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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-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
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
mysterious
medium-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
Uninteresting characters, too bogged down in it's own hype
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Interesting idea and weird narrative with different characters but at the same time overall plot is predictable and repetitive. Land on new planet conveniently near village. Locals throw a party because of course they have unlimited food to throw at completely unknown visitors. Afterwards locals try to betray our heroes. It felt like author wanted/needed to make book bigger to show vast universe, but had only limited number of scenarios to use. Oh, and to show that this is scifi book, author sometimes throwing a bunch of techno babble making some paragraphs unreadable.
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
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
Gladstone's Last Exit was my second favourite read of 2023, and Empress of Forever has been on my TBR since I first saw it released, and after finishing Empress of Forever , I think Max Gladstone has become my new favourite author.
I am fresh off finishing this (less than half an hour ago), so my review may be edited later, but I adored this. This is a book (like Last Exit) that is intentionally defying genre, it is both a science fiction and a fantasy novel, a space opera and a character study (or multiples of them), an adventure quest and a war story.
Empress of Forever reminded me a little of Gideon the Ninth - only in the way that they are the only two SFF novels I've encountered that very seamlessly blend together both science fiction and fantasy - and in Empress of Forever it is genuinely delightful.
A note on the technical elements of the narrative: I have very specific personal taste these days in spec/SFF fic and Gladstone hits all of them: messy and complex female queer MC's, messy and complex interpersonal relationships, messy and complex political situations (and so on).
I also find it difficult, even now, to find SFF fiction that a) has a homonormative world and b) is also centered on women without it being a political statement - yet Gladstone pulls this off effortlessly.
I should get onto the nitty gritty - the character relationships are so well-built - Viv & Hong's relationship was my favourite, if only because I'm an absolute sucker for platonic female/male best friendships, but in that very homonormative way, many of the relationships in general don't fall into easy binary categorical relationships (and it's FANTASTIC).
Viv in particular was a very strong main character to me - and while I guessed the first twist, I DID NOT GUESS THE SECOND OR THIRD ONE and they had me PACING and SWEATING and at the second twist I paused my reading to call my partner and vent about the entire thing - it's one of THOSE books.
One other note -I CAN'T BELIEVE HONG DIED I actually really truly did not see that coming and it did completely shatter me.
Overall, this was masterful and so surprising - I'm running out of appropriate adjectives for how much I enjoyed this, but it's definitely going to stick in the back of my brain.
I am fresh off finishing this (less than half an hour ago), so my review may be edited later, but I adored this. This is a book (like Last Exit) that is intentionally defying genre, it is both a science fiction and a fantasy novel, a space opera and a character study (or multiples of them), an adventure quest and a war story.
Empress of Forever reminded me a little of Gideon the Ninth - only in the way that they are the only two SFF novels I've encountered that very seamlessly blend together both science fiction and fantasy - and in Empress of Forever it is genuinely delightful.
A note on the technical elements of the narrative: I have very specific personal taste these days in spec/SFF fic and Gladstone hits all of them: messy and complex female queer MC's, messy and complex interpersonal relationships, messy and complex political situations (and so on).
I also find it difficult, even now, to find SFF fiction that a) has a homonormative world and b) is also centered on women without it being a political statement - yet Gladstone pulls this off effortlessly.
I should get onto the nitty gritty - the character relationships are so well-built - Viv & Hong's relationship was my favourite, if only because I'm an absolute sucker for platonic female/male best friendships, but in that very homonormative way, many of the relationships in general don't fall into easy binary categorical relationships (and it's FANTASTIC).
Viv in particular was a very strong main character to me - and while I guessed the first twist, I DID NOT GUESS THE SECOND OR THIRD ONE and they had me PACING and SWEATING and at the second twist I paused my reading to call my partner and vent about the entire thing - it's one of THOSE books.
One other note -
Overall, this was masterful and so surprising - I'm running out of appropriate adjectives for how much I enjoyed this, but it's definitely going to stick in the back of my brain.
I enjoyed this but didn't love it and it is completely immemorable a week later.
adventurous
challenging
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Safe to say I loved this.
It's big, it's complex, and it's imaginative. Despite being notionally science fiction there's no "hard sci-fi" to it. Despite the cavalier way in which the book treats the laws of physics, it's never suggested that these things are magic.
It's an epic quest, and like the best epic quests it combines periods of action and daring-do with quieter times of introspection, growth and humanity. It's something of a travelogue, as Viv and her companions drift from place to place, looking for allies, weapons and/or safety.
In the other Gladstone works I've read, he has shined the most in characterization, and mythbuilding. This book is no different. All of the main characters are well fleshed out. They also grow and change throughout the story in important ways. The setting is full of ideas, and full of larger than life events and characters. In particular, the fuzzy boundary between 4D space and the hyperspaces of cloud is a fertile ground for mythic characters and impossibilities.
Much like the Craft Sequence, this book straddles a lot of genres. That may make it difficult for some people to approach. In particular, I have seen it described as a "feminist Guardians of the Galaxy." It is not that. This is not a two hour thrill ride, easy-to-understand adventure. Those elements are in there, but there's also 2001, Dune and Hyperion in there.
In fact, there are elements and moments that specifically made me think of those other works. Not in a coarsely derivative sense, but rather it's clear that the text and imagery was informed by them.
It's big, it's complex, and it's imaginative. Despite being notionally science fiction there's no "hard sci-fi" to it. Despite the cavalier way in which the book treats the laws of physics, it's never suggested that these things are magic.
It's an epic quest, and like the best epic quests it combines periods of action and daring-do with quieter times of introspection, growth and humanity. It's something of a travelogue, as Viv and her companions drift from place to place, looking for allies, weapons and/or safety.
In the other Gladstone works I've read, he has shined the most in characterization, and mythbuilding. This book is no different. All of the main characters are well fleshed out. They also grow and change throughout the story in important ways. The setting is full of ideas, and full of larger than life events and characters. In particular, the fuzzy boundary between 4D space and the hyperspaces of cloud is a fertile ground for mythic characters and impossibilities.
Much like the Craft Sequence, this book straddles a lot of genres. That may make it difficult for some people to approach. In particular, I have seen it described as a "feminist Guardians of the Galaxy." It is not that. This is not a two hour thrill ride, easy-to-understand adventure. Those elements are in there, but there's also 2001, Dune and Hyperion in there.
In fact, there are elements and moments that specifically made me think of those other works. Not in a coarsely derivative sense, but rather it's clear that the text and imagery was informed by them.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Billed as a feminist Guardians of the Galaxy, Empress of Forever ticks many of the checkboxes of my favorite things: found family, female takes on predominantly male tropes, a ragtag team of misfits working together toward a common goal, last stands and Hail Marys, warriors, WOC protagonists, etc. But as I was reading this, the overall work didn't weave together as well as I had anticipated. Gladstone's worldbuilding feels shaky at best; at once, Viv is catapulted through space and time as I, the reader, have barely struggled to understand the setting as is or even get to know who Viv is. Much of my reading this novel required me to scroll back and gain my bearings as to what was going on; the worldbuilding was too abstract for me to get a keen sense of what Gladstone was trying to convey, and when the plot is deliberately moving at a breakneck speed, there's a lot to process.
As a result, I was pretty take-it-or-leave-it for Viv. But, but, we need to talk about Zanj, pirate queen of my heart. I LOVE ZANJ. I could have devoured this novel if it had been through Zanj's perspective. Hell, I could have read an entire novel of Zanj's backstory. I love me a good ol' embittered protagonist with a Past who has seen some shit, and Zanj, with her inscrutable loyalties and fury, is no exception. Gray is a fantastic gooey demigod who gives me strong Calcifer (from Howl's Moving Castle) vibes, down to their shady ties and amorphous, nebulous physical states.
Anyway, it's not a bad read, but don't try to zip through it, even in the face of its breakneck pacing. Overall, this is an example of a book that needed to be more than the sum of its parts, even if the parts are all well and good.
As a result, I was pretty take-it-or-leave-it for Viv. But, but, we need to talk about Zanj, pirate queen of my heart. I LOVE ZANJ. I could have devoured this novel if it had been through Zanj's perspective. Hell, I could have read an entire novel of Zanj's backstory. I love me a good ol' embittered protagonist with a Past who has seen some shit, and Zanj, with her inscrutable loyalties and fury, is no exception. Gray is a fantastic gooey demigod who gives me strong Calcifer (from Howl's Moving Castle) vibes, down to their shady ties and amorphous, nebulous physical states.
Anyway, it's not a bad read, but don't try to zip through it, even in the face of its breakneck pacing. Overall, this is an example of a book that needed to be more than the sum of its parts, even if the parts are all well and good.