The Empire Series *SPOILER WARNING*

[Ross]

DON'T READ IF YOU HAVN'T READ THE SERIES - I've Warned You!

My keyboard has been broken and i've been dieing to post about it!

Thought the whole thing was brilliant.

It is not exactly magic based but more to do with struggles in life for a young girl who unexpectantly get thrown into the deadly "Game of the Council" when her Father and older Brother are killed while on the midkemian world.

It's amazing how much she actually goes through to protect her family name from destruction.

Was expecting a "battle" at the end of "Mistress of the Empire" between the Great Ones and the Cho-Ja/imperial whites/shinzawai/acoma with Hochopepa, Fumita and Shimone choosing to side with Mara at the most vital moment. BUT it was typical of Mara to use her mouth to wriggle her way out of almost certain death (with the help of a very kind priest).

FAVOURITE CHARACTERS:

After Mara who is my favourite female character in fantasy so far (not seen many) there is Papewaio who was so proud to serve the Acoma and Mara and even risked death early in the series to save her. (was dissapointed with him leaving us though)

Keyoke is a very strong character and was involved in one of my favourite scenes when he and his men are backed in by the Minwanabi (the one where he loses his leg)

Arakasi - I'm a really big fan of this sort of secretive character anyway so I knew I was always going to find him amongst my favourites.

Lugan - He's just always there If i was a fantasy character then this is the sort i'd be. Down to earth, sarcastic and has a really good sense of humour - but when needed is one you can always rely on in the most dangerous times.

Kevin - Everybody must love Kevin, the guy was awesome. Didn't care about the Tsurani ways of life and just said what he thought whenever he wanted - even though by the "Tsurani Code" he should have been hung several hundred times.

I'm sure there are others i've forgotten but that's enough

 

[dekket]

Glad you enjoyed the series. I loved it also.

 

[devilsgrin]

this series is my absolute favourite that Feist has touched.
Mara of the Acoma, Kevin of Zun... great characters.
The struggles... oh the struggles. having read a fair amount of Feist's books, gotta say that i've yet to see such well written characters, dialogue and even the action... there is a whole section of Mistress of the Empire that has an almost palpable tension... i remember that everytime i read it my heartbeat quickens, even though i know Mara isn't about to die...
Its a shame to say this, but it must be said. Perhaps the brilliance, the completeness of the entire series, is down to JannyWurts more than Feist... as none of his other works are as intense... at least IMHO...or maybe its because i grew to care about what happened to Mara and co... whilst i could never really give a.... about anyone on Midkemia except for Erik and Pug...

 

[Clansman]

devilsgrin, have you read any of Wurts' solo stuff? I have to agree with you, as I gave up on Midkemia a while back. It was Empire that lead me to Wurts' other stuff, and if you thought Mistress had palpable tension, you should try out The Wars of Light and Shadow, starting with Curse of the Mistwraith.

 

[Grimward]

Predictably where Janny Wurts is concerned, I'd agree with you too, DG, and have said similar such things elsewhere round these parts where the collaboration with Ray is concerned....

Glad you liked it Ross, and envy you for the experience (re-reads are good, but not quite the same as the first time, of course!!!).

 

[Clansman]

Isn't there an old Foreigner song "Feels Like the First Time"?

 

[devilsgrin]

i have not as yet read any Wurts, Clamsman.
Will have to give her a try!
Wars of Light and Shadow here i come.

 

[Clansman]

Have fun. Wurts typically builds up the story in the first half of the book, and then cuts loose about half way through with a wild ride to the finish, so the patient reader is really rewarded. You can see a similar structure in Empire, but it is really, really clear when she is the sole plotting author.

Curse of the Mistwraith builds a little more than most, because it is the start of a long epic series, and she is laying groundwork. I still loved it though, and the succeeding books get better and better (with the possible exception of Peril's Gate (book 6), which is a little introspective, but which sets up a rapid pace in Traitor's Knot and Stormed Fortress (books 7 and 8)). The great thing is, you have eight published books to go through, and the ninth is due out next year (The Sword of the Canon: Initiate's Trial), so your timing is really good. The series is set to be 11 books long.

Grimward, Dekket and I are all at different stages of a full re-read, for which this series is great.