Book Review: Daughter of the Empire by Feist and Wurts

Daughter of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts

4 of 5 stars

Read in June 2011

I could never see myself becoming a Mara, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading of her struggles and setbacks, her uncanny ability to turn even the most desperate tragedy into a resounding triumph. Daughter of Empire occurs on Kelewan, the home world of the Tsuranuanni, the flip-side of the coin that embodies the Riftwar Saga (as told mostly from Midkemia through Magician, Silverthorn and A Darkness at Sethanon).

Despite a near complete lack of traditional fantasy elements, this novel delivers an astonishing number of surprises, twists, intrigues and gambles. The rich world of Kelewan and the culture and heritage that is the Tsuranuanni Empire infuse all aspects of the reading experience. Mara’s journey from virginal novitiate to one of the twenty gods of the Tsuranuanni to ruthless Ruling Lady of one of the oldest Houses in the Empire steeped us in her gut-wrenching grief, unflinching resolve through spousal abuse and sweet relief through each successful gambit in the Game of the Council.

I plan to continue reading the rest of the Empire Trilogy and highly recommend this first installment in that series.

Gorgeous cover art by Janny’s husband, Don Maitz:

For more discussions of Daughter of Empire, led by one of the authors, Janny Wurts, and including a Q&A thread with Raymond E. Feist, follow this link.

GR Status Updates:

06/03/2011 page 1 0.0%
06/03/2011 page 25 6.0% “Finished One: Lady”
06/04/2011 page 56 13.0% “Finished Two: Evaluations”
06/04/2011 page 86 20.0% “Finished Three: Innovations”
06/04/2011 page 112 27.0% “Finished Four: Gambits”
06/04/2011 page 140 33.0% “Finished Five: Bargain”
06/04/2011 page 161 38.0% “Finished Six: Ceremony”
06/05/2011 page 187 44.0% “Finished Seven: Wedding”
06/05/2011 page 218 52.0% “Finished Eight: Heir”
06/05/2011 page 244 58.0% “Finished Nine: Snare”
06/05/2011 page 267 63.0% “Finished Ten: Warlord”
06/05/2011 page 296 70.0% “Finished Eleven: Renewal”
06/05/2011 page 316 75.0% “Finished Twelve: Risks”
06/05/2011 page 340 81.0% “Finished Thirteen: Seduction”
06/06/2011 page 363 86.0% “Finished Fourteen: Acceptance”
06/06/2011 page 379 90.0% “Finished Fifteen: Arrival”
06/06/2011 page 402 95.0% “Finished Sixteen: Funeral”
06/06/2011 page 421 100.0%

One thought on “Book Review: Daughter of the Empire by Feist and Wurts”

Comments are closed.