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A review by anna_near
Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri
3.0
A South Asian inspired fantasy, this was a solid debut. Tasha Suri's writing was beautiful, and her characterization of the protagonist was brilliant. Mehr is definitely one of my favorite fictional characters. This was the first fantasy novel I've read that has truly explored colonialism and colorism, and it was such an interesting motif- especially within the framework of magic. However, though I enjoyed the reading experience, I'm not sure I actually enjoyed the story.
The world building was dense while somehow never being enough. For a novel that largely centers around politics, next to nothing about the Empire. I had to look up practically everything that was introduced in relation to the magic system because it was so poorly explained. The narrative was third person limited, which is usually my favorite writing style, but in this case it just served to diminish the story. With the exception of Mehr, the characters were flat, which is a major letdown for a character-driven book. In my opinion, first person, with alternate points of view, or even third person omniscient, would have been a better choice.
The romance was also criminally underdeveloped. Neither characters expressed any interest in each other until they were confessing their love, and the chemistry was awful (with the exception of their last interaction) Honestly, their relationship should've just been left as platonic. Their sacrifices for each other would've been more impactful, especially the forced consummation plot (which was so incredibly creepy and not morally condemned enough)
The pacing was additionally very awkward at times. This book did not need to be more than 300 pages, and the editing was not as through as it should be. The middle dragged on, and considering nothing was being contributed to furthering the romance, literally nothing was happening.
This would probably be a two star read if it wasn't for the last 100 pages, which were brilliant. I wish the rest of the book could've been more similar. I probably would recommend just for the climax and ending alone.
So, this book wasn't my thing. But I adore Tasha Suri and the Burning Kingdom series is one of my favorite series.
The world building was dense while somehow never being enough. For a novel that largely centers around politics, next to nothing about the Empire. I had to look up practically everything that was introduced in relation to the magic system because it was so poorly explained. The narrative was third person limited, which is usually my favorite writing style, but in this case it just served to diminish the story. With the exception of Mehr, the characters were flat, which is a major letdown for a character-driven book. In my opinion, first person, with alternate points of view, or even third person omniscient, would have been a better choice.
The romance was also criminally underdeveloped. Neither characters expressed any interest in each other until they were confessing their love, and the chemistry was awful (with the exception of their last interaction) Honestly, their relationship should've just been left as platonic. Their sacrifices for each other would've been more impactful, especially the forced consummation plot (which was so incredibly creepy and not morally condemned enough)
The pacing was additionally very awkward at times. This book did not need to be more than 300 pages, and the editing was not as through as it should be. The middle dragged on, and considering nothing was being contributed to furthering the romance, literally nothing was happening.
This would probably be a two star read if it wasn't for the last 100 pages, which were brilliant. I wish the rest of the book could've been more similar. I probably would recommend just for the climax and ending alone.
So, this book wasn't my thing. But I adore Tasha Suri and the Burning Kingdom series is one of my favorite series.