The Infernal Battalion

For those of you who've followed the series so far, the last book ended on a pretty major cliffhanger. Well, maybe cliffhanger isn't the best word for it. The story didn't end abruptly or challenge the characters with a ridiculous life-or-death situation for the sake of suspense. Because really, when do those types of cliffhangers ever not work out for the protagonists? Instead, Wexler ends book 4 with the natural culmination of a major character arc. We're left wondering: what will Janus do next?

The Infernal Battalion addresses this right from page one. The interludes that are normally reserved for villain POVs kick off with none other than—you guessed it—Janus. This perspective comes as a long-awaited treat, since readers have been left guessing at Janus's true intentions for the entire series thus far.

The satisfaction of seeing things from Janus's perspective shouldn't come as much of a surprise. One of Wexler's greatest strengths throughout this series is his characters. Even on the surface, the characters are fascinating: the female soldier who disguises herself as a man to join the army, then slowly works her way up through the ranks; the chivalrous general who must come to terms with his worldview being somewhat outdated; the mysterious genius with unknown motives; the reluctant queen who's secretly immortal.

Going further, all of these main characters have an enormous depth to them, a complexity that includes conflicting hopes and dreams, significant flaws, and constant growth. And that's not just limited to the POV characters. Few series can juggle such an expansive cast of side characters while making them all distinct and interesting. Even better, many of these amazing characters are women with real agency in the story who never feel as though they are cardboard cutouts of the stereotypical “strong female character.”

For those of you who enjoy audiobooks, Richard Poe does a stellar job with this series. He's somewhat underrated, but he was a perfect fit for The Shadow Campaigns. He pulls off both male and female voices convincingly and has enough range that different characters never run together. It's obvious that he reads the books prior to narrating them and uses this knowledge to add the appropriate nuances. Also, there's just something about his voice that complements military fantasy perfectly.

The biggest question for incoming readers is likely: does Wexler pull it off? Does the buildup of the last four books come to a satisfying conclusion? Yes, and hell yes.