The Aeronaut's Windlass cover art

The Aeronaut's Windlass

The Cinder Spires, Book 1

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The Aeronaut's Windlass

By: Jim Butcher
Narrated by: Euan Morton
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About this listen

Since time immemorial, the Spires have sheltered humanity, towering for miles over the mist-shrouded surface of the world. Within their halls, aristocratic houses have ruled for generations, developing scientific marvels, fostering trade alliances, and building fleets of airships to keep the peace.

Captain Grimm commands the merchant ship, Predator. Fiercely loyal to Spire Albion, he has taken their side in the cold war with Spire Aurora, disrupting the enemy's shipping lines by attacking their cargo vessels.

But when the Predator is severely damaged in combat, leaving captain and crew grounded, Grimm is offered a proposition from the Spirearch of Albion - to join a team of agents on a vital mission in exchange for fully restoring Predator to its fighting glory.

And even as Grimm undertakes this dangerous task, he will learn that the conflict between the Spires is merely a premonition of things to come. Humanity's ancient enemy, silent for more than 10,000 years, has begun to stir once more. And death will follow in its wake.

©2015 Jim Butcher (P)2015 Penguin Audio Science Fiction Steampunk Fiction

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Critic reviews

Great action scenes, a fascinating world, and characters of a sort I've never seen before. This is everything I've come to expect from Jim Butcher, but in a delightful new flavour (Patrick Rothfuss, author of THE NAME OF THE WIND)
Wow. Just wow. Beware fellow readers, herein lies adventure that will keep you from food or rest . . . Butcher proves yet again that he is an amazing storyteller (#1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Briggs)
This is Jim Butcher at his best, drawing a fully realized, richly detailed, and downright fun literary world where fearless aeronauts ride the aether, brilliant wizards struggle with doorknobs, and a thirty-pound feline warrior keeps a pet human named Little Mouse. It's steam-punk meets magic with a dose of sci-fi for seasoning. Buy it and read it. You'll be glad you did! (New York Times bestselling author David Weber)
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Nice to see Jim doing another series as much as it pains me that Dresden will take longer to finish.

If the rest of Cinder spires is like this I will definitely get them.

Now just to wait for Codex Alera audiobooks so I can have the whole Butcher library on my phone.

A good start for an interesting new world.

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Well I didn't see that coming, once you leave your preconceptions behind, and listen (takes a chapter or two to get you hooked) its an amazing read , loved it and cant wait for next installment. I reckon Ji should doa book just about cats!!! Enjoy!!

It ain't Harry Dresden,

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Really enjoyable read. Great characters, fast paced story and talking cats. what more could you want?

It's steampunk Jim but not as we know it

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I absolutely fell in love with at least ten of the characters and all for different reasons. This isn't often something that happens in any book in my opinion. The way the whole world was built so perfectly in my mind by the writing and fantastic narrator completely took me away to the spires. Highly recommend.

What a fantastic book!

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Jim Butcher sets up an evocative world full of interesting details and intriguing mysteries that I absolutely must hear more of. I will definitely be buying the sequel.

Good story, good performance.

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