A review by theespressoedition
The Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty

adventurous challenging tense slow-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

4.0

After finishing this book, I just wanted to take a deep breath and let it out. It was so much to digest in one book. In fact, if I had it my way, it would've been broken up into at least two (or even three) separate books. I knew that these books were written with a ton of world-building (and it's probably my favorite thing about them), but it's already a little tiring when the first 3/4 of 550-600 page book just handles the secondary events taking place to bring everything to the epic conclusion. When you hand me an 800+ page book and it has the same writing style, it's a stretch to finish it with gusto. As much as I truly adore the story in this series, I found myself flicking through the pages to see how many I had left each chapter as I read because I wanted it to pick up the pace a bit.

HOWEVER, if I were to ignore the pacing entirely, I would give this a full 5 stars - honestly, the whole series deserves that! It's beautifully written, meaningful, really connects you to the characters, and I rarely felt like a moment was unnecessarily added.

Since this was the finale novel in the trilogy, I can officially say that I want more. Not because I felt like it was lacking (clearly, that was not the case), but I'm desperate to learn what ends up happening to Dara and I'd love to read even just a novella about what his life looks like after the events that take place in this book. 

I hope this fantasy trilogy gains more recognition over time because it certainly deserves all the hype!
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