Lindsay Buroker

Imperial law enforcer Amaranthe Lokdon is good at her job: she can deter thieves and pacify thugs, if not with a blade, then by toppling an eight-foot pile of coffee canisters onto their heads. But when ravaged bodies show up on the waterfront, an arson covers up human sacrifices, and a powerful business coalition plots to kill the emperor, she feels a tad overwhelmed. Worse, Sicarius, the empire's most notorious assassin, is in town. He's tied in with the chaos somehow, but Amaranthe would be a fool to cross his path. Unfortunately, her superiors order her to hunt him down. Either they have an unprecedented belief in her skills... or someone wants her dead. The Emperor's Edge is approximately 105,000 words and is recommended for fans of epic fantasy, sword and sorcery, and steampunk.

The Emperor's Edge

Wilde

Great characterisation but far too much deus ex machina.

Eryn Bradshaw

Amaranthe Lokdon, an imperial law enforcer, works extremely hard in her male dominated career. Whereas most women take the route of attending business school and opening up a business, Amaranthe has lofty goals to rise up the ranks and become the first female captain. While investigating a crime scene, she catches the eye of young Emperor Sespian. Because of Sespian's attention, his commander, Hollowcrest, summons Amaranthe and tasks her with capturing and killing the notorious murder Sicarius. Her life is turned upside down when she uncovers a plot to murder the emperor. She gains the unlikely ally of Sicarius, along with a few others, and together they must prevent the assassination on Emperor Sespian.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. It's got fantasy with just a dash of steampunk. Each character was unique in their own right, they had personalities and while each person in Amaranthe's group didn't always mesh well together; she held together the ragtag group with passion and leadership. The world was engaging and clearly described, making me enjoy each moment I spent reading the book. Amaranthe is a great female protagonist as well, she kicks ass and takes names. It was funny, serious, and generally a good read.

There were a few problems with the book. When there was any bit of conflict, solutions were conveniently in front of Amaranthe. If she was attacked, she was saved by Sicarius despite being physically fit enforcer. I wish the steampunk elements were a bit stronger. There is a magic system that isn't explained too much since it's illegal to practice it. I was interested to know more about the magic, so it seemed like a lazy way to not explain it by having only a single character who knows how to practice it because of the law.

Overall, this book was a solid 4 out of 5. I was always excited to get back into the story and continue reading.
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Sarah Escorsa

Previous rating: 3 stars. 
New rating: 4 stars. Because DUH and stuff.

➽ And the moral of this reread is: If I didn't have Impeccable Book Taste (IBT™), I'd say there's a very slim possibility that I might possibly have read this book very wrong the first time around. But I do, so I obviously didn't. No, I think this is just a case of me having survived enough super extra crappy stuff Not So Very Good Stories (NSVGS™) in the last six years to recognize a Slightly Very Entertaining Book (SVEB™) when I read it. Ah, it's so good to be old and ancient and wise and stuff. Sometimes.

➽ And the other moral of this reread is: Amaranthe and her delicious persistent toenail fungus ways + Sicarius the Blade-Happy, Eyebrow Twitching Assassin of the Disapproving Glare (yum, poof gone harem and stuff) + Maldynado the hilariously vain ex-whore, sorry I meant former male escort + the awesome rest of Amaranthe's awesome ragtag gang + hahahaha dialogues + slightly glorious gender role reversal + bloody shrimping hell of the stinking fish, I didn't see that one coming (and it's not like I already read the book and knew what to expect or anything) + give me more and stuff =



You could say that, yes.



Oh yes, you could say that, too.

👋 To be continued and stuff.

· Book 2: Dark Currents ★★★★
· Book 3: Deadly Games ★★★★
· Book 4: Conspiracy ★★★★
· Book 5: Blood and Betrayal ★★★★
· Book 5.5: Beneath the Surface ★★★★
· Book 6: Forged in Blood I ★★★★
· Book 7: Forged in Blood II ★★★★★
· Book 8: Republic ★★★★
· Book 9: Diplomats and Fugitives ★★★★



[February 2014]

💌 A friendly message from 2020 me: Read the following crap ancient crappy-non-review at your own risk. Thou hast been warned and stuff.

This first instalment in The Emperor’s Edge series is entertaining and fun but is quite lacking in terms of world building. It isn’t clear what kind of world the characters evolve in as there are elements of fantasy, magic and steampunk, with some kind of caste system thrown in. Somehow the setting also made me think of Ancient Rome. This was a bit unsettling at first but it didn’t bother me that much after the main characters where introduced and I really got into the story.

The characters are the real strength of this series. The author puts together and oddly-assorted group of people which might be a bit clichéd but makes a great cast. Surprisingly enough, I like all of the characters in the story and really enjoyed the interaction between them. Amaranthe, with her crazy ideas and sense of humour, makes a great heroine. I think there is a lot of potential in terms of character development and I can’t wait to read the next instalments in the series to see how that goes.

The plot is a bit weak but I’m hoping it will get better as the story develops in the rest of the series. Despite a few flaws The Emperor’s Edge is an enjoyable read and although I am not actually anxious to find out what happens next, I am certainly curious about it and will probably be reading Dark Currents (the second instalment in the series) soon.

Becky

I will actually review this book soon, but I do have a few thoughts until then.

#1 Do not be put off by the cover, this book is amazing and deserves a hell of a lot of attention this cover does not offer it!

#2 It's funny! I was not expecting to be laughing when reading this book, and it doesn't try to hard to be fun, it's not like Buroker put an obvious amount of effort to be funny in her writing, she just manages to get the humour across well and it makes you fall in love.

#3 I know this book shouldn't work, and the characters should probably annoy me but they don't. This book doesn't seem like it's the recipe for an excellent book, but it is. You have a very strange group of characters who should not in any way form a likable group of people, but they do and you grow to love them and the strange dynamic they have going on and I can't help but wonder why I haven't stumbled across more great reads like this one.

The rest of my thoughts will be formulated soon, but you can stick with those for now.

The Emperor's Edge

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