Buc and Eld are too much fun as protagonists. Buc is an old 17: smart, skilled, and brave. Eld is an even older 19: polite, strong, and mysterious. Together, they are a dynamic duo of pirate fighting geniuses. The back of the book describes Buc as a young, female Sherlock, and she certainly has some of his qualities, but Eld is much more like Watson than she is Sherlock.
However, I am in love with the setup of this series. There are pirates, mages, and Gods. It left me wanting more without feeling disappointing.
Buc and Eld are hired for a mission: figure out who is cutting of The Company’s sugar supply. If they can figure it out, they will get a seat on The Company’s board. They take the first hunch that they are given and chase down the deadly pirate Widowmaker. She is not what they anticipated, and there is much more to the lack of sugar than anyone at The Company knew.
Buc is our POV character, but sometimes it drops into third person so we can see somethings from other perspectives. I wish we had more of that. We get one chapter from Eld early on that seems like it will be a regular thing, but it isn’t. It is nice to sometimes get a break from Buc because she is an over explainer and a sassafras. But I still really liked her. Yes, she liked to remind us she was from the streets and explain to us her normal battle moves in the middle of a fight scene, but if you gloss over those parts, she isn’t annoying. I like her because she thinks she knows everything and is the master of all, but she isn’t and the reader gets to see her flaws and growth. I see a lot more room for her to grow as the series continues.
Eld is a mystery. For some reason, Buc is obsessed with how old he is, but he is only nineteen! He’s a baby! But apparently, he has been through a lot, but Buc doesn’t know what (she doesn’t even learn his real name till the end). I really like the mystery of his backstory because the reader doesn’t know what motivates him except that he cares deeply for Buc.
The pirates are awesome. The adventures at sea are awesome. As the book went on, I got more and more attached. The world is really cool. The islands they land on are fun. I really want to talk about more, but I want you to experience it for yourself. This is the kind of fantasy book that I like. Not too forced, some tropes, some subversions, and a romantic subplot. Let me know when you read it, and we can chat about the ending. ( )

I really tried to get in this, but I just never even started caring about the characters, much less the plotline. Clearly other people like it, so more for them, I say -- Sherlock has been done better, so has fantasy adventure. I'll go find another to please me. ( )

The Sin in the Steel is the first book in the Fall of the Gods series by Ryan Van Loan.
The story is about two best friends Buc and Eld who are hired by a big trading company to find out why their ships carrying sugar are disappearing. Buc, 17 is street smart and Eld, 19, is an ex-soldier, both teenagers, both determined to take on the adventure of sinking the Widowmaker's ship, that will set them up for life, if they can survive. The book is full of pirates, mages, dead gods, swashbuckling violence and gore. I must say this book is definitely a fantasy packed adventure with very interesting characters, that will keep you entertained, wanting more.

Thank you to BookishFirst for my advanced copy. ( )

The main characters Buc and Eld have a Sherlock-Watson kind of vibe. Buc is a genius street rat who loves to read, and needs to slow her mind down with drugs to stop it from racing. Eld is a sensible ex-soldier, two years older than Buc, with a hatred for magic. They are employed by a trading company to find out why ships carrying sugar are going missing. The action was non-stop and there was a lot of humor. There are two warring religions with associated mages, action on the high seas with zombie pirates and a variety of interesting islands. The world building is really good and enticing; I just felt there could have been more of it. I would have happily have read dozens of extra pages just to have more detail about this fascinating world. The start of the book is a little confusing as the reader is dropped in, just as Buc and Eld are extricated from a whole pile of trouble and launched into an impossible quest. Overall, The Sin in the Steel is a really enjoyable fantasy and I'll be looking for a second installment. ( )

Sadly a DNF as I got frustrated by the wooden dialogue and thin characters. This is a tale I could swallow hook, line and sinker in a glossy Hollywood blockbuster, but which failed to satisfy as a read - others looking for fast-moving, spelled-out plots and unbothered by exposition may find it more enjoyable.