Review – The Emperor’s Edge (The Emperor’s Edge, Book 1) by Lindsay Buroker (4/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Steampunk
Length: 377 pages
Publisher: Independently Published
Release Date: December 22, 2010
ASIN: B004H1TDB0
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in The Emperor’s Edge series
Source: Borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Rating: 4/5 stars
“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.”
Series Info/Source: This is the first book in The Emperor’s Edge series. Right now there are 9 books released in this series. It looks like book 9 was published in 2015; so I assume the series is finished for now. However, it doesn’t sound like the story was ever really “finished” but more just stopped.
Thoughts: This was well done and I enjoyed it. I would call this a military steampunk series, at least in the beginning. Amaranthe is an Imperial Enforcer in a land where women have just recently been allowed to take Enforcer jobs. She is frustrated at being constantly passed up for promotion. However, when an arson incident has her accidentally crossing paths with the emperor she gets drawn into a game of power she wasn’t expecting. Suddenly she’s on the wanted lists and linked with the notorious assassin Sicarius. Together the two of them will have to work in the shadows to stop the Emperor from being assassinated.
This had solid world-building and well done characters. The “crew” that Amaranthe assembles is filled with unlikely heroes and is highly entertaining to read about. I enjoyed both Amaranthe and Sicarius; they both gravitate to a more morally grey area as the story continues. The emperor was very well done as well. The plot is fairly fast-paced and full of some fun twists and turns. The plot is very much a political and intrigue driven one; not my favorite but here it was done in a way that is fun and entertaining.
The steampunk elements in this book are more just a part of the story and world rather than main drivers for the plot; which is fine. It is definitely a steampunk world but feels more like an investigative urban fantasy in tone and pace.
My Summary (4/5): Overall I enjoyed this. It is a solid world, with wonderful characters, and a fun fast-paced plot. I am not a huge fan of politically driven plots but I liked the characters here enough that I might continue with the series. This is more of a fantasy world with steampunk elements than an “in your face” steampunk read. It’s well done though and if you enjoy politically driven fantasy with an urban fantasy pace and some steampunk elements this might be the series for you.
