I dislike fantasy, I thought. Actually what I dislike is tired fantasy tropes rooted in colonialism, superstition and other values that are better off buried.

Enter Graydon Saunders and his egalitarian epic fantasy.

I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into when started this, except that I understood it was going to be difficult and pitiless. Hoo boy, was it ever. The March North does not do handholding or exposition, it trusts the reader to be able to deal with difficult concepts. In a way, I was reminded of Ninefox Gambit, except that The March North predates it by two years, and somehow seemed to make more sense for me.

Essentially, what we have is a war story, a clash of two very magical armies, described more in the vein of science-fictiony techno thriller than heroic fantasy. This extends to the characterisation - after a couple of months, I cannot remember any of the characters. However, I do remember what they did and how the conflict was resolved.

Very much not for everyone, but definitely for me.