The Upstream Writer: Reader's Review: "Empire of Shadows" by Miriam Forster

Synopsis from Amazon:

"...a spellbinding journey into a world with a divided society, deadly courtiers, heroic traitors, and deeply laid conspiracies."

Cast out by her family three years ago, Mara turned to the only place that would take her—an order where students train to protect others. But Mara is stunned when guarding a noble girl in the Empire's capital turns out to be more dangerous than she could've imagined. More shocking still, Mara finds the boy she thought she'd lost forever outside the gates of her new home.

Mara knew the dizzying capital city would hold dangers. How could she have known that her heart, as well as her life, would be at stake?

>>>>>>>

My Review:

I decided long ago that I wasn’t going to be somebody who got stuck in the middle of a long series as long as there were other books to read. I purposefully read a series one book at a time, waiting gaps between each installment, reading other books before returning to the series again. Sometimes that worked, as I would be able to keep myself occupied, as it were, while waiting for the release of the next book in the series. It also really put the nature of sequels to the test: of I could pick up the next book a year later and feel like almost no time had passed, it was a good sequel!

In this case, I read City of A Thousand Dolls because it had been sitting on my Kindle app since 2015... and then almost immediately upon finishing it, lo and behold I discovered the prequel (so, not totally a sequel...) on the library shelf! So, naturally, when I had exhausted all my other checkouts, I read that one too.

It took a moment to realize just how Forster connects the two books—not just in the matter of location, but another, brilliantly subtle way that I won’t spoil here, but it is really brilliant, and when I figured it out, it made the adventure all the more fascinating!

She takes a people group that was almost an enigma in the first book and features them in this one, creating a sense of familiarity, and a deeper perspective into the world she’s created. The allure of it all lies in how much we don’t know about certain characters, how much we think we know, and the vast amount of backstory that lies hidden in the shadows, waiting for its moment in the light. She balances the perspectives of her two main POV characters, Mara and Emil, with deft precision, and paints the emotional journeys of both with deeply sympathetic colors. We watch them react to mysteries, to conflict, and to loss, and we see them coming to terms with new realities and dealing with betrayal in different ways—and yet the feeling is still there, that these fantastical situations are at the same time not unlike feelings we’ve all had, situations that can and do happen in the real world; so the question we might ask ourselves, after reading this book, is do we stand our ground and fight, or do we blend in and hide?

I love this world of the Bhinian Empire. It’s structured and yet vivid enough that I could definitely see myself writing fanfiction for it—which, if you've seen my take on fanfiction, means that Forster has done a really great job! he characters definitely run the gamut of fascinating to wonderful. The story itself gives plenty of food for thought among the masterful visuals, the pleasant humor, and the fight scenes that will keep you in the edge of your seat. If you are looking to be transported to an amazing fantasy world, even for a little while, the Bhinian Empire awaits!

EMPIRE OF SHADOWS earns a definite *****5 STAR***** rating, and I would throw in an Upstream Writer Certified DEFINITELY RECOMMENDED. It fulfills its duty as a prequel, while satisfying the need to see more of the rich fantastical world we had only glimpsed in City of A Thousand Dolls. If you like rich storytelling, excellent character arcs, fantastic magic concepts, and a bit of cool world-building on the side, then do yourself a favor and pick up EMPIRE OF SHADOWS!

Further Reading: (Also By This Author/Clean Reads/Fantasy/Vivid World-Building)

The Bhinian Empire--Miriam Forster