The Emperor's Edge (edition 2012)

The full title ("Lindsay Buroker's The Emperor's Edge") is awkward and a bit pretentious (perhaps a shared universe in formation?), but don't hold that against the book.

Title aside, The Emperor's Edge is actually a pretty smooth piece of writing. It's straightforward fantasy, lightly steamed. Amaranthe, an enforcer (police), learns of a dangerous threat to the empire, and very quickly is left to her own devices to save it.

The writing is good, with setting quickly established, and likeable, differentiated characters to follow. If it were just down to writing and overall story, I'd be happy to follow this adventure further.

Unfortunately, the plotting doesn't hold up. While seemingly not intended as a young adult book, the plot elements are very YA. For example, the threatened emperor is a genius, a pacifist, cares about working folks, and wants to introduce democracy - and he's barely out of his teens. I prefer my fantasy with a higher level of realism.

Similarly, Amaranthe, thrown out of the force and at risk, is almost immediately able to set up a highly qualified team of experts who all happen to have the skills she needs, and all willing to work for free. She faces almost no challenges on this front. And despite a high price on her head, she's able to wander the streets and go to parties pretty much at will. It just doesn't hold up.

It's a shame the plotting is so weak, because the other elements of the book were a lot of fun to read. I'd like to put this down to first-novelitis, but I see that Buroker has many other books to her credit.

If you like good writing, and really don't care about credibility, check this out. If you demand that things could actually work, I can't recommend it. ( )

The full title ("Lindsay Buroker's The Emperor's Edge") is awkward and a bit pretentious (perhaps a shared universe in formation?), but don't hold that against the book.

Title aside, The Emperor's Edge is actually a pretty smooth piece of writing. It's straightforward fantasy, lightly steamed. Amaranthe, an enforcer (police), learns of a dangerous threat to the empire, and very quickly is left to her own devices to save it.

The writing is good, with setting quickly established, and likeable, differentiated characters to follow. If it were just down to writing and overall story, I'd be happy to follow this adventure further.

Unfortunately, the plotting doesn't hold up. While seemingly not intended as a young adult book, the plot elements are very YA. For example, the threatened emperor is a genius, a pacifist, cares about working folks, and wants to introduce democracy - and he's barely out of his teens. I prefer my fantasy with a higher level of realism.

Similarly, Amaranthe, thrown out of the force and at risk, is almost immediately able to set up a highly qualified team of experts who all happen to have the skills she needs, and all willing to work for free. She faces almost no challenges on this front. And despite a high price on her head, she's able to wander the streets and go to parties pretty much at will. It just doesn't hold up.

It's a shame the plotting is so weak, because the other elements of the book were a lot of fun to read. I'd like to put this down to first-novelitis, but I see that Buroker has many other books to her credit.

If you like good writing, and really don't care about credibility, check this out. If you demand that things could actually work, I can't recommend it. ( )

Amaranthe Lokdon is one of the few female enforcers working for her emperor, but when she gets in the middle of a sinister plot that threatens the emperor’s life, she’s forced to drop everything from her old life in order to save herself—and possibly save the emperor. Amaranthe amasses a ragtag team, including Sicarius, a lethal assassin, to execute her crazy plan. But what if she can’t trust even her own team to have her back?

To give credit where credit’s due, I kept on returning to this book after every time I decided to put it down because I found problems with the writing. So as far as self-published books go, this is a real nice free find. It has some of the problems that I’ve experienced in other self-published books—notably in pacing, world-building, and plot—but at its heart is a very delightfully strong protagonist and some chuckle-inducing dialogue.

Amaranthe is the type of woman that many protagonists think they are but aren’t really. With her enforcer training, she’s more than physically and intellectually competent. She’s also capable of getting herself out of sticky predicaments with creative thinking. Instead of saying all the time that she’s resourceful and smart and badass, she actually IS. Whenever I thought I was done with this because of some writing weaknesses, Amaranthe comes out with something that impresses me.

About those writing weaknesses… Well, it’s just the stuff that I’ve generally found to appear in self-published books. As in, the world makes sense in the author’s mind, but somewhere down the line, the author’s intended world doesn’t align with the words that actually end up on the page. THE EMPEROR’S EDGE claims to be a fantasy with steampunk elements, but besides for a few mentions of engines and mages and whatnot, it was difficult to distinguish what made this world so different than a medieval/contemporary mashup of our own. (At one point one of the characters calls out, “Yo!” I facepalmed like it was the end of the world.)

I also haven’t warmed up to the Amaranthe-Sicarius romance yet, primarily because Sicarius himself doesn’t demonstrate even a HINT of romantic gestures throughout the whole novel. Amaranthe, girl, you are really deluded if you’ve spotted anything even remotely resembling him caring for you in this episode of your life. However, I believe that the potential for romance is there, and it can pay off in the end, if that’s something that motivates your reading.

Nevertheless, THE EMPEROR’S EDGE exceeded my expectations for a free self-published novel. It’s got its flaws, but they’re not deal-breakers, not with great characters and an admirable female protagonist leading the charge. I may even consider reading on in the series sometime in the future. Snap up this free e-book and be prepared to be impressed with how much heart it’s got. ( )

What a steampunk fantasy romp! Excellent escapist feminist adventure action fiction chock full of necessary violence and absent any gratuitous sex.

Imperial enforcer, Amaranthe Lokdon uncovers a plot to assassinate the emperor but can’t establish who’s behind it, much less foil it, without help from her private band of outlaws who include among their number: The deadliest assassin anyone’s ever heard of; a pretty boy fop with social connections who can charm the skirts off the ladies; a professor whose wide ranging knowledge of academic subjects comes in handy more than once; a teen-aged proto-wizard with a surly attitude who’s destined to grow into his powers – if he survives; and a johnny-come-lately physically and emotionally damaged former pit gladiator who can’t talk, but knows where the secret passages are buried as well as the skeletons.

Highly original, inventive, unpredictable plot; strongly drawn and individualized characters, and starring an intelligent, witty, and resourceful heroine.

Buroker delivers an entertaining, fast-paced fantasy that is surprisingly well written and layered. ( )

Great story, didn't want to put it down. ( )