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Empress of Forever Sneak Peek
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“A classic space opera...a universe we’ve never seen before.” —Delilah S. Dawson, New York Times bestselling author
From Hugo Award finalist Max Gladstone comes a smart, swashbuckling, wildly imaginative adventure; the saga of a rag-tag team of brilliant misfits, dangerous renegades, and enhanced outlaws in a war-torn future.
A wildly successful innovator to rival Steve Jobs or Elon Musk, Vivian Liao is prone to radical thinking, quick decision-making, and reckless action. On the eve of her greatest achievement, she tries to outrun people who are trying to steal her success.
In the chilly darkness of a Boston server farm, Viv sets her ultimate plan into motion. A terrifying instant later, Vivian Liao is catapulted through space and time to a far future where she confronts a destiny stranger and more deadly than she could ever imagine.
The end of time is ruled by an ancient, powerful Empress who blesses or blasts entire planets with a single thought. Rebellion is literally impossible to consider—until Vivian Liao arrives. Trapped between the Pride—a ravening horde of sentient machines—and a fanatical sect of warrior monks who call themselves the Mirrorfaith, Viv must rally a strange group of allies to confront the Empress and find a way back to the world and life she left behind.
A magnificent work of vivid imagination and universe-spanning action, Empress of Forever is a feminist Guardians of the Galaxy crossed with Star Wars and spiced with the sensibility and spirit of Iain M. Banks and William Gibson.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
“A classic space opera...a universe we’ve never seen before.” —Delilah S. Dawson, New York Times bestselling author
From Hugo Award finalist Max Gladstone comes a smart, swashbuckling, wildly imaginative adventure; the saga of a rag-tag team of brilliant misfits, dangerous renegades, and enhanced outlaws in a war-torn future.
A wildly successful innovator to rival Steve Jobs or Elon Musk, Vivian Liao is prone to radical thinking, quick decision-making, and reckless action. On the eve of her greatest achievement, she tries to outrun people who are trying to steal her success.
In the chilly darkness of a Boston server farm, Viv sets her ultimate plan into motion. A terrifying instant later, Vivian Liao is catapulted through space and time to a far future where she confronts a destiny stranger and more deadly than she could ever imagine.
The end of time is ruled by an ancient, powerful Empress who blesses or blasts entire planets with a single thought. Rebellion is literally impossible to consider—until Vivian Liao arrives. Trapped between the Pride—a ravening horde of sentient machines—and a fanatical sect of warrior monks who call themselves the Mirrorfaith, Viv must rally a strange group of allies to confront the Empress and find a way back to the world and life she left behind.
A magnificent work of vivid imagination and universe-spanning action, Empress of Forever is a feminist Guardians of the Galaxy crossed with Star Wars and spiced with the sensibility and spirit of Iain M. Banks and William Gibson.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
28 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 9, 2019
24 people are currently reading
28 people want to read
About the author
Max Gladstone
121 books2,540 followersMax Gladstone is the author of the Craft Sequence: THREE PARTS DEAD, TWO SERPENTS RISE, FULL FATHOM FIVE, and most recently, LAST FIRST SNOW. He's been twice nominated for the John W Campbell Best New Writer award, and nominated for the XYZZY and Lambda Awards.
Max has taught in southern Anhui, wrecked a bicycle in Angkor Wat, and been thrown from a horse in Mongolia. Max graduated from Yale University, where he studied Chinese.
Max has taught in southern Anhui, wrecked a bicycle in Angkor Wat, and been thrown from a horse in Mongolia. Max graduated from Yale University, where he studied Chinese.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 29, 2019
An incredible start; I can't wait to read more! <3
*I received a free excerpt preview from the publisher via NetGalley.
*I received a free excerpt preview from the publisher via NetGalley.
June 27, 2019
The "sneak peek" I read was rather long so I'm not sure if I'm leaving this review in the correct spot or not. (The version I read left off with Viv, Zanj, Xiara, Grey and Hong off to confront the Empress. Assembling that whole crew was quite an undertaking that took many chapters, so I feel like read a pretty substantial section of this book already.)
I liked this book a lot, but for some reason I didn't quite love it (and I really WANTED to love it.) There is some great writing (LOVE calling Ken-doll like centaur creatures "Kentaurs) and decent action scenes, and some really strong characters (In particular Zanj! I liked Hong too but felt like he was a bit underwritten.)
I think I maybe just didn't love Viv. We spend a lot of time in her head, processing how she feels about things, describing what she's seeing, etc. (which meant this didn't particularly give me "space opera" vibes.) I felt at times like that narrative choice took me a bit out of the action.
For example, I think Hong is a fascinating character, but Viv rarely interacts with him, instead spending a lot of time figuring things out on her own. I guess I WANTED to feel a sense of camaraderie between these characters (like the Guardians of the Galaxy crew) but instead (with the exception of Zanj who gets her own chapter) it felt like "standoffish, confident genius goes on a space adventure and shares her thoughts about it."
Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
I liked this book a lot, but for some reason I didn't quite love it (and I really WANTED to love it.) There is some great writing (LOVE calling Ken-doll like centaur creatures "Kentaurs) and decent action scenes, and some really strong characters (In particular Zanj! I liked Hong too but felt like he was a bit underwritten.)
I think I maybe just didn't love Viv. We spend a lot of time in her head, processing how she feels about things, describing what she's seeing, etc. (which meant this didn't particularly give me "space opera" vibes.) I felt at times like that narrative choice took me a bit out of the action.
For example, I think Hong is a fascinating character, but Viv rarely interacts with him, instead spending a lot of time figuring things out on her own. I guess I WANTED to feel a sense of camaraderie between these characters (like the Guardians of the Galaxy crew) but instead (with the exception of Zanj who gets her own chapter) it felt like "standoffish, confident genius goes on a space adventure and shares her thoughts about it."
Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
August 4, 2019
Empress of Forever Sneak Peek (ebook)
by Max Gladstone
very strong beginning, although i did have to re read the first few pages twice to understand the sequence of events
by Max Gladstone
very strong beginning, although i did have to re read the first few pages twice to understand the sequence of events
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews