Hey'a! So, as you may remember, earlier in the year, Jenelle Leanne Schmidt ran a Kickstarter campaign for her new series, The Turrim Archive, which starts with The Orb and the Airship. Because I am still a sucker for all things steampunk and because I was insanely curious after hearing about this series on Jenelle's blog for the last five years, I backed the Kickstarter, which meant I got a super-early copy of the first book (before the ARC readers, even) . . . and y'all, it is so good. And since the book releases for general purchase today, I thought now would be a great time to tell y'all why you absolutely need to pick up a copy.

You Need to Read The Orb and the Airship

1. It's a super cool blend of steampunk and traditional epic fantasy. The scope of the world and half the plot feels very traditional epic fantasy — Wheel of Time-ish, but without the constant distrust and suspicion. You've got the old man in a mysterious tower with equally mysterious powers, the small-town boys heading out into the world, the threat of great and ancient evil, all that good stuff. But many other elements of the world, as well as the other half of the plot, are very much steampunk, with trains and airships and inventors and sky pirates — not to mention that the boys are setting out for military school, not a quest. Or, at least, that's what they intended when they started their journey . . .
   
2. Marik and his crew are just plain awesome. If you love Firefly or The Aeronaut's Windlass, Marik's half of the plot will probably be your favorite part of the book. (It certainly was mine.) Marik is a captain in the fine tradition of Mal Reynolds and Francis Grimm, a hero by nature and an outcast by circumstance, loyal to his crew and his principle. I loved his interactions with his crew and how he really does view them as his family. 
3. The friendship between the boys is lovely. Grayden and Wynn, our main characters for the more epic fantasy half of the plot, may not have drawn me in as quickly as Marik did, but I still enjoyed reading their friendship. Though they're very different people, they've known each other forever, and they support each other and have each other's backs in the best way. Things just get better once Berengar joins their group — I can't say a lot about him because of spoilers, but he's my favorite character after Marik for very good reason, and I deeply wish he existed in real life so I could be friends with him. He's a big guy, but his heart is bigger than his muscles, and he's absolutely loyal, and I just love him a lot, ok?
4. The story is satisfying on its own . . . but it also definitely sets you up to wish for more. On its own, The Orb and the Airship is an exciting adventure that brings together exploration and airship heists and daring rescues, along with a healthy dose of character tension, and then brings it all to a highly satisfying conclusion. That said, once you discover the world and the characters — and once you read the last chapters — you'll definitely find yourself eager for the next book in the series. (I know I am !)
5. There's no stress about stumbling into something inappropriate. A major frustration I have with both steampunk stories and certain epic fantasy series (that may have already been named in this post) is that, even while they're exciting and fun to read, every so often I'll run into scenes or elements that make me decidedly uncomfortable — they may not be explicit, but they're clearly meant to excite in a certain way. That's not a problem here. This is a book that I, as an adult, enjoyed quite a lot, but I'd also have no problem handing it to my preteen, just-getting-into-fantasy self (or to any currently-extant preteens in my life, if there were any). Such books are often hard to find, so I'm glad this one exists.

Sound like your cup of tea? You can order The Orb and the Airship in ebook, hardcover, or audiobook on Amazon now! And in the meantime, what about this book sounds most appealing to you? Please tell me in the comments! (Also, if you've already read the book, feel free to tell me what YOU loved best about it in the comments section! I am all for mutual fangirling.)
Thanks for reading!