A flintlock epic fantasy with elements of magic and horror draped in the intrigue of politics and fantastical world building, Grave Empire, is an absolute masterpiece. If I could give this book a thousand stars, I would. 

Following multiple characters perspectives as they converge upon each other in a battle to save their world from unknown forces, the storyline could have taken a turn into being confusing and disjointed, but each character's voice was unique enough to differentiate keeping the story grounded in each's distinctive narrative. 

While I haven't read the prequels, the Empire of Wolf series, set 200 years before the events of Grave Empire - I felt that I could jump into this book easily (though I do now plan to read the sequel series because I loved the world so much). There was of course a heavy amount of world building - a magic system, map, multiple races and religions to understand but it didn't feel like I would have HAD to read the prior series to understand everything. 

All in all, Grave Empire was a masterpiece of fiction and I can't wait for my preordered edition from The Broken Binding to arrive later this year.