From Publishers Weekly
Set in an impressively imagined war-ravaged world in which the island of Khos has suffered a decade-long siege, Buchanan's debut focuses on the stories of individuals representing the different sides of war. Ash is a member of the elite Roshun, whose role is to seek vengeance for those who have been murdered. His apprentice, Nico, was raised from living on the streets to the ranks of the Roshun. Kirkus, the indolent heir to the aggressive Mann Empire, is given a thoughtful, well-rounded portrayal even as he murders a priest's daughter who is protected by the Roshun, throwing the world into chaos. The inclusion of gunpowder and airships nod to recent steampunk trends, though many of the standard epic fantasy elements remain. (Jan.)
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From Booklist
With his debut novel, Buchanan fashions a fantasy-based realm called The Heart of the World, which relies less on the genreβs usual staple of sorcery and curious creatures than on the authorβs impressive skill at fleshing out characters. Nico is a street urchin living hand to mouth in the tyrannical Empire of Mannβs capital city when heβs caught stealing red-handed and then given a hard-to-refuse opportunity to redress his crimes by becoming an apprentice. His alternately terrifying and exhilarating new trade, however, is that of a Roshun, or assassin, and his mentor is an aging warrior named Ash, whoβs approaching the end of his life and career. When the Prince of Mann murders a woman who falls under the Roshun orderβs protection, it falls to Nico and Ash to carry out a morally dubious and death-defying vendetta. While Buchananβs inexperience is visible with a sagging midsection and inconsistent pacing, the tale ends with some rousing action and a startling plot twist that cleverly hooks the reader for the authorβs planned sequel. --Carl Hays