Hope’s End by Brian McClellan – Short Story Review

Hope’s End – A Powder Mage Review
by Brian McClellan

Brian McClellan is one of the biggest debut authors of 2013. His first novel, Promise of Blood, was a success. His writing is cinematic and holds such a strong visual component it really felt like the written word equivalent of seeing a summer blockbuster. Not only that but Brian turned out to be an incredibly nice guy, as this interview showed.

He’s also taken a different route than one normally sees amongst authors, releasing short stories set in the Powder Mage world periodically until the release of book two, The Crimson Campaign coming this February. Maybe this is a sign of the changing times and the power of the internet, but color me excited if this catches on amongst other authors. I can never get enough of the worlds I love and I’m sure everyone else here feels the same.

It was in June that Brian released The Girl of Hrusch Avenue a Powder Mage short story that focuses on Vlora as a little girl. For $.99 on Amazon, I said that Girl of Hrusch Avenue was the perfect toe-dipping piece to decide if Promise of Blood was worth your time. (Spoiler Alert: It totally is and you should get it now if you haven’t already.)

But now he’s back with another short story. This one, titled Hope’s End, is a little bit different. It focuses on Captain Verundish, a female officer in the Adran military serving under General Tamas (years before the events of Promise). In the midst of a siege against the Gurlish stronghold of Darjah, Verundish must make a difficult decision to ensure the two people she loves most are taken care of.

Hope’s End is by no means the most lengthy of works, coming in right around 8,000 words. Yet what Brian manages to accomplish in that space is exciting and compelling. It’s hard not to feel a connection to Captain Verundish as she contemplates one dark decision after another, all to keep her daughter safe.

General Tamas, of course, is a treat to see, especially as it’s set in a time before his promotion to Field Marshall and the events of the first book. Unlike Promise of Blood Tamas as a General is still limited by his superior officers, forced to follow the orders of Field Marshall Beravich even when it conflicts with his own sense.

I won’t go too much further into the plot, 8,000 words and $.99 should be enough to get you to do that for yourself, but I will say the story is well worth it. It contains all of the elements of a longform novel distilled into the smaller space. The emotional hooks are there from the beginning and the rousing battle in the finale stirs your blood in excitement as you hope for success and dread the worst possible outcome.

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Hope’s End is out now, either through services such as Amazon or at Brian McClellan’s own webpage.

Captain Verundish has two problems. On campaign with the Adran army and far from her homeland, she is helpless when the young daughter she left at home is threatened. To make matters worse, General Tamas has put her lover in command of a Hope’s End—the first charge through a breach straight into the teeth of enemy cannon and sorcery. To save the people she loves, Verundish will have to come up with a deadly solution…

Worldbuilding

I’ve been neck deep in revisions for my novel these last few weeks. Going through word by word, chapter by chapter making adjustments as I see necessary. It’s a weird feeling looking back on text I had written and seeing different kinds of glaring mistakes or weak prose that seems so obvious to me now. It’s hard work, there’s no denying that, but in many ways it’s exciting as well.

This step in the writing process allows me to look at my story overall and find the weaknesses within. I have a personal preference for detailed worlds and as such I felt my own was fairly detailed before I started my first draft. Boy was I wrong.

In the months since I finished that draft I’ve had countless ideas and realizations that flesh out my world and slowly make it a thriving, living thing. Whole cultures are being fleshed out and even ideas for a detailed sequel are roaming through my mind.

I think well thought out worldbuilding is a hallmark of this generation of fantasy writing. Not to say there aren’t examples of this in the past, J.R.R Tolkien comes to mind – creating entire languages and creation myths to accompany his work. However, there seems to be a surge in the modern day to ensure more books are a fleshed out success.

Brandon Sanderson, Patrick Rothfuss, George R.R. Martin, each of these New York Times Bestselling authors has crafted a world, or in Sanderson’s case, multiple worlds that seemingly rival our own in detail and complexity. This is the kind of fantasy I strive for. Writing that helps tear down the wall separating us from the world locked in the pages.

The best part about being a writer is asking the question, “What if?” Asking that question a few more times not only improves your story and plot but also makes you really sit down and think things through regarding what exactly it is you want to put on the page.

So go, craft cultures, customs, people, and worlds. Then reap the benefits of forging a world others can escape to.