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Empress (Godspeaker) by Karen Miller (view source)
Revision as of 20:13, 29 August 2020
, 20:13, 29 August 2020no edit summary
In addition to this, the scope of Mijaki life is a lot narrower than in many fantasy novels. If they are not involved in activities around the god, then they are at war. Apart from Hekat's journey to Et-Raklion, there isn't a lot more depth to the story than either being at war with another part of Mijak or preparing for the next invasion. Hekat's sole purpose in life seems to be total control of Mijak and the story follows her step by step in her attempts to achieve this aim.
The narrow scope of the novel also only allows for a narrow cast narrowcast of characters. Whilst the major characters are well -drawn and distinct, outside Hekat and the senior members of Mijaki society she deals with they seem to blend into each other. The warriors and godspeakers are referred to merely as part of a collective, unless they are specifically required for the story.
For me, unfortunately, this made the whole thing feel somehow superficial. Hekat is obsessed by power, which has made her very arrogant and difficult to like. There are more likable likeable characters around her, but these are generally bent to her will and it's impossible to like them more, as they tend to be downtrodden. There is no real hero here, no-one you can feel much sympathy for and certainly no-one you can really cheer on. This, combined with the constant cycle of war and blood sacrifice, makes ''Empress'' a tough read, as there isn't a point where you wonder what's going to happen next or look forward to it, especially once the course of the story has been set.
The language used does not assist in making things flow, either. Hekat is uneducated, at least at the beginning of the story, which makes her use of language very fractured. This takes some getting used to and I had to re-read some passages to ensure I understood what she was trying to say. She does eventually learn more, but she retained a habit of referring to herself in the third person and her arrogance seemed to increase with her knowledge, which still made her utterances slightly distasteful to read as it's not a character trait I like.