Servant of the Empire (Riftwar Cycle: The Empire Trilogy #2)

Okay, so I’m very picky about the quality of my books before I get hardcover books I always get books in paperback to read first to see if I want to permanently add them to my library. I have the first book of this series and I love the quality of the pages that the text is written on, they’re not too thick like a hardcover book but you can’t see straight through the page onto the next. I like the quality of those pages. In this book and the last installment, the quality of the pages is different. They are much more flimsy and you can see straight onto the next page. I dislike this small detail a lot! I liked the quality of the pages on the first book a a lot better and I am a little upset that the same quality is not passed on to the next in the series.

Continuing where

Daughter of the Empire

left off, SERVANT OF THE EMPIRE follows Mara, Ruling Lady of the Acoma, as she attempts to navigate ruthless Tsuranuanni politics. In this book, Mara overcomes the grief and emotional torment she endured during her marriage to Bunto of the Anasati clan, and begins thinking of the future. All the time, she struggles to foil plots by her family’s ancient enemy to obliterate her house. She also becomes enamored with a most-unlikely lover, in the form of Kevin of Zun, a captured Midkemian noble brought to her estates as a slave (more on this later). This is a long book, nearly 700 pages of emotional turmoil, an epic story with ups and downs and continual action. If you liked DAUGHTER OF THE EMPIRE, you’ll like this one too, as it follows the same major themes of Mara the Underdog outsmarting arrogant and honor-bound lords. There are no real surprises here, as every conflict and climax center around Mara either surviving or not, and since the series is solely focused on her, you’re fairly certain she won’t be destroyed in book 2 of 3.

The weak points of this book center around Kevin of Zun. He plays a major role in this story, and at times shows great promise, but mostly he’s a disappointment. Your typical fantasy protagonist, he’s witty, wry, stubborn, and incredible in a fight, but he also displays some annoying characteristics. He shows almost no loyalty to the men he became a slave with, he is overly emotional about how Mara treats him, and he is ridiculously disrespectful of Tsuarani tradition (in a place where most people would be summarily executed for a breach in protocol). The worst thing Kevin brings to the table though, is the way he changes Mara. She goes from being a level-headed, genius political tactician, thinking everything through to the Nth degree, to a love-struck and sometimes reckless young woman. I know the authors were trying to show how true love affected Mara, but they diminished her by casting her in this role here.

This book, much like the first, tells a self-contained story-arc from beginning to end. No cliff hangers here, as the story seems nicely wrapped up by the end of the book. The third installment will have to introduce a new conflict, and I’m looking forward to reading it. Recommended!

This well written sequel continues the story of Mara of the Acona as she grows into a clever ruler willing to consider a new philosophy. Her slave and lover, Kevin shows her a kind of loyalty and honor contrary to her cultural traditions.

The book, like the one that preceded it, is a good escape, as fantasy should provide.

Love, warfare, ancient honor and dishonorable enemies – this book has it all and more. You’ll love Lady Mara of Acoma, and will hate those who want to bring her harm.

Ive read this trilogy several times and always enjoyed it. I only wish there had been more collaboration stories from these authors

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