Clockwork Lives

In this steampunk adaptation of The Canterbury Tales, Kevin J. Anderson and Neil Peart create a world rich with character and adventure.
While the primary narration is told in the third person following Merinda Peake’s journey to fill her book with stories, the individual tales are told in the first person.  This is an unusual, but intelligent way to let the stories grow.  The characters become more real.  It’s not a book you can easily put down.
While this is the second book in the Clockwork Angels series, it does stand alone easily supported by the depth of characters whose stories are collected.  Thoroughly enjoyable.  Left me wanting more.

The Accidental War by Walter Jon Williams

In this first Novel of the Praxis, Walter Jon Williams beautifully builds the society, characters, family structure without sinking too far into significant “info dumps” that often lose a reader.  This story falls comfortably into the genre of science fiction epic, stylistically reminiscent of Star Wars.  While it’s a bit more linear than Tolkien, The Accidental War can sit proudly next to the Epics of Middle Earth as well.
While this is not the first book in this world created by Williams, it’s my first reading of his work.  Williams utilizes third person limited POV to weave a tale of political intrigue, action, and privilege.
He establishes his main characters early, building the society and politics around them and their relationships with each other and with the minor characters rather than planting them in an established world.  The growth when done this way, is more organic and centered on characters more than thematic and genre elements.  This is what will make The Accidental War stand out from other sci-fi.