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rbash2391's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The worldbuilding was difficult for me to understand at first, but as the story progresses and we hear more about the lore from different characters, you get an understanding of the magic system. Mehr is the descendant of an exiled, persecuted, nomadic people who are blood-related to the ancient spirits and gods. They perform dances called rites with specific movements and hand-signing to communicate a story. Mehr, as a noblewoman and daughter of the governor, is able to make the choice about who and when she wants to marry. As an Amrithi, she should not marry, because vows are bonding in a way that can be painful or fatal if broken, but she is forced to choose marriage by a group of followers of the country's spiritual leader. If she doesn't choose to marry the mystic who offers to her, it could put her family and especially her child sister in danger. She chooses to marry and is ripped from her comfortable, secure noblewoman's life to travel across the desert with her new husband to the stronghold of the emperor's spiritual leader, the Maha. His keep rests upon the part of the desert where the gods sleep, and he has a plan to force Mehr into service for the empire.
This book is really fraught with familial pain and abandonment. It was very angsty and bleak but not for the sake of it. Mehr is given the illusion of choice, which is a theme throughout this story. She learns there is one person besides herself that she can trust, and consciously chooses not to take advantage of that relationship. This choice is noble and intelligent and pays off for her, as the relationship with the stranger who becomes her husband is genuine and a source of safety, comfort, and rest.
There is an obvious bias in this world against hte Amrithi people, who are darker-skinned, and the Maha has bound Amun, Mehr's husband, through magic. It is a form of enslavement, and while the Maha takes advantage of children who are outcasts, pariahs, and in need of community, none moreso than Amun. He is labeled and treated as a monster from his early years on, and the Maha brands Amun with painful vows that force him to the Maha's will. Mehr's use of Amrithi magic during a dreamfire storm identifies her as having magical abilities and therefore a perfect match for the Maha to bind to Amun, and thus to the Maha's service, through the vow of marriage.
Each character is given a choice or the illusion of such in this story and their decisions reflect what they value. Mehr chooses to marry Amun because she believes that will protect her family, without knowing who Amun is or that she will be vowed to serve the Maha who intends to use her for sacrilege. Mehr chooses to leave Amun and the Maha, and fight against her vow, although it causes her a lot of suffering to do so. Even though it's painful, she fights for her freedom and to not be used as a pawn towards the Maha and Emperor's ends. Finally, she chooses to return to Amun to protect and release him from his enslavement. Mehr uses her leverage over the Maha, who begins to physically decline after their choice not to perform the rites that keep him immortal and in power.
Amun has no choice but to obey his vows to the Maha, or die and suffer throughout eternity. The Amrithi long have a history of choosing death over this kind of servitude, but it is still a choice. He chooses to circumvent the Maha's demand to consummate the marraige, acting under a semantic loophole to protect Mehr and reduce harm. And when they are finally compelled to consummate the marriage, Amun makes the choice to do so rather than allow his vows to dictate his actions, only after Mehr gives him permission. I hesitate to say that she consented, because consent cannot be present when you are under compulsion or duress, which was the case for both of them. In the end, when Mehr insists that he choose his future apart from their marriage, he is finally free of his vows and still chooses to court Mehr in a traditional way so that their relationship isn't completely founded on the vows to the Maha and each other.
Mehr's mother chose to abandon her illegitimate children with their governor father when they were young. She leads a group of Amrithi through the desert; when Mehr finds her mother after escaping the Maha, she is able to return to the Maha to save Amun, against her mother's wishes. Her mother tried to take away that choice from Mehr in order to save their tribe.
Lalita chooses at first to live as a courtesan, hiding her identity as Amrithi, because she wants to live life on her terms. Then she must abandon that farce and return to the desert when her identity is revealed. We don't have to scorn her for hiding her heritage, because it's something she must do for survival and acceptance into the life she wants, but she still subjugates the society that rejects her by teaching Mehr the rites and being that mentor and mother figure.
The Maha takes away everyone's choices through vows, manipulation, and forced servitude. He even takes away the gods' choices by enslaving Amrithi to perform the Rite of the Bound to direct the dreams of the gods to his bidding. In this is his hubris and demise: that he would enslave and mistreat others to seek eternal life and power, but in his final moments choose to release Amun from his vows. This is perceived as a weak, mortal choice, punishable by death at the hand of the most loyal follower of his cause, who could not stand to see her sister be victim to anyone less than a cruel god. Kalini would rather his evil deeds and ambition be the fate of legacy and legend rather than a pathetic, frail mortal.
This book is really fraught with familial pain and abandonment. It was very angsty and bleak but not for the sake of it. Mehr is given the illusion of choice, which is a theme throughout this story. She learns there is one person besides herself that she can trust, and consciously chooses not to take advantage of that relationship. This choice is noble and intelligent and pays off for her, as the relationship with the stranger who becomes her husband is genuine and a source of safety, comfort, and rest.
There is an obvious bias in this world against hte Amrithi people, who are darker-skinned, and the Maha has bound Amun, Mehr's husband, through magic. It is a form of enslavement, and while the Maha takes advantage of children who are outcasts, pariahs, and in need of community, none moreso than Amun. He is labeled and treated as a monster from his early years on, and the Maha brands Amun with painful vows that force him to the Maha's will. Mehr's use of Amrithi magic during a dreamfire storm identifies her as having magical abilities and therefore a perfect match for the Maha to bind to Amun, and thus to the Maha's service, through the vow of marriage.
Each character is given a choice or the illusion of such in this story and their decisions reflect what they value. Mehr chooses to marry Amun because she believes that will protect her family, without knowing who Amun is or that she will be vowed to serve the Maha who intends to use her for sacrilege. Mehr chooses to leave Amun and the Maha, and fight against her vow, although it causes her a lot of suffering to do so. Even though it's painful, she fights for her freedom and to not be used as a pawn towards the Maha and Emperor's ends. Finally, she chooses to return to Amun to protect and release him from his enslavement. Mehr uses her leverage over the Maha, who begins to physically decline after their choice not to perform the rites that keep him immortal and in power.
Amun has no choice but to obey his vows to the Maha, or die and suffer throughout eternity. The Amrithi long have a history of choosing death over this kind of servitude, but it is still a choice. He chooses to circumvent the Maha's demand to consummate the marraige, acting under a semantic loophole to protect Mehr and reduce harm. And when they are finally compelled to consummate the marriage, Amun makes the choice to do so rather than allow his vows to dictate his actions, only after Mehr gives him permission. I hesitate to say that she consented, because consent cannot be present when you are under compulsion or duress, which was the case for both of them. In the end, when Mehr insists that he choose his future apart from their marriage, he is finally free of his vows and still chooses to court Mehr in a traditional way so that their relationship isn't completely founded on the vows to the Maha and each other.
Mehr's mother chose to abandon her illegitimate children with their governor father when they were young. She leads a group of Amrithi through the desert; when Mehr finds her mother after escaping the Maha, she is able to return to the Maha to save Amun, against her mother's wishes. Her mother tried to take away that choice from Mehr in order to save their tribe.
Lalita chooses at first to live as a courtesan, hiding her identity as Amrithi, because she wants to live life on her terms. Then she must abandon that farce and return to the desert when her identity is revealed. We don't have to scorn her for hiding her heritage, because it's something she must do for survival and acceptance into the life she wants, but she still subjugates the society that rejects her by teaching Mehr the rites and being that mentor and mother figure.
The Maha takes away everyone's choices through vows, manipulation, and forced servitude. He even takes away the gods' choices by enslaving Amrithi to perform the Rite of the Bound to direct the dreams of the gods to his bidding. In this is his hubris and demise: that he would enslave and mistreat others to seek eternal life and power, but in his final moments choose to release Amun from his vows. This is perceived as a weak, mortal choice, punishable by death at the hand of the most loyal follower of his cause, who could not stand to see her sister be victim to anyone less than a cruel god. Kalini would rather his evil deeds and ambition be the fate of legacy and legend rather than a pathetic, frail mortal.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Classism, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment and Suicide
msradiosilence's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
Tldr; I love Amun and Mehr, and I really liked how well rounded this book is.
Read my full review at: https://www.rainyreader.com/single-post/empire-of-sand/
Read my full review at: https://www.rainyreader.com/single-post/empire-of-sand/
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Infertility, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Classism, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, War, Abandonment, Colonisation, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Religious bigotry, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts
rosietoast's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Physical abuse
Moderate: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infertility and Sexual content
bookishbutch's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Slavery, Violence, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Confinement, Death, and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual content and Suicide
aseaoftomes's review
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I thoroughly enjoyed this.
This is a desert South Asian fantasy novel that follows our main character Mehr. She has this special magic that allows her to control spirits and gods, and after being hidden her whole life, her and her abilities get discovered and she's forced into an arranged marriage and into a life she's never known and everything that comes with it.
I really liked the writing a lot. It was really well done and generally flowed well. It was easy to fall into and just really captures your interest.
The plot was mostly secondary to the characters, but it's pretty much what I mentioned above.
The world building is definitely one of the strongest parts of the book. I loved learning about the customs and traditions of the different cultures in here and how they came together, the magic was excellent and the dancing that went with it was fantastic. The atmosphere was also great (desert setting). At the same time, I also wish we got more of the world and the history of everything. There were certain aspects I wanted more of and felt a bit underdeveloped, but I think that might be more of a personal preference than anything else.
Finally, the characters. I really liked Mehr as our main character. She was strong, kind, and incredibly smart. I really liked seeing her growth throughout the book. My favorite character though was definitely Amun and while he was always there, I wish we got to spend more time with him. The Maha was written well and I despised him. I just really liked a lot of the dynamics and themes that were explored as well (family, love, sacrifice, vows/oaths...) it was all just really well done. But like with the world, I would've liked to spend more time exploring the relationships and dynamics. It just felt like something was missing and it's hard to put my finger on what.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book despite feeling like I wanted more and that things could've been expanded on. Definitely the best desert fantasy I've read so far.
This is a desert South Asian fantasy novel that follows our main character Mehr. She has this special magic that allows her to control spirits and gods, and after being hidden her whole life, her and her abilities get discovered and she's forced into an arranged marriage and into a life she's never known and everything that comes with it.
I really liked the writing a lot. It was really well done and generally flowed well. It was easy to fall into and just really captures your interest.
The plot was mostly secondary to the characters, but it's pretty much what I mentioned above.
The world building is definitely one of the strongest parts of the book. I loved learning about the customs and traditions of the different cultures in here and how they came together, the magic was excellent and the dancing that went with it was fantastic. The atmosphere was also great (desert setting). At the same time, I also wish we got more of the world and the history of everything. There were certain aspects I wanted more of and felt a bit underdeveloped, but I think that might be more of a personal preference than anything else.
Finally, the characters. I really liked Mehr as our main character. She was strong, kind, and incredibly smart. I really liked seeing her growth throughout the book. My favorite character though was definitely Amun and while he was always there, I wish we got to spend more time with him. The Maha was written well and I despised him. I just really liked a lot of the dynamics and themes that were explored as well (family, love, sacrifice, vows/oaths...) it was all just really well done. But like with the world, I would've liked to spend more time exploring the relationships and dynamics. It just felt like something was missing and it's hard to put my finger on what.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book despite feeling like I wanted more and that things could've been expanded on. Definitely the best desert fantasy I've read so far.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence
Minor: Sexual content
achingallover's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, and Violence
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