Karen Miller: The Riven Kingdom

Hi everyone

This is my review for the second book in the Godspeaker Trilogy by Karen Miller.
My copy has 744 pages and I got it from Book Depository.
You can find all my reviews on the books in the series here.

                                                *    SPOILERS    *

This book was definitely better and more enjoyable then the first one in the series but I’d not call it great.

The characterization is (again) pretty bad in my opinion. Marlan is a cliché. He’s so bad and evil he’s unrealistic; there’s nothing more to him then his badness. And that’s exactly the same problem I have with Hekat. I can’t believe in them. They are annoying and aggravating. They have one defining trait and that’s all they are.
I’m honestly surprised the writer is a woman. The two main female characters in the book are irrational, deluded and convinced of their own importance. Hekat is worst of all of course. Male writers tend to write females like that so I can’t see why a female writer would do that.
And lastly, the book is very slow. Miller could have cut quite a few chapters without losing anything of importance. Some arguments were too drawn out and became a boring repetition of arguments. Rhian especially was very prone to this. It’s not the doubts themselves I disliked; it’s the endless repetition of her expressing her doubts that’s tiresome.

The story is interesting. Against tradition and gender-based-bias Rhian wants the throne and she’d do anything to secure it.  I liked this more political focus.
The characters have more doubts too. They understand that every choice and action has at least one possibly negative consequence and that makes them doubt everything.
The worldbuilding is amazing. This story takes place in a different part of the same world and it is very different from Mijak. I liked the time we spent getting to know these peoples’ customs and beliefs.
The book is less focused on religion, something everyone will appreciate. It’s still a part of every person/action/event but it’s less shove-it-in-your-face.

I liked it but it’s far from perfect.

3 STARS

Happy reading!
Helena

Karen Miller: Empress

Hi everyone

Empress is the first book in the Godspeaker Trilogy by Karen Miller.
My copy has 717 pages and an 8-page interview with the author.
I got my copy from Book Depository.
You can find all my Karen Miller reviews here.

“Her name is Hekat.
And she will be slave to no man.
In a family torn apart by poverty and violence, Hekat is no more than an unwanted mouth to feed, worth only a few coins from a passing slave trader.
But Hekat was not born to be a slave. For her, a different path has been chosen. It is a path that will take her from stinking back alleys to the house of her god, from blood-drenched battlefields to the glittering palaces of Mijak.
This is the story of Hekat, slave to no man.”

Miller’s world building is amazing. I loved how immersive and detailed it was, I enjoyed learning about the people and their customs, I liked the religious system; I liked how it oppressed the people and how they had no free choice whatsoever. I loved it!
The writing and the world differs depending on the character ‘speaking’ and I liked that too. The writing style towards the end for example, when we follow Dmitrak and Zandakar is completely different from Hekat’s ‘voice’.

And I absolutely HATED Hekat. You can’t have such a long book about such a dislikable character. I know we’re supposed to dislike her and that Hekat is a balance for Vortka, Zandakar and Raklion who are all really nice and genuine characters.
It was too much, I had to take a breather from this book every so often because I just couldn’t stand her and that’s a sure sign it’s not enjoyable. Not every main character should be nice, but the book overall should be enjoyable, and there were moments I had to force myself to read on.
She's just too much. Too evil, too much of a cliché and so, so unrealistic.

Aside from that, the story is very predictable (everything I predicted came to pass) and I really disliked the constant repeating of ‘I am Hekat, I am ….’
Another thing I didn’t like was Miller’s easy way out of naming everything god-something. That’s just lazy writing and unimaginative.

To end on a positive note; I loved the fighting and the war-scenes! Those were awesome. It’s not blood and gore to make a statement; it’s there to further the story.

The second book follows a different character so I will try to read that one. I’m so tired of Hekat, but because she’s my main complaint I hope the second book in the series will be better.  

1 STARS

Happy reading!
Helena