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658 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2015
I killed my first man today
. . . and I breathe it like the air, now. The smell of the guns is become to me like water to a fish: a thing I take for granted. At first it was simply something that I did not notice any more. Now it is a part of my life I cannot live without. There is power in pulling a trigger: power over the world, in that split moment of sound and fury.
'But do not cast so much blame my way, Miss Marshwic, for I do what I can. What would you do if all you could accomplish were little evils to ward off worse?'There’s a limited amount of magic in the world of Guns of the Dawn, which doesn’t touch most people in their day-to-day lives. Muskets and swords are their primary weapons in battle, but the soldiers are aided by warlocks who are magically gifted with powerful flame-throwing abilities ― highly useful in war! ― that they received from the touch of the king of Lascanne. There are also a few glimpses of non-human races, particularly the small native indigenes who live in the Levant swamps, understood and appreciated by only a very few humans.
'You have not scrupled at little evils previously, I think,' she said, but her tone was not as harsh as before.
'But those were for my own good,' he told her, and a ghost of his smile returned. 'Now I am soiling my soul for others, and it does not sit half so well with me.'
'You are candid, Mr Northway.'
'I have always spoken the truth with you, Miss Marshwic,' he said. 'Possibly because I so enjoy your expressions of outrage.'