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lesserjoke's review
3.0
From what I've read so far, the majority of author Victoria Goddard's Nine Worlds saga takes place in and around the time of Artorin Damara, the hundredth and final Emperor of Astandalas. This prequel novella, by contrast, is set many centuries prior, and functions primarily as a character study of His Radiancy's distant predecessor, the forty-ninth personage to hold that title. We find him here early in his reign, but already tired of constantly waging war to expand and preserve his empire's borders.
The action of the piece is minimal and somewhat underwhelming, even for a cozy fantasy series like this. The protagonist arrives in his mother's homeland and honors her old teacher by asking for his advice to secure a lasting peace, but the former general's response basically amounts to a suggestion that he try meditating as though going into battle within himself. When he does, he experiences a sequence of prophetic visions and ultimately unlocks the intuitive understanding to wield magic that had hitherto eluded him. It's a gift we know will radically reorient his station and that of his lineage to come, but it doesn't amount to much of a conclusion for the story currently at hand. Although an interesting picture of the reluctant young warrior and his era of the setting, this book isn't the most satisfying installment on its own.
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The action of the piece is minimal and somewhat underwhelming, even for a cozy fantasy series like this. The protagonist arrives in his mother's homeland and honors her old teacher by asking for his advice to secure a lasting peace, but the former general's response basically amounts to a suggestion that he try meditating as though going into battle within himself. When he does, he experiences a sequence of prophetic visions and ultimately unlocks the intuitive understanding to wield magic that had hitherto eluded him. It's a gift we know will radically reorient his station and that of his lineage to come, but it doesn't amount to much of a conclusion for the story currently at hand. Although an interesting picture of the reluctant young warrior and his era of the setting, this book isn't the most satisfying installment on its own.
Like this review?
--Throw me a quick one-time donation here!
https://ko-fi.com/lesserjoke
--Subscribe here to support my writing and weigh in on what I read next!
https://patreon.com/lesserjoke
--Follow along on Goodreads here!
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6288479-joe-kessler
--Or click here to browse through all my reviews!
https://lesserjoke.home.blog
zimmerea's review
adventurous
relaxing
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
4.0
Good, but felt too short in a bad way. The end came too fast and left me stumbling where even just a few more scenes could have solidified this as great.
lindzmace's review
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
will i ever stop reading short stories? nope. especially not if victoria goddard writes them
welgan's review
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This one was rather difficult to understand, and I was expecting the story of Aurelius' meeting with Elonoa'a (and was greatly disappointed in that regard).
I guess I would have been more excited if I had more knowledge of Aurelius' struggles with magic prior to reading that short story, because as it is, it was mainly confusing. Beautiful but I hadn't found the connexion to the lore of the world I hoped for.
I guess I would have been more excited if I had more knowledge of Aurelius' struggles with magic prior to reading that short story, because as it is, it was mainly confusing. Beautiful but I hadn't found the connexion to the lore of the world I hoped for.
letta's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
helllucifer's review
5.0
God this was beautiful. Knowing Aurelius' fate makes this book so much more harder to digest, but I almost have a few tears in my eyes.
The prose was just gorgeous.
The prose was just gorgeous.
jessrock's review
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This was...fine. I'm not sure reading about a couple of quiet days in the life of this emperor from 50 generations prior to all the other Nine Worlds stories added much to the lore. The afterword does say that the author intends to write more about Aurelius and so maybe this book provides needed set-up for whatever comes next, but based on all the other Nine Worlds books I've read so far, this one is entirely optional/skippable.
south_of_south_farthing's review
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25