An interesting start to the Empire trilogy. The rise of Mara from a pre-novitiate to the ruler of the Acoma family makes a good read. ( )

This is a really good book. It was a delight to find something so good that it kept me up well past my bed time several nights running. I really enjoyed this one -- its set on Kelwan, the planet that invades Midkemia in the Riftwar series, and is written from the perspective of the invaders.

http://www.stillhq.com/book/Raymond_E... ( )

Great read. Excellent story.

Superb dual authored continuation of the tales of the Rift. Set solely in Kelewan at about the time of Magician (a few events are mentioned). Mara of the Acoma family assumes the Lady of the house after her father and elder brother are killed during an attack in Midkemia. A rival house pulled back instead of supportying them, earning a bloodfued.

Mara only 17 has to quickly rise to the intelligence and cunning required to survive at this level of the Game of the Council. Her expolits with various neighbours and schemes show that she is remarkably talented in this.

Superbly written - each author took an alternate chapter and then polished the gaps - you can't tell the difference in style. There are a very few glitches in tense which I think may be attributable to this, but it is marvelous. It has all of Janny's polished prose and attention grabbing world details with Feists' quick running smooth talking characters. A joy to read, the only slight downside is that is occasionally disjointed. There are some hefty jumps between chapters and past events are not neatly rounded up in the manner one might expect. ( )

Murder, politics and revenge.

This series is set in the Tsurani world of Kelewan, so is somewhat different to the Midkemia adventures. Their society is somewhat like feudal Japan's. The focus is on a young woman whose family is murdered because of political machinations that are desirous of obtaining her family interests.

To regain her power she has to employ some lateral thinking and employ the very few resources she has left to claw her way back.

http://notfreesf.blogspot.com/2007/10... ( )

"Daughter of the Empire" is a classic fantasy of manners. Mara, a teenager thrown into the leadership of her clan, must fight for survival and (no less important) honor. It's a little unfortunate that, after her first major stumble, Mara doesn't make any tactical mistakes: scheme after "just crazy enough to work" scheme ends with her enemies shaking their heads and saying, "well played, rival. It seems there's more to you than your lithe young form would indicate". But still, there's a satisfaction in that, right?

I love this book. The Tsurani have a fascinating culture that puts me in mind of a cross between the Japanese and Chinese warlords. Mara is a strong heroine and a character to be admired.

Anyone who read the Riftwar Saga will enjoy this tale of life beyongd the rift. ( )

The first book of the Empire trilogy Feist and Wurts wrote together. Personally I think these books are among the best Feist has written. Which is a dubious compliment considering he needed a co-author and that the world of Kelewan where the books are set is not his own invention. Or at least, that is what some claim. I didn't let that distract me from what is otherwise a fine novel though.

The world of Kelewan is dominated by the empire of the Tsurani. The consolidated most of the landmass of Kelewan into one empire. With little outside enemies to fear their culture has turned inward. The description reminded me of Japan before it gave up it's isolationist politics in the 19th century. They have developed a society in which status is everything. The great houses of the Tsurani vie for power in the Great Game, a form of politics where anything goes as long as the proper rituals are performed and the code of honour is upheld. Needless to say, this kind of game quite often turns bloody.

The main character in the trilogy is Mara of the Acoma. At the opening of the book the then 17 year old Mara is rushed out of a convent devoted to one of the gods of Kelewan to take her place as Lady of the house Acoma. Her father and brother have been killed on the barbaric world of Midkemia where the first riftwar is being fought. Their ancient enemy, the house Minwanabi manipulated the strategy of the battle against the barbarians in such a way that the only honourable thing to do was to charge and go down fighting. Unfortunately most of the Acoma army perished with them. Mara is left with an handful of soldiers with the Minwanabi in an unprecedented position of power.

Mara's first priority is to stay alive long enough to rebuild the strength of the house Acoma. Although Mara turns out to be a talented, if unorthodox, player in the game she gradually manages improve her position. Along the way she has to make a number of huge, often very personal sacrifices. A political marriage to a violent third son of a great house being one of them. She needs an heir after all. This marriage forces her to give up control of the House of Acoma. It is rare for women to be in control of a great house, they only become lady of a house when there are no male heirs. To regain control of her house she manoeuvres her husband into a position where he has no choice but to commit suicide, to erase the dishonour he brought to his house. This move in the game earns her the enmity of the father of her late husband. His honour commits him to protecting his son's child though so for the moment Mara has gained an unwilling ally. Just when she seems to be firmly in control again Mara has to face the greatest challenge thus far. An invitation to a social event at the estate of her enemy the Minwanabi. One she cannot refuse without dishonouring her house.

Feist often writes books which are very fast paced. He rushes though stories, jumping from one key point in the story to the next, with very little time left over for character development, creating an atmosphere or even adding some historical and cultural background to the book. This book has more of those things. I never read anything by Janny Wurts but I can only assume this is her influence. The book is more balanced than Magician is. I would recommend reading Magician at least before trying these though. Some of the developments, especially in the second book of this trilogy, Servant of the Empire, make a lot more sense if you do. Original or not, Feist and Wurts got the culture of the Tsurani down to the very details without boring the reader. It makes Kelawan more interesting than Midkemia, the Kingdom is a somewhat romanized version of renaissance Europe. A cliché I suppose.

The story is nowhere near as complex as some fantasy series these days, and one could say that an awful lot of things go Mara's way but I still think it is a very good read. It's not as light as some of Feist's other works. Because of that it manages to keep may attention longer. The Empire trilogy stands apart from the Midkemia novels, a level above even the best of those. Of all the Feist books I own I think I've reread these books most.

Want to comment on this review? Go here. ( )

In my opinion this is one of the best of the Kelewan/Midkimia books. I've liked all of them that I have read but I think this one is near the top. This is the 1st of a trilogy that takes place on Kelewan. This is about the Tsuranuanni people and their politics.

We begin with Mara about to take vows to become a member of the order of Lashima. Before it is complete she is recalled home to become the head of her house because the others in her line were killed in battle. As a mere girl of 17 s she is thrust into a pit of viperous politisians who would enjoy watching her demise and the end of the Acuma line. She set herself the task of more than mere servival, but revenge on the one who orcestrated the death of her father and brother. ( )

The first in a trilogy of books that were developed from Raymond E. Feist's "Riftwar" series - I find this collaboration between Feist and Janny Wurts to be far better than their solo writing. While it helps, a little, to know of events in the "Riftwar" series it does not harm the stories if you haven't read them. And, for me, these are the better books in terms of character and storyline.

Two worlds are at war by the means of a magical 'rift gate' in space. One is a medieval/European type society, on Midkemia, and other is a martial and tradition-bound/Oriental society called the Empire of the Tsurannuani, on Kelewan. Daughter of the Empire tells the story of one teenaged girl belonging to a respected noble house within the Tsurani Empire, against the backdrop of the larger conflict. Mara, at the age of seventeen, becomes the 'Ruling Lady' of House Acoma when her father and brother are killed during battle on Midkemia. Called back from the brink of commitment to an ill-suited religious life she takes up her role as leader of her house to ensure its survival.

This is the beginning of a extremely good fantasty novel. The characters are vivid, detailed and not stuck into stereotypical roles. Mara is a wonderfully intelligent and tough girl. Her determination that her house will survive makes it an underdog story but her use of manipulation and culturally acceptable ruthlessness does not make it a sugar-coated experience.

Having read this many, many times it is a stand-out amongst the fantasy genre. The believability of the characters, the details of Kelewan and the culture of the Empire is pretty much seamlessly written. Some of the dialogue can grate but the flow of the story carries more strength than weakness. ( )