Search - Empress (Empress of Mijak) (Godspeaker, Bk 1)

I have to say, I was greatly disappointed in this. It started well, with the story of Hekat's purchase into slavery and her travels through the lands of Mijak, and other story details, which I won't spoil. But then the book began to drag, with countless repetitions of blood drinking, animal sacrifice, people developing mysterious powers not really explained, flat character development, overuse of phrases like "The god see you in his eye", etc. The plot dragged as well, with some predictable elements leading to an unsurprising conclusion. I did finish it, but after the halfway point, I could not wait to get done with it, though I really wanted to like it. Not recommended.

I had to drag myself through the first half, thinking, "It must get better, it must get better. Hekat must love someone, or develop a personality, or... something." This did not happen. I hoped throughout the entire book for some character developement, and came away disappointed. Not a good read, and definitely doesn't hold a candle to Miller's first two books.

My Rating: B+

My Review:
This starts out as a story about one character, Hekat, but by the time the story is done, there is a group of characters to fall in love with. It's a very character driven story, and very interesting. It will keep you enthralled until the end. The author has a complete grasp on whipping up a world around you.

The reason I gave this book a B+ was because I felt that there was a bit too much repetition. Most of the phrases that are repeated have a purpose, and there is an over all effect, that shows how strict the society is. But it still gets a bit old.

One other aspect of the book that was disappointing also has a lot to with the society, and that is the complete lack of compassion. There are times where you just want a character to break down and let there emotions out, and there's nothing. I'm looking forward to the second in the series so that I can find out if there's any compassion in the series at all.

I do recommend this to those who've read the authors first two books, or hard core fantasy fans.