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spiringempress's review against another edition
4.0
“He likes to humble our foes by making them seem ridiculous. As he said to me the other day, ‘Kill a man, and you cede him honor in the eyes of the gods. Laugh at him and you shame him'.”
This is the final installment in The Empire Trilogy, where Mara faces ultimate loss and must deal with enemies that slowly surround her. All the events start when an assassin murders Mara's son instead of her. Grief-stricken, Mara attempts to go to war with a rival house and long-standing nemesis but finds she is outnumbered by Assembly and hunted by the Black Robes. Paralleling the first book, Mara ventures into the far reaches of civilization to find alliances and befriends those forgotten by the powers in the Empire.
Similar to the first two books, Mistress of the Empire follows the entanglement of the Great Game, where different political rivals vie for power. In the first book, Mara was a girl, who was thrust onto the board when her father and brother died. She quickly mastered the Game and displayed her ability to cunning plan and win honor and glory for the Acoma House. This book illustrates Mara's true master of the Game and her place as the Lady of Acoma. It is marvelous to see the character progression and how the character has evolved.
However, this book and the entire series primarily focuses on political maneuvering and intrigue. It follows the characters as they set up various moves and then follow them through. The story is about Mara, but it's more about how she wins and succeeds at the Great Game. As a result, this book is not as character-heavy as other fantasy titles. With that said, Mistress of the Empire portrays Mara's grief in a realistic and believable manner that establishes her motivation to move forward in the Game. Despite this, it sometimes felt like Mara solely focused on the politics and neglected her issues even when they later became major players. I wish Fiest and Wurts had carried through Mara's strong emotions in the first half of the book to characterize and flesh out her relationship with her remaining children.
The other thing that I adored about this final book was the portrayal of Hokanu. I remember loving him from the start even when he was passed over in favor of Mara's first husband and then her barbarian lover, Kevin. At the conclusion of the second book, I was excited when Mara finally agreed to marry him and Fiest & Wurts did not disappoint, which brings me to a general critique that I have about fantasy novels. Why are the strong and steady relationships disregarded in favor of the ones filled with passion. Sure, Mara had a nice time with Kevin, but he really never did anything to help her politically or even to strategize. Not only did Hokany have a title and power, but he believed in Mara and her abilities, which allowed her to play the Game even better. However, the book is filled with constant wistful thinking of Kevin and it drives me crazy. It also made me pretend the entire ending did not happen, but at least I got something.
This is the final installment in The Empire Trilogy, where Mara faces ultimate loss and must deal with enemies that slowly surround her. All the events start when an assassin murders Mara's son instead of her. Grief-stricken, Mara attempts to go to war with a rival house and long-standing nemesis but finds she is outnumbered by Assembly and hunted by the Black Robes. Paralleling the first book, Mara ventures into the far reaches of civilization to find alliances and befriends those forgotten by the powers in the Empire.
Similar to the first two books, Mistress of the Empire follows the entanglement of the Great Game, where different political rivals vie for power. In the first book, Mara was a girl, who was thrust onto the board when her father and brother died. She quickly mastered the Game and displayed her ability to cunning plan and win honor and glory for the Acoma House. This book illustrates Mara's true master of the Game and her place as the Lady of Acoma. It is marvelous to see the character progression and how the character has evolved.
However, this book and the entire series primarily focuses on political maneuvering and intrigue. It follows the characters as they set up various moves and then follow them through. The story is about Mara, but it's more about how she wins and succeeds at the Great Game. As a result, this book is not as character-heavy as other fantasy titles. With that said, Mistress of the Empire portrays Mara's grief in a realistic and believable manner that establishes her motivation to move forward in the Game. Despite this, it sometimes felt like Mara solely focused on the politics and neglected her issues even when they later became major players. I wish Fiest and Wurts had carried through Mara's strong emotions in the first half of the book to characterize and flesh out her relationship with her remaining children.
The other thing that I adored about this final book was the portrayal of Hokanu. I remember loving him from the start even when he was passed over in favor of Mara's first husband and then her barbarian lover, Kevin. At the conclusion of the second book, I was excited when Mara finally agreed to marry him and Fiest & Wurts did not disappoint, which brings me to a general critique that I have about fantasy novels. Why are the strong and steady relationships disregarded in favor of the ones filled with passion. Sure, Mara had a nice time with Kevin, but he really never did anything to help her politically or even to strategize. Not only did Hokany have a title and power, but he believed in Mara and her abilities, which allowed her to play the Game even better. However, the book is filled with constant wistful thinking of Kevin and it drives me crazy. It also made me pretend the entire ending did not happen, but at least I got something.
sammystarbuck's review
5.0
A cracking end to a fantastic trilogy. The first half of the book is a little different from the other two. For reasons you'll come to understand pretty quickly if you read the book, Mara is not her scheming, backside-kicking self for the first half. Instead, that part of the book is really Arakasi's. always an intriguing - if underused - character, he really comes into his own here, and carries the story forward in an admirable way.
The second half of the book, Mara is back on form.
The last 30 pages are a bit of a blur. I mean that literally, as despite the fact that I've read the book several times before, and knew it was coming, there is a particularly heartbreaking scene about 30 pages before the end of the book that meant I was trying to read the rest through some particularly obnoxious tears that just refused to go away. Hence, a blur.
The second half of the book, Mara is back on form.
The last 30 pages are a bit of a blur. I mean that literally, as despite the fact that I've read the book several times before, and knew it was coming, there is a particularly heartbreaking scene about 30 pages before the end of the book that meant I was trying to read the rest through some particularly obnoxious tears that just refused to go away. Hence, a blur.
jvan's review against another edition
4.0
While the first two books move a bit too slowly and focus on small details, this one quickly gallops along at a reckless pace, with many plots, subplots, vast adventures and more piling up at a speed that is jarring compared to the rest of the series. I found it rather refreshing though, that we get to have a rapidly moving plot. While a lot of what goes on here isn't really interesting (Jiro is the most dull of the major foes) and there's some truly ridiculous stuff (Chumaka's sudden appearance as the equal of Arakasi, when he had been doing his thing for decades with no sign of any such thing, was goofy) but in general it's successful, and the ending builds to something powerful enough to merit a good rating.
acardattack's review against another edition
4.0
New book, same plot; Mara must out maneuver and out luck another enemy with an unhealthy obsession with her.
Despite it feeling too similar I still enjoyed it, even if it's my least favorite of the trilogy.
The book like the second has some pacing issues. POVs from the enemy kill a lot of mystery in what's going on.
I still like the politics, but Mara is just too lucky, yes she suffers loss, but she manages to survive so many near death experiences it takes me out of the series
Still a good book and near great series that has some missed potential
Despite it feeling too similar I still enjoyed it, even if it's my least favorite of the trilogy.
The book like the second has some pacing issues. POVs from the enemy kill a lot of mystery in what's going on.
I still like the politics, but Mara is just too lucky, yes she suffers loss, but she manages to survive so many near death experiences it takes me out of the series
Still a good book and near great series that has some missed potential
mayeeta's review against another edition
dnf @ 60
i refuse to force my way through this. I'm gonna spoil the ending for myself cuz I wanna know the ending but that's it.
maybe ill come back to this one day but I will not be doing that soon.
i refuse to force my way through this. I'm gonna spoil the ending for myself cuz I wanna know the ending but that's it.
maybe ill come back to this one day but I will not be doing that soon.
excelsius's review against another edition
5.0
A great final book.
Mara of the Acoma is facing her final enemies, all with diffrent reasons but a common goal.
With the help of her trusted friends and allies she manages to dispose of them one by one, taking down the last by herself in the most impressive manner.
A truly great book for a truly great Series.
Mara of the Acoma is facing her final enemies, all with diffrent reasons but a common goal.
With the help of her trusted friends and allies she manages to dispose of them one by one, taking down the last by herself in the most impressive manner.
A truly great book for a truly great Series.
megtaylor's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
4.0
spinescens's review
adventurous
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage
barnysbooks's review against another edition
5.0
What an ending to an absolutely amazing trilogy! Not enjoyed a book series this much in a very long time, and the last couple of pages made me cry, laugh and smile! Loved it.
angelahayes's review against another edition
5.0
I have been Buddy-Reading this series over the last couple of months with a ‘book-club’ friend who had not read Raymond E. Feist’s work before. As I have been a long-time fan of his work, I have compared it to The Lord of the Rings books but have actually enjoyed this series more. When I mentioned this to my friend, she immediately wanted to read the series, and convinced me to read them with her- not that it was a big ask 😊.
It is an epic fantasy saga- with wonderful world building and scene setting, and dynamic, vivid and detailed descriptions that will transport you right into the story.
Take some time to explore Mr. Feist’s work, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed- and the best part is that all the books are available now to read- no waiting for books to be released! #WINNING