Book two of The Dragon Brigade Trilogy once again has us soaring across the sky in the world created by Margaret Weiss and Robert Krammes. Privateer finds Captain Kate Fitzmaurice in dire straits. The events of Spymaster did not go as hoped. Kate will rely on her instincts and sharp wit to make it through alive to not only save her friends but also her dreams.

This review will contain spoilers so if you haven’t read Spymaster, the first in the trilogy, stop now! Check out my review of Spymaster here: https://www.evolvingrpg.com/book-review-spymaster/.

In Spymaster we were introduced to Kate Fitzmaurice. She and her crew aboard the airship Barwich Rose are eking out a living as salvagers. Kate dreams of a better life for herself and those plans revolved around two goals. The reclamation of her family’s ancestral estate and the repair of the airship Victorie to expand into the more lucrative business ventures. You’d think someone whose closest friend is a dragon wouldn’t have much to worry about but events quickly took a turn for the worse!

Spymaster was a wild and entertaining ride. Weiss and Krammes pull you into this new and unique world of airships sailing between floating continents called the Aligoes. They do a phenomenal job setting up the world and characters. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and had high hopes for Privateer. Fortunately they did not disappoint.

Privateer picks up right at the ending of Spymaster. We see Kate escape certain death, with a little help, but is on the run and considered enemy number one by the Rosians. War between the two strongest militaries, the Freyans and Rosians, looms on the horizon and while Kate would like nothing to do with it she finds it thrust upon her. But the first thing she does with her new found freedom is divine a plan rescue her former crew, abandoned in the events of Spymaster. Fortunately Kate has also made a few allies along the way who have the means to help. Thomas Stanford, otherwise known as “Prince Tom” and Phillip Masterson accompany Kate on the dangerous rescue mission.

The Aligoes consist of a variety of floating islands and continents. Up to this point we have only seen the “surface.” In place of water between landmasses air ships sail across the sky over what is call the Breath. This orange colored mist obscures the world below, called the Deep Breath. Traversing the Breath is common, and relatively safe but traveling the Deep Breath is treacherous. We learned previously that a people called “Bottom Dwellers” call the Deep Breath home. Furthermore this group had attacked the surface in black vessels armed with horrific anti-magic weapons that inflicted heavy loses on the surface fleets. A bloody conflict resulted but eventually the Bottom Dwellers were driven back and their evil weapons destroyed.

In the world of Privateer if your airship loses power or buoyancy your only chance for survival is to hope you crash into something solid below otherwise you are lost forever in the abyss. Kate, Thomas, and Phillip’s descent in the Deep Breath is an eerie contrast to the lush tropical conditions found on the surface. This is a harsh landscape but many people do still live there. Some by choice, others by chance.

We spend a good portion of the book traveling from one location to the next. Each twist widens our understanding of the world and the problems existing in it.

While we spend most of our time from Kate’s perspective we experience many other character’s lives through their eyes expanding our view of this new world. Most of the names will be familiar but were introduced to several new friends and foes. As enemies emerge from the shadows we start to see the scale of the threat to the realm. There are a lot of moving pieces here but Weiss and Krammes keep the plot tight. If there is an encounter with a character it happens for a reason.

Of special note is the deeper dive into the lives of Thomas and Phillip. I especially enjoyed their scenes. They’re two men that would much rather be doing something, anything, besides balancing the well being of the state. But Thomas can’t run from his fate as the true heir to the Freyan throune. Phillip meanwhile is too loyal to ever think of abandoning his friend, not to mention he’d be hung for treason if he returned home. So into the fray they go. Despite their best efforts events begin to spiral out of their control and they desperately try to stay one step ahead of the game.

Sir Henry Wallace, the Freyan spymaster, returns and finds himself at the center of a dilemma that will test his loyalty and cunning. Fortunately he isn’t alone as the ever diligent Franklin Sloan steps into the light to take on a dangerous mission. Henry’s story arc takes a dramatic turn and we see why he is the Queen’s spymaster. He’s not afraid to face a threat head on.

On the Rosian side we learn more of the Countess Cecile de Marjolaine. She is instrumental to the events of Privateer although only a few how. As the Rosian spymaster the Freyans are her enemies. But fate has other things in mind and the former opponents are going to find themselves on the same side of a greater conflict. When a greater threat than Frey’s rises she’s acts swiftly, even though it means putting herself in harm’s way.

I’m going to interject here that I’d really like to see books written about Henry Wallace and Cecile de Marjolaine. These are two characters that I’m sure have intriguing backgrounds that I would like to learn more about!

The setup is engrossing. I read Privateer trying to guess how everyone was going to get out of the situations they found themselves in. It was truly a suspenseful page turner. This is a fantasy espionage thriller.

But we’ve got magic too, not to mention dragons, you can’t forget about the dragons (they’re on the cover after all)…

Dragons exist in this world but they may not be what you expect. We’re introduced to Dalgren, Kate’s best friend and companion who happens to also be a dragon. His fate is revealed to us in a scene that pulls back the curtain on dragon society. While humans and dragons coexist, not always peacefully as we have seen, human law does not apply to them. In Spymaster we learn Dalgren has decided to travel to his ancestral home, the Dragon Duchies, to face his past. If a dragon is guilty of a crime, dragons, not humans, will determine its punishment. Humans are allowed to participate though both as witnesses for and against the accused. Hoping to sway the dragons to spare Dalgren’s life Kate risks her own to travel to his trial. Dalgren has allies, and assistance from a surprising source emerges to help Kate in her mission.

We also learn about the devastating anti-magic weapons of the Bottom Dwellers in Spymaster. Up to this point magic had mostly to do with powering airships through the Breath with a few hints that dragon magic had dangerous potential. What we saw though, while brutal, but relatively limited in scope. Now a weapon of unparalleled destructive potential is revealed and Kate finds herself as the only one who can warn the world of this threat. That is if she is able to survive long enough share what she knows.

I thought it might have been challenging to have a story jumping from one location to another and from one character’s perspective to another. But it is done well and I found the story compelling and relatively easy to follow. Many of the main characters are acting independently of one another. On few occasions their stories do intersect but only briefly. It’s complicated puzzle and the pieces come together as the story plays out.

When I finished Spymaster it was an ending that had me cheering. That final scene was exquisite in my opinion. In Privateer’s case I was left in shock. I don’t know how our intrepid heroes are going to see this through. I intend to find out though and plan to start the third book in the series, Kingmaker soon.

If you enjoyed Spymaster I don’t Privateer will not disappoint. You learn more about this world, it’s history, and the characters that inhabit it. I don’t want to give too much away because Privateer is a truly entertaining and engrossing journey.

I hope you find this review helpful and I always look forward to hearing what you think of the book in the comments below.

Take care and until next time, happy reading!

Oliver Greytome