Myke Cole is better known for his military SF novels, so this is a bit of a change of genre.

The Armored Saint is a well-written, straightforward, simple fantasy story without many subplots or diversions. In an age of increasingly large epic fantasies, this will undoubtedly appeal to a lot of people, and I certainly found it refreshing (although I still love those vast epic fantasies).

The world of The Armored Saint is fairly standard medieval with the added feature of being ruled and structured by a rigid and violently enforced set of religious rules. The Order who enforce them claim that their oppressive rules are to prevent the demons, vanquished by the emperor, from returning to the world.

Heloise comes into conflict with this Order when she and her father are accosted by them on the road. The Order use their power to intimidate and try to rob the pair and then later oversee a massacre of a neighbouring village.

So much, so fairly standard for fantasy, although the claustrophobic rule of the Order is much more visceral and strict than in many books.

The strength of the book comes partly in the very well realised character of Heloise, who is definitely the stand-out character in the book; others are less well developed. But the main strength that Cole brings to this book is the tension that he creates in scenes of confrontation. There is relatively little actual violence, but the threat of it, the powerlessness of the Heloise, her father, and other villagers, is genuinely and literally nail-biting. I’m not sure I’ve read another fantasy author who brings so much tension into simple confrontations. I wish I knew how he does it.

The action climax and the ‘twist’ that precedes it, by contrast, were less interesting although perfectly well handled.

Four stars, because The Armored Saint has some outstanding aspects but it may lack a little heft in other areas.

Recommended.