A review by antonism
The Mirror Empire by Kameron Hurley
4.0
4 / 5
The Mirror Empire by Kameron Hurley is a great book. In many ways, it is a typical well-done fantasy book but that is only scratching the surface. There are so many new ideas, tropes turned upside-down and novelties that a casual reader might find himself overwhelmed. Yes, this book requires some more effort than your usual page-turner but it is certainly worth it. Hurley has crafted an amazing world, with multiple cultures, deep history and complex politics. Add to that a special mix of more traditionally fantastical elements like some unbelievable and unusual creatures and an incredible magical system and things really start to heat up! The story is great and fast-paced, with the main characters always having an interesting or tense scene relative to their plot-thread. Hurley's writing is superb and very easy to read and enjoy with a good balance of descriptive and action passages.
I didn't find everything perfect though. I have 2 minor complaints that eventually forced me to take down the rating by 1 star. First, the characters sometimes felt a bit off, as if there was something that didn't allow me to like them as much as I'd expected. I like grey characters (Oh, Joe Abercrombie...!!!) but only if they are grey because they are real and life-like. Here, sometimes the main characters gave off a feeling of not making perfect sense. This was probably not helped by their motivations not always being very clear or believable in many instances.
My other gripe has to do with the ending... or lack of it! I will admit that I started reading this book without knowing it was planned to be the first of a trilogy, but even then, I would have expected some kind of ending, with at least a few minor-plot threads being resolved in some way. What I want to say is... I wanted a better ending and not something so abrupt and inconclusive as if the first book was cut with a hatchet.
But, minor complaints aside, I still loved this book and I will definitely be reading the second one as soon as it comes out! I would recommend The Mirror Empire for most fantasy fans, and especially for more experienced ones that like and miss the wonder of older traditional works but want something fresh and modern!
4 / 5
The Mirror Empire by Kameron Hurley is a great book. In many ways, it is a typical well-done fantasy book but that is only scratching the surface. There are so many new ideas, tropes turned upside-down and novelties that a casual reader might find himself overwhelmed. Yes, this book requires some more effort than your usual page-turner but it is certainly worth it. Hurley has crafted an amazing world, with multiple cultures, deep history and complex politics. Add to that a special mix of more traditionally fantastical elements like some unbelievable and unusual creatures and an incredible magical system and things really start to heat up! The story is great and fast-paced, with the main characters always having an interesting or tense scene relative to their plot-thread. Hurley's writing is superb and very easy to read and enjoy with a good balance of descriptive and action passages.
I didn't find everything perfect though. I have 2 minor complaints that eventually forced me to take down the rating by 1 star. First, the characters sometimes felt a bit off, as if there was something that didn't allow me to like them as much as I'd expected. I like grey characters (Oh, Joe Abercrombie...!!!) but only if they are grey because they are real and life-like. Here, sometimes the main characters gave off a feeling of not making perfect sense. This was probably not helped by their motivations not always being very clear or believable in many instances.
My other gripe has to do with the ending... or lack of it! I will admit that I started reading this book without knowing it was planned to be the first of a trilogy, but even then, I would have expected some kind of ending, with at least a few minor-plot threads being resolved in some way. What I want to say is... I wanted a better ending and not something so abrupt and inconclusive as if the first book was cut with a hatchet.
But, minor complaints aside, I still loved this book and I will definitely be reading the second one as soon as it comes out! I would recommend The Mirror Empire for most fantasy fans, and especially for more experienced ones that like and miss the wonder of older traditional works but want something fresh and modern!
4 / 5