Lindsay Buroker

A fantastic look at the Nurian people of Buroker's Emperor's Edge world. Yanko is a young man on the cusp of taking the test to enter a prestigious magic-military academy. His getting in and doing well would go a long way toward restoring his family's damaged reputation. His father doesn't think he's tough enough, so sends him to the salt mines run by his uncle. There Yanko finds himself tested in more ways than one.

What surprised me is that I came out of these novellas liking Yanko's uncle show more more than anyone else. He's set in his ways, bound by his people's customs, and he wishes he could defy them. And he respect Yanko for doing so.

I also very much liked the three women who take center stage in the second novella. I would love to read quite a bit more about them. show less

Princess Aldari lives in the impoverished kingdom of Delantria which is under threat from the larger, and much more powerful, empire next door. While she would rather study and write papers on economics to help her kingdom, she agrees when her father arranges her wedding to a prince in a nearby country who has promised an alliance with Delantria.

Captain Hawk and his band of elven mercenaries are hired to get Aldari and her bodyguard Theli to the neighboring kingdom for her wedding. But Hawk show more has another plan; he intends to kidnap Aldari and bring her home with him in the hopes that she can solve puzzles that will let them get to a weapon to save his kingdom.

The elven lands have come under attack because of a curse. It turns elves into the Twisted who want to kill elves. It has turned a peace-loving, magical people into warriors fighting a losing battle for their own survival.

Aldari is sympathetic to the elves' plight, but her own kingdom depends on her coming marriage. Even as she becomes more intrigued with both the puzzle and the man, she is torn between her wishes and the need to escape.

I really liked Aldari who is smart, kind, and caring. Hawk's desire to do anything to help his embattled people makes him a sympathetic character too. I enjoyed the banter both between Hawk and Aldari and between Aldari and her bodyguard.

Fans of fantasy with competent and feisty heroines and dreamy heroes will enjoy this action-packed adventure. show less

Once again I found myself happily trying to pace myself to enjoy the book slowly instead of just grab and read as fast as I can. Lindsay makes it very hard for me to do this though. Her characters are warm, funny, crazy, clever and relatable. The science behind the magic, the soul blade assisting everyone as she feels, battling Cofah and their newly discovered dragon blood 'technology', more Tolemek, more Sardelle and Ridge, more Ahn, and just MORE of every thing. The battles are exciting, show more the banter between the characters is fun, witty, sometimes sad and all around human but with that nudge of fantasy that keeps you immersed in their world and how they all feel or act the way they do. The steampunk and magic intertwining with superstition and 'how'd they do that' moments keep me rapidly reading along and always ready for more! Clever fun! show less

Homer’s Odyssey is the distant source for countless space operas. In Star Nomad, Lindsay Buroker begins a story about a woman on a long journey in a dilapidated stolen starship. Will she make it home? Not in the first volume of a trilogy, but as in the Odyssey, the trip is more important than the destination. It is a readable story, but Homer’s rep is safe.
I will go back and read the Empire’s Edge series that preceded Fallen Empire. Maybe we'll get a little Iliad action. Who knows?