A Confusion of Princes

When Khemri was only a year old, he was taken from his parents in order to be turned into a Prince Candidate, a being faster, stronger, and smarter than ordinary humans. He spent the next few years of his life getting his body enhanced and improved, and the next few years after that learning how special he was. On his seventeenth birthday, he officially became a Prince, was assigned his Master of Assassins, and was nearly killed by another Prince.

That's when he realized that, in a universe populated by millions of other Princes, 1) he wasn't really all that special and 2) he was in constant danger of being assassinated. Granted, being assassinated isn't necessarily the end when you're a Prince. As long as a Prince is connected to the show more Imperial Mind when they die, there's a good chance they'll come back to life (in an unharmed and slightly different body).

All Khemri wants is a fancy spaceship and some free time to enjoy himself and all the benefits of being a Prince. Instead, he finds himself caught up in a larger scheme that forces him to constantly work hard and deal with actual danger.

As I read this, I found myself thinking of several other science fiction works: Jupiter Ascending (the feeling of being bombarded with boatloads of disorienting sci-fi stuff), Lois McMaster Bujold's Miles Vorkosigan books (their energy, rather than the main character's smarts), and Ann Leckie's Imperial Radch trilogy.

Early Khemri might have been more annoying if the future Khemri who was narrating hadn't been so very aware how naive and arrogant his earlier self was. I enjoyed the narration, and, man, early Khemri sucked. He desperately wanted to be a useless waste of space who did nothing but roll around in luxuries and make use of mind-controlled concubines. I kept expecting Haddad, his very capable Master of Assassins, to "accidentally" allow him to die, but I guess the guy was too much of a professional for that.

The first half of the book, before Khemri met Raine and he instantly fell in love, was the best. Yes, Khemri irked me, but I enjoyed being thrown into this world to learn about it pretty much at the same time Khemri found out most of the things he'd been taught were a lie, and his time in the mini "training" worlds could have been short stories in themselves.

Then Raine and Khemri met, and Khemri was entranced by her beautiful blue eyes. Although Khemri did have some awkward moments, I felt like it should have taken much longer for him to figure out how to properly interact with someone he was interested in who wasn't being mind-controlled. Also, considering what he'd been like up to that point, instalove in general was tough to believe. There was a moment near the end, when Khemri mentioned having to learn that love was something that needs to be worked at rather than an automatic state, when it occurred to me that things could have happened the way they did, but with Khemri and Raine falling out of love. I wonder if the shift in Khemri's thinking would have survived that?

All in all, this was better than I initially expected it to be, but I wish it hadn't relied so heavily on instalove for its exploration of what it means to be human and Khemri's realization that regular Imperial citizens weren't just playthings and tools for Princes.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less

Prince Khemri has been trained, enhanced, and programmed since infancy to become one of the elite rulers of the galaxy. He dreams of someday becoming Emperor. When he leaves his secure training area to take his place among other Princes, however, he learns that the world is not at all what he expected. Competition between princes is cut-throat, he has to work for the luxuries he expected to come with his station, and not all Princes are just and honorable. The biggest challenge comes when he is sent on a top-secret training mission where e has to live as a normal human, among other normal humans. Will he be able to function without the technologies that have surrounded him his entire life? Will he be able to complete his mission and show more return to the world of privilege he's always longed for -- or does a different destiny await him?

This novel is pure sci-fi, so a change of pace from what I've been reading for a while. There's plenty of action as Khemri moves from one challenging situation to another. The heart of the story, though, is Khemri's character development -- and that character development is masterfully done. Khemri goes from believing everything he's ever been told about the nature of the Empire, to learning to think for himself. He retains some of his cold analytical thinking skills, but he also slowly learns how to relate to other human beings. Some readers may feel that he doesn't change enough, but it felt entirely believable and natural to me. I'd recommend this to any reader who enjoys character-driven sci-fi. show less

I have died three times, and three times been reborn, though I am not yet twenty in the old Earth years by which it is still the fashion to measure time.

So begins the wonderfully titled A Confusion of Princes, a rather ambitious and entertaining adventure with the unspeakably spoilt and self-interested Prince Khemri. Of course, he's not allowed to remain spoilt the entire book, but it does take him a while to stop being so damn smug and superior with his enhanced body and PsiTek.

The world that Nix has created is fabulous, with its 10 million bio-enhanced princes all fighting to be emperor, assisted by large bevvies of priests and their very own Master of Assassins.

Hell, if I had my own Master of Assassins, I think I'd run for Emperor show more too.

It's not a perfect book, there are some fairly gaping holes, but it was a very entertaining read, so I was perfectly satisfied. It wasn't until I finished that I thought "hang on a minute, I don't think that really made sense..." show less

This space opera romp drops you into the head of a young prince, whose altered body and mind place them in the elite class of rulers over a galactic empire. Thrust into a world of assassinations, politics, and far more danger than they expected, this adventure takes you through Khemri's maturation. The point-of-view is excellently deployed. The narrator casually drops mentions of incredible cruelties, which princes of the empire have simply learned to accept. Furthermore, the strange technologies and politics of the empire were paced out and revealed enticingly.

The book's ending was a let-down. After such delicious point-of-view dissonance, having Khemri quickly internalize a moral code that the reader could more easily sympathize with show more was rushed and unsatisfying. I recommend this book despite the ending for anyone who likes coming-of-age adventure stories with a space flavor. show less

A Confusion of Princes is the first book by Garth Nix that I've read, despite his being an Australian author of some note. After reading it, his other books have moved up on my mental TBR list.

The story takes place in a space opera galactic empire, complete with fancy technology, body augmentations and psychic priests holding the empire together. The empire is run by the Emperor and the Imperial Mind, a sort of psychic presence that monitors almost everything and directs the actions of the empire's priests, assassins and princes. Princes are chosen from a young age based mostly on genetic predisposition to the augmentations that make them super human. They're taken away from their ordinary human families and raised in temples (which show more have very little to do with religion) and trained to be arrogant and self-centred pricks.

The thing that prevented the main character from being insufferable was that the story was told retrospectively by his grown-up self (mind you, he's 18-19 for most of the story), who fully acknowledged what an idiot he was. I think if it was told in a more present manner, he would have been much more insufferable. There were many humorous moments where I laughed out loud at him as he learnt how the real world worked. I was also amused by some of the scenarios Nix set up which seemed to be poking fun at certain SF/space opera tropes.

A Confusion of Princes is also a very action-packed and fast paced novel. Although it covers about two years, it jumped from highlight to highlight quite quickly with several "and nothing exciting happened for a few months" moments. In a way this was good because it kept the plot moving, but I also couldn't help but want to know more about the world Nix has built. Although this is a stand-alone novel, I wouldn't mind reading more stories set in the same world. There was a short story appended in the edition I bought (which I think is the standard Aussie Allen & Unwin edition — can I just say how nice it is to see vapourise spelt with both a u and an s?), about the main character's mysterious right hand man (aka Master of Assassins) but I didn't feel it added much to the story. I mean, it wasn't bad, I was just hoping a deeper look into the guy's psyche.

What I found particularly interesting was the way all the imperial roles were gender neutral. Princes could be male or female, as could assassins and priests. There was a special gender-neutral pronoun for the Emperor heirself and while the main character was male and the world revolved around him, background characters were just as likely to be female as male (and Nix didn't shy away from the whole fighting a girl thing that trips up some). The only thing that annoyed was the whitewashing/homogenising of the main character on the front cover. He's meant to be black and spends most of the story with a mohawk.

Overall, a fun read. I would call it YA but more for its brevity than, even, the coming of age aspect of the plot. Oh, and none of the science made me angry, yay! I recommend it to anyone who enjoys YA science fiction or wants a light, non-strenuous, read.

4 / 5 stars show less

Garth Nix has an uncanny ability to create characters I fiercely identify with, mainly because no matter how fantastical or alien the universe they inhabit, these characters are unavoidably, unapologetically human. They have egos, and at times they can be arrogant, reckless, foolish or even cowardly. But beyond any of this, Nix's creations have a great deal of heart. Prince Khemri, Nix's latest protagonist, is no exception.

You see, Khemri has been chosen. From a young age he has been raised in luxury, taught to use his physical and psychic enhancements, and regaled with tales of the deeds he will do and the battles he will win as he fulfils his destiny to become the next Emperor. Unfortunately, the other ten million Princes of the show more Empire have been raised on the same tales. And when Khemri comes of age he quickly discovers that there is more to the stories than anyone has been told.

Khemri is in over his head, fighting to stay alive and one step ahead of his rival Princes. When he's selected for a special opportunity, Khemri must go outside the Empire for a year and make his way back alone for any hope of gaining the power he's expected his whole life. But will he want to return after he's seen what life outside the Empire is really like?

Nix takes an interesting approach to worldbuilding: he doesn't spoon feed a comprehensive outline of his universe to the reader, choosing rather to let the pertinent information come out over the course of the story. I love this, because it feels as though Nix trusts his readers enough to let them work their way into his world, rather than being passively led through it.

Make no mistake: this is my kind of writing. The plot is tightly constructed and satisfyingly complex, with a few different and equally valid points of view to consider. Khemri is a wonderful protagonist, and the supporting cast are just as well imagined, particularly Haddad, Khemri's Master of Assassins (who even gets his own short story at the end of the book!). show less

Well done characterization of Khemri. He's impossible to like at the beginning of the book, but grows into someone admirable. All other characters are incidental, though.
Good strong start for a series.