Ruler of Naught

Exordium #2

by Sherwood Smith, David Trowbridge

In the sequel to The Phoenix in Flight, Brandon vlith-Arkad, the rightful heir to the Emerald Throne of the Thousand Suns, is the only hope for the restoration of the Phoenix empire. Original.

Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Fiction, Aliens

480 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 15, 1993

About the author

I am a writer,( Patreon here) but I'm on Goodreads to talk about books, as I've been a passionate reader as long as I've been a writer--since early childhood.

I'm not going to rate books--there are too many variables. I'd rather talk about the reading experience. My 'reviews' of my books are confined to the writing process.

Reviews

[Sherwood Smith]

Another I forgot to set up here.

Rewritten, continues the adventure, but also sets up the next three books which examine the dark side of empire from within, with some side steps for adventure of course, and lots of interpersonal stuff. Because politics is always personal.

[Kes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great stuff: LGB relationships (made as an aside! I didn't register it at first, then I was like... hmm? And thought back and realised that both the good guys and the bad guys were casually talking about diverse sexual relationships). Also: racial diversity (I noticed the Russian-, Chinese- and Japanese-sounding names in the Panarch fleet, though no SEA names). I liked that Anaris is given increasing complexity as a character.

Favourite scene: when Nukiel stops and recognises Brandon - and his sinking thoughts about Politics and getting Court martialed.

Less great stuff: I really couldn't get into it. It had all the elements that I would like - great worldbuilding, epic storyline... but the multiple plotlines just meant that I didn't really care about the characters. I liked seeing Brandon from other's POV - it's nice how much goes unsaid, but I just did not care. It felt like a drag rather than a delight.

This honestly has the makings of a three or four star book. But I couldn't get into it - it had all the right elements, but perhaps not the right chemistry - and so it becomes a two star.

[Sevie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reading the revised ebook edition of this series. Not sure how different the original is from the ebook but I read that the authors, while translating them over to electronic format are making them more current. Well whatever they're doing is working for me and I can't wait for the next one.

[Clyde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good space opera.