Elizabeth B. (Cattriona) -
Helpful Score: 14
I have to say, I was greatly disappointed in this. It started well, with the story of Hekat's purchase into slavery and her travels through the lands of Mijak, and other story details, which I won't spoil. But then the book began to drag, with countless repetitions of blood drinking, animal sacrifice, people developing mysterious powers not really explained, flat character development, overuse of phrases like "The god see you in his eye", etc. The plot dragged as well, with some predictable elements leading to an unsurprising conclusion. I did finish it, but after the halfway point, I could not wait to get done with it, though I really wanted to like it. Not recommended.
Helpful Score: 9
I had to drag myself through the first half, thinking, "It must get better, it must get better. Hekat must love someone, or develop a personality, or... something." This did not happen. I hoped throughout the entire book for some character developement, and came away disappointed. Not a good read, and definitely doesn't hold a candle to Miller's first two books.
Sharyla Y. (love2lovebooks) reviewed Empress (Empress of Mijak) (Godspeaker, Bk 1) on + 74 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 7
My Rating: B+
My Review:
This starts out as a story about one character, Hekat, but by the time the story is done, there is a group of characters to fall in love with. It's a very character driven story, and very interesting. It will keep you enthralled until the end. The author has a complete grasp on whipping up a world around you.
The reason I gave this book a B+ was because I felt that there was a bit too much repetition. Most of the phrases that are repeated have a purpose, and there is an over all effect, that shows how strict the society is. But it still gets a bit old.
One other aspect of the book that was disappointing also has a lot to with the society, and that is the complete lack of compassion. There are times where you just want a character to break down and let there emotions out, and there's nothing. I'm looking forward to the second in the series so that I can find out if there's any compassion in the series at all.
I do recommend this to those who've read the authors first two books, or hard core fantasy fans.
My Review:
This starts out as a story about one character, Hekat, but by the time the story is done, there is a group of characters to fall in love with. It's a very character driven story, and very interesting. It will keep you enthralled until the end. The author has a complete grasp on whipping up a world around you.
The reason I gave this book a B+ was because I felt that there was a bit too much repetition. Most of the phrases that are repeated have a purpose, and there is an over all effect, that shows how strict the society is. But it still gets a bit old.
One other aspect of the book that was disappointing also has a lot to with the society, and that is the complete lack of compassion. There are times where you just want a character to break down and let there emotions out, and there's nothing. I'm looking forward to the second in the series so that I can find out if there's any compassion in the series at all.
I do recommend this to those who've read the authors first two books, or hard core fantasy fans.
Helpful Score: 3
The author has provided her readers with a somewhat long winded account of Hekat who rises from a lowly she-brat to Empress of all Mijak. Along her journey I found myself rooting for her and then sometime later disgusted with her.
The book is long and large portions of it are very slow. I would have liked to see more "magic" and less devotion to a blood thirsty god. I found myself somewhat glad to be finished with it. I think Miller is an excellent writer and I enjoyed The Innocent Mage. I have no doubts that fans of the âDarkerâ side will find the book enjoyable. I have no intentions of continuing with the series.
The book is long and large portions of it are very slow. I would have liked to see more "magic" and less devotion to a blood thirsty god. I found myself somewhat glad to be finished with it. I think Miller is an excellent writer and I enjoyed The Innocent Mage. I have no doubts that fans of the âDarkerâ side will find the book enjoyable. I have no intentions of continuing with the series.
Helpful Score: 2
Have hope - the next two books in the series are better than this one! This book, which I don't think was actually written first, is the depressing, bloody, ponderous backstory of Hekat. It tries to explain why she's not a very nice person, as well as introducing us to her sons. We'll see more of them all in the next two books, but will also see some other parts of the world that Mijak is a part of. Not all of the planet is covered in a desert full of scorpions! There will be some explanations too. This series is still not my favorite of Karen Miller's work, but interesting.
