Here's some new fantasy stuff I've read recently:
Promise Of Blood by Brian McClellan (book one of a planned trilogy): I thought this one was excellent and would give it five stars out of five. It's a fantasy novel that's not set in the traditional medieval setting - instead, it's set in a fictional country called Adopest and the technology, weapons and government are very similar to the American Revolutionary War period. There are flintlock muskets, single-shot pistols, cavalry swords, horse and carriages, and executions take place by guillotine. Also, magic is real in this world and there are three levels - Privileged, who are basically sorcerers with serious powers that use special gloves to work magic and occupy high-ranking positions as nobility, royal enforcers, etc.; Knacked, who are people that just have one special talent, like for instance never having to go to sleep or having perfect memory; and the Marked, also known as powder mages, whose powers are based on gunpowder. They can blow up powder stores from distance or make bullets curve around walls, and they can snort the gunpowder to gain short-term increased strength and perception. The concept is really cool, and the writing is excellent - this is a debut novel but the guy writes like a veteran. The novel follows Field Marshal Tamas, a powder mage and Adopest war hero, as he leads a coup against the current king and nobility and the fallout that comes with that. I highly recommend this one - the next book comes out in May and I've already marked my calendar for it.
BTW, if you liked that have you read Greg Bear's Forge of God and Anvil of Stars? Those are the best books in that genre that I've read.
I have had a hard time getting through this book.
