Last year’s The Mirror Empire was one of the most exciting (and sometimes divisive) entries in an already stellar year of fantasy fiction. Kameron Hurley crafted a book that was daring, original, and even challenging. While putting her own spin on the idea of parallel worlds in a post-apocalyptic sort of portal fantasy, she turned gender roles and relationships on their head. It was the most brutally violent female-led fantasy I had ever encountered. It was ambitious, awesome, imaginative, and exhausting in equal measure . . . and I had serious concerns as to how a sequel would fare. Fortunately, the depth she established there proves to have even more layers than we thought, making Empire Ascendant a more than worthy follow-up.

Having brought the two pivotal universes together at the end of the first book, Hurley continues to develop her worlds here. We already had a pretty good idea of the geographies and societies, but this time around we get a much deeper understanding of the politics involved. What impressed me most was the fact that she let both sides have their moments in the spotlight, questioning the means and motives of each. Conflicts both personal and political are dealt with here, and they are as complicated and confusing as you might expect when mirror universes and doppelgangers are involved. There’s no question that the Dhai are the victims here, but beyond that, there are no clear moral or ethical lines. As much as I thought I knew who to root for going in, I came out of the book feeling dirty for rooting quite so hard.

Readers who were concerned that the first book had too many characters and too many points-of-view will find no respite here. Hurley throws even more into the mix, and elevates secondary characters from the first book to positions of significance here. Fortunately, what’s a challenge for some is a reward for others. Even though it’s been a year between books, I immediately reconnected with the characters and was pleased to see them grow and develop even more. Zezili was a dark, deplorable highlight of the first book, but she takes on even more of an edge here. Lilia started to grow stale for me in the first book, serving more as a POV than a character, but we see new life in her here that adds to the overall drama of the tale. In a book defined by its damaged characters, Anavha probably surprised me the most, rising above his victim status in the first book to begin his own significant arc here.

Although this is a second (or middle) book, things actually happen here. With the world, the scenario, and the characters already established, Hurley is free to focus on the action – and she delivers that in spades. This is a fast-paced tale that carries a sense of urgency from page one. You can feel the tension oozing off the page as the characters clash, cultures collide, and worlds approach an end. The plot develops as much, if not more so, than in the first book – and not always in ways you’d expect. There are twists and turns to the tale that even the most jaded readers won’t see coming, as the story careens downhill towards an uncomfortable precipice. Not all of the characters will make it through to to end, and those that do will be irrevocably changed.

While Empire Ascendant won’t win back any fans who were turned off by the violent, reverse sort of sexism and gender-bent sadism of the first book, those who enjoyed The Mirror Empire will come away entirely satisfied.

Paperback, 464 pages

Expected publication: October 6th 2015 by Angry Robot

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

The Empire Ascendant by Kameron Hurley
Expected publication: October 2015 by Angry Robot

When the dark star of the cataclysm ascends, one empire will rise... and many will perish.

Every two thousand years, the dark star Oma appears in the night sky, bringing with it a tide of death and destruction. Tattered rifts open between worlds; great empires are born, and mighty rulers die. Whole nations succumb to madness. And those who survive must contend with friends and enemies newly imbued with bloody powers.

The kingdom of Saiduan already lies in ruin, decimated by invaders from another world who share the faces of those they seek to destroy.  Now the nation of Dhai is under siege by the same force. Their only hope for survival lies in the hands of an illegitimate ruler warring with his consort and former lover for control of the nation's allegiance.

As the foreign Empire spreads across the world like a disease, one of their former allies takes up her own Empress's sword again to unseat them, and two enslaved scholars begin a treacherous journey home with what they hope is the key to the Empire's undoing.

But when the enemy you must overcome shares your own face, who can be trusted?


The Mirror Empire absolutely blew me away last year - it's one of those rare books I'm thinking of giving a reread over the summer - so I'm really anxious to see where Hurley takes the story next.

That was a rather satisfying end. I felt satisfied but still wanted more, just the kind of ending you want really.

I'm not sure if this is the first book or not, through out the book we had glimpses of this 'previous adventure' the re-callings were vague enough to make me think that they were just reminders of a previous story i should have already read. thinking about it now, i should probably check into that, just to make sure.

Destiny's Star itself was great, it had a gripping story line, fascinating world, rich with different cultures.
Amusing and sympathetic characters, the only fault really was at times the writing was a bit off, maybe it needed better editing, but for the most that was only noticeable around the beginning, or maybe i sunk into the book enough after that that i just stopped noticing?
At times i did have a little difficulty becoming re-invested into the story after putting it down for a short period of time, but a few chapters later and i couldn't put the book down! what with its strange beasts, fascinating magic and wonderful diverse characters, even some of the bad guys i felt for.

Best thing is i felt like we just scratched the tip of the iceberg, really we only explored one race/culture. I'm very much looking forward to seeing the others.

Oh one thing i need to say, Storyteller's speech during the... magical thing.... LAME, Not all of it but some of it... ugh. good news, it all worked out well in the end and i was rather pleased with the result.

rating: 3.5 star

As much as I enjoyed Stories of the Raksura and will definitely be going back to read the original stories (beginning with The Cloud Roads), this is a difficult read for a newcomer to the worlds of Martha Wells. I don't regret giving it a read for a moment, but I do regret not having read the previous novels first.

There are a lot of nuances to the stories that I just didn't get, particularly in regards to the relationships, but I'm sure fans will pick up on them right away. Having said that, the world building here is really quite astounding, right from the concept for the Raksura themselves, to the construction of their world, to the social hierarchies, to the gender politics.

Amongst the Raksura there are two distinct forms, which each have their own unique manifestations. The Arbora, who are kind of a worker/artist class, are scaled humanoids with retractable claws, spines, and frills. The Aeriat, by contrast, are more of a noble class, marked as much by their wings as their roles. The Queens are powerfully aggressive, and very protective of their Courts, while their male consorts are largely shy and submissive. Otherwise, there don't seem to be any sort of rigid gender roles here, and sexuality seems to be very open and flexible. While the races appear reptilian, they behave very insect-like, at least from a societal point of view.

Anyway, onto the stories. The Falling World is a classic adventure-quest type story, with a party from the Indigo Court setting out to discover why their diplomatic party never reached their destination. There's some nice jostling for position in the search party, a good bit of mystery regarding who can and cannot be trusted, and some breathtaking action scenes. The imagination at work here is top-notch, and my own sense of wonder easily carried me past the confusion as to who the characters were and why their relationships mattered.

The Tale of Indigo and Cloud is an historical background tale, exploring events that I presume happened long before the original trilogy. This, for me, was a much more accessible story as I didn't feel like I was missing out on nearly so much. It was more of a political tale, exploring the origins and animosities between the Courts, but I found it fascinating. The world here seems a bit more primitive than in the other story, which just makes me that much more curious about how the Courts developed and what's really out there in the wider world.

The other two short stories - The Forest Boy and Adaptation - were interesting but, once again, suffer from those missed nuances. They were too short to really engage a new reader, but readers who already know the characters will likely appreciate them.

Overall, Stories of the Raksura is a rough introduction to the world of Martha Wells, but extraordinary effective in making me want to read more. I did have her Ile-Rienseries high in my TBR pile, but it looks like Raksura may just leap ahead in the queue.