Jeff Wheeler
Genre: Fantasy
My first thought is that the description on Amazon gives too much away. Thankfully, I had forgotten all of that when I selected the book to read from my Amazon library. My advice is to avoid the description on Amazon.
Set in a China-based fantasy setting, this is the story of Bingmei, a young woman who was orphaned when mercenaries attacked her home. Home was a combat school that brought to mind the monasteries of fantasy such as in Dungeons and Dragons. She was born and raised there by her parents and grandfather and trained with others to become a warrior. In this world, there are mercenary groups that maintain these combat schools throughout the land and are hired by kings for protection and treasure hunting.
As the lone survivor of the attack on her home, Bingmei is adopted into another mercenary group led by a woman who takes on a maternal role in her life. They are hired by the local king to search out a city of myth to bring back treasures to him.
The title of the story refers to a terrible fog that kills anyone it touches. The fog is attracted when the magic of powerful weapons is invoked. And there’s no defense except to avoid the fog entirely. So such weapons are activated sparingly by the wise.
The Killing Fog is populated with some very interesting characters. A number of them are well-fleshed out with facets of personality that gave them life in my mind as well as reason to care about them.
Bingmei herself is unique of other heroines because she isn’t as selfless as most fantasy heroes. Her wish is to restore her family’s home, lead her own mercenary group, and mainly to survive. Her desire for survival is her driving force. I liked this about her. It felt genuine. Her constant struggle is that she wants to live but others around her feel the duty to sacrifice themselves for others.
Bingmei’s entire world is filled with colorful description of the cities, wilderness, and magic she witnesses. With her special ability to smell people’s emotions, the story is accented with this sense that isn’t normally used to such a degree in storytelling. It was another unique aspect of the novel.
As battles unfolded throughout the story, I was drawn into the fight and imagining the amazing leaps and spinning weapons that fill the kung fu movies. It was truly exciting!
I’m looking forward to the second book to find out what happens next with the people of this world.
Musings of an Overgrown Halfling 