Scan barcode
A review by sarah42783
Diplomats and Fugitives by Lindsay Buroker
4.0
This review is more about the Emperor's Edge series as a whole than about this particular instalment. Most of my dear friends being totally clueless as usual as to what The Emperor's Edge is about, I'd thought I'd try to corrupt their innocent minds into reading it, and introduce them to the overall awesomeness of the series. You're welcome.
I am not one of those Fantasy-Sanderson Cult-type Freaks *waves at her thou-shalt-not-be-named-but-you-know-I'm-talking-about-you-friends* Most of the time, I read a fantasy book and something like this happens:
Yes, fantasy is usually a pretty good cure for insomnia as far as I'm concerned. But once every 200 years I come across a fantasy book/series that doesn't bore me to death. Wow. One I don't DNF the hell out of after reading 20 pages (which usually takes me about two months). Wow. One I actually finish reading to the very last page. Wow. One I actually rate pretty high. Wow. So the fact that this is the ninth instalment in this series and that I'm still here to talk about it should tell you something. Yes it should.
Okay, so this isn't one of those epic, dark, every-instalment-is-1000+-pages kind of series. I guess you Fantasy Freaks would consider it diet, decaffeinated fantasy. Think what you will, I don't give a damn. It might be light fantasy, but fantasy it still is. With magic. And steampunk. And mental stuff. And [BEEP] ← homemade spoiler tag. Specially designed for BIG spoilers. And for the silly people who can't resist the call of the evil spoiler tag. And adventures, lots of adventures. And fights. And fast-paced action. And evil plotting. And fun, lots of fun. And great banter. And a kickass female heroine. And a very cool assassin. And one of the best gang of misfits ever.
Time for the awful truth (yeah, I'm like that, I like it awful): I wasn't that excited about the first book in the series. The world building isn't that great and can be quite confusing at time. The plot is a bit weak. BUT. The cast of characters is awesome. And the book is fun. Which some people seem to have a problem with. Some reviewers criticize it because they think it's too "campy" and reads too much like a comedy. Well, guess what? This is no [b:Way of Kings|7235533|The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1)|Brandon Sanderson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388184640l/7235533._SY75_.jpg|8134945], people. This is a light-hearted read that doesn't take itself seriously. Some reviewers criticize it because they think the characters get out of sticky situations too easily. And because the heroine is –they say– a Mary Sue. Well, guess what?
I don't care if the characters have it too easy, I don't care if Amaranthe is a Mary Sue (which she isn't
About this instalment: the series arc came to its conclusion with Republic (book 8). Diplomats and Fugitives is a standalone novel set in the Emperor's Edge, and features some of the series' secondary characters as main characters. And it's as awesome as the previous books: adventure, fun, fights, magic, lots of action, weird creatures, explosions, and a great cast. Yet another fantastic addition to the series.
The Emperor's Edge is one of the most entertaining fantasy series out there. And it's self-published. And book 1 is free. What more do you want?
• Book 1: The Emperor’s Edge ★★★★
• Book 2: Dark Currents ★★★★
• Book 3: Deadly Games ★★★★
• Book 4: Conspiracy ★★★★
• Book 5: Blood and Betrayal ★★★★
• Book 5.5: Beneath the Surface ★★★★
• Book 6: Forged in Blood I ★★★★
• Book 7: Forged in Blood II ★★★★★
• Book 8: Republic ★★★★
I am not one of those Fantasy-Sanderson Cult-type Freaks *waves at her thou-shalt-not-be-named-but-you-know-I'm-talking-about-you-friends* Most of the time, I read a fantasy book and something like this happens:
Yes, fantasy is usually a pretty good cure for insomnia as far as I'm concerned. But once every 200 years I come across a fantasy book/series that doesn't bore me to death. Wow. One I don't DNF the hell out of after reading 20 pages (which usually takes me about two months). Wow. One I actually finish reading to the very last page. Wow. One I actually rate pretty high. Wow. So the fact that this is the ninth instalment in this series and that I'm still here to talk about it should tell you something. Yes it should.
Okay, so this isn't one of those epic, dark, every-instalment-is-1000+-pages kind of series. I guess you Fantasy Freaks would consider it diet, decaffeinated fantasy. Think what you will, I don't give a damn. It might be light fantasy, but fantasy it still is. With magic. And steampunk. And mental stuff. And [BEEP] ← homemade spoiler tag. Specially designed for BIG spoilers. And for the silly people who can't resist the call of the evil spoiler tag. And adventures, lots of adventures. And fights. And fast-paced action. And evil plotting. And fun, lots of fun. And great banter. And a kickass female heroine. And a very cool assassin. And one of the best gang of misfits ever.
Time for the awful truth (yeah, I'm like that, I like it awful): I wasn't that excited about the first book in the series. The world building isn't that great and can be quite confusing at time. The plot is a bit weak. BUT. The cast of characters is awesome. And the book is fun. Which some people seem to have a problem with. Some reviewers criticize it because they think it's too "campy" and reads too much like a comedy. Well, guess what? This is no [b:Way of Kings|7235533|The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1)|Brandon Sanderson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388184640l/7235533._SY75_.jpg|8134945], people. This is a light-hearted read that doesn't take itself seriously. Some reviewers criticize it because they think the characters get out of sticky situations too easily. And because the heroine is –they say– a Mary Sue. Well, guess what?
I don't care if the characters have it too easy, I don't care if Amaranthe is a Mary Sue (which she isn't
About this instalment: the series arc came to its conclusion with Republic (book 8). Diplomats and Fugitives is a standalone novel set in the Emperor's Edge, and features some of the series' secondary characters as main characters. And it's as awesome as the previous books: adventure, fun, fights, magic, lots of action, weird creatures, explosions, and a great cast. Yet another fantastic addition to the series.
The Emperor's Edge is one of the most entertaining fantasy series out there. And it's self-published. And book 1 is free. What more do you want?
• Book 1: The Emperor’s Edge ★★★★
• Book 2: Dark Currents ★★★★
• Book 3: Deadly Games ★★★★
• Book 4: Conspiracy ★★★★
• Book 5: Blood and Betrayal ★★★★
• Book 5.5: Beneath the Surface ★★★★
• Book 6: Forged in Blood I ★★★★
• Book 7: Forged in Blood II ★★★★★
• Book 8: Republic ★★★★