let down here. Fellow steampunk airship pirate fantasy space opera (well minus the 'space') fans, pick this one up!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book has a really refreshing and cool setting with some very intricate political inner workings (which I'm still not exactly sure if I fully understand it).

I really enjoyed getting to know all the characters aboard the Iron Rose however I feel like we were working with a really big cast and some of them were just quite superficial. Still I think the authors did a really good job fleshing out the main character and his closest companions, specially with the flashbacks. I really enjoyed those.

My main problem with this book is how action packed it was. There was soooo much action and the scenes on itself were incredibly long, which made them feel very drawn out and I would catch myself logging off sometimes. I wish there was more quiet and introspective moments.

The ending was quite satisfying so I will have to ponder if I want to continue the series.

Thanks to the Altwaters & Netgalley for opening up my eyes to another great subgenre of fantasy tye steampunk-fantasy world. Imaginative, refreshing & unique
Echoes of the Imperium" is for readers who appreciate character-driven stories, found family dynamics, and inventive takes on the steampunk and fantasy. Its blend of humor, action, and depth makes it a standout addition to contemporary fantasy literature.

World-building is intricate, blending elements of steampunk technology with fantasy creatures like goblins and faeries, set against the backdrop of a world recovering from imperial collapse.

I recommend you give this fun romp a try

Echoes of the Imperium is the perfect blend of pirates, adventure, unique characters, and found family. It feels like a high fantasy version of the movie Treasure Planet. I loved the diversity of the characters, and the thought put into each of them. Usually when there are more than a few characters mentioned I start to get everyone confused, but I did not have that issue with this book despite the character list being lengthy, and I very quickly found myself invested in the fate of this little band of misfits. This was such a fun, swashbuckling read, thanks Netgalley for the e-ARC!

Echoes of the Imperium is the first novel in the steampunk series Tales of the Iron Rose, written by Nicholas and Olivia Atwater. An imaginative story that deliciously twists many of the classic fantasy archetypes to create a swashbuckling adventure, full of heart and action, in a romp of a book.

William Blair is the beloved captain of the Iron Rose, a goblin that manages to make his 5 feet height work; most of the crew has a past behind, but boarding into the Iron Rose means leaving all of those grievances behind. To keep sailing with the Rose, captain Blair and the crew are forced to take, let's say, some questionable jobs; and the last one includes smuggling blasphemous materials, and somehow, because life is not hard enough, an agreement with a fae, because the word of a goblin values a ton.

With this premise, the Atwaters take us into a extremely fun story, but which also excels at creating a found family cast; because everybody in the Iron Rose is memorable in their own way: from the engineer, to the fae navigator, to the own captain. Mixing together more action focused sequences with flashbacks about the past, we have a really balanced storytelling that makes reading it an absolute pleasure.

The worldbuilding is another highlight of this novel; from the past that marks how the current world looks, with the Imperium that was shattered in different small countries, and the own conflict against the Seelie. All is presented in a really smooth way, combined with a great pacing.

Echoes of the Imperium is an excellent way to kickstart this steampunk series, perfect if you are looking for a fantasy proposal non afraid of twist the tropes of the genre to create an swashbuckling adventure. Can't wait to read more about the captain Blair.

This steampunk fantasy is one of the most enjoyable books I’ve read this year! Meet the crew of the Iron Rose - one of the most endearing crews of swashbuckling pirates to ever sail the skies. The crew comprises goblins, hobgoblins, and humans and of all ages and backgrounds. There’s even a terrifying faerie navigator who guides the aether-powered ship. Despite the fact that many of them fought on opposite sides of a brutal civil war, the ship has become a safe home for all its crew.

To keep this spoiler-free, I’ll just say that the adventure kicks off when the captain decides to deliver shady cargo to a city where they may not be welcome. From that point, the story explodes in unexpected directions. I loved every twist and turn.

But in the midst all this excitement, the authors explore the consequences of violence and war on both victims and perpetrators. What happens to soldiers who realize they were on the wrong side of a war? Can they find redemption? Can the living forgive war crimes? This book addresses heavy topics with care and nuance, yet somehow remains a delightful and immensely entertaining adventure. It’s quite a feat!

There’s some great diversity rep: the MC is aro/ace and two prominent side characters are a happily married gay couple. I expect to learn more about other crew members in future books.

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC.

This was a great pirate fantasy! The world building was great and it kept me interested the whole time! I would highly recommend if you love pirate fantasy books!

A goblin pirate and his ragtag crew-turned-family take a shady smuggling job and instead find themselves trying to prevent the resurrection of an empire (and confronting their past choices to fight for or against it) in this steampunk epic fantasy adventure.

My favorite aspect of this book was the meditation on empire. Instead of chronicling the chosen one's epic quest to take down THE MAN, the Atwaters begin 20 years after the rebellion is won (with several flashbacks to the direct aftermath). Each member of the Iron Rose crew has a complicated relationship with the former empire and the war that ended it: some were child soldiers, others high-ranking imperials, rebels, or the families left behind. And each continues to strive toward inner peace and communal healing in a variety of ways.

What results is a nuanced exploration of [1] the range of everyday evils to grand atrocities perpetrated by empire; [2] why people get caught up as victims, bystanders, and/or perpetrators; and [3] the choices they can make (epic heroism often not required, thankfully) to resist this status quo. But it's also an ultimately heartwarming story of redemption and found family.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed the snarky social commentary of the Murderbot Diaries or the shades-of-grey perspective on empire / rebellion in The Burning Kingdoms.

Thanks to NetGalley and Starwatch Press for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I knew after reading the prequel novella A Matter of Execution that this was a series that had my preferences written all over it and it's nice to be absolutely correct. I had never seen a swashbuckling steampunk that so effectively combined airships and a bit of magic with traditional fae elements. Echoes of the Imperium takes the delightful goblin captain, William Blair, who is introduced in the novella and sets him and his ragtag crew into the path of some very dangerous people who are doing their best to bring back the oppressive empire that Blair and his crew are sworn against.

First off, I'll say that this is the kind of high action swashbuckling adventure that I grew up absolutely loving and I think folks who love a lot of action with loveable characters will get along best with it. The authors certainly don't give the crew a lot of downtime to breathe as they get dragged from one scrape into the next, which made it very difficult to put this book down once I started it.

It also strongly wears its influences on its sleeve and I loved that about it. Echoes gave me the anti-imperial notes I love about the Stars Wars' New Republic era where the oppressive empire has been defeated but certainly hasn't disappeared as various factions fight for control of areas, leaving room for smugglers, pirates and those just trying to get by. Several of the crew (including Blair) are in fact former Imperials trying to make up for their past and seeing them really struggle with that guilt and the strong thematic tones about grief and governance was so deeply compelling to me. You also get a bit of a Firefly vibe, particularly with the humor and Wil being a flawed but heroic captain who is frequently underestimated outside of his crew but never within it.

And the fae element was so well done! It's very much the older style of capricious, heartless fae that don't care about individual mortal lives but only about their own conflicts and interests. And the magic is deeply connected to them and the weapons that they have granted to various mortals. I haven't seen other steampunk weave in this type of worldbuilding and it was so fascinating to see it unveiled.

This may lean a little tropey for some folks but it's so strong on the characters, themes and the social commentary that I found myself alternating between nodding along and laughing out loud at the loving bickering between crew members. The authors mention in the afterword that they wanted to turn some fantasy stereotypes on their heads and they did a spectacular job of it. If you want a high action adventure with loveable characters reckoning with their actions and some great social commentary, I really cannot recommend this highly enough. It's absolutely a new favorite for me!

Definitely swashbuckling piratey adventure. I didn’t quite gel with the writing style. It definitely clicks for others. Thank you to the authors. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

I want to thank NetGalley for an arc of this book.

I also want to apologize, because I was not able to get through this book fully like I wanted to. It sound amazing at the time when I read the blurb and was excited to get it. However as I began to read through it, I could not get my mind to settle with the book and just struggled with each page. I'm sure it is an amazing book for others to enjoy and I hope in the future I get another chance at reading this again!

I would recommend that before you read this book, you read the prequel novella, A Matter of Execution. It’s not necessary to understand Echoes of the Imperium, but it does set you up mentally for it.

The authors did such a great job developing these characters and giving them so much depth, I really enjoyed how unique each of their personalities is. This eclectic cast is a crew on a pirate ship and their adventures give off major Firefly/Treasure Planet/Atlantis: The Lose Empire vibes. This is very much found family in action.

This book was quite fast paced (until around 75% where is slows down, but it picks back up again at the end) we have a smuggling agreement gone terribly awry, airship battles, hidden identities, unholy aether, betrayal, goblin overlords (underlords?), not-quite-necromancy, otherworldly Fae... this book had so much going on (in a good way)!

I recommend this to those who enjoy steampunk fantasy, pirates, fae, and serious socio-political topics like Imperialism and the consequences caused by it. Found family trope is prevalent.

The plot on this book was really good! I felt like the story was non-stop, and I never really wanted to put the book down. There were parts that felt a bit sluggish whilst I was reading than others, but in retrospect I can’t really remember exactly what these parts were!
There were some parts that were quite confusing- like the Iron Rose (is it in the sky? The water?) the connection of gods to the Fae, as well as why the war began in the first place. More explanation on the coalition vs the imperial armies would have been really good, as well as a map of the world.
In a steampunk / fantasy setting this was really good, I really enjoyed the use of aether in this book and how it was different to what I’d read before! I also really loved the characters and the complexity of relationships between everyone, especially Mary’s growth! I really love the found family trope, so this was really great to read in this book, as well as everyone learning sign language for Little.

In the interest of full disclosure, I did not buy this book, I received an ARC from Net Galley in exchange for a review. But I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of reading this book even if I had some tiny nitpicks, so I'm probably going to go buy my own copy as soon as it comes out in paperback. Nicholas Atwater is an author I'm happy to support, and will probably end up on my auto-buy list (which is incredibly short, and incidentally includes his partner Olivia whose books I 10/10 recommend).

So you know those really annoying blurbs on the back of your book, the ones that say “Delightful! Entertaining! Passionate!” about a book that is clearly anything but, making it painfully obvious that the reviewer hasn’t even looked at the book, much less read it? Well that isn’t the case with Echoes of the Imperium. Everything complimentary I’ve read so far has proven true, over and over again. Detailed, intriguing worldbuilding? Check. Optimistic steampunk setting? Check. High octane adventures full of space pirates and magic? Check check check.

If you told me that this book was born from the authors experience in tabletop RPGs, I’d believe it - reading it felt like watching an old episode of Critical Role in the best way. You can almost feel the author/DM cackling in delight as his characters make a bad roll and end up on another side quest adventure. The book is very well thought out, with different story threads and call backs coming together throughout, adding deeper layers of emotional depth to what would otherwise be a simple adventure tale. The only nitpick I would make here is that this adventuring style makes the book feel almost episodic. Each chapter is a gripping, exciting look into Wil’s latest shenanigans on behalf of his crew, but at the end of the chapter, it feels almost like “well that side quest wrapped up nicely. Let me take a break and tune in next week to see what else that rascal has been up to.” Personally, I do most of my reading at night so this worked in my favor, as it meant I actually got some sleep in between chapters. But if you are looking for a book that you absolutely can’t put down, that pacing just isn’t there. Since it personally didn’t bother me, I’m not even gonna knock off a quarter of a star.

Things I loved: The knitting gunnery ladies, bloodthirsty Mary, how very very different the fae in this book are, how nothing is quite black and white - even the bad guys have understandable motives and aren’t just caricature villains, and the goblin underground (which I won’t say much more about because spoilers). I also really loved the relationship between Miss Hawkins and Aesir.

Things I didn’t: I love Dougal, I loved Aesir and his mecha-arm, I didnae love reading his highland accent though, laddie. I get what the author was going for, but I hate reading accents, it gives me a headache. I bet it sounds amazing on the audiobook though.

Also, while I appreciated that the author took great care to make sure there were no alpha-holes in this book, at some point he took it too far. A very important plot point hinges on the fact that in a moment of great emotional distress and incredible tension, a main character snapped something unkind at another character who is basically a brother to him. It was not a statement calculated to hurt, but it landed poorly. This main character then spends a solid chapter worrying how to make amends, and getting the cold shoulder from several other characters for the thing he said. It just read as disingenuous to me, because while this character was bending over backwards to make amends to his friend, and everyone offended on his friend’s behalf, it didn’t seem like anyone was hold grace for him, and I didn’t love it. Again, my only criticisms of this book are incredibly nitpicky, and I won’t knock off stars for something that is my personal preference but not actually a flaw in the storytelling.

Recommended for: Fans of Becky Chambers, Critical Role, and Firefly, people as allergic to grimdark nonsense as I am, people who don’t mind reading accents, people who want to envision their magic fighter pilots in kilts, people who want magic fairy swords, gunpowder grenades, and heists all in the same book.

As I grew up on Star Trek, later enjoyed the first Star Wars movies, and lost myself reading The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, non-human creatures such as goblins (and the requisite world building) add to my reading pleasure. At the beginning I was reminded of the animated Treasure Planet (2002), although here the sailing ships are in the sky not in space.
Anyway, I much enjoyed reading and becoming engrossed in this fantasy world. The destruction of Pelaeia and its population brought the Highland Clearances to mind. Wil is often a source of humor. I loved the no-nonsense gunnery ladies, Mary's creative execution of orders and the cameraderie and gentle teasing among the crew.

Echoes of the Imperium is the first full length novel of the Tales of the Iron Rose. I read the prequel to this series when it was free on the author’s website and loved the idea of a series that went out of its way to break some of the common classic fantasy tropes. For instance the Captain of the Iron Rose, might be swash buckling but he is a green goblin and only a swamy five foot tall. While I do highly recommend reading A Matter of Execution, it isn’t necessary to join our goblin captain and crew on this adventure.

William Blair now is a beloved captain of the Iron Rose and her eclectic crew. All of them have a past of some kind, but when you come onboard the Iron Rose, you leave that life behind and you have a chance at a new found family and possibly redemption of a sort. Sailing the skies in a privateering ship Captain Blair and his crew take questionable jobs to make ends meet. Think a little bit Firefly, if it was all on one planet and the crew consisted of a Faery navigator, a granny type that is a hell of a shot, an engineer obsessed with keeping a tea set in one piece and a sixteen year old brought up on mystery novels ready to run cons and outmaneuver the adults. They sail the skies from port to port but this new job might just get everyone on the Iron Rose killed and Captain Blair could be in over his head.

“Miss Hawkins,” I said, “I am used to being the biggest troublemaker in town. I’m not certain I like the suggestion that you’re about to outdo me.”

This is a world where the mortals were used to fight a war for the Seelie against the Unseelie breaching through into this world. Twenty years ago that war was brought to a halt when a rebellion broke out and the Imperium was destroyed. The members aboard Captain Blair’s ship are from all sides of that conflict and have found a peace and a way to coexist. The story is told mostly from Captain Blair’s PoV in present and past as we learn how that fateful day 20 years ago ruined the Imperium. Years later and there is evidence the Unseelie have breached into this world. Captain Blair will revisit some of the atrocities the Imperium committed and find a way to keep the Imperium from returning from the ashes to conscript the unwilling into a new war.

I had a great time with this story. I like that all the characters in the ship are different and have interesting character development to make them three dimensional. Syrene is Fae and I think the author did a fantastic job of showing us how ‘other’ she is; in her demeaner, her emotions, the way she moved and her appearance. I enjoyed the worldbuilding as well and how aether powers ships and can be harnessed as a weapon too. The fights and flights were entertaining and nail biting at times, without going on so long that I lost focus.

Overall I am enjoying this series and how much fun the authors seem to be having with it. I recommend it to people who enjoyed Firefly, Treasure planet and the new Star Wars movies.

“Everything matters, Wil,” Evie told me. “But I don’t think penance is about fixing things. I think… it’s about…” There was a strange conviction in his dark eyes now, though he struggled to find the words to convey what he was thinking. “It’s about becoming the sort of person who would never make that mistake again. It’s about caring so much that you have to fix all of the little cruelties that you can. Until it’s the most natural thing in the world to you.”

Steampunk pirate adventure? Yes please, count me in! I loved the characters in this story instantly, and the fast pace was so action packed that it made this hard to put down in parts. Things do slow down about halfway through, but the overall story is really good and interesting. Just a note - this a darker tale than some readers may be used when you see Olivia Atwater’s name. It’s great but it’s not light or a romance.

Note: ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book took me by surprise and blew me away. I absolutely adored all the characters, with all their flaws and complexities. Each one felt distinct and individual, and their relationships with each other were built on solid and believable foundations. The action scenes were awesome, and the world building really painted a clear picture in my head. The steampunk pirate vibes were immaculate, and I think fans of the show Arcane would really love this book.

Something unfortunate seems to have happened with the marketing of this book. In that, I follow upcoming fantasy releases very closely (obviously, I need to for the blog!) and am even more on the look-out for new titles from authors whose books I’ve enjoyed in the past, like Olivia Atwater. But the only reason I became aware of this book was through a note included on the Kickstarter email I received when my order of the special edition of ‘The Witchwood Knot” was shipping out! Of course, I then immediately skipped off to place a request on Netgalley. But with my packed reading schedule, here we are with a review coming out about a month after the book has actually dropped, all because I didn’t hear about this one in a conventional manner!

Olivia Atwater always talks about her husband’s influence and input into her books in her author’s notes, so I’m not surprised to see a book coming out that is now written by them both together. You never quite know how well a book will worked when trying to combine two people’s writing styles, but I think this one turned out well! I can recognize elements of Olivia’s style, but the book is also very different from the one’s she’s written alone.

Overall, the main difference is one of tone. Olivia’s books are often on the lighter side, with a few creepy elements thrown in here and there. This one, however, is much darker in a lot of ways. Right from the start, the authors don’t shy away from putting their characters through the ringer. There was a particularly impactful scene that came within the first 20% of the book that had me surprisingly emotional, especially coming from characters whom I’d only just been introduced to!

One of my favorite parts of this book was the world-building and overall themes of pirate adventures! While the plot was very fast paced (especially in the first half, things slowed down towards the back half), this was definitely a character-based story. Much of the fun of the reading experience was simply following the characters as they got into one type of trouble or another. Pirates are always a good time, but pirates in airships are something else! That said, much of this action does revolve around the characters themselves, so your enjoyment of the book will come down to how invested you become in these people and their stories.

Overall, I very much enjoyed this book! It reminded me a lot of “Treasure Planet” and is definitely a breath of fresh air from the type of fantasy books I more often gravitate towards. That said, while I appreciate the inclusion of an asexual main character, I did find myself missing Olivia Atwater’s lovely romance storylines. But that’s mostly a me issue, as that’s not what this book is or was ever meant to be. I guess I’m mostly just hankering for the next entry in her “Victorian Faerie Tales” series!

Rating 8: All the best of the steampunk genre, this character-driven story is a romp of a ride from start to finish!

Link will go live on The Library Ladies on Nov. 23

Too dark for my taste, but as far as I read (not very far), well done.

Opens with a bloody and destructive battle at the fall of the Imperium; in the next chapter, 20 years later, the narrator is an airship captain with a serious drinking problem. The words "dark," "gritty" or "brutal" are not in the blurb, but ought to be, because they warn people like me off books like this that we won't enjoy. I've enjoyed the much, much gentler books of Olivia Atwater before, so massive death and destruction in the first chapter blindsided me.