Warriorborn is indeed “A Cinder Spires Novella” (that’s actually the subtitle, hence the quotes). It probably wouldn’t work if you haven’t read both of the novels, or at least the first one, but really probably both. It feels kind of like a bit of backstory that gets cut from the main novel for length; it’s how Benedict ends up coming back to Spire Albion early in book 2 from a secret mission with a bunch of kittens (or at least small cats). The plot is fine, but two of the key characters are seriously underdeveloped, and if you’ve read the novel, you know what’s going to happen to pretty much everyone, just not exactly how.
The Spirearch sends Benedict on a mission with three convicts who are promised their freedom is they both succeed and survive a mission to a colony spire to retrieve a bag the Spirearch say he misplaced while there last. What the bag is/was is never really mentioned, and that would be nice to know to give the mission some purpose. Turns out that Benedict sent all three criminals to prison, so you’ve got the set up for a classic team mission with the team that doesn’t work well together (yet?). The only one of the trio with any personality is Lady Herringford. The other two are practically cliches (the sultry lady thief and the surly borderline violent guy) and they stay that way.
Naturally the mission goes haywire, as it turns out the colony has been largely wiped out by individuals at first unclear and then you need to have read the second novel for it to make sense. The dragon is sadly underused.
Again, you know who makes it back and who does not, and some of the reasons why, from the start if you’ve read the second novel, so there’s not a lot of suspense when it feels like there should be, and there’s a rush towards the end to get the survivors back on their way home. At least Saza gets a little more to do, and any scene with Fenli is probably going to be entertaining.
