The Olympian Affair by Jim Butcher

When Dresden Files author Jim Butcher released The Aeronaut’s Windlass in 2015 it felt like the start of something exciting. Swashbuckling, snarky steampunk with airships, political intrigue, sentient cats and plenty of action. But time passed and the so-called first volume of The Cinder Spires with it cliffhanger ending faded into memory. There are reasons for this, apparently, but whatever they were, Butcher was convinced by fans to pick up the pen again and return to this world. And so, after a gap of almost 10 years, picking up the story two years after the action in the first book, we have The Olympian Affair.

There is no recap of The Aeronaut’s Windlass (readers can probably find one online if they need it) but it is not necessary as Butcher has a gentle way of bringing readers back up to speed. Reintroducing the politics of this world and the main characters after a dark cold-open. In this world, the bulk of humanity lives in spires as the world’s surface is too dangerous. They travel between these spires in crystal-powered airships. Two years after the attack on Spire Albion by Spire Aurora the Aurorans are still spoiling for war and are gathering allies.

The book opens with a devastating new weapon created by Spire Aurora. It then focuses on the series’ heroes – Madison Grimm, captain of the airship the Predator and his crew and their companions (human and feline) – who are unaware of the new threat. All they know is that they have to go to peace talks at Spire Olympia where they are fairly sure the representatives of Albion will be out to cause trouble.

Despite it being nearly a decade since The Aeronaut’s Windlass, Butcher’s vivid world building and engaging characters (particularly the cats) make it a joy coming back up to speed. The Olympian Affair has everything readers might remember for that first book – great characters, swashbuckling action, plenty of cliffhangers and huge multi-faceted action set pieces. Butcher promises in his Afterword that readers will not have to wait as long for book 3. Given all of the unresolved mysteries he has left hanging, let us hope that we don’t.

The Olyhpian Affair by Jim Butcher

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8.0/10