Servant of the Empire

The Empire Trilogy #2

by Raymond E. Feist, Janny Wurts

Alternative cover edition can be found here

In the world of Kelewan, Mara of the Acoma has now become an expert player in the Game of the Council through bloody political maneuvering. After buying a group of Midkemian prisoners-of-war, she finds one of them—Kevin of Zūn—to be a great asset in her ongoing struggle for survival and power.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Audiobook, Magic

827 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1990

About the author

Raymond E. Feist was born Raymond E. Gonzales III, but took his adoptive step-father's surname when his mother remarried Felix E. Feist. He graduated with a B.A. in Communication Arts with Honors in 1977 from the University of California at San Diego. During that year Feist had some ideas for a novel about a boy who would be a magician. He wrote the novel two years later, and it was published in 1982 by Doubleday. Feist currently lives in San Diego with his children, where he collects fine wine, DVDs, and books on a variety of topics of personal interest: wine, biographies, history, and, especially, the history of American Professional Football.

Reviews

[Petrik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Servant of the Empire is an incredible, political, and massive sequel to the excellent Daughter of the Empire.

“You people never cry enough… Uncried tears remain inside you, like poison.”

If you watched my recent video on my booktube channel, then you should know that I’ve been hospitalized for the past two weeks. During that torturous time, three books kept my sanity intact; Servant of the Empire was one of them. I’ve mentioned how much I loved Daughter of the Empire; I approached this sequel with much excitement and also a touch of caution because I didn’t want to disappoint myself from having too high expectations. So is it better than Daughter of the Empire? I’ll say that it’s just as good. Servant of the Empire in comparison to its predecessor is a much bigger novel; it’s almost 900 pages long, and although—understandably—some readers think it’s too long for its own good, I personally was thoroughly impressed.

“The most brilliant moves within the Game of Council were those that came without warning. The tranquil passage of days only made her skin creep, as if assassins lurked in hiding at her back.”

The story in Servant of the Empire continues more or less a year after the events of the previous novel. Once again, we follow the story of Mara Acoma as she continues her fight with the Minwanabi clan. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that Mara, at this point, isn’t a newbie at this brutal Game of Council anymore; she’s an expert at it now. This, however, doesn’t mean that her path towards victory will be easily achieved? Somehow, it’s the other way around. Due to several circumstances and oppositions, Mara’s journey in this novel was relentlessly full of hardship. It’s true that the themes still mainly revolve around honor, freedom, loyalty, love, and faith, but there is one significant plus believable change done to these.

“Love by itself is the healer, not honour, not need, not duty.”

In the first novel, we’ve seen the insane capability of these characters to uphold their honor and words. But in this novel, the authors decided to make things more interesting by having the characters truly observe the extreme culture and traditions they cultivated for so many years. What if, after all these times, the tradition they believed in was subconsciously used to mask greed and ambition? What if honor was a justification for hatred and violence? These are intriguing and incredibly relatable to many situations in our life, and I loved reading about them.

“Those who cling to tradition blindly, or out of fear of change, are fools.”

I’ve seen reviews saying that there’s a love triangle in this novel, and I have to disagree with them. Mara is one of my favorite heroines in the fantasy genre, and after reading this novel, my admiration for her character just grew further. First, although romance is a part of this novel, not a lot of pages were spent on Mara deciding who she needs to pick, but more importantly, the dilemma that Mara encountered is not as simple as saying that she’s in a love triangle conflict. It was so obvious who Mara would pick if she didn’t have any responsibilities whatsoever, and I think the authors did an excellent job in using her relationship with Kevin to build her character magnificently; it gives more depth, complexity, and personality to Mara.

“You always warned me that love was a tangle. I never understood until now just how much of one, and how many were the thorns.”

In addition to Kevin, obviously, there were a lot of other supporting characters that improved Mara’s characterizations, but these supporting characters shine in their own way. I absolutely loved every scene with Arakasi, Keyoke, and Nacoya. The respective relationship that Mara has with these characters felt so genuine, and the characterizations for them all were excellent; their interactions with each other were compelling that I became so attached to them all. The prose of the authors were accessible, and they flow so well. Plus, there were a myriad of powerful passages that I wish I can share with you all, but they’re filled with spoilers.

Picture: Servant of the Empire French Edition by Miguel Coimbra

“Battles did not always go as intended; the brilliant man, the master tactician, was the one who could turn setbacks to advantage.”

Similar to Daughter of the Empire, Servant of the Empire is imbued with many bloody political conflicts, but this sequel featured a few battle-heavy chapters that pleasantly surprised me. The authors showed a great handle on how to develop tension and explode them, not only through clash of swords but also through competition of tactics and espionage. Intensity and atmosphere felt palpable, and it helps a lot that the villain introduced in this book—Tasaio—was so diabolical and terrifying. One last thing, if you’ve read The Magician, then you’ll know who Milamber is. Although I don’t think it’s necessary to have read The Magician to enjoy this one, it would still be beneficial because seeing Milamber’s iconic actions in The Magician replayed through the perspective of other characters that witnessed his power made the scene felt even more powerful.

“That you have lived as you have lived for centuries is no license for this cruelty. All here are now judged, and all are found wanting.”

Servant of the Empire is a superb pulse-pounding political and emotional installment that retains all the greatness of its predecessor. I still can’t believe that it took me this long to get to this trilogy; I know I still have one book left in the trilogy to read, but this has already become one of my favorite trilogies. I will be reading the final book, Mistress of the Empire, next month. I’m curious how the trilogy will end because the ending of this novel was pretty conclusive already; if the authors wanted to, they could’ve ended the series right here and I would’ve been satisfied. Lastly, as I mentioned at the beginning of this review, this was one of the novels that helped keep my sanity intact during the worst two weeks of my life. I want to say thank you so much to Raymond E. Feist & Janny Wurts for writing this trilogy. Your art is fully appreciated.

“The common folk are never caught up in the affairs of the powerful – unless they have the misfortune to find themselves in the way. Then they die. Otherwise, their lives go on, each day of work like the next.”

You can order the book from: Blackwells (Free International shipping)

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[Mayim de Vries · Rating 3 out of 5]

”Life would be so dull without enemies.”

This book is twice the paging and half the plotting of the Daughter of the Empire. And a love triangle.

Do you remember Mara? A girl who had to grow up quickly after her father and brother were killed, and she had to lead her family? In the first volume of the series, Daughter of the Empire, Mara suffered humiliation and abuse but managed to defeated many adversities, and the enemies of the Acoma family in an incredible whirlwind of intrigue, plotting and being two moves ahead of everybody else.

The Servant of the Empire picks up practically immediately after these events. Lord Minawanabi solemnly swears bloody revenge against Lady Acoma and her family. Mara, although having gained influence in the Tsuranuanni Empire, is well aware that her position is not secure.

Herein lies my first problem with The Servant of the Empire: it’s really hard to play the same trick twice. While the Acoma family was at the verge of extinction in the previous book, this time thanks to Mara’s ingeniousness, things are much better both politically, and economically. And yet, the opening chapters try to convince the reader of a looming disaster of epic proportions. How could that be credible? The Acoma are not on the brink of ruin any more! The ruling lady is more experienced, has a wide margin for manoeuvres and more assets at her disposal. The febrile undertones of the narrative ring falsely and unconvincing.

The only thing that saved the book is Mara herself. Her character is built very artfully and in great detail that offers a fully multidimensional figure. It would seem that after the heartbreaking events of the previous book, Mara will not be able to develop further and will only settle in and mature, but here, the novel is a very positive surprise. Mara-Anni decides to buy a group of barbaric slaves who arouse both her irritation and certain fascination. Among them, you will find one who will not only open the girl's eyes to the world around her but also open her heart (though, as I said before: brace yourselves for a triangle).

What I also liked was the fact that the world presented is much richer than in the previous volume. There are more families, more names, more places, and although it may bring chaos, when we deal with it, you will notice how beautiful and multi-layered is the Empire and its social order. The more pity that the intrigues in this instalment are so awfully puerile. In some way, Feist and Wurts had lost their strength and the second volume is weaker; still good level, but definitely missing something.

In her splendid review of the Daughter of the Empire carol. wrote: ”Mara develops the habit of keeping her plans to herself…This both aids and detracts the story; aiding because it keeps the reader in suspense about what she will do, but detracting because it means her actions are often not quite comprehensible to the reader…left with a culture and heroine that is just slightly incomprehensible.” To be honest, as much as I see the potential problem here, I loved the plotting in the Daughter of the Empire. Mara’s inscrutability, her ability to scheme in silence, to factor in other people’s virtues and vices into how events pan out, in the end, to take everything and everybody in one sweep and entirely by surprise - that was simply glorious and I enjoyed every page of this as it allowed me the double-guessing game.

In this book we have two separate intrigues, so to speak. The first one is explained in detail by the plotting enemy so when things are put in motion, the reader can safely take a nap because the next couple of dozen hundred pages is obvious meeting predictable. The second plot is much wider. This is a very turbulent period for Kelewan: there is a devastating war with Midkemia, and the representatives of the families react against the removal of the Warlord and the Emperor's growing power supported by the Assembly of the magicians. But this power game sort of happens above Mara’s head rendering her a passive more often than active participant of the events. Additionally, this part of scheming is narrated by an outsider from another world for whom the majority of the imperial politics is as understandable as cold fusion. What it means is that we are told that something incredibly subtle and complex happens but how or why or in what precise way the moves and decisions are made - if you’d like to know that (I did!), you will be left wanting.

What is described in detail is the senseless and chaotic violence of the imperial palace nights that not only reminded me the Hobbesian war of “all against all” but also proved all the intrigues obsolete in the face of naked force; playground games for bored, rich kids destroyed by brute power. This was the main reason why the intrigues created by the Authors failed to arouse any emotions in me. Descriptions of fights and landscapes, fantastic characters, delicate relationships between the families and the Council's Game itself, did not contribute too much to the main story.

Here I need to put my two-pence against the antagonists too. All the scions of Minawanabi family make laughable enemies. The way they are portrayed, couples an inherent vicious streak and an unhealthy appetite for pain with telling, telling and more telling. To the contrary, Mara is both beautiful and smart and compassionate. She has the best set of advisers and warriors you could dream of. All her servants are as dedicated as sect members. Hint hint: Minawanabi are bad and dear reader you should shudder at the mere thought of them while your loyalty and heart should be inevitably invested in Mara - how crude a trick in a book about subtle schemes!

We are repeatedly told how dangerous, smart and talented the Minawanabi are - we never see a shred of it. The Minawanabi suffer one defeat after another and are beaten by Mara or a twist of fate every single time. The near disaster moment at the end of the book just happens not because Mara does or does not do something and clearly not because the Minawanabi family has an upper hand. The convergence of various factors leads to a concatenation which plays out, without Mara’s merit.

The barbarian slave is more important here as his views have a growing influence on the Lady’s decisions. It is under this influence that Mara changes her approach to tradition and honour, which are the most important values in Tsuranuanni society. As the Empire is at a turning point and it is a perfect time for change… change happens. And while it was nice to see how cultures are bared naked against each other (both figuratively and literally) and how things that were taken for granted need to be reexamined or else lose all rationale, it also meant that long (long!) buildups mount to nothing much the compromised spy network! or the enemies that become allies because and in the end reading most of the book feels simply pointless.

And that’s an awful feeling to be left with after over 800 pages (and with another 800 more to come).

Also in the series:

1. Daughter of the Empire ★★★★☆
3. Mistress of the Empire

[Choko · Rating 5 out of 5]

*** 4.75 ***

"...“Never underestimate the human capacity for stupid, illogical, and petty behavior.”..."

This book was amazing! It was not extraordinary in any specific way, just really, really good in many ways an Epic Fantasy could be good in. It has an interesting culture, a lot of manipulations for political power, a ton of battles, a wonderful romance, which on its own is a miracle for a Fantasy of this type, and most of all, it never crossed into the overly-done category in anything!!! The only thing I thought was that maybe it could have been split into couple of books, not because it had too much description and lamentation or angst, but because it had stuff happening for at least two books!!! To top it all of, we have some wonderful characters which compliment each-other and make the story relatable and easy to feel like you are a part of it. It is a long books, but darn it, I did not want it to end! Now I am going to try to be very patient and wait until the next book, because I am reading it with some friends and it is a joy to share in the experience!

Lady Mara continues to fight for the survival of her Family Clan and her son and heir. After the abuse she had to overcome in book one, Mara never even considered that she would ever be able to be intimate with another man, but then the slave from the Barbarian world Midkemia, Kevin, enters into her life and she learns some things about life:):):) The Old Acoma retainer and confidant Nacoma and the grizzled general Keyoke completely stole my heart and some of the most touching and emotional scenes included one or both of them. The villain of this book was the Minwanabi Clan leader and he made life miserable for the Acoma and all of their friends. The Great Game of power and influence was at its finest and the Great Council took some mortal shots... And of course, her ex-brother in law is still as petty and vengeful as always, something we can always count on. I liked Kevin and the influence of his culture that he brought onto Mara's thinking, but I was also not happy that the influence was not equally distributed both ways. I was very aware that there was a great imbalance in their stations, big enough to make their relationship unattainable for a longer period of time, so I was glad that the door was opened for an old friend of ours from the Magician, Hokanu, whom I personally like much better. We also had a cameo by the Magician himself - Pug/Milamber had a very significant role not so much on page, but as consequences of his actions and how they affected the Tsurani culture. Overall, this was one wonderful book and I will recommend it to all the fans of the Fantasy Genre! It is a tour de force at is worth every moment devoted to it!

Now I wish you all Happy Reading and may you always find what you Need in the pages of a Good Book!!!

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, again. As a guy, I sometimes have trouble connecting with a female main character, but not in this case. While Mara is about as distant from me as can be, she's a fantastic heroine & I hung on every word of the fantastic writing. My emotions bumped right along with her situation. Again, I stayed up too late reading & hated to put the book down.

The ending was perfect. The trilogy could have easily stopped on this book, but there is another & that's like finishing a feast with plenty of room for sumptuous desserts & no waistline to worry about. On to the next!

[Graeme Rodaughan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book, rich with feeling. 5 stars easily earned.

The 2nd in the Empire trilogy pits Mara and her classy team of experts against the despicable villainy of Tasaio and the powerful Minwanabi family.

I love the characterization, which is rich and nuanced, these are characters you can really care about. The narrative is extensive and broad, suiting the Epic Fantasy genre. The story got me in and I was immersed - even though I've read this book multiple times before.

I was often smiling while reading this book, it does that to you. Although there are heart rending moments as well.

There is romance and it occasionally gets pretty physical at times, but the narrative context is always strong, and the scenes are very tastefully written - hence nothing gratuitous.

The bottomline, this is a fantastic part of the "The Empire Trilogy," and I would happily recommend it to anyone to read - provided you read "Daughter of the Empire," first.

[Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I honestly think this second book in the trilogy is better than the first. Maybe it's due to getting used to the characters and the initial worldbuilding over on the other side of the pond... or I should say, the other side of the universe through the Rift from the previous Rifwar books... but I honestly don't think so.

This is a lot more solid than the last, focusing more on Kevin from the other side, the whole slavery issue, and plenty of war footing to round out the politics and the solidification of the House.

And then, there's the whole thing about SMITING ONE'S ENEMIES in every way possible, even saving enough energy for mercy which is NOT accepted, letting her DESTROY with impunity. :)

Very fun. I'm fully on board to rip through the third book in this trilogy. :)

[Joshua Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. I mean WOW! The second installment of The Empire Trilogy was even better than the first book. This series may end up a top 10 of all time for me, and Mara as a top 10 character. I can't think of a single thing I didn't enjoy in this book from beginning to end. Simply wow!

[Booksblabbering || Cait❣️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything Mara did was to further her position in the Game of the Council, the political striving that was the heart of Tsurani politics. Her invariable goal was the survival and strengthening of House Acoma. Rivals and friends alike had learned that a once untried young girl had matured into a gifted player of the deadly game.

Part of her strategy lies in purchasing slaves, Midkemians captured from the barbarian world. However, a certain bronzed and red-haired tall barbarian named Kevin seems to confront her with a whole new way of looking at the world.

I loved how the Midkemians offered a new perspective which challenged Mara’s own values, giving her advantage over her peers at seeing opportunities and plots that she may otherwise might not have considered.
Kevin also acts as the rationale voice of a reader, questioning certain practises and codes of Mara’s world. Perhaps the normalcy of the name Kevin just adds to this enjoyment, almost as a sly wink from the authors.

Mara definitely suffers from the Oedipal complex, yet while this might normally give me the ick, the classical fantasy setting, the alien world, the differences in culture… This makes it seem almost inevitable for her circumstances.
Mara also starts to learn that love, sex, and desire could be more than woman’s bargaining chips in the Game of the Council.

Seeing Mara mature from the fragile 17-year-old temple novice into a widowed woman with a son and many estates under her care as she continues to grow and thrive is compelling, beautiful, and empowering.

’Although of late we have all seen this delicate blossom show thorns.’

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[Gary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was okay. While I really enjoy epic fantasy and find ti to be one of my favorite genres, there are books like this that are skilled but slow and reveal ideas that other fantasy authors brought to fruition more fully and successfully while building on books like this as a foundation. The challenge of vying for thrones and a murderous crew of nobility playing a a predetermined set of rules was skillfully mined by George RR Martin as I am sure most people that read this will know. this book handled it slightly different due to the culture and rules for honors established by the author in the setting and context.
It was interesting watching a young girl that had been fairly ignorant of the politics of her family rise ot power in the midst ro the treacherous and deadly environment. While ponderous and plodding at times, the texture and interweaving of the plot's complexity made this a good read.
Three stars.

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars.

Mara is a fantastic heroine and probably one of my favourite female fantasy protagonists. The second book in the series has none of the lull so many sequels suffer from and instead packs plot for at least two books into one.

What I enjoyed most, for once (and it did come as a surprise) was the romantic element. I really loved Kevin as a character and found his relationship with Mara to be one of the best aspects of this book.

Every characters gets to grow and is developed further. The world building continues to be rich and intricate, and I can't wait to read the conclusion. There is no reason not to like this one if you enjoyed Daughter of the Empire.

[Michael Y. Patuwo · Rating 2 out of 5]

The second book of the Empire trilogy failed to hold a candle to the first one. While most of the characters remain interesting and the writing style has not changed, the plot has gone from mildly ponderous to thin, irrelevant, and suffering from way too much padding. It makes reading the second book right after the first one a disappointment, which is the reason why I've only given Servant of the Empire a rating of two stars.

The largest gripe I have with this book is the introduction of Kevin. A noble-turned-slave from Midkemia, he would have been a standard character in Feist's other works. In Mara's world, however, he proved to be intrusive: he appeared in every chapter and was given a lot of spotlight, and his role to supply Midkemian insight into the world of Kelewan was potrayed with such annoying efficacy that it made me wonder why Feist even bothered with introducing the Tsurani culture in the first place. because apparently, Midkemian concepts of family, honour, and warring strategies were always better. It would have been surprising and delightful if Kevin's insight was proven to be wrong, or resulted in a disaster despite its goodwill, even if it only happened for a single occasion. Instead his advice trumped over Mara's own advisers', and with every validation to Kevin's suggestions Mara's advisers appeared less and less competent and Kevin appeared more and more a Gary Stu.

The second problem was the number of plot threads left open which was quickly tied up by an event that happened off-stage. A major villain was killed... off-stage, during a melee that did not even involve Mara or Mara's allies. It was done so another major villain, who was more intelligent and had more cunning, could replace him in his role. This was poor writing, and could have been done in a more convincing way.

The introduction of Milamber from the Riftwar Saga in this book was another major gripe. This is the first of Feist's trilogies that I've read, and I neither knew of nor empathised with the eponymous character from the Riftwar series. His actions in this book, defiantly opposing the traditions of Kelewan that ultimately started a conflict which killed many innocents, were very jarring and caused me to dislike his character despite Feist's attempts to justify this and make him look good. A foreigner who enforced his way of life upon an unfamiliar culture is not to be sympathised with; and Milamber was barely punished for his reckless, destructive outburst.

So there. The reasons why this book was a huge disappointment from its predecessor. If only Feist had held himself back from playing favourites with Midkemia, this book would have been much less painful to read. The way it is, especially with the insufferable amount of padding throughout the middle parts of the book, I must warn anyone who has picked up this series to be wary of Servant of the Empire.

[Gyan K · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟 💫stars!!

Servant of the Empire felt deep yet sharp. This book is the second in a grand set by Jenny Wurts and Raymond E. Feist. Mara, continues to shine with her grit and brains. The way she grew from a pawn in the game of power to a key force felt bold and rich.

What I particularly enjoyed was the stranger- in-a-strange-land vibe that was quite similar to Shogun. Servant of the Empire shares thematic threads with Shōgun by James Clavell, as both delve into alien cultures, identity, and adaptation. In Shōgun, an Englishman Blackthorn is thrust into feudal Japan, grappling with its intricate societal norms. In Servant of the Empire, Mara’s slave, Kevin, must navigate the rigid and often treacherous traditions of the Tsurani world, a culture distinct and complex from his own . Each story immerses its characters in unfamiliar, layered worlds, highlighting the friction and enrichment that come from such encounters.

Kevin's candid demeanor and refusal to fully assimilate challenge Mara’s belief system, forging a deep, transformative connection. Not dissimilar to Blackthorne's journey with Mariko that had a similar emotional arc.

Mara is stuck in a world where rules are hard, set in stone, and traps are plenty. Folks plot, lie, and fight for gold and power. She must think fast to outwit foes and keep her kin safe. The story gripped me tight, with twists that hit like a storm. It kept the heart beating fast as one plan led to a clash and one win sparked ten more battles.

The world felt bright, full of sights and sounds that pulled me in. The rules of the land felt clear yet tough, and this book dove deep into what makes power thrive and break. The clash of minds, not just blades, made the tale feel grand. I was cheering for Mara, not just for her wins but for the way she learns and grows. She is wise yet kind, shrewd yet fair.

This book takes a deep dive into the thirst for power, rulers’ need for dominance, and it is a gem. The way folks play their cards in this tale felt like chess—each move smart and bold. Yet, it’s not just a tale of brains. It’s full of heart too. Bonds, love, loss—all of it flows strong in these pages. Mara’s world took me on a ride where might is less than wit and rules hold all the keys.

[Rysik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chyba troszkę się jednak cieszę, że nie porzucam szybko serii. Sądzę, że to, co mi przeszkadzało w pierwszym tomie, jest w pewnym stopniu i tutaj, ale jednak to, co się dzieje w tej książce i jak dużo bardziej Mara jest wrzucona lub sama się wrzuca w ogień politycznych intryg, dość mocno zaćmiewa te problemy, chociaż jeden dość mocno mi przeszkodził tutaj.
Powód? Straszne oparcie na farcie i głupocie danej frakcji jednocześnie. Daje przykład taki bezspoilerowy.
Dana frakcja tak sobie trochę zapomina, że coś, co każdy robi innym rodziną (w tym TA frakcja), może się im wydarzyć, przez co mogą być w lekkiej dupie, i to się dzieje, ALE(!) na szczęście druga frakcja jest jeszcze głupsza i nie tylko wypuszcza z rąk kłębek informacji, który im się może naprawdę przydać, ale również podaje mu WIĘCEJ informacji (Why the fuck would you even do that, LMAO?), które mogą bardzo pomóc tej pierwszej frakcji. Nie tylko to, ten dany kłębek informacji jakimś cudem odnajduje grupkę ludzi, która jest z nim sprzymierzona, ALE żeby jeszcze do tego dołożyć małą cegiełkę, jeśli chodzi o powiększenie absurdalnego farta, wymawia pewne słowa, które w całym królestwie znaczenie zna ilość osób, którą można policzyć na jednej dłoni.
Jestem w stanie przymknąć oko na takie rzeczy w książkach, ale gdy książka skupia się głównie na różnorakich intrygach politycznych, ciężko jest tego oka nie mieć otwartego na tego typu rzeczy. Wiem, że to taka przypierdolka, ale jednak ten moment jest wystarczająco ważny, bym miał z nim zgrzyty.
Kolejnym małym minusem jest to, jak autorzy przedstawiają nam zagrożenie lub inteligencje naszych antagonistów. Są one za bardzo nadmuchane, zwłaszcza ta inteligencja.
Za to przeczytałem, że minusem jest trójkąt miłosny w tej książce. Moja odpowiedź na taką krytykę? Czy czytaliśmy te same książki? Nie wiem, może znam inną definicje "trójkąta miłosnego", bo to, co tutaj widziałem, nawet nie było blisko mojej definicji, ba, jak już, to według mnie był on dobrze poprowadzony. Zwłaszcza romans między naszymi gołąbkami. Pierwszym co mi przyszło do głowy to pewna relacja między postaciami w Shogun pana Clavella, tylko odwrócona o 180 stopni.
Sama postać Mary naprawdę może się podobać, a jej zmiana z upływem czasu jest widoczna coraz to bardziej i bardziej.
Za dużo pierdolingu tutaj już nabazgroliłem. Werdykt? Book good.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

Servant of the Empire continued the Riftwar spinoff series started in Daughter of the Empire, and offered another fun and layered adventure set in the unique Tsurani world.

Mara, now Ruling Lady of her house once more, has survived the first attack from rival houses. But there are always more threats on the horizon. This time, the threat may destroy not only her, but her entire house.

Picking up where the first book left off, Servant of the Empire offered up more of the things that made the first book enjoyable. A unique culture, tense political intrigue, interesting and unique characters, all kinds of good stuff. We get to see more of the Tsurani world, which I enjoyed, as it broadened an already fascinating setting. There were also a number of events that tied in to the original Riftwar series, which as a huge fan of those books was a lot of fun to see.

Despite all the good, I enjoyed this one a little less than the first one. This book was significantly longer, and at times the political machinations started to feel a little repetitive. There was also a strong romance element that I didn’t particularly enjoy. Though the Tsurani culture is wonderfully unique, there are times the attitudes toward slavery and the devaluation of human life. This last frustration is actually addressed through some of the developments in the book, but it still was a minor detraction.

That said, it was still an entertaining and well written book, and I’m curious to see how the final volume in the trilogy concludes the story.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Markus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nowhere near the level of the first book, but still a pretty damn good continuation.

Full review to come.

[Economondos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Continuing story set 'across the rift' on the world of Kelewan. This book focuses much more on the political intrigue of the Empire of Tsuranuanni. Can Mara, one of the few ruling ladies, survive when one of the strongest families in the Empire is blood-sworn to kill not only her, but her young son and extinguish the very name of the Acoma?

This is a gripping book with an excellent narrative and deep, intricate world-building. Strongly recommended for anyone wanting a great high-fantasy read that doesn't get bogged down in magic or swordplay.

[Lena · Rating 1 out of 5]

Me: So your slave lover is 6’5, wide shouldered, with red gold hair, striking blue eyes and a tongue that disrespects you in public at every turn?

Mara: Yes! He’s so hot I forgive him everything. I decided to have his baby and pass it off as Hokanu’s.

Me: And what does Hokanu look like?

Mara: Oh, 5’10 with really dark skin and up-tilted black eyes. Slender. He’s totally rich and important, the baby will have it made!

Me: Yeah, uh genius.

I lost respect for the main character and many secondary characters rubbed me wrong. This sequel did not fulfill the promise of book one.

DNF 90%

[John Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely incredible book and it’s even better than the first one. It takes the political intrigue from the first one and raises the stakes even higher while also giving a lot more action. The are a couple battle scenes and a couple assassination attempts.
There is also a lot of romance in this one because Mara just can’t keep it in her pants when she’s around Kevin.

The fact that these books came out before Game of Thrones is incredible. This series is more than likely going to be in my top 10 of all time. I don’t care if you hated Magician. You must try this one

[Nikola Pavlovic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Odlicna druga knjiga Empire trilogije!
Krvlju zakleti neprijatelji sve su blize unistenju kuce Akoma, politicka arena odnosno igra saveta ne prasta greske, dok imalo spusten gard moze znaciti veliku nesrecu.
I sve se to desava dok carstvo Tsuranuranija na Kelewanu trpi najvece tektonske potrese od svog nastanka. Ko moze dovoljno dobro da oseti zov sudbine i da tradiciju duzu od dve hiljade godina okrene naglavacke u trenutku kada plime promena nemilosrdno gutaju sve ono sto je istorija smatrala nedodirljivim.

[Jelis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Often in trilogies, there occurs what is known as the "second book" syndrome, where the universe is no longer shiny and new as it was in the first book, but not as exciting as the climatic third book, and mostly exists as a bridge between those two, providing important set-up, but not feeling as exciting. Servant of the Empire, I am glad to say, does not have this problem. Despite having crossed the first hurdles to her rule, Mara still has many threats to deal with, for while her position may have been made more secure, the situation has also become a great more complicated due to the enemies she made in securing that rule as well as sudden unexpected changes in the Great Game. Feist and Wurts do an excellent job both of drawing out the implications of Mara's actions in Daughter of the Empire, and of tying in the events of the book with that of the Riftwar Saga. As a result, the political intrigue and sense of urgency that characterised the first book is just as thick and exciting here, if not even more so. The romance is also well handled, and feels tumultuous, tangled, passionate, and real.

My one gripe about this book is that ethics-wise, it felt a little too much like "Westerner comes to barbaric world and shows them the error of their ways, having a civilising effect on them". Mara's world-view and personal moral code changes drastically because of Kevin and his behaviour, yet there seems to be no reciprocal effect on Kevin by Mara. He loves her despite her flaws, and there is nothing redeeming portrayed about Tsurani culture that Kevin can take away. As a citizen of a country that was previously colonised, this felt personal and reminiscent enough of real life that I felt a little uncomfortable about it.

All in all though, this is still an excellent book, and I enjoyed it immensely.

[Read By Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is awesome.

Near the end of the book, some characters are proclaiming their loyalty to Mara, and I'm sitting there like "me too!!". Mara is one of my favorite protagonists ever. The way she uses her cultural upbringing, her own perspective and intelligence, and the perspective of others to challenge the status quo and fight her enemies in ways they don't expect is just SO good.

I'm giving this 9.5/10 because it did feel a bit overlong in spots and there was a minor issue I had with the ending. But without a doubt one of the best political fantasy books I've ever read.

[YouKneeK · Rating 4 out of 5]

Servant of the Empire is the second book in The Empire Trilogy by Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts.

This book continues with the same level of depth and nuance that the first book had, and the story continues to be full of political intrigue as well as having a few good moments of military action. The first book held my attention without fail, and I still enjoyed this book very much, but I did think it had several slow spots. Part of these were due to segments of the story where the characters were waiting for information or for something to happen, and sometimes I started to get a little restless. Other parts involved seeing events from the Tsurani perspective that were already familiar to me from the original Riftwar Saga, removing some of the suspense. On the other hand, I did also really enjoy seeing how those events affected people on Kelewan and how they played a role in larger events that we didn’t know about in the other subseries, and the story really did require that the events be explored in detail or it would have rung false.

There was hardly any romance in the first book, but this one has a prominent romantic subplot. When I first read it in my early twenties, I was actually quite invested in that subplot. In fact, it’s one of the few things about the story that I still remembered from so long ago. This time around, I was less enthusiastic about it and I think this part of the story is really where most of the slower spots came from for me. It doesn’t use any really annoying romance tropes, at least not in my opinion. It’s handled pretty well, I just didn’t feel any investment in it this time. Mara is still quite young and I think her behavior was entirely realistic given her background and past experiences, but her obsession and confusion did get irritating sometimes. I found myself sympathizing with Nacoya quite a bit! I also had some trouble with Kevin’s behavior. I was disappointed with how easily he forgot his fellow slaves and how quickly he adapted to a life that went against his belief system for the sake of being with Mara. Of course, his influence played a huge role in the direction the story took and it wouldn’t have been the same story without that. I enjoyed a lot of the things Kevin brought to the story with his Kingdom perspective and his humor, but I think I would have liked it just a bit better if his influence had come without the serious romantic entanglement, maybe more of a relationship like what Mara and Lujan had.

Overall though, despite a few slow moments, I still really enjoyed the story. There were some great moments, and I especially enjoyed how everything wrapped up toward the end. As with the first book, this one tells a complete and satisfying story, wrapping up all the main plot threads while leaving room for more story to answer the question of “What happens next?”. Since I don’t remember much about what happens next, I look forward to finding out again.

I forgot to add this warning when I reviewed book 1, but both books 1 and 2 have a major spoiler on the map at the beginning of the book, at least in the U.S. Kindle editions I read. The Minwanabi estate is listed as “Acoma Estate (formerly Minwanabi)” and the Acoma estate is listed as “Old Acoma Estate”. This change doesn’t happen until near the end of the second book. I don’t remember noticing this when I originally read the series, so it may be an error that was introduced more recently when the e-books were created.

[Sotiris Karaiskos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Στο πρώτο βιβλίο αυτής της τριλογίας η αγαπητή μας Mara δεν τα κατάφερε και άσχημα, σε αυτό το δεύτερο, όμως, τα πράγματα γίνονται δυσκολότερα καθώς ισχυρότεροι αντίπαλοι μπαίνουν στο παιχνίδι και παίρνουν την κατάσταση στα χέρια τους εξαπολύοντας επίθεση τους. Εκτός, όμως, από τα πολιτικά παιχνίδια η ηρωίδα μας μαθαίνει και καλύτερα κάποια... άλλα παιχνίδια, τα οποία και αυτά φέρνουν τα προβλήματα τους. Παράλληλα ερχόμενη σε επαφή με την κουλτούρα απέναντι από το ρήγμα αμφισβητεί όλα αυτά που θεωρούσε ως τότε δεδομένα.

Πολύ περισσότερη δράση συναντάμε, λοιπόν, πολύ περισσότερο συναίσθημα, με τους συγγραφείς να επιλέγουν να επιταχύνουν λίγο τα πράγματα για να τα φτάσουν σε ένα φινάλε όπου το περίπλοκο πολιτικό παιχνίδι φέρνει συγκλονιστικές αλλαγές που αντικατοπτρίζουν ένα ιδιαίτερα σημαντικό γεγονός της Ιαπωνικής ιστορίας. Φυσικά αυτή η επιτάχυνση δεν στερεί από το βιβλίο όλες αυτές τις αρετές που εκτίμησα στο πρώτο μέρος. Οπότε μετά το εξαιρετικό ξεκίνημα η συνέχεια είναι ανάλογη και ανάλογη είναι η βαθμολογία μου.

[sol✯ · Rating 3 out of 5]

i really enjoyed the ending it was satisfying but i can’t ignore that it took me almost a month to read something that should have at most taken me a week to finish
the middle dragged and the pacing honestly was a bit all over the place for me. definitely didn’t help that i started right after DotE (Daughter of the Empire) which has double the action in half the page number
boo to the romance
yess to mara scheming
will be picking up the final book soon but i need to think about how/what i’m gonna rate this cuz rn i am conflicted

[Diana Stormblessed · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Highly enjoyable. Still has moments of uneven pacing but overall a page turner.

[Rinaldo · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 7%

I'd like to give this book more chance but from what I gathered, it won't be worth it.

To begin with, the original premise of Mara preparing schemes to deal with Minwanabi clan is all good. It makes sense, that a rising clan led by a clever but mostly untested young widow is prone to be targeted by a rival clan with unpredictable tendencies thanks to recent succession. Other clans will stand and observe, although allegiances may change. So far so good.

The depiction of Midkemians though, I can't stand it. They are depicted as physically superior people with no regard to Tsurani culture. Hypermasculine, tall and muscled Caucasian stand-ins who bring enlightenment to short-statured, rigid and honour-obsessed East Asian stand-ins.

It reeks of hypocrisy when Kevin (imagine the creativity of the naming scheme!), a Midkemian war prisoner, starts preaching on dignity and meaning of life while shitting on his interlocutor's culture and slut-shaming her for wearing liberal dresscode, implying unwanted sexual advances.

‘Tell me how servants treat their mistresses in the lands where you were born,’ she demanded.

The barbarian returned a provocative smile. His eyes wandered boldly over Mara’s body, which was covered only by an almost transparent silk robe. ‘To begin with,’ he said brightly, ‘any lady who wore what you do in front of her servants would be begging to get herself …’ He struggled for a word, then said, ‘In my language it’s not a polite term. I don’t know how you folks feel about it, but given you’re showing me all you’ve got without a thought, you obviously don’t consider such things.’

‘What are you talking about?’ Mara snapped, at the edge of her patience.

‘Why …’ He touched himself upon his dirty loincloth, then made an upward gesture with his extended forefinger. ‘What men and woman do, to make babies.’ He pointed in the general direction of her groin.

And this doesn't include Midkemian's own brand of slavery. Just putrid, vile sanctimony.

Just clocking within around 50 pages, it's already featuring a cocktail of tropes I absolutely loathe: cultural posturing, Orientalism, toxic masculinity, slut shaming. And from what I learned, this won't be subverted or averted for the next 650 pages or so, just a White dude disrespecting, gaslighting, and insulting his Asian love interest.

A big shame, since I really want to read Janny Wurts' works. I suppose I need to read her personal works instead.

[Tammy Chase · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book in the Empire Trilogy by Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts. I really enjoyed the first book. I loved how a young and innocent girl was thrust into the deadly games of politics where any wrong move could be met with her death as well as the death of her loved ones and shame for anyone associated with the name of her family the Acoma. In book one Mara is 17, becomes Ruling Lady of the Acoma facing powerful enemies with only 37 warriors to protect her and her hard to defend estate lands. Through cunning, the help of her beloved advisors and a quick grasp of the Games of Council, Mara outwits one of the five most powerful families in Kelewen. Survives attack and marriage with a violent man to restore lost honor to the Acoma. This book laid the foundation needed to understand this world and it's people. At the same time it was exciting and fun. I didn't feel like it was an introduction used to prepare for the rest of the trilogy and was absorbed at page one.
Book two knocked my socks off. It starts right after book one ends and you fall seamlessly back into the world Feist and Wurts created. Not only that, the pace picks up and the stakes are raised even higher as Mara and the Acoma are faced with an even more ruthless enemy. Surprisingly, this conflict is no longer the center of the story. In a world steeped in tradition, the face of things begin to change. Life as the Empire knows it is torn apart by the effect of interaction with the 'Barbarian World Midkemia'. As Mara and the highest of rulers start to question tradition the resulting consequences are epic. We see our heroine, Mara, make decisions in haste that cause more conflict and we cannot predict how this story will play out.
I was completely invested in this book. I could not put it down and I am anxiously looking forward to reading the third one.

[Pauline · Rating 3 out of 5]

This fell into the second book slump as I like to call it. Good, but Mara is basically untouchable (I get the feeling that she is venturing ever further into Mary-sue territory). However is it executed quite nicely. There aren't as many crafty political maneuvers in comparison to the first book but it is still an entertaining read.

I wasn't too fond of the introduction of Kevin and the role that he had in the book. The further along I got, the more I kept seeing aspects of "this is a savage and uneducated culture when compared to ours". The inklings of the "western culture/ideals vs everyone else = west is best" ruined a huge portion of the book for me. I can't recall the name of the trope but it is one that I am not particularly fond of.

With Kevin being sent back to his homeland I hope that the last book does not continue in this direction.

[Baal Of · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm continuing to enjoy the hell out of this arc of the Riftwar Cycle fantasy epic. The relationship between Mara and Kevin was becoming a bit too perfect / nicey-nicey for my taste and so I was happy when it was brought to an end, and in a way that made sense. I didn't care for the parts about Mara's son since he just seemed like a spoiled brat to me, but fortunately that wasn't the focus of most of the book. The battles were well written, kinetic, and bloody. The political maneuvering was intense. A good number of named characters died, which I do appreciate in a fantasy epic. Looking forward to the next one.