Unsubstantiated theory [Mid-End Spoilers]

[Darkarma]

Humanity is on a world the suffered a serious mishap with Terra-forming technology. The main reason I believe this? Vatteries. The growing of meat like a plant, the crystals which behave like intelligent computers.

Etherialists are the remnants of Builders that chose to remain behind, the Builders who left are some form terraforming corporation. The spires are basically what the builders who remained used to survive in with the rest of humanity.

Folly Spoilers

(click to show/hide)

Finally, the Enemy Folly saw when she had her out of body experience is the Crystal Core of the Terraforming ship trying to complete its objectives which were corrupted when the Terraforming accident occurred. A bit like a few different probes that existed in Star Trek.

Actually this whole book reads like a Steampunk version of the old series of Star Trek. Including Scotty Give me more POWA!

I love it.

Also the way rusting takes place so quickly in the books as its suggested in the matter of days affecting the entire object in question from just one little spot? That just speaks to me of some airborne effect that was used to terraform the planet. It also explains why blood causes the creatures to go nuts since it contains oxidized iron from the hemoglobin.

[Aminar]

It kind of reminds me of the Pern Series. Strange planet with suggestions of human colonization that's been long forgotten.

[Snark Knight]

I don't know, the prologue had Lady Lancaster predicting

Strife such as has not been seen since the breaking of the world.

I think we can be pretty sure there was some sort of cataclysm, but if it was a terraforming accident on one planet of a multi-world empire the Builders were from, why not just evacuate to another world rather than eke out an existence under siege? Plus, the reference to horses as 'fantastical animals the supposedly existed long ago' strikes me as more suggestive that this is a wrecked Earth.

I'd actually wondered whether this might be some sort of far future post-apocalyptic Dresdenverse. Maybe the price that magic users pay has mutated from tech disruption to madness. The surface creatures could, potentially, be Fomor guard beasts that got out of control and infested the planet.