Hello folks! How are you? Can you believe the year is almost over? I can’t. But anywho, let’s get to the books!
So, in an attempt to try and read 150 books this year, I have been reading a lot of series (even if I don’t complete the series, it is easier to get into a new book if you already feel you are going to enjoy it). One such series is called “The Emperor’s Edge” based off the first book with the same title. This novel by Lindsay Buroker is meant to be a fantastical steampunk novel. With just that, you can probably see why it made me curious. Usually those two things don’t go together. When we here high fantasy we think The Hobbit and Avatar not steampunk. At least I don’t. Who knows? I may be the odd one out in this situation.
Amaranthe Lokdon is an enforcer, and one of the best even though she’s a woman. At least that is what everyone else says. Women aren’t supposed to be enforcers. And Amaranthe gets that in the past it wasn’t possible but now that it is, why can’t they accept her? When she is passed by for a promotion she is disappointed and shocked to get called into the office of one of the most important men in the empire for a special mission: kill Sicarius, the greatest assassin in the empire. If she can success she’ll not only get the promotion, she’ll get respect for her and female enforcers everywhere. She takes the mission and meets the kind young emperor, who seems to believe in her.
But when dead bodies turn up and she learns of an evil business coalition sat on assassinating the empire and placing a figurehead on the throne, Amaranthe gets in way over her head. How can she and her unlikely partner save the emperor if they are now both wanted criminals?
This is an image of the cover of the collection that I read.
Overall Score: 4/5⭐
I love reading steampunk and seeing how an author will create the aesthetics of the world while staying true to the story they are telling. The world of this novel was clear to me in a murky way. By that I mean, she goes into just enough detail to give everyone an image but not enough so that we as readers don’t get to do the fun stuff and embellish the world with our own imaginations.
I find that a lot of steampunk novels run out of steam halfway through the book and the author seems to do an about-face, changing the characters’ personalities to fit the plot. Not only does Buroker avoid this tragic fate but the unbelievably pushy Amaranthe who is as good a manipulator as any villain stays fun and interesting. She grows organically and we really root for her ragtag team of misfits as they have to hide from the law in order to uphold it.
Thanks for stopping by! If you enjoyed this book review, let me know in the comments and share it with a friend. Have you read any of Buroker’s work? The first three novels in this series were all pretty awesome, I must say!
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P.S. I have noticed some interest in my own creative writing, I have a couple links on my “About Me” page that you can check out if you want to read some!