#Daughter of the Empire

[haveyoureadthisfantasybook]

vote yes if you have finished the entire book.

vote no if you have not finished the entire book.

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[highladyluck]

A thing I don’t like about 90s SFF is that the text might actually specify that a character is not bisexual. This is an indignity I should not have to bear

[sixth-light]

absolutely ridiculous deep-cut piece of speculation for fantasy nerds of a reasonable vintage: it is entirely plausible, publication timing-wise, that Mara of the Acoma could have been an inspiration for Tuon Athaem Kore Paendrag. discuss (or don't, it's the weekend)

[staringdownabarrel]

Okay, so I just finished Daughter of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts. (I said this was going to be a thing, and by god, it's going to be a thing.) Here's my thoughts.

In a lot of ways, this book really does smooth over a lot of the issues Magician had. Instead of just being a fairly generic fantasy story, it has a very tight focus on Tsurani political maneuvering. There's a level of political savviness in this book that literally doesn't exist in most of Feist's other works. While other characters in the Riftwar saga do have political considerations, it's usually not their only concern the same way the political considerations are Mara's only concern.

The fact that this book focuses so heavily on Tsurani politics also means that it's one of the very few Feist books that isn't heavily inspired by medieval European politics. This is one of the elements that I wish Magician had done more with as well, and it certainly had the opportunity to. I think this is a more interesting direction to go down because the Tsurani cultural elements is one of the aspects that made the original book stand out.

Mara being a woman also means that this is one of the very few books that not only has a woman with an arc not based around her current love interest (in fact, she doesn't have one), it's also one of his best written female characters ever. I suspect that this was probably largely due to Wurts' influence as cowriter, but I can't actually prove that because I haven't read any of her other books. For me, based on what I know as of this writing, it's just a suspicion.

I think the big thing Daughter of the Empire does well is that it avoids one of the big pitfalls a book like it could fall into. Because the main plot of this book is happening at the same time as some of the events as Magician (the reason I'm going with the Empire trilogy before Silverthorn and A Darkness at Sethanon), it could have easily have just been a rehash of a lot of the same plot points but from a different perspective.

And because it happens to have a much tighter focus than Magician--the plot happens over the course of maybe two or three years on the outside rather than the twelve-ish years that Magician's plot spans--it could have just been a book that amounted to, "...and here's a detailed description of this battle, and this one, and this one..." until the end of time. It chose to focus on the political aspects of what happens almost entirely.

The fact that it manages to avoid both of these tendencies means that, at least to me, Daughter of the Empire is one of the best interquels I've read.

[dragonsfromthemoon]

Mara Acoma, EXCUSE ME?????!!!! AHSUHAHA

Please tell me I'm not seeing things and not too much into asoiaf 🙈

[wimsee]

Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts’ Empire series do a great justice to getting wholesale revenge on the people that wrong you. Highly recommend reading

'Revenge is bad' to YOU. i love when a character destroys everyone who wronged them. i love when they get to bite and maim and tear and rip and scratch and kill. Sorry ur catholic about it but i'm different

[joncronshawauthor]

33 Must-Read Sword and Sorcery Books for Adventure Seekers

If you’re partial to a spot of swashbuckling, a dash of dark magic, and a generous helping of gritty heroism, then you’ve probably dipped your toes into the tempestuous seas of sword and sorcery. You might even have a favourite battered paperback, its spine creased from countless re-reads, tucked away somewhere safe. This genre of fantasy, oft-clad in a loincloth and waving a sizeable chunk of…

[cozybells]

Take care.

[sunflower-of-versace]

Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) dir. by Gary Trousdale

[kisekiii25]

"If they say you're the devil, a demon in the flesh, by my blood I'm the same and will bear the fate you left."

[highladyluck]

@sixth-light you were right I love Mara of the Acoma & her meet-cute* with the local bandit leader she’s trying to recruit into her army by making herself bait. Incredible, showstopping, these are a few of my favorite things etc

*I’m just guessing, but I’m rooting for it because I am predictable

[betterbooksandthings]

Best Fantasy Anime (with mostly female leads)

Listen, I love fantasy anime. They are fun and I love a fight scene as much as the next girl. I am relatively uninterested in male leads mostly because of the *cough, cough* excessive fan service. So, without further adu, if you are interested in some fantasy with women at the helm here's what I got.

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

Yona of the Dawn

Inuyasha

Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina

Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss But I'm Not the Demon Lord

7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy!

Fluffy Paradise

Ascendance of a Bookworm

I Shall Survive Using Potions!

The Saint's Magic Power is Omnipotent

Tearmoon Empire

My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!

Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts

Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for my Retirement

Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear

I'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss

Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle

Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid

Reincarnated as a Sword

Dahlia in Bloom: Crafting a Fresh Start with Magical Tools

Kakuriyo -Bed & Breakfast for Spirits-

The Vexations of a Shut-In Vampire Princess

Didn't I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?!

Management of Novice Alchemist

I'll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History

Nina the Starry Bride

These ones I am keeping an eye on but signs point to a favorable outcome.

The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor

[houseofpsychoticwomn]

My Roman Empire is Preacher’s Daughter. It is the pain in Ethel’s scream at the climax of Ptolemaea and her voice every time she says “no” throughout the album. It is the words in American Teenager, speaking of the way that war hits rural towns so clearly. It is the way she represents herself in Gibson Girl, with the fear of men and of being trafficked. It is the heartbreak in A House in Nebraska and the pain in Hard Times. It is the love she sings about in Thoroughfare and the sadness in Sun Bleached Flies and Strangers as she sings about her mother and begs God to just let her go home. Every single word on this album is so clearly thought out, they are the manifestations of the fear, pain, heartbreak, and the questioning of Jesus and God.

[skeleton-squid-b0y]

so now we're retconning things like 5 episodes apart... cool

[teartra]

Queer characters on Asian fantasy book are often the best characters

[spaceprincessleia]

"Your friends are right to be scared. Your way of life will no longer be enough to protect your people. I could help you, you need only ask. I watched my mother die, are you prepared for the same?" ↪ Morgan Elsbeth in Tales of the Empire 1x01 | The Path of Fear