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A review by oliash01
The Mirror Empire by Kameron Hurley
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This is my first entry into high fantasy and I must admit I enjoyed this book immensely. I will definitely be purchasing the other books in the series. The biggest issue I have with the book is that I personally got confused with characters and names as there are a lot, however, I understand this is a primary feature of high fantasy. There is a glossary at the end of the book that is extremely helpful for any missing context.
As for the positives, there are many. Firstly, Hurley creates a world where gender politics is vastly different to our own, yet they do not shy away from acknowledging that abuse, power dynamics, and other troubling topics will still be present. The world makes sense despite how fantastical it is. The politics of the world are shaped entirely by the rules of the world in a logical way but it still offers an interesting insight into our own world.
There are a lot of characters, arguably 3-4 main characters, all with different motivations and consistent focus changes. Sometimes this is too much, and whiplash occurs when going from one story to the other but it's usually handled very well. All the characters have seperate stories that are always passing by one another by how they affect the world.
Finally, the magic is a brillant concept and very interesting but also simple to understand. Like I said previously, it is put into the world in a logical and meaningful way. It is one of my favourite magic systems I have seen in fantasy media in general.
Overall, I would say I am officially hooked and will be sure to keep myself fully in the worldbreaker saga. I look forward to how this story develops!
As for the positives, there are many. Firstly, Hurley creates a world where gender politics is vastly different to our own, yet they do not shy away from acknowledging that abuse, power dynamics, and other troubling topics will still be present. The world makes sense despite how fantastical it is. The politics of the world are shaped entirely by the rules of the world in a logical way but it still offers an interesting insight into our own world.
There are a lot of characters, arguably 3-4 main characters, all with different motivations and consistent focus changes. Sometimes this is too much, and whiplash occurs when going from one story to the other but it's usually handled very well. All the characters have seperate stories that are always passing by one another by how they affect the world.
Finally, the magic is a brillant concept and very interesting but also simple to understand. Like I said previously, it is put into the world in a logical and meaningful way. It is one of my favourite magic systems I have seen in fantasy media in general.
Overall, I would say I am officially hooked and will be sure to keep myself fully in the worldbreaker saga. I look forward to how this story develops!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Slavery
Minor: Body horror