Review: By Blood, by Salt

By Blood, by Salt by J.L. Odom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a 4-star review. Probably closer to 3.5 stars would be my experience.

Our hero is Azetla who is the member of a desert race/tribe that is oppressed by the dominant culture. He maintains fidelity to his religion via prayer and ritual. His habits risk his life as the Emperor hates his people and they can be killed almost anywhere for almost any reason. There are holiday celebrations where members of Azetla's tribe are ritually murdered to appease the dominant deities of the Empire.

By the start of the book, he has made himself valuable enough that he is second-in-command of a combat battalion of hardened troops.

The intrigue begins with the Emperor's cousin lending credence to a group plotting a coup. The cousin is lacks any real spine, but he has been talked into participating.

The one group that the Emperor hates more than Azetla's tribe are the devils that live in the deep desert. The Emperor's cousin finds himself "leading" the battalion on a mission into the desert to capture a devil. They do. The captain of the battalion is killed in the process and Azetla finds himself in command. That is the first third of the book.

The rest is imperial intrigue, the movement of the battalion to a remote city, and the maneuvering of Azetla to stay alive. The most "fantastic/fantasy" element is the devil who seems to be super fast, tough, and quite accurate with a bow. She is captured and held in bondage until Azetla is in need of her fighting ability.

He turns her loose. At that point, she could run away at almost any time. And yet she stays. Supposedly a captive, but held without bonds and without any person promise to not escape. It's kind of weird.

This tale is barely getting started by the end of the book. It is clear that the story will take at least another book or two to complete.

The world building is complex. The characters are engaging. The premise is promising. But I'm not sure it is enough for me to continue.

I bought the book because it won the SPFBO competition this year. I my experience, SPFBO winners are almost always great reads. This is a good read. Give it a chance as it might suit your tastes more than mine.

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