A Liberal wet dream

it's weird listening to a book and knowing exactly where the authors politics lay. having made it to the end it's scary how the resistance replaces the regime yet for the average citizens things are worse. if anything the resistance uses violence for power more so than the regime. towards the end of the book ramen uses his gun to settle disputes more often than actual logic. which makes sense considering the author's political view defaults the violence to get their way instead of logic and reasoning.

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Weird West, Fantasy, Diesel, and Steam!

A smuggler joins the cause against an insidious invasion into a fantasy Western world, where anything can happen, and frequently does. An action-packed blend of the West, technology, and magic, The Great Iron War delivers unique adventures.

R.C. Bray is great, which is widely known, and this Weird West world is the best use of his talents I've found.

I loved the Coilhunter Chronicles and have been waiting for the Great Iron War to be collected. Can't wait for the next Great Iron War collection and the continuation of Coilhunter.

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Grounded Steampunk Warfare

*This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review. All thoughts below are fully my own.*

As the book begins we meet the major character of our story Jacob the smuggler. We've seen this before a, fateful encounter with the Resistance group who apposes the "devil" race in human form The Regime. But unlike those other stories, this isn't an easy world and that doesn't make for easy going people. There's history of loss and pain that is palpable from early on. There's grit here and it won't be an easy journey for Jacob or the rest of the resistance members.

I really enjoyed my time with the full cast in these first 3 books (first half of the series).

Too many times an author creates a character that can easily conquer the challenges in his way. Jacob isn't that at all, he isn't a master gunslinger or exceptionally strong. More then once he wrestles a devil and as they are naturally stronger then a normal human he comes out beaten and bruised. He has his vice and we see that as a driving force early on. We also see the change in him by the end of the 3rd book.

Whistler, General Rommond, and Taberah are all very themselves very different and distinct. We don't always always see the story from Jacobs POV and that was a good decision as other characters become more fleshed out and realized. We see the turmoil they don't easily show to others. Rammond for example when we first meet him is a model military man, demands his soldiers to be dressed and fit when on duty at all times. He could just be the hard ass commander but not here, why he's reserved when it comes to offensive operations against the Regime compared to Taberah makes sense during the later parts of the story.

On the point of pacing and story development. Each part of the story is named and headlined by a set piece of machinery. Each book has a dramatic climax but still have different goals in mind. Book 2 is where a large focus is on the characters and their pasts, some might think this as too much downtime and unexciting. I felt it was worth it overall as not fleshing out your characters could easily hurt it when the dramatic bits arrive.

The series is only half way done and there feels like there's so much more to explore and accomplish. I'm excited to see the rest.

CJ Bray does an fantastic job here, really brought the world and characters to life.

I will be exploring Dean F. Wilson's other books like his Coil Hunter Chronicle series.

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Great value

This a great trilogy of books contained in a single purchase. R. C. Bray does a fantastic job bringing Jacob and company to life. If you want a strolling that mixes aliens and westerns, grab this title now!

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Enjoyable Steam/Dieselpunk Adventure

Somehow Hopebreaker had came across my recommended list on Audble several weeks ago. It sounded interesting, the cover art looked good, and everyone loves RC Bray. I added it to my wishlist, but a few weeks later I managed to get a review promo code for the omnibus of the first three books and decided to check them out.

I haven't really read anything in a steam/dieselpunk setting before, so I can't really compare, but I am familiar with this type of dystopian setting. The blend was very well done, and the -punk setting was very well described. I felt like I could taste the grime and exhaust that must permeate the world. I thought the writing improved as the story went on. In Hopebreaker, the characters felt a little one dimensional, but as they got fleshed out in the latter books, I felt like it was done that way for a reason, and I ended up liking the character writing. I expected Lifemaker to be boring giving how it was set on a giant submarine, but realized the first parts of it were being used to flesh out characters more, and the story gets going in the latter part it got better. Skyshaker felt like a blend of the two. A nice mix of action scenes and character development. the characters are based on some clear archetypes, but the are unique enough for the major ones to be memorable. The worldbuilding was just enough to keep me informed and interested for me. but not enough to feel like I was being overloaded with useless facts and figures.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with how these books turned out. I think it woudl make a good introduction to steampunk and dieselpunk settings, and I would recommend them to anyone who likes that, or likes dystopian resistance stories. I will definately continue the series.

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Iron War

I took a wild chance on this and enjoyed it quite a bit. It reminds me of Star Wars meets Steven King’s Gunslinger or Final Fantasy 6. It was a lot of fun! I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys steampunk. R C Bray is brilliant as always.
A side note!!! Pay attention to the introduction. A lot of interesting and relevant backstory is there.

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RC makes the story listenable

For everyone that writes that they could listen to RC Bray read the phone book, this poorly paced and designed story and storytelling will prove it. I sat through the whole thing waiting for the writing to get better but it did not. I would say that the structure is formulaic but it was the herky-jerky nature of pace of the storytelling; not the narration. Huge actions would zip by in two or three sentences and I’d have to backup and listen to a few sentences again because what happened next didn’t make any sense. Then we slow to an intricate accounting of each persons meaningless-to-the-plot feelings and thoughts… Glad this one is over.

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A Down and Dirty Steampunk Series - Lots of Fun

You ever want to dive head first into a steampunk dystopia rife with conflict, badass technology, and characters you love to hate? Well then this series would be GREAT for you! Wilson has built an awesome, deep world here and despite some very personal hangups with story elements, this was a great (first part!) of a series to satisfy my craving for something fantastical and fun. Bray is a fantastic narrator, and brings so much life to Wilson's characters. Highly recommended for anyone that needs to kill like 18 hours and enjoys steampunk!

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just acetate

I found it hard to really cheer for many of the good guys. some people will enjoy the flawed characters, but I found them hard to root for. some of the twist were fairly obvious. it's worth a listen, but unlikely to be a personal favorite.

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3 people found this helpful

Lots of fun with great action and clever writing.

My first venture into the steampunk genre, and what a pleasant surprise. I requested, and was provided a no strings attached, complementary copy of this audiobook by the author.

All three books are great. R.C. Bray's performance is an absolute treat. The characters are well-developed and come to life with Bray's interpretation. Some of the characterizations are so well done (especially the pirate) that I laughed out loud at the antics. I'm smiling right now as I recollect one scene in particular, as only R.C. Bray could bring to life.

All three stories hold together and move forward at an enjoyable pace. I particularly enjoyed the plethora of metaphors, some very colorful--all original. That's not to say there are no plot holes, but they are minor and don't distract from the entertaining story.

Although there are scenes of death and destruction (some not for the faint of heart), the story has a positive undertone, with characters that work through issues for a common cause. The characters are all flawed but likable, making it easy to root for them.

Well worth the listen.

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