Warrior felt like one of those old adventure movies. A cross between Indiana Jones, The Mummy, and countless other Saturday afternoon movies from the days before VCRs, Warrior was full of thrills, excitement, magic, and adventure.Warrior has a lot of things going for it: An original plot, an exotic setting, romance on the go, interesting characters, and magical contraptions.Set in Mongolia in the 1870’s Warrior offers the rich background textures of the steppes, the desert, the Mongolian people and their culture. I was encouraged another reader (thanks, Catherine) to google Mongolian dress. They were as beautiful as I imagined.Warrior’s main characters are brought together by the dying wish from a member of a secret society. There are two secret societies in this book – The Blades and The Heirs. The Blades’ primary function is to protect magical items. They are the good guys. I found it hard to believe that a man would travel halfway across the world to the middle of nowhere just to deliver a cryptic message. I guess that when faced with the prospect of marriage and settling down or a new adventure, the adventure would be a better choice.I adored Gabriel Huntley. Good looking, strong, fiercely protective, and an excellent fighter, Gabriel was the ideal character to accompany Thalia on their quest through Mongolia. I didn’t know what to make of Thalia. I didn’t hate her, nor did I love her. I liked her independence and strength. I liked that she was able to make friends with all the locals. I did enjoy her sense of wit. I enjoyed how Gabriel and Thalia’s relationship progressed. My one criticism is that I was surprised that Thalia was not pregnant by the epilogue. There was a lot of nooky during a time when birth control was not readily available. I was surprised that some people classified this book as steampunk. The contraptions were creative, but they seemed to work more on magic rather than steam. Very clever.I also loved all the “special effects” – storms, sandstorms interspersed with magic. I was also surprised to see a Golem used in a novel set in Mongolia. It was totally unexpected, but interesting nonetheless. Love this series – Can’t wait to read the next one.
