Scan barcode
A review by cindypepper
Empress of Forever by Max Gladstone
3.0
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.