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The Imperial Adept #1
The Empire's Lion
She left a slave. She returns a conqueror.
As an Adept, Reiva blasts fire from her hands and leaps over walls. But when her first solo mission leaves her half-dead amidst a heap of massacred allies, she gets just one chance at redemption.
The Empire orders her to crush the one kingdom she thought she would never see again: Talynis, the land of her birth, the land she left in chains.
Standing in her way is the Wolf, a vicious assassin hellbent on killing Adepts—and a single cut from his cursed blade will destroy Reiva’s magic forever.
Even if she can survive, victory may come at a price too high to pay…
As an Adept, Reiva blasts fire from her hands and leaps over walls. But when her first solo mission leaves her half-dead amidst a heap of massacred allies, she gets just one chance at redemption.
The Empire orders her to crush the one kingdom she thought she would never see again: Talynis, the land of her birth, the land she left in chains.
Standing in her way is the Wolf, a vicious assassin hellbent on killing Adepts—and a single cut from his cursed blade will destroy Reiva’s magic forever.
Even if she can survive, victory may come at a price too high to pay…
- GenresFantasy
849 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 21, 2022
7 people are currently reading
85 people want to read
About the author
Nathan Tudor
5 books19 followersNathan Tudor has researched ancient religion at Oxford, traveled the seven continents, and mastered the art of speaking in the third person. His debut novel The Empire’s Lion tells an epic story filled with action, identity, and the struggle to do what is right in an upside-down world.
Despite the best efforts of several well-meaning but misguided voices to convince him what constitutes “real literature” (structurally, we might call these the antagonists), Nathan always loved fantasy stories. Growing up on J.R.R. Tolkien and ancient mythology, he understood at a deep, intuitive level that these stories mattered—perhaps in a cosmic sense (they certainly spoke about cosmic matters, at least).
As he read wider and deeper, he recognized time and again how fantasy delves to the mythic heart of the human imagination, recapturing and retelling the same truths, ideals, and desires that animate our most foundational stories—from the Epic of Gilgamesh to the Iliad to Paradise Lost to Lord of the Rings. Nathan strives to tell stories that partake of the archetypal and symbolic visions that have always inspired and instructed the human spirit.
Nathan’s academic career in religious studies (with a particular focus on the ancient Near East and Greco-Roman antiquity) informs much of his fiction. The high point of his studies was researching an obscure Dead Sea Scrolls text at the University of Oxford, and though he is now on the Pacific coast, the ideas sparked by that project continue to manifest in his writing.
His most prominent influences include Guy Gavriel Kay, Patrick Rothfuss, Brandon Sanderson, Steven Erikson, and Gene Wolfe. Beyond the realms of fantasy, GK Chesterton, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Mircea Eliade, William Blake, and Steven Pressfield—just to name a few—have all left their mark.
When he’s not writing or reading, Nathan can be found debating matters of no particular consequence with his friends, falling down research rabbit holes, and fiddling with a hand-crank coffee grinder that’s been stuck for the last few months.
Allegations that he hired an alchemist to give him the tread of a cat and the ears of a fox are categorically false.
Despite the best efforts of several well-meaning but misguided voices to convince him what constitutes “real literature” (structurally, we might call these the antagonists), Nathan always loved fantasy stories. Growing up on J.R.R. Tolkien and ancient mythology, he understood at a deep, intuitive level that these stories mattered—perhaps in a cosmic sense (they certainly spoke about cosmic matters, at least).
As he read wider and deeper, he recognized time and again how fantasy delves to the mythic heart of the human imagination, recapturing and retelling the same truths, ideals, and desires that animate our most foundational stories—from the Epic of Gilgamesh to the Iliad to Paradise Lost to Lord of the Rings. Nathan strives to tell stories that partake of the archetypal and symbolic visions that have always inspired and instructed the human spirit.
Nathan’s academic career in religious studies (with a particular focus on the ancient Near East and Greco-Roman antiquity) informs much of his fiction. The high point of his studies was researching an obscure Dead Sea Scrolls text at the University of Oxford, and though he is now on the Pacific coast, the ideas sparked by that project continue to manifest in his writing.
His most prominent influences include Guy Gavriel Kay, Patrick Rothfuss, Brandon Sanderson, Steven Erikson, and Gene Wolfe. Beyond the realms of fantasy, GK Chesterton, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Mircea Eliade, William Blake, and Steven Pressfield—just to name a few—have all left their mark.
When he’s not writing or reading, Nathan can be found debating matters of no particular consequence with his friends, falling down research rabbit holes, and fiddling with a hand-crank coffee grinder that’s been stuck for the last few months.
Allegations that he hired an alchemist to give him the tread of a cat and the ears of a fox are categorically false.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 13, 2022
This is a truly ambitious new fantasy. From the first pages, I was captivated by the intricate worldbuilding, shown in fragments from in-universe texts used as epigraphs. This is a technique I always enjoy a great deal! The worldbuilding was overall very rich. I especially enjoyed seeing the ways the Taylnisti culture was inspired by ancient Judaic peoples, as I always feel my own heritage is a rich and underused mine for fantasy writers. Overall, I liked the Roman influences on the empire, too, though I sometimes found the reality/fantasy lines got blurred--when were invented terms being used, for instance, and when were titles or events borrowed directly from history?
The writing is detailed and descriptive. Sometimes it's beautifully evocative. Other times the prose felt a little purple to me. The book could use another round of copy-edits, but I did have an ARC, so that may be fixed before release. For the most part, I would say Tudor's writing is excellent.
The concept of the adepts was both interesting and well-developed. Reiva is an enormously compelling protagonist: clearly sketched, with a sympathetic backstory and interesting internal conflicts. I grew very attached to her and found myself caring very much for her fate! Avi's chapters weren't quite as compelling to me, until the two met. That REALLY got to me. I won't spoil why but the emotional impact was definitely worth it.
Tudor has a particular gift for writing minor characters. His skill at introducing and quickly characterizing figures that might appear in one scene and exit the story forever in the next is an immense benefit in a novel of this scope. It makes the world feel much more three-dimensional and real.
Although this is a staggeringly long book (and admittedly, as with pretty much everything of this length, does drag a little bit), I am certainly eager for more, and look forward to the sequel.
The writing is detailed and descriptive. Sometimes it's beautifully evocative. Other times the prose felt a little purple to me. The book could use another round of copy-edits, but I did have an ARC, so that may be fixed before release. For the most part, I would say Tudor's writing is excellent.
The concept of the adepts was both interesting and well-developed. Reiva is an enormously compelling protagonist: clearly sketched, with a sympathetic backstory and interesting internal conflicts. I grew very attached to her and found myself caring very much for her fate! Avi's chapters weren't quite as compelling to me, until the two met. That REALLY got to me. I won't spoil why but the emotional impact was definitely worth it.
Tudor has a particular gift for writing minor characters. His skill at introducing and quickly characterizing figures that might appear in one scene and exit the story forever in the next is an immense benefit in a novel of this scope. It makes the world feel much more three-dimensional and real.
Although this is a staggeringly long book (and admittedly, as with pretty much everything of this length, does drag a little bit), I am certainly eager for more, and look forward to the sequel.
November 1, 2023
A sprawling epic fantasy with decidedly Roman flavour: I was intimidated sizing up the thing (it’s >200k words), but I tore through the story like flame through kindling. Very well thought-out quasi-Roman Empire and late antiquity nations. There are a lot of secrets left to be uncovered in the remaining books of the trilogy, but the ending unfolded the magic and key players in interesting ways.
My only gripe (and I don’t think this is an author problem/flaw) is that Avi just GRATED on me. He came across as more of a whiny teenage brat than feared, unstoppable assassin. I groaned a bit whenever I came across his chapters. The other characters were interesting and complicated/enigmatic without annoying me. With Reiva she managed to balance her conflicting loyalties in a way that felt sympathetic.
My only gripe (and I don’t think this is an author problem/flaw) is that Avi just GRATED on me. He came across as more of a whiny teenage brat than feared, unstoppable assassin. I groaned a bit whenever I came across his chapters. The other characters were interesting and complicated/enigmatic without annoying me. With Reiva she managed to balance her conflicting loyalties in a way that felt sympathetic.
April 16, 2022
The instant I saw this cover I knew I'd probably love this book, and I was right. I've been fascinated by ancient Rome and the Roman Empire since I was a kid. I've always loved anything set in that time period, and this book did not fail to deliver. This is an epic fantasy story with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. (Some questions were not fully answered in Book 1, but I'm assuming that's what the sequel is for. ;) ) The characters are well thought out and multi-dimensional. The setting is just...glorious. Especially to a history nerd like me. The parallels between Tudor's world and ancient Rome are obvious. However, he certainly brings his own unique twists and takes to the world he's created. I very much enjoyed this book and will definitely look forward to reading the sequel.
Highly recommend for fans of epic fantasy, historical fiction, those interested in the Roman Empire, and/or blends of all three.
Highly recommend for fans of epic fantasy, historical fiction, those interested in the Roman Empire, and/or blends of all three.
June 4, 2022
This book wowed me.
Tudor draws from a deep well of historical knowledge and myth, fuses it with a powerful imagination, and delivers.
His fantasy world roots us in an alternate Roman Empire and Holy Land that are familiar enough to give us our bearings. From there he departs into a world of mystery, magic, and intrigue that kept me guessing and turning the pages.
Parts of the book are flat-out fun (the Desert Sages?!). Parts are gruesome (thank you Cassia Vantelle). There were a few parts I had to push through given the size of the book (it's a big one).
But as the story charges towards its conclusion, we see that Tudor's work is more than entertainment, grappling with ultimate questions of faith, character, and the soul, reminding us what transcends, what destroys, and what endures.
The ending pay off is explosive -- surprising but inevitable in the way that one hopes for in a great book.
I eagerly await book two. The fact that this is Tudor's first book is almost absurd.
He is a new talent with depth, intuition, and vision.
A big bravo.
Tudor draws from a deep well of historical knowledge and myth, fuses it with a powerful imagination, and delivers.
His fantasy world roots us in an alternate Roman Empire and Holy Land that are familiar enough to give us our bearings. From there he departs into a world of mystery, magic, and intrigue that kept me guessing and turning the pages.
Parts of the book are flat-out fun (the Desert Sages?!). Parts are gruesome (thank you Cassia Vantelle). There were a few parts I had to push through given the size of the book (it's a big one).
But as the story charges towards its conclusion, we see that Tudor's work is more than entertainment, grappling with ultimate questions of faith, character, and the soul, reminding us what transcends, what destroys, and what endures.
The ending pay off is explosive -- surprising but inevitable in the way that one hopes for in a great book.
I eagerly await book two. The fact that this is Tudor's first book is almost absurd.
He is a new talent with depth, intuition, and vision.
A big bravo.
January 28, 2022
The book was great. It was a fascinating read that perfectly mixed intrigue and action, which kept me on my toes.
June 11, 2022
History, ploys, slavery & conquerors it's the mystique and brutality of Ancient Rome and the Roman Empire - it's never to late to make the right choices...
Read
August 27, 2022I read The Empire's Lion on behalf of Before We Go blog for SPFBO8
I think the thing that caught my eye first and foremost is the beautiful cover on The Empire’s Lion. It does everything a cover should do; it draws your attention, and gives an excellent vibe of what you’ll find within the book. I knew it was Grecco/Roman + magic immediately, and sinking into the first pages, that impression is quickly and efficiently confirmed.
The Empire’s Lion is a chonker (849 pages on my Kindle) but anyone who knows me will know that this isn’t a problem in my eyes! If you connect with a chonker, you just get more to love! More to savour! Tudor’s writing is crisp and clean, and I liked Reiva. The worldbuilding is solid, but I found the rapid-fire of names that I needed to learn in early chapters slowed me down some. This, of course, is a matter of taste and style and not at all a flaw; I understand how hard it is to set the scene when you’re a big worldbuilder. I found Avi’s chapters were more guilty of this, whereas Reiva’s chapters were build more gently and it made her POV much easier to connect to.
Don’t assume that just because the book is heavily world-built that it’s slow! Reiva gets herself into trouble very quickly and the action hangs on to you and doesn’t let go.
The biggest barrier for me was Tudor’s narrative style, which often felt like I was being held and arm’s length. There’s a distance to his prose that sometimes undercut the urgency of the action. For some reason, this stood out more in Avi’s chapters, which is probably why I connected to those chapters less than Reiva’s.
I very much liked the effort Tudor put into the in-world texts that opened every chapter. It made the world live and breathe, setting an excellent tone. In fact, it was in the epigraphs that I found my favourite line, and a theme that I love seeing crop up in fiction:
‘Much is made of Lazarran virtue. But there is no greater Lazarran vice than pride—and it was our wounded pride that drove us to resort to such underhanded treachery as happened in the siege of Dav-maiir.’
Ultimately, I am a character reader first and foremost. So while I found Tudor’s worldbuilding well executed and his concepts intelligently assembled, the style of his prose made it difficult for me to sink as deeply into his characters as I like to. Again this is not something that is necessarily a flaw in his style, it’s simply my taste showing. It often felt like his characters were keeping me out rather than drawing me into the knitty gritty of their beating hearts, which made it difficult for me to keep up when things got muddled up in the sharp-as-a-knife action.
This book will be a real winner for people who like their fantasy to be thick (in all the best ways), heavily world-built, and deeply rooted in Roman history.
However, for the purposes of SPFBO, this is a cut.
My condolences to the author, and I wish Tudor the very best of luck.
For more information about SPFBO, you can find all of the entries for cycle 8 at
http://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/2...
I think the thing that caught my eye first and foremost is the beautiful cover on The Empire’s Lion. It does everything a cover should do; it draws your attention, and gives an excellent vibe of what you’ll find within the book. I knew it was Grecco/Roman + magic immediately, and sinking into the first pages, that impression is quickly and efficiently confirmed.
The Empire’s Lion is a chonker (849 pages on my Kindle) but anyone who knows me will know that this isn’t a problem in my eyes! If you connect with a chonker, you just get more to love! More to savour! Tudor’s writing is crisp and clean, and I liked Reiva. The worldbuilding is solid, but I found the rapid-fire of names that I needed to learn in early chapters slowed me down some. This, of course, is a matter of taste and style and not at all a flaw; I understand how hard it is to set the scene when you’re a big worldbuilder. I found Avi’s chapters were more guilty of this, whereas Reiva’s chapters were build more gently and it made her POV much easier to connect to.
Don’t assume that just because the book is heavily world-built that it’s slow! Reiva gets herself into trouble very quickly and the action hangs on to you and doesn’t let go.
The biggest barrier for me was Tudor’s narrative style, which often felt like I was being held and arm’s length. There’s a distance to his prose that sometimes undercut the urgency of the action. For some reason, this stood out more in Avi’s chapters, which is probably why I connected to those chapters less than Reiva’s.
I very much liked the effort Tudor put into the in-world texts that opened every chapter. It made the world live and breathe, setting an excellent tone. In fact, it was in the epigraphs that I found my favourite line, and a theme that I love seeing crop up in fiction:
‘Much is made of Lazarran virtue. But there is no greater Lazarran vice than pride—and it was our wounded pride that drove us to resort to such underhanded treachery as happened in the siege of Dav-maiir.’
Ultimately, I am a character reader first and foremost. So while I found Tudor’s worldbuilding well executed and his concepts intelligently assembled, the style of his prose made it difficult for me to sink as deeply into his characters as I like to. Again this is not something that is necessarily a flaw in his style, it’s simply my taste showing. It often felt like his characters were keeping me out rather than drawing me into the knitty gritty of their beating hearts, which made it difficult for me to keep up when things got muddled up in the sharp-as-a-knife action.
This book will be a real winner for people who like their fantasy to be thick (in all the best ways), heavily world-built, and deeply rooted in Roman history.
However, for the purposes of SPFBO, this is a cut.
My condolences to the author, and I wish Tudor the very best of luck.
For more information about SPFBO, you can find all of the entries for cycle 8 at
http://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/2...
January 26, 2022
6/5stars
(I would recommend reading the prequel for more understanding as this book starts off confusing - Adept Initiate. Currently found on nathantudor.com)
Secrets, oaths and family. Reive is fresh out of the Adept Courts and goes on her first solo mission. Things tumble around and she’s faced with the realities of her past and upcoming war.
A brilliant new High Fantasy that deserves all the love and more. It brings you in and doesn’t let go, not while it twist and turns and what you thought about everything all changes! It was a wild ride reading this book (so much so I wrote 80 notes along the way on my kindle) and I loved every single minute of it.
The characters. What can I say I fell in love with all of them (except the bum heads, I’m very happy to stone them to death) The way Nathan gave every single character details, especially the minor ones made it that much more enjoyable. I felt connected to them, to their lives outside the story itself. They all have such interesting backgrounds I can’t wait to discover in future books!
The worldbuilding was next level, as high up as their four gods. The integration of inspiration from actual religions, countries, eras (Roman) showed the deep level of understand and research spent on this book.
The writing style and pacing was delicate and fun to read. It didn’t feel like trudging through mud, there was stuff always happening which is an awardable feat in itself for an 850ish page book! The writing style was amazing, use of literary devices such as similes and metaphors made it even more captivating. The change of perspective helped show everything that was happening which was fantastic given how much there was, it helped bring insight into minor characters and the belief systems in place. The use of having quotes at the beginning of each chapter (such as the memiors of Favia Iscator - a character in the story) helped set the mood for the chapter ahead while also giving insight and interest.
A minor thing I absolutely loved was the diversity! Every rained from different nations, backgrounds, religious standing. It wasn’t taboo in most places to be queer (Reiva herself being Aro/Ace) the mention of having a wife or husband integrated without being forced.
A new and long lasting favourite high fantasy I believe everyone should read!
(I received this book in exchange for an honest review)
(I would recommend reading the prequel for more understanding as this book starts off confusing - Adept Initiate. Currently found on nathantudor.com)
Secrets, oaths and family. Reive is fresh out of the Adept Courts and goes on her first solo mission. Things tumble around and she’s faced with the realities of her past and upcoming war.
A brilliant new High Fantasy that deserves all the love and more. It brings you in and doesn’t let go, not while it twist and turns and what you thought about everything all changes! It was a wild ride reading this book (so much so I wrote 80 notes along the way on my kindle) and I loved every single minute of it.
The characters. What can I say I fell in love with all of them (except the bum heads, I’m very happy to stone them to death) The way Nathan gave every single character details, especially the minor ones made it that much more enjoyable. I felt connected to them, to their lives outside the story itself. They all have such interesting backgrounds I can’t wait to discover in future books!
The worldbuilding was next level, as high up as their four gods. The integration of inspiration from actual religions, countries, eras (Roman) showed the deep level of understand and research spent on this book.
The writing style and pacing was delicate and fun to read. It didn’t feel like trudging through mud, there was stuff always happening which is an awardable feat in itself for an 850ish page book! The writing style was amazing, use of literary devices such as similes and metaphors made it even more captivating. The change of perspective helped show everything that was happening which was fantastic given how much there was, it helped bring insight into minor characters and the belief systems in place. The use of having quotes at the beginning of each chapter (such as the memiors of Favia Iscator - a character in the story) helped set the mood for the chapter ahead while also giving insight and interest.
A minor thing I absolutely loved was the diversity! Every rained from different nations, backgrounds, religious standing. It wasn’t taboo in most places to be queer (Reiva herself being Aro/Ace) the mention of having a wife or husband integrated without being forced.
A new and long lasting favourite high fantasy I believe everyone should read!
(I received this book in exchange for an honest review)
July 18, 2022
I will start the review simply by saying that this was an excellent book, and I recommend it to anyone with an interest in fantasy or history. When I was very young I was an extremely prolific reader, and early on discovered my favorite series was the Inheritance cycle (Eragon, for the uninitiated,) it was an excellent series that I always waited impatiently for the next book in. Upon finishing the series, I discovered I had a much harder time finishing other series after that, as they just did not hold up to this series. Now, over a decade and a half later I have finally found a book, not just good enough to finish, but that kept me glued from cover to cover, and once again find myself eagerly anticipating the next book in the trilogy. The clear inspiration from historical civilizations, while still being original, adds a wonderful degree of realism, while maintaining mystery about the future. The powers given to the main character/this class of individuals, while great, is not all encompassing, and therefore keeps them mortal. I assure all readers of this review, that your only disappointment in this book with be the lack of a map of the beautiful world the author has gifted to us. Extremely highly recommend to all.
July 20, 2022
After the recent hype (at least in sff forums) about this one and the superb prequel, I had huge expectations about this one and for about two thirds they were being realized, but then it kind of started going off the rails in the super-gods/super-magic/things happen this way because the plot requires it/the heroine and hero (who were implacable enemies, only ... - there when that reveal starting being hinted, I had the first inkling that this will go in ways I highly dislike, but still hoped it won't) must survive and win against impossible odds etc and sadly this type of stuff is not really palatable for me without a good dose of dark humor, or irony and The Empire's Lion really takes itself seriously until the end, while I couldn't; a 5 star 2 thirds and 1 star last third, but since the trajectory is down big time for me, a 3 star overall and quite unlikely will read more in the series, though the book has energy and great world building (at least until it's partly ruined in the last third) so may take a look at next volume if things change and we move away from conflicts of beings of undefined but huge powers and return to a more human scale where the interest lies at least for me
April 22, 2025
My friend Nathan has written a corking good book! It’s not a genre I normally read, but I liked it a lot!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews