Scan barcode
katlib's review against another edition
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
sirkt's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
Love adding to the universe, but found the POV writing confusing/slightly difficult to read
sciencequeen's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
korevah's review
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
alicebme's review against another edition
This is an interesting piece of the story, but it’s style and content are not as interesting to me as that of The Hands of the Emperor. Which is to say that I guess I’d rather know Kip’s thoughts than the Emperor’s.
lesserjoke's review against another edition
4.0
This novella revisits and expands upon a slice of backstory previously mentioned in author Victoria Goddard's excellent fantasy doorstopper The Hands of the Emperor, when Cliopher Mdang first began service as His Radiancy's personal secretary. Except while that book was generally presented from Kip's third-person limited point-of-view, this one shifts to the perspective of his liege lord, and is interestingly told in both first- and second-person, as though the man is reflecting upon his private memories and drawing a distinction between "I" the individual and "you" the public figurehead of his recently-shattered empire. That's a device I don't believe I've encountered in fiction before, but it allows for great insight into his character, especially in those moments when he starts a thought with one pronoun but then switches in mid-sentence to the other.
The plot here is minimal -- basically just the protagonist meeting his new servant, sending that underling on his first big diplomatic mission, starting to fix the world's magic, and considering the limitations of his situation and the oblique things he misses from before he came to power -- but the careful study of a careful ruler waking up from his inadvertent lethargy (with a little bit of outside help and inspiration) is pitch-perfect. I imagine the story probably works best for an audience already familiar with / fond of both figures from the preceding volume, but it stands well enough on its own that I might recommend it to anyone tentatively interested in the Nine Worlds saga (or merely its Lays of the Hearth-Fire sequence focused on Kip) yet daunted by the length of some of the longer titles. As other readers have indicated, the series seems to be a rather forgiving, Discworld-style hypertext with multiple possible entry points that build contextually and enrich one another the more you explore. This is only my second read in this setting, and I am already itching to come at it again from some other angle altogether.
Like this review?
--Throw me a quick one-time donation here!
https://ko-fi.com/lesserjoke
--Subscribe here to support my writing and weigh in on what I read next!
https://patreon.com/lesserjoke
--Follow along on Goodreads here!
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6288479-joe-kessler
--Or click here to browse through all my previous reviews!
https://lesserjoke.home.blog
The plot here is minimal -- basically just the protagonist meeting his new servant, sending that underling on his first big diplomatic mission, starting to fix the world's magic, and considering the limitations of his situation and the oblique things he misses from before he came to power -- but the careful study of a careful ruler waking up from his inadvertent lethargy (with a little bit of outside help and inspiration) is pitch-perfect. I imagine the story probably works best for an audience already familiar with / fond of both figures from the preceding volume, but it stands well enough on its own that I might recommend it to anyone tentatively interested in the Nine Worlds saga (or merely its Lays of the Hearth-Fire sequence focused on Kip) yet daunted by the length of some of the longer titles. As other readers have indicated, the series seems to be a rather forgiving, Discworld-style hypertext with multiple possible entry points that build contextually and enrich one another the more you explore. This is only my second read in this setting, and I am already itching to come at it again from some other angle altogether.
Like this review?
--Throw me a quick one-time donation here!
https://ko-fi.com/lesserjoke
--Subscribe here to support my writing and weigh in on what I read next!
https://patreon.com/lesserjoke
--Follow along on Goodreads here!
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6288479-joe-kessler
--Or click here to browse through all my previous reviews!
https://lesserjoke.home.blog
yvannastar's review
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
loonbal's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
peytonm's review against another edition
5.0
I love love LOVE this look at Cliopher and the Emperor's early relationship from the Emperor's POV! I adored how his knowledge of history and magic fits into his perspective. And the pronoun shifts! The Emperor's so happy to have found someone competent with a sense of humor, and he becomes more himself again ;_; I simply adore them!!
Knowing the events of [b:The Hands of the Emperor|43525897|The Hands of the Emperor|Victoria Goddard|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1547081914l/43525897._SY75_.jpg|67696698] made this novella even more poignant. And learning the historical meaning behind The Hands of the Emperor! I'm rationing the other novellas to give myself like little candy pick-me-ups because wow Victoria Goddard's writing is amazing and this world is incredible.
Knowing the events of [b:The Hands of the Emperor|43525897|The Hands of the Emperor|Victoria Goddard|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1547081914l/43525897._SY75_.jpg|67696698] made this novella even more poignant. And learning the historical meaning behind The Hands of the Emperor! I'm rationing the other novellas to give myself like little candy pick-me-ups because wow Victoria Goddard's writing is amazing and this world is incredible.
zimmerea's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
My favourite of the novellas! Also perhaps the most "plot" based stories of Goddard's- Petty Treasons provided a fantastic level of context and world building that affirmed my understandings of the greater canon verse.