The Bone Shard Emperor has one of the most unique and inventive worlds. I said that while reading The Bone Shard Daughter and Stewart only further develops that trend. Don’t even get me started on what I’d do for Mephi. Keep reading this book review for my full thoughts.
Summary
The Emperor is Dead. Long live the Emperor.
Lin Sukai finally sits on the throne she won at so much cost, but her struggles are only just beginning. Her people don’t trust her. Her political alliances are weak. And in the north-east of the Empire, a rebel army of constructs is gathering, its leader determined to take the throne by force.
Yet an even greater threat is on the horizon, for the Alanga – the powerful magicians of legend – have returned to the Empire. They claim they come in peace, and Lin will need their help in order to defeat the rebels and restore peace.
But can she trust them?
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
I’ve been eagerly awaiting The Bone Shard Emperor ever since the first and I was not disappointed. Stewart is an expert storyteller especially with this multiple POV set up. The Bone Shard Emperor is committed to exploring leadership. All the times we are so focused on a goal, on the position, that when it actually comes down to it, the experience is never quite what we expected. The heavy crown of leadership and responsibility. For these characters, they have to figure out what we do with our actions, promises, and casualties.
It’s easy to get swept back into the world and the characters. But my favorite has to be the character development. How they begin to understand how power can warp us, pull us into a black hole of compromises. What is the future of the Empire? It’s easy to say something has to change, but what and how do we transition the old to the new, the powerful to the powerless? What systems do we uphold and how do we figure out the tethers, invisible chains, and influences?
Overall,
The audiobook has to be one of my favorite experiences. Not only does this have some of my auto-buy narrators – like Natalie Naudus and Emily Woo Zeller – but having these different narrators makes the characters come alive. To see how they see themselves in relation to the others and how each of them come off in different perspectives. I love being able to see a character from another angle!
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The Bone Shard Emperor examines these difficulties and forces our characters, and favorites, to negotiate, struggle, and triumph – in their own way. Especially as they must chose what side they’re on and what – or who – they will sacrifice. Another theme I loved was this idea of inherited mistakes, of distancing ourselves from legacy and the past, while acknowledging the roles it has today.
Find The Bone Shard Emperor on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, Blackwells, Libro.fm, and Google Play.