Servant of the Empire
Nobody knows how to play the Game of the Council better than Mara of the Acoma. Through bloody political manoeuvring she has become a powerful force within the Empire; but surrounded by deadly rivals, Mara has to be the best simply to stay alive.
But Lady Mara must contend with battles on two fronts: in the hotbed of intrigue and treachery that is the court of Tsurani; and in her heart, where her affection for a barbarian slave from the enemy world of Midkemia leads her to question the principles by which she lives.-Goodreads
Title: Servant of the Empire
Series: The Empire Trilogy #2
Author: Raymond E. Feist, Janny Wurts
Page Count: 691
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 5.0/5.0
Date Read: December 2nd, 2024
Opening
My epic journey through the Riftwar and specifically the Empire Trilogy continues with Servant of the Empire. As much as I'm enjoying these reads, I really wish I had started reading the series before this year. More so, because I have nearly the entire collection owned and sitting on my shelf collecting dust until this year. It's still going to take me a couple of years to get through it all but at least I'm progressing down that path now.
Pacing
The pacing of SotE was surprisingly smooth to me. Not that I shouldn't expect anything less from Feist and Wurts at this point. It's just these are some rather long reads but they don't feel that way at all to me. I've continued with the audiobook version narrated by Tania Rodrigues who is doing an excellent job in helping me get lost in this story. These books are on an epic scale when it comes to the size of the world and the number of characters and she's keeping me on track throughout all the twists and turns.
World Building
The worldbuilding continues to expand and provide us so much detail physically of this world that we only heard about from the first series in the overarching Riftwar Cycle. I think the most appealing part for me has to be the political intrigue and the way many of the characters "play the game".
Character Development
The character development for book two as well as the series in general has been fantastic in my opinion. I loved the relationship between Mara and Kevin though there are several others that really make this a tremendous tale being told. I just find myself focusing on these two because of how opposite they are in caste within their current world, as well as their ability to open their eyes and look at the world in different ways.
Mara is quickly becoming one of my favorite female characters of all time. I love her strength and the way she continues to look at things differently compared to just about anyone else in this world. The paths she chooses isn't always the easiest by any means but she constantly does what she feels is best both for yourself, her family and her empire.
Closing
As much as I enjoyed the first series with in the Riftwar Cycle, this one has been such a good match in my preferences as well as timing. Everything is clicking with me.
I don't think I'll be waiting long to dive into the third and final read of The Empire Trilogy. If that isn't enough of a recommendation I'll just add that this epic fantasy includes some great suspense and action scenes on top of the political intrigue and espionage I've already eluded to.
Scoring
Pacing 5.0 / 5.0
Worldbuilding 5.0 / 5.0
Character Development 5.0 / 5.0
