The Emperor’s Edge 1, 2 & 2.5 by Lindsay Buroker: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads (each)

The Emperor's Edge by Lindsay Buroker

I’ve been on a Lindsay Buroker binge this past week, after getting hooked on her Death Before Dragons series. I subscribed to her newsletter and was given a four book bundle of her fantasy books (she writes sci-fi too) as a thank you. I picked The Emperor’s Edge, which starts a series with the same name. It’s her first book, and while it’s not perfect, it’s interesting and good. I instantly continued with Dark Currents, and then read a short story The Assassin’s Curse.

The Emperor’s Edge is set in Turgonia, a steam-punkish empire, but not an alt-history/pseudo Victorian one. Technological advancements are based on steam; there are trams, cars and factories among other things, but society’s norms aren’t Victorian. Women handle the commerce and have consequently more freedoms, and men the war. Society is divided to the warrior caste and the rest. Magic exists, but not in Turgonia where it’s been banned.

Dark Currents by Lindsay Buroker

The main character is Amaranthe Lokdon. She’s an up-and-coming enforcer, one of only a few women in the police force. She comes to the notice of the young emperor Sespian and through him the man who is holding the emperor’s reins. The regent sends her to kill Sicarius, the most notorious assassin of the empire. Things get a bit out of her hands and before she knows it, she’s a wanted criminal running from the emperor’s soldiers. But she also discovers a plot to kill the emperor and decides to clear her name by saving him. For that, she enlists Sicarius to help her.

During the course of the book, Amaranthe builds a team of very different people to assist her, and they become the heart of the series. In the first book, they manage to save the emperor, but end up all being wanted by the law. The second book sees them attempting to clear their name by thwarting a plot to poison the drinking water of the Turgonia’s capital. They face magic wielding shamans and weird magical beasts and machines. And form tight bonds.

The Assassin's Curse by Lindsay Buroker

The main relationship is building between Amaranthe and Sicarius. He’s a very difficult person to get a hang of, but she’s persistent. Already in the second book she confesses her feelings for him, which was faster than I anticipated, considering that there are nine books in the series. But it suits her character. His answer definitely suits his.

Based on two books and a short story, the plots evolve around economy, which is a refreshing change to all the fantasy series about conquer and war. The main villains don’t come from the outside, but from within the city. There’s a faction of business leaders who are plotting to overthrow the emperor. I’m guessing the truth of the organisation won’t be unravelled until the last book. And I’m guessing it’ll take that long to clear Amaranthe’s name too. I’m not sure it’ll be possible to clear Sicarius’s. The plots are a bit all over the place and the pacing is slightly odd; the books tend to end before I would expect them to. But these are minor details that haven’t marred my enjoyment of the books. I already have the third one waiting.