In Brett O’Brien’s The Weapons We’re Born With, the Nightshade Empire hunts anyone born able to draw on a magical energy called the Current. Eleven-year-old Shara has survived on Hayabusa’s streets since officers took her parents, relying on theft and the companionship of another orphan named Kit. When her power erupts during a failed robbery, the same officer who destroyed her family begins searching for her. Mabel Carrington, another arcanist, offers Shara passage to the Grove, a hidden settlement beneath the Azai Mountains. There, Shara receives regular meals for the first time and begins learning what her abilities can do. Yet every lesson reveals power beyond her teachers’ experience, leaving Shara afraid that the refuge offering her a home may be the place she destroys.

Brett O’Brien’s The Weapons We’re Born With is an incredible epic fantasy that keeps the war easy to follow. O’Brien gives the magic history through relics that changed the Empire’s military power. Spectre’s Grimoire, an ancient book sealed inside an obsidian chest beneath a temple, is a superb example. The battle writing is supremely inventive, such as Nikolai using artificing to restart a wrecked airship during Yuanyang’s bombardment, giving Resistance fighters an escape from the falling city. Coranth is a magnificent setting, an underground city that powers Nightshade airships by draining a chained dragon beneath Mount Pyra. O’Brien makes the huge Ironborn rebellion feel personal and singular through those like Ronin, an escaped metal soldier who asks enslaved units whether their officers have beaten them, prompting the army to speak for itself. This is boldly imagined epic fantasy at its finest, and it's worth every moment spent on the page. Very highly recommended.

Brett O’Brien’s The Weapons We're Born With opens the Currents of War series, an epic fantasy that plunges readers into Solara, where the Nightshade Empire has almost crushed the resistance. In a gut-punching prologue, Sunburst Legion Captain Dedrick Stormshield falls to the deadliest warrior the Empire has ever created, Darian Blackburn. He leaves his secret lover, Marysa, to lead his shattered team, which includes the artificer, Nikolai. Their ragtag team sets out on a dangerous mission to infiltrate the city hidden beneath Mount Pyra, the same Coranth that produces two-thirds of the Empire’s energy. It is the only way to save the resistance. On the way, they are joined by an orphan with the power to control the Current, EM4022, a 'soulless' becoming conscious of its personhood, and Callum, a man filled with guilt and the collaborator who lowered the Celestia's Aegis.

The Weapons We're Born With is epic, with elaborately sculpted characters, a freed dragon, a soulless rebellion, and an explosive denouement. Marysa stood out as a flawed, reluctant leader. If you love heroines who shed tears, you will root for her. The story is filled with suspense and mystery, especially with characters like Icarus Fryar, the famous Nightshade artificer who created the soulless, and his connection to Nikolai. It was fascinating to watch some of the worst characters morph into people deserving of redemption and sympathy. The writing is gorgeous, and the POVs are clearly conveyed. The most beautiful message comes from the shared understanding of the resistance that they must “fight with the weapons we’re born with.” It is fast-paced, action-packed, and leavened with occasional humor.

Brett O'Brien’s The Weapons We're Born With is the first book in the Currents of War series that plunges readers into the war-torn world of Solara. Nightshade Empire is systematically exterminating arcanists, those born with the power to wield the life force known as Current. Marysa struggles to keep an already fractured resistance alive after the death of Dedrick, her lover. She leads a desperate mission to destroy the Empire’s facility, Coranth, which is hidden deep beneath Mount Pyra. The path of the resistance collides with an orphaned street thief called Shara, whose uncontrolled magic has destroyed those she loves; a soulless, metal soldier called EM4022, who begins to question its orders and chooses a name and a life of its own; and an artificer named Callum who is eaten from the inside by guilt. What chances of survival do they have?

Brett O'Brien’s storytelling creates a compelling conflict. The book presents a genocide framed as peacekeeping, which gives every character the moral depth that underpins their choices and issues. It is a war against magic, and the setting itself feels like part of the conflict. The character work is extraordinary, and I rooted for Marysa, a deeply flawed heroine who not only struggles with grief but also has a secret. These characters show unique and powerful arcs, from Darian’s chillingly sympathetic villainy to Ronin’s heartbreaking awakening to personhood. The worldbuilding is elaborate, and details about the magic will fascinate readers. In this fantasy world, you have forgotten gods, a dragon, and floating islands, and these are revealed in the organic progression of the plot and not through exposition dumps. The Weapons We're Born With is a delightful fantasy with plenty of action and cinematic scenes.

The Weapons We're Born With is the first book in the Currents of War series by Brett O'Brien, set fifteen years into a brutal war after the Nightshade Empire tried to kill anyone who can use a form of magic called Current. Marysa and Nikolai fight for the Sunburst Legion and make up the Resistance's best strike team. However, both of them have secrets that could change everything. On the other side, Darian Blackburn is the Nightshade general. He is pursuing the dream of a new world and is ready to do anything to fulfill it. However, they are not the only ones who want to fight and claim their right to exist. There is Shara, a street thief whose magical gift makes her existence illegal; Callum is an outcast chasing revenge; and EM4022 is a soulless war machine slowly realizing there might be more to it than just being a weapon. Everyone is seeking some form of salvation, but can they find it?

Brett O'Brien's novel has incredible worldbuilding and solid characters. Shara was my favorite. She is a scrappy, clever, and lovable thief. She reminded me of Catwoman from the Batman series. Her friendship with Kit showed a more vulnerable side of her and made her more human. EM4022 was such a fascinating character as well. It was strange watching a killing machine slowly start questioning its own existence, yet still very entertaining. The novel jumps between so many different perspectives, from soldiers to Shara to generals. Darian makes for a genuinely unsettling character, yet he was still very compelling. His motives almost make sense, and you cannot help but feel a connection with him as well. The narrative and the descriptions give you a full picture of what this war actually cost everyone involved. The Weapons We're Born With is such a strong start to an epic fantasy series, and I cannot wait to see what happens next.