Comments on: Empress by Karen Miller

By: Max Bradbury

Max Bradbury — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 23:25:14 +0000

I dunno as an atheist I find the totality of god I this book satirical of religious fervour however the physical role of god within this book and its close involvement with Hekat seems to take a certain element away from the plot. It makes the plot predictable with no way in which the characters on gods side could be thwarted in its “infallible eye”. where is the danger to the characters and the battles? I suppose after coming out of Brent Weeks way of the shadow series and Joe Abercrombe’s first law I find this book paling in comparison. especially in the fight scenes which seem to happen but you dot feel a part of it. All in all the character concept is good and Hekat is so up herself its untrue that I find I cannot relate to the heroin. A bit disappointed and debating whether to read the other two

By: Matty

Matty — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 00:50:35 +0000

This book is simply amazing. Karen Miller does an awesome job in describing Mijak, its people and its belief. About the racist issue, to be honest I hadn’t even thought about comparing it to what happens in the Middle-East before reading this review. Anyway. Miller’s descriptions seem so accurate that I could see all scenes and rituals perfectly.

I have read the three books, and to be honest the first one was my favorite. Hekat got on my nerves sometimes with the way she treated people, but I liked her way more than perfect-princess Rhian. Hekat was colorful and unpredictable while all Rhian does is second-guess everything she does and be perfect at everything she does. (she’s beautiful, a good athlete, a tomboy (which is very cliché), good at sewing, at painting, her people love her… etc). The other characters in the second and third books are awesome.

The ending kind of disappointed me because it was very predictable.

By: Blaze

Blaze — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 17:00:31 +0000

I LOVED this series- it was well worth the read. Hekat irritated me at times, but still I felt drawn to her and I admired her strength and perserverance. I admired her ability to not only survive, but find a way to triumph and strive in such a harsh reality. She is a remarkable character. If you “have faith” and read all the way through to the end of the series, you won’t be disapointed.
The beauty of these books are that they reveal humanity in all its grit.

Tough times demand harsh sacrifices. Although one man’s god may appear to be another’s demon, there is only one truth. It is not relative.
This book reveals humanities driving desire to do what is “right” even when misslead/misguided. When the truth is revealed, all the pieces fall into place

Karen Miller manages to tell this tale without the inevitability that we often find in this genre. Even if it happens as we might have expected, it is subtly unveiled.

I just finished the last book in the Godspeaker trilogy “Hammer of God” and DAMN was that a good series. Excellent plot development, character development and satisfying ending. I LOVED it. Each of the three books followed a different character and reached its true climax at the end of the 3 books.

DON’T READ REVIEWS OF THE FUTURE BOOKS BEFORE READING THEM (It may give away plot you would otherwise enjoy seeing unveiled)

By: bellatrys

bellatrys — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 01:26:37 +0000

The cover artist may have just been being lazy, and the editors too ignorant/unimaginative to notice/realize the connotations, but slapping the Hagia Sophia on it doesn’t help any with the Skeezy Ethno-religious Issues…

By: Juan

Juan — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 06:48:41 +0000

Ugh, and to think I was finally giving in to the book. Kept seeing it at every bookstore I went to but the image and story overview kept putting me off. Didn’t think it’d end up like that though.

I’ll wait and search for details on the third book. If it turns out “typical” I guess I’m just gonna pass on the series, and maybe the author.

By: Matt’s Bookosphere 7/01/08 « Enter the Octopus

Matt’s Bookosphere 7/01/08 « Enter the Octopus — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:29:09 +0000

[...] Review: “Empress” by Karen Miller [...]

By: Autumn

Autumn — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 19:18:19 +0000

I read Karen Miller’s other two books, “Innocent Mage” and “Awakened Mage” and enjoyed them. You could tell she wasn’t as polished as more mainstream or popular fantasy authors, but there was something refreshing and new about her content. I’m looking foward to getting my hands one this new one.

Thanks for the detailed review.

By: Alex Madlinger

Alex Madlinger — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:41:41 +0000

Hmmm…

It seems like there is good potential for a racism theme… except she /seems/ to be taking it the wrong way. It’s almost like… I don’t know. Fantasy books, where the “brown people” are different and new, are great places to say that all people are equal. If anything, go out of the way to show the white folks as “eviler” so you can make your point. I don’t want to form an opinion yet.

Fortunately, it seems that I will like this book–I love not liking the main character. Strange, isn’t it? I’ve always loved reading behind the bad guys.