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The Indranan War #3
Beyond the Empire
The adrenaline-fueled, explosive conclusion to the Indranan War trilogy by K. B. Wagers.
Gunrunner-turned-Empress Hail Bristol was dragged back to her home planet to take her rightful place in the palace. Her sisters and parents have been murdered, and the Indranan Empire is reeling from both treasonous plots and foreign invasion.
Now, on the run from enemies on all fronts, Hail prepares to fight a full-scale war for her throne and her people, even as she struggles with the immense weight of the legacy thrust upon her. With the aid of a motley crew of allies old and new, she must return home to face off with the same powerful enemies who killed her family and aim to destroy everything and everyone she loves. Untangling a legacy of lies and restoring peace to Indrana will require an empress's wrath and a gunrunner's justice.
Gunrunner-turned-Empress Hail Bristol was dragged back to her home planet to take her rightful place in the palace. Her sisters and parents have been murdered, and the Indranan Empire is reeling from both treasonous plots and foreign invasion.
Now, on the run from enemies on all fronts, Hail prepares to fight a full-scale war for her throne and her people, even as she struggles with the immense weight of the legacy thrust upon her. With the aid of a motley crew of allies old and new, she must return home to face off with the same powerful enemies who killed her family and aim to destroy everything and everyone she loves. Untangling a legacy of lies and restoring peace to Indrana will require an empress's wrath and a gunrunner's justice.
416 pages, Paperback
First published November 14, 2017
100 people are currently reading
789 people want to read
About the author
K.B. Wagers
11 books638 followersK.B. Wagers is the author of the Indranan & Farian War trilogies with Orbit Books and the new NeoG novels from Harper Voyager. They hold a bachelor's degree in Russian Studies and a second-degree black belt in Shaolin Kung Fu. A native of Colorado, K.B. lives at the base of the Rocky Mountains with their partner and a crew of recalcitrant cats. In between books, they can be found attempting to learn Spanish, dying in video games, dancing to music, and scribbling new ideas in their bullet journal. They are represented by Andrew Zack of The Zack Company.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 181 reviews
March 8, 2018
I LOVED the first two books, reread them happily, and went into this book hoping to love it too. But the more progress I made, the more I thought, "This is sloppy."
Yeah, this is going to be a rant.
Yeah, this is going to be a rant.
November 26, 2017
I adored the first two books in this space trilogy, and the third book is even more intense, more enthralling, as the gunrunner-made-reluctant-empress strives to save the empire and avenge the butchery of her family. The only criticism I can offer is that the sheer number of names was difficult to keep straight at times. This book was everything I hoped it would be, and I was delighted to find out at the end that the series would continue with a new book!
April 23, 2020
The whole series keeps a fast pace with the gunrunner empress, and it's a fantastic space adventure.
December 11, 2017
I enjoyed the first two but this one was a smoother read, largely because the tangle of names and titles felt more manageable than usual. I'm not sure if the ludicrously large cast of characters was handled better or if I just started to get used to the chaos. I loved Hao's role in this one, so it was nice to see that he didn't get lost in the mix.
On the "room for improvement" side of things, characters spent too much time explaining each other's feelings and reactions to Hail, and some people from the previous books didn't get as much attention as I'd have liked. The reveal about Wilson was also really underwhelming, but if I'm willing to shrug off the disappointing conclusion of a three-book mystery instead of chucking the book against the nearest wall, I guess that says something about how character-driven the overall story was.
I'm not too interested in the healbot aliens that seem to be the focus of the next book, but I like the setting enough that I'm sure I'll give it a shot.
On the "room for improvement" side of things, characters spent too much time explaining each other's feelings and reactions to Hail, and some people from the previous books didn't get as much attention as I'd have liked. The reveal about Wilson was also really underwhelming, but if I'm willing to shrug off the disappointing conclusion of a three-book mystery instead of chucking the book against the nearest wall, I guess that says something about how character-driven the overall story was.
I'm not too interested in the healbot aliens that seem to be the focus of the next book, but I like the setting enough that I'm sure I'll give it a shot.
March 12, 2018
Not as good as the first two books; not bad. Less than I had hoped for.
Character development essentially stopped somewhere in the middle of the trilogy, except for Fase, and she was shuttled to one side for most of this book. Instead, it became much more of a standard military sci-fi book.
The last third reminded me of a lot of computer games that start as open-world adventures but grow more and more scripted as you play through the end game, until you wind up on the rails for the finish, headed down the one available path to the boss battle.
A good series. Just not the great one I thought it might be 750 pages earlier.
Character development essentially stopped somewhere in the middle of the trilogy, except for Fase, and she was shuttled to one side for most of this book. Instead, it became much more of a standard military sci-fi book.
The last third reminded me of a lot of computer games that start as open-world adventures but grow more and more scripted as you play through the end game, until you wind up on the rails for the finish, headed down the one available path to the boss battle.
A good series. Just not the great one I thought it might be 750 pages earlier.
April 19, 2018
This series is extreme popcorn political scifi-action fun. The third volume got a bit repetitive at times (the first two in the series did the same but I didn't notice it as much there) and the ending was a bit anticlimactic, but the author is starting a new continuation series so it isn't really the end of the story. This isn't mindblowing or required by any means but was a really fun bit of escapist reading.
March 29, 2020
If you are able to, do yourself a favor, and read these books together. I had an awful time getting into this third book because I took a three-year break after the second book. It took me about half of Beyond the Empire to catch back up to whom all the characters were and their roles in the story. Regardless, I like these books. I think they are a good balance between military sf, political sf, and feminist sf. They can be a little melodramatic at times but enjoyable.
November 17, 2017
Sadly, all good things come to an end. I always get a little misty eyed when I get to the last book in a series I’ve really enjoyed. Beyond the Empire by K B Wagers is the final novel in The Indranan War trilogy and we’re going out on a high, it is an absolute blast.
Though Hail Bristol remains front and centre in this book, and by extension the entire series, it is still very much an ensemble piece. I’m particularly fond of Emmory, her Ekam (think chief bodyguard/chief of staff) and Zin (his partner). The characters I most enjoyed however are Hail’s less than reputable friends from her days as a gunrunner. They are a wonderfully uncouth bunch. Even though Hail is now an empress, they all still treat her exactly the same way they always have. Hao is snarky in the extreme, mostly because he can be. Johar also remains a firm favourite, she is brutally honest about everything. She is just there for the fighting anything else is secondary. I think I might be slightly in love.
The thought that has struck me from the first book and has only grown is that there is something wonderfully emotive about Wagers’ writing. You get the sense that Hail and her dysfunctional surrogate family of bodyguards and gunrunners genuinely care for one another. It doesn’t matter if there are bullets flying overhead, if buildings are blowing up or gigantic space cruisers are engaged in heated combat, everyone is looking out for one another. Hail’s ferocious loyalty is contagious. She won’t let her subjects do anything that she is not prepared to do herself. All evidence suggests this makes being her bodyguard a near impossible task.
There are many quiet moments in this novel. Hail still doubts her ability to rule, and this eats away at her constantly. As a counterpoint to all this introspection, the action sequences in Beyond the Empire have a breakneck, frenetic pace. Situations change in a split second and characters have to learn to adapt immediately or die. There have been skirmishes in the other novels, but now we’re into the realms of out and out war. This is where our empress excels; Hail functions better in the middle of a battlefield than undertaking her ceremonial duties. I like this juxtaposition in her character. In the heat of the moment Hail is confident, sure and determined, but when the action subsides her self-assurance wavers.
Let’s be honest, if you’re going to read the third book in a trilogy then the likelihood is that you’ve read and enjoyed books one and two. Your expectations are going to be different from reading a standalone novel. You’ve committed to a story arc that spans multiple books and you’re looking for a payoff. The good news is that Beyond the Empire delivers on every level. Characters continue to evolve; the action is ramped up to the nth degree and the final moments of the novel are perfectly executed. The eagle eyed amongst you are also likely to spot that the author has started sowing the seeds for further novels set in the same universe.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all three books in this trilogy. The Indranan War has been great fun from beginning to end. In future, I’ll continue to look forward to each new book from this author with great anticipation. If you haven’t already discovered K B Wagers writing, I strongly suggest you remedy this gross oversight immediately. This is kick ass space opera with a heart. I loved it.
Though Hail Bristol remains front and centre in this book, and by extension the entire series, it is still very much an ensemble piece. I’m particularly fond of Emmory, her Ekam (think chief bodyguard/chief of staff) and Zin (his partner). The characters I most enjoyed however are Hail’s less than reputable friends from her days as a gunrunner. They are a wonderfully uncouth bunch. Even though Hail is now an empress, they all still treat her exactly the same way they always have. Hao is snarky in the extreme, mostly because he can be. Johar also remains a firm favourite, she is brutally honest about everything. She is just there for the fighting anything else is secondary. I think I might be slightly in love.
The thought that has struck me from the first book and has only grown is that there is something wonderfully emotive about Wagers’ writing. You get the sense that Hail and her dysfunctional surrogate family of bodyguards and gunrunners genuinely care for one another. It doesn’t matter if there are bullets flying overhead, if buildings are blowing up or gigantic space cruisers are engaged in heated combat, everyone is looking out for one another. Hail’s ferocious loyalty is contagious. She won’t let her subjects do anything that she is not prepared to do herself. All evidence suggests this makes being her bodyguard a near impossible task.
There are many quiet moments in this novel. Hail still doubts her ability to rule, and this eats away at her constantly. As a counterpoint to all this introspection, the action sequences in Beyond the Empire have a breakneck, frenetic pace. Situations change in a split second and characters have to learn to adapt immediately or die. There have been skirmishes in the other novels, but now we’re into the realms of out and out war. This is where our empress excels; Hail functions better in the middle of a battlefield than undertaking her ceremonial duties. I like this juxtaposition in her character. In the heat of the moment Hail is confident, sure and determined, but when the action subsides her self-assurance wavers.
Let’s be honest, if you’re going to read the third book in a trilogy then the likelihood is that you’ve read and enjoyed books one and two. Your expectations are going to be different from reading a standalone novel. You’ve committed to a story arc that spans multiple books and you’re looking for a payoff. The good news is that Beyond the Empire delivers on every level. Characters continue to evolve; the action is ramped up to the nth degree and the final moments of the novel are perfectly executed. The eagle eyed amongst you are also likely to spot that the author has started sowing the seeds for further novels set in the same universe.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all three books in this trilogy. The Indranan War has been great fun from beginning to end. In future, I’ll continue to look forward to each new book from this author with great anticipation. If you haven’t already discovered K B Wagers writing, I strongly suggest you remedy this gross oversight immediately. This is kick ass space opera with a heart. I loved it.
January 31, 2019
I read and enjoyed the first two books in this series (with some caveats) so I was interested to see how Wagers was going to finish out her first trilogy. Unfortunately this just didn't land for me. It was just not well written (and it really pains me to say that). Not only are people laughing and grinning their way through all the dialogue on almost every page (I mean, people "bare their teeth" four times in the first 60 pages), but it reads like sitting in on a planning session of an RPG. The characters sit around talking about what they know, don't know, and plan to do...and don't really do anything until the very end of the book. With a cast of dozens of interchangeable characters rotating in and out of scenes and just talking and talking I think I could have skipped to page 300 and not missed much.
On the bright side there were some memorable moments, good scenes, and one character death that really bummed me out. The end was fairly action packed and fun, but it comes so late in the game that by then I had mostly checked out. I still like many of the side characters, and the world building, but this book didn't highlight either particularly well - most of the book took place on ships and focused on political strategizing instead of character growth. This book will likely hold more appeal to those who are invested in politics and military sci-fi. I really enjoyed the second book in this series, but I think this will likely be my last Wagers book despite how much I enjoy her as a human being.
On the bright side there were some memorable moments, good scenes, and one character death that really bummed me out. The end was fairly action packed and fun, but it comes so late in the game that by then I had mostly checked out. I still like many of the side characters, and the world building, but this book didn't highlight either particularly well - most of the book took place on ships and focused on political strategizing instead of character growth. This book will likely hold more appeal to those who are invested in politics and military sci-fi. I really enjoyed the second book in this series, but I think this will likely be my last Wagers book despite how much I enjoy her as a human being.
April 21, 2021
I really liked this series! Each book is so fast-paced and action-packed. This trilogy was a hugely pleasant surprise.
What I Liked:
Each book matched the same energy that drew me into the original book (Behind the Throne). I've mentioned the pacing and the action in the review of each book of this series. It's probably one of the best things about these books for me. Each continuing story in the trilogy flew by and complemented the intenseness of the overarching plot perfectly.
I have come to really like some of these characters. Hail, Emmory, and Zin are THE main squad and I have love this story even more because of them. It seems like our MC and besties did a lot of their character growth in last book because not a ton of focus was on that this round, but I was fine with that because it cleared the way to focus a little more on some more of the side characters as the plot started to wrap up. There are a LOT of names thrown at you in this series and it can be difficult to track. Personally, I liked it and it just made sense to me in the scale of the story. You need lots of people to run a government and fight a war.
Meh:
I will say that I did like both of the first two books in the series a little more. Beyond the Empire was still a really great ending and I really enjoyed it, but things just started to feel a little repetitive towards the end of the book. There was also a moment toward the end of this book, I was not very happy with. One very specific plot decision felt like an attempt at shock value that didn't hit the mark for me. It was unnecessary in my opinion, but to each their own. It didn't destroy my love of the series or anything dramatic, but it did disappoint me a little bit.
Wrap Up:
I already have the next series bought, so I am geared up to start that sometime soon. I really enjoyed this series, so I'm hoping the next books are also awesome!
What I Liked:
Each book matched the same energy that drew me into the original book (Behind the Throne). I've mentioned the pacing and the action in the review of each book of this series. It's probably one of the best things about these books for me. Each continuing story in the trilogy flew by and complemented the intenseness of the overarching plot perfectly.
I have come to really like some of these characters. Hail, Emmory, and Zin are THE main squad and I have love this story even more because of them. It seems like our MC and besties did a lot of their character growth in last book because not a ton of focus was on that this round, but I was fine with that because it cleared the way to focus a little more on some more of the side characters as the plot started to wrap up. There are a LOT of names thrown at you in this series and it can be difficult to track. Personally, I liked it and it just made sense to me in the scale of the story. You need lots of people to run a government and fight a war.
Meh:
I will say that I did like both of the first two books in the series a little more. Beyond the Empire was still a really great ending and I really enjoyed it, but things just started to feel a little repetitive towards the end of the book. There was also a moment toward the end of this book, I was not very happy with. One very specific plot decision felt like an attempt at shock value that didn't hit the mark for me. It was unnecessary in my opinion, but to each their own. It didn't destroy my love of the series or anything dramatic, but it did disappoint me a little bit.
Wrap Up:
I already have the next series bought, so I am geared up to start that sometime soon. I really enjoyed this series, so I'm hoping the next books are also awesome!
October 4, 2018
Good finale for this trilogy.
My only two small misgivings: Wilson motivation or 'reveal' was underwhelming and a bit of (dialog) repetition at time.
Hail Bristol is again at the center and really a great creation, very easy to relate to and cheer for her. In this book there is some growth to her, for example she thinks of going `gun blazing` to a `vilain hideout` but she backs down and come back later with her whole team. At the end there is a brutal game of cat and mouse with Wilson and she has to risk herself but because others are in danger not because she got provoked and lost control.
The book as a lot of space action, ground battles, epic speech and high stakes. An excellent page turner. And at the end Hail thinks of the good of the empire and its future more than her own ambitions.
My only two small misgivings: Wilson motivation or 'reveal' was underwhelming and a bit of (dialog) repetition at time.
Hail Bristol is again at the center and really a great creation, very easy to relate to and cheer for her. In this book there is some growth to her, for example she thinks of going `gun blazing` to a `vilain hideout` but she backs down and come back later with her whole team. At the end there is a brutal game of cat and mouse with Wilson and she has to risk herself but because others are in danger not because she got provoked and lost control.
The book as a lot of space action, ground battles, epic speech and high stakes. An excellent page turner. And at the end Hail thinks of the good of the empire and its future more than her own ambitions.
April 19, 2019
3:50
بداية الكتاب كانت رهيبة
بس فالنهاية حاجات كثير تلخبطت
و صار في تشتت و ذكريات مو وقتها
لكن نهاية جيدة و متوقعة للسلسلة
عموماً جيد لكن كنت أتوقع اكثر
بداية الكتاب كانت رهيبة
بس فالنهاية حاجات كثير تلخبطت
و صار في تشتت و ذكريات مو وقتها
لكن نهاية جيدة و متوقعة للسلسلة
عموماً جيد لكن كنت أتوقع اكثر
March 15, 2022
At the end, I can say that Beyond The Empire never lived up to the enjoyment of the first book.
I have my own blog now, so please do pay it a visit if you're interested in my other reviews :)
───────────────────
I’m not going to sugarcoat it, the only thing I felt was good about this book was the easiness of reading it. Therefore, I will hopefully be writing a shorter review than usual. Kindly consider this a preface for what’s coming below.
Beyond The Empire follows immediately after the second book, with the crew trying to get back to Indrana and setting things right. To do so, they continue doing what they have been doing in the previous book, i.e. trying to outsmart the other forces and actually make it out alive.
In the obvious sense, this could be very fun. But in Beyond The Empire, it was not. The main reason for that after Hail herself, was the fact that the Empress and her allies, were literally running circles around everyone. To me, this is always going to be a problem. The sense of danger disappears when the opponents aren’t worth the efforts, and not one of said enemies in this book or its predecessor was worth the effort. The characters, to my dismay, actually know this; given how much of a joke they took everything in this book as.
That’s without including how utterly stupid the reason for this entire vendetta by Wilson actually was! 20+ years of vengeance for this? Really? Nothing better to do in the literal cosmos of the universe? Even that though, I may have been able to ignore if the rest of the book was entertaining. But, no, because of Hail.
Hail is in her late 30s. Yet, she’s acting like a child who’s been given the throne. Not a single decision she has made in the previous two books was for the good of the empire, it was all because of her revenge against Wilson. It’s only her luck that the latter wanted to destroy her empire that it evened out. Her continuous self doubt, grief over a dead lover and loss of comrades, happens in a single sentence before she shifts gears as if nothing happened. It’s also very weird that she can’t help herself with her own problems, yet she’s preaching and guiding Emmory, Zen or anyone else who has any issue.
The last thing that I didn’t enjoy in this book lay with the usage of media in this series, or rather how legitimacy was being discussed with the people they’re going to rule. Media is a powerful tool, only an idiot would deny that, but not like this. It honestly made me question the intelligence of the population.
As I was reading this, I honestly wished that it was about her mother instead. Or the women who actually ended up making this the matriarchal/misandrist society I had hoped to read about when picking it up. All in all, it’s easy to see that I really didn’t like this series whatsoever past it’s first book.
I’m definitely not going to be reading the sequel series. Since the only reason that I even stayed on till the end was because I wanted to see if books set in space could still be entertaining. And dropping yet another of the chosen series, was way too discouraging for me.
Adding that discouragement over this disappointment, would be a way too much at this point.
I have my own blog now, so please do pay it a visit if you're interested in my other reviews :)
───────────────────
I’m not going to sugarcoat it, the only thing I felt was good about this book was the easiness of reading it. Therefore, I will hopefully be writing a shorter review than usual. Kindly consider this a preface for what’s coming below.
Beyond The Empire follows immediately after the second book, with the crew trying to get back to Indrana and setting things right. To do so, they continue doing what they have been doing in the previous book, i.e. trying to outsmart the other forces and actually make it out alive.
In the obvious sense, this could be very fun. But in Beyond The Empire, it was not. The main reason for that after Hail herself, was the fact that the Empress and her allies, were literally running circles around everyone. To me, this is always going to be a problem. The sense of danger disappears when the opponents aren’t worth the efforts, and not one of said enemies in this book or its predecessor was worth the effort. The characters, to my dismay, actually know this; given how much of a joke they took everything in this book as.
That’s without including how utterly stupid the reason for this entire vendetta by Wilson actually was! 20+ years of vengeance for this? Really? Nothing better to do in the literal cosmos of the universe? Even that though, I may have been able to ignore if the rest of the book was entertaining. But, no, because of Hail.
Hail is in her late 30s. Yet, she’s acting like a child who’s been given the throne. Not a single decision she has made in the previous two books was for the good of the empire, it was all because of her revenge against Wilson. It’s only her luck that the latter wanted to destroy her empire that it evened out. Her continuous self doubt, grief over a dead lover and loss of comrades, happens in a single sentence before she shifts gears as if nothing happened. It’s also very weird that she can’t help herself with her own problems, yet she’s preaching and guiding Emmory, Zen or anyone else who has any issue.
The last thing that I didn’t enjoy in this book lay with the usage of media in this series, or rather how legitimacy was being discussed with the people they’re going to rule. Media is a powerful tool, only an idiot would deny that, but not like this. It honestly made me question the intelligence of the population.
As I was reading this, I honestly wished that it was about her mother instead. Or the women who actually ended up making this the matriarchal/misandrist society I had hoped to read about when picking it up. All in all, it’s easy to see that I really didn’t like this series whatsoever past it’s first book.
I’m definitely not going to be reading the sequel series. Since the only reason that I even stayed on till the end was because I wanted to see if books set in space could still be entertaining. And dropping yet another of the chosen series, was way too discouraging for me.
Adding that discouragement over this disappointment, would be a way too much at this point.
August 20, 2025
The challenge of writing a novel about a ruler character who spends most of their time having discussions with subordinates and managing plans while other characters carry out the actual action of the plot is that you really need strong characters to make the narrative engaging. When 75% of your novel is characters discussing tactics and strategy in one room after another, you need complex, dynamic characters and a strong emotional hook to get you to care. The Goblin Emperor is a really good example of how to do that well.
This book isn't!
None of the characters, including Hail, are really any different from where they were three books ago. There's no character development in this book, it's just the same few character beats over and over and over and over and over. If it's not Hail protesting that she should be allowed to put herself in danger, it's her subordinates reaffirming their undying loyalty to her (with never any real sense of why they're so loyal to her), or strategic sessions with a vast roster of completely interchangeable and personality-less soldiers and staffers. The villain's true identity as a character who had never even been mentioned before up until that point was incredibly underwhelming, and as an antagonist he was flimsy and boring. The lines about him being "a man who couldn't take no for an answer" make me feel like Wagers was trying to prove a point, which falls in line with the very rudimentary take on gender politics this series uses.
Also, frankly, I still don't feel like Wagers was using Indian culture in the worldbuilding in a respectful way. The wedding at the end (which was also completely uninteresting, because neither of the characters getting married mattered or had personalities either) felt more like a traditional Western wedding than an Indian one. No red and gold attire for the bride? Or literal days (or weeks, considering these are royals) of festivities? Even the fire ritual felt more like a Western exchanging of vows. I'm not saying a far-future interplanetary civilization needs to look exactly the same as modern real-world cultures, but there should still be a sense of important cultural elements being retained.
I'm so glad I'm done with this book.
This book isn't!
None of the characters, including Hail, are really any different from where they were three books ago. There's no character development in this book, it's just the same few character beats over and over and over and over and over. If it's not Hail protesting that she should be allowed to put herself in danger, it's her subordinates reaffirming their undying loyalty to her (with never any real sense of why they're so loyal to her), or strategic sessions with a vast roster of completely interchangeable and personality-less soldiers and staffers. The villain's true identity as a character who had never even been mentioned before up until that point was incredibly underwhelming, and as an antagonist he was flimsy and boring. The lines about him being "a man who couldn't take no for an answer" make me feel like Wagers was trying to prove a point, which falls in line with the very rudimentary take on gender politics this series uses.
Also, frankly, I still don't feel like Wagers was using Indian culture in the worldbuilding in a respectful way. The wedding at the end (which was also completely uninteresting, because neither of the characters getting married mattered or had personalities either) felt more like a traditional Western wedding than an Indian one. No red and gold attire for the bride? Or literal days (or weeks, considering these are royals) of festivities? Even the fire ritual felt more like a Western exchanging of vows. I'm not saying a far-future interplanetary civilization needs to look exactly the same as modern real-world cultures, but there should still be a sense of important cultural elements being retained.
I'm so glad I'm done with this book.
December 6, 2020
The final part of the trilogy sticks the landing, whilst losing some of the ambiguity of the previous book. There is an evil mastermind revealed, the aggressive Saxons (still quite can't get over how on the nose that is), are shown to be led by a drug addled leader and so the problem of interstellar war and insurrection can pretty much be boiled down to some short order guerrilla action which will inevitably involve the pirate Empress. But if you weren't in for that at this point well you were reading the wrong kind of book. This is broad adventure fiction first, and what makes it more satisfying is that there are grey areas, and whilst I am still not necessarily convinced by the premise of these space monarchies, they play out convincingly enough. I am still not quite sure of the culture, economics or quality of life of the subjects of these space empires, but I am at least convinced by their political machinations.
As it goes it picks up some interesting additional flaws for the lead, some PTSD which is certainly justified and an ending which qualifies as a happy one if you ignore the start point of the trilogy which was massive internal political machinations which included a fair bit of murder of those on the throne. But noises are made, political marriages are secured and equality might happen in the future. In the end if there is something I liked about this trilogy is how it managed to run a pretty simple hero's journey central narrative threaded through a more complex and cynical sense that leaders and leadership, is on the whole a bit shit.
As it goes it picks up some interesting additional flaws for the lead, some PTSD which is certainly justified and an ending which qualifies as a happy one if you ignore the start point of the trilogy which was massive internal political machinations which included a fair bit of murder of those on the throne. But noises are made, political marriages are secured and equality might happen in the future. In the end if there is something I liked about this trilogy is how it managed to run a pretty simple hero's journey central narrative threaded through a more complex and cynical sense that leaders and leadership, is on the whole a bit shit.
November 8, 2018
More like 3.5 stars.
The story wraps up rather tidily - but I started skimming a little by the end. I figured out who the bad guy was maybe 1/3 of the book before the cast - cause it was being kinda tossed in your face.
This one IS good - but its not as good as the previous two. The beginning, middle and most of the ending were A BLAST... The end was a good end to the plot arc...
...but I think this book suffers from "not really being the end of the series." There's another series directly after this one with the same characters but doing something different. There's a whole set up plotline in this book to make way for the new series...
...and that just doesn't quite work well with books that are supposed to be "The End." It wasn't the end, it was book 3 in a 6 books series.
The story wraps up rather tidily - but I started skimming a little by the end. I figured out who the bad guy was maybe 1/3 of the book before the cast - cause it was being kinda tossed in your face.
This one IS good - but its not as good as the previous two. The beginning, middle and most of the ending were A BLAST... The end was a good end to the plot arc...
...but I think this book suffers from "not really being the end of the series." There's another series directly after this one with the same characters but doing something different. There's a whole set up plotline in this book to make way for the new series...
...and that just doesn't quite work well with books that are supposed to be "The End." It wasn't the end, it was book 3 in a 6 books series.
March 9, 2020
Wagers does not disappoint in the final entry of the Indranan Wars series. Heart pounding thrills run this book from beginning to end.
Empress/ gunrunner Hailimi Bristol is such an exciting character I was sad to see this series end. Intelligent and brash. A fully confident woman that ask no permission to be herself. I loved it.
Empress/ gunrunner Hailimi Bristol is such an exciting character I was sad to see this series end. Intelligent and brash. A fully confident woman that ask no permission to be herself. I loved it.
February 16, 2020
Reading the three books in back to back to back order didn't do them any favors. The characters mannerisms get to be too repetitive and the stakes less real. Overall a good series just felt like the end dragged on too long.
August 28, 2018
A thrilling and wonderful conclusion to a trilogy that somehow ended up reminding me of Les Miserables, even though I'm sure that was not the intent.
December 14, 2020
A satisfying conclusion to the trilogy.
March 24, 2021
The pacing felt very uneven to me, and it took me a while to get into it.
Read
February 18, 2021These books were pretty ridiculous but enjoyable anyway.
August 8, 2019
A good, solid end to the trilogy, though the plot got a tad repetitious near the end as Hail tries to locate the hiding place of Wilson and is lead on a sort of scavenger hunt.
Great characters and situations overall. Looking forward to the next trilogy.
Great characters and situations overall. Looking forward to the next trilogy.
February 29, 2024
3.75/5 stars
This series was really fun but, especially towards the end, became incredibly predictable. The author started leaning into a lot of common tropes and overdone plot points that made the ending unfulfilling. I really thought this series was going to be a sophisticated political fantasy with intrigue, but it looks like that only lasted for Book 1. The moment the plot became "we need to beat Wilson" is when all of the complexity got yeeted out the window. I also feel like, for the enormity of the conflict that occurred, it wrapped up almost far too easily. It was a fun ride, I just wouldn't consider it a literary masterpiece is all.
This series was really fun but, especially towards the end, became incredibly predictable. The author started leaning into a lot of common tropes and overdone plot points that made the ending unfulfilling. I really thought this series was going to be a sophisticated political fantasy with intrigue, but it looks like that only lasted for Book 1. The moment the plot became "we need to beat Wilson" is when all of the complexity got yeeted out the window. I also feel like, for the enormity of the conflict that occurred, it wrapped up almost far too easily. It was a fun ride, I just wouldn't consider it a literary masterpiece is all.
November 23, 2017
***Actual rating: 4,50***
January 31, 2018
Despite really enjoying the previous two books, for some reason the third book didn't really do it for me nearly as much. There is a lot of the book that felt like the same scenes and conversations were repeating themselves and almost the entire last act felt like a bunch of extra padding when the main villain revealed himself to be a Bond villain with a penchant for games, traps, and riddles (this evolved over the course of the book, but became a bit ridiculous by the end).
What works? I still find the universe this is all set in interesting and the tidbits she gives us about Farian culture were tantalizing enough that I wish there could have been more or would give another book a shot that covered the subject (I'm not sure I really love the new ability displayed by the main Farian in the book, but I liked the hints we were given to how that would be treated in Farian culture as a result). The action scenes were solid and filled with plenty of clever tricks to foil their foes, as they usually are, and the general plot beats were a satisfying enough conclusion to the plot arcs set up in the last two books.
What didn't work for me? While the repetitive nature of some of the character interactions were there in previous books, I had a much harder time in this outing getting past the fact that it felt like a bulk of the character interactions in this book were Hail being stern or extreme, falling apart with self doubt immediately afterwards, only to become stern again when everyone around her reminded her for the tenth time in three pages that she's a good Empress and everyone really does believe in her and knew she could pull it off. The constant eyebrows being raised, inability to hide grins and laughs in serious moments, and friendly touching to show she was close to her crew also seemed way more prominent than in the last two books and a lot of dialogue was repeated to the point where I felt like I was seeing the same phrases and actions on the same page. I could have been hyper-aware of it since the rest of the book was rubbing me the wrong way and maybe it was like that in previous books, but it's hard to say.
I feel a bit let down that a series I was really digging kind of fell apart for me in the last act, but all the same I'm glad the story was concluded.
What works? I still find the universe this is all set in interesting and the tidbits she gives us about Farian culture were tantalizing enough that I wish there could have been more or would give another book a shot that covered the subject (I'm not sure I really love the new ability displayed by the main Farian in the book, but I liked the hints we were given to how that would be treated in Farian culture as a result). The action scenes were solid and filled with plenty of clever tricks to foil their foes, as they usually are, and the general plot beats were a satisfying enough conclusion to the plot arcs set up in the last two books.
What didn't work for me? While the repetitive nature of some of the character interactions were there in previous books, I had a much harder time in this outing getting past the fact that it felt like a bulk of the character interactions in this book were Hail being stern or extreme, falling apart with self doubt immediately afterwards, only to become stern again when everyone around her reminded her for the tenth time in three pages that she's a good Empress and everyone really does believe in her and knew she could pull it off. The constant eyebrows being raised, inability to hide grins and laughs in serious moments, and friendly touching to show she was close to her crew also seemed way more prominent than in the last two books and a lot of dialogue was repeated to the point where I felt like I was seeing the same phrases and actions on the same page. I could have been hyper-aware of it since the rest of the book was rubbing me the wrong way and maybe it was like that in previous books, but it's hard to say.
I feel a bit let down that a series I was really digging kind of fell apart for me in the last act, but all the same I'm glad the story was concluded.
April 16, 2021
This is the third book in "The Indranan War" trilogy by K.B. Wagers. The first and second books in this series were some of the best Space Opera I have read in recent years and it continues to be so in this book.
In this one after former gunrunner-turned-Empress Hail Bristol has to fight for her empire because her nemesis "Wilson" has convinced certain high-ranking individuals to attempt a coup. Wilson has also enlisted the aid of the King of the Saxon Empire to attack Hail and her group during a peace conference between the Indranan Empire and the Saxons on a neutral planet. Hail and her group escape but are on the run and cannot return home because of the coup going on there. Hail will need to enlist the aid of her former friends from her gunrunner past if she is to regain her throne and free her people. Hail will soon show her enemies why she is known as the Gunrunner Empress!
In this one after former gunrunner-turned-Empress Hail Bristol has to fight for her empire because her nemesis "Wilson" has convinced certain high-ranking individuals to attempt a coup. Wilson has also enlisted the aid of the King of the Saxon Empire to attack Hail and her group during a peace conference between the Indranan Empire and the Saxons on a neutral planet. Hail and her group escape but are on the run and cannot return home because of the coup going on there. Hail will need to enlist the aid of her former friends from her gunrunner past if she is to regain her throne and free her people. Hail will soon show her enemies why she is known as the Gunrunner Empress!
February 6, 2018
Last book of the Indranan War trilogy.
What a fun, fun series. Love the characters, lots of action, exotic world-building, with palace intrigue and political brinksmanship.
Looking forward to the new books she's writing. Bring the gunrunner back!
What a fun, fun series. Love the characters, lots of action, exotic world-building, with palace intrigue and political brinksmanship.
Looking forward to the new books she's writing. Bring the gunrunner back!
October 24, 2019
THIS WAS SUCH A GOOD FINALE AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH AND THERE WILL BE MORE HAILIMI I'M SO HAPPY AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH
March 31, 2018
Way better than the Divergent series.
Not as good as The Hunger Games.
Not as good as The Hunger Games.
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