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Publication
Angry Robot (2014), 544 pages
Description
"On the eve of a recurring catastrophic event known to extinguish nations and reshape continents, a troubled orphan evades death and slavery to uncover her own bloody past--while a world goes to war with itself. In the frozen kingdom of Saiduan, invaders from another realm are decimating whole cities, leaving behind nothing but ash and ruin. At the heart of this war lie the pacifistic Dhai people, once enslaved by the Saiduan and now courted by their former masters to provide aid against the encroaching enemy. Stretching from desolate tundra to steamy, semi-tropical climes seething with sentient plant life, this is an epic tale of blood mages and mercenaries, emperors and priestly assassins who must unite to save a world on the brink of ruin. As the dark star of the cataclysm rises, an illegitimate ruler is tasked with holding together a country fractured by civil war; a precocious young fighter is asked to betray his family to save his skin; and a half-Dhai general must choose between the eradication of her father's people or loyalty to her alien Empress. Through tense alliances and devastating betrayal, the Dhai and their allies attempt to hold against a seemingly unstoppable force as enemy nations prepare for a coming together of worlds as old as the universe itself. In the end, one world will rise--and many will perish."--from publisher's description.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member stefferoo
Needless to say, putting this review together was quite difficult for me, on account of how very different it is from the one I thought I would be writing. I made it no secret I had high hopes for this one, not only because of the buzz the book has gotten since the ramp up to its release or all the
In the end, I think The Mirror Empire is one of those cases in which I can recognize its literary merits and applaud the author’s designs to challenge the conventions of epic fantasy fiction, but the story itself failed to connect with me on any deeper level and I found myself strangely dissatisfied when I completed it.
First, a bit about the book: The world is about to be shaken up by a cataclysm, and as the dark star rises to herald this event, you have an orphan girl named Lilia who would anything to fulfill a promise to her mother, even if it means putting herself in danger and having to face down unspeakable threats. In another place, a new Kai ascends to power after the suspicious death of his sister and fights to keep his place and his land together even as legitimacy of his rule is called into question. Meanwhile, a young boy said to be destined for great things undertakes a journey to discover himself and his loyalties, for one day he ultimately must choose between sides. And on the battlefield, an able but brutal general faces a similar predicament, caught between her heritage and her oaths to the Empress.
As you can imagine, there are a lot of perspectives involved, and many more characters besides. That should have been my first warning sign. Don’t get me wrong; I don’t mind a big cast of characters (when you’re into epic fantasy, I think that sort of comes with the territory). However, that also means a greater onus on the author to strike a balance when it comes to giving every one of her players enough time to resonate with the reader, and to pace their sections accordingly. Hurley falters in this area by trying to introduce too many characters, both main and supporting, without sufficiently developing them – especially in the beginning. Not only do the odd-sounding names make it harder to remember who’s who, but ironically they also make it all the more obvious when new major to semi-major characters are still being introduced even past the halfway point of the novel. It makes it that much hard to sit back and just enjoy the story when so much effort is going towards trying to keep all the characters straight.
However, to be fair, you should know that I am a “Characters First” kind of reader. Arguably, I place an inordinate amount of emphasis on characters and how effectively I can engage with them. They absolutely don’t have to be admirable or even likeable, but I have to care. Characters are like the foundation of a story – everything else tumbles like a house of cards if I can’t care about them. Naturally, anything they do or anything that happens to them isn’t going to impact me in any meaningful way. The biggest issue I had with this book is the lack of any strong characters, in the sense that none of them were very memorable. Hurley doesn’t develop any of them nearly enough, and her pacing is haphazard and disorganized, so that many long chapters could go by before returning to a perspective character, and then I find myself asking, “Who are you again?” That shouldn’t be happening.
The only one – ONE out of a half dozen or so main characters and at least four times as many supporting characters – that I found myself interested in was Lilia, and that’s likely just because she was the first to be introduced in the prologue. Zezili, Captain General of the Empress, was a close second, and probably because Hurley went to great lengths to make her memorable but did so by taking the easy way, presenting the general as archetypically evil, the cruel mass murderer and an unfeeling lover. Everyone else faded into the background, which unfortunately made me feel very indifferent towards any events of significance, including plot twists or unexpected character deaths.
But look, I’ve gone on for long enough about the negatives, and I don’t want to make it sound like I downright disliked this book, because I didn’t; so I think it’s time to talk about the positives. There were a lot of things I enjoyed about this book, not least of all was the world building. So much praise has been heaped onto this facet of the novel and I have to agree 100% with everything that has been said about originality, spirit and vividness of the universe and cultures of The Mirror Empire.
My favorite thing about this book is that it is bold, it is epic, and it is refreshingly different. I love the idea of two realms clashing together in a catastrophic world-shattering event, and also the more minute details like the sentient flora and giant carnivorous plants. Hurley is a great writer with an incredible imagination, and she’s at her best and in her element when she’s actually not trying so hard to turn things on their head or to be over-the-top. I can’t stress how important it is for both authors and readers to examine and confront the status quo and current state of fantasy, but doing something for the sake of doing it is also rarely interesting. Admittedly, Hurley is not at all subtle when it comes to her attempt at subversion in this novel, but at the same time I still respect her immensely for her steadfast interrogation of the genre.
These days, one can probably find some degree of social commentary in many works of speculative fiction; however, my favorite ones tend to be those that arrive at their messages organically, part and parcel with compelling storytelling, starting with well-developed characters. Since it’s the characters that fell flat for me in this case, I just couldn’t immerse myself in the story. It certainly wasn’t for the lack of trying, but as I’ve explained, I’m also aware I have some rather nitpicky and particular tastes. Despite my tepid feelings for this novel, I believe the accolades are well-deserved. Sure, I didn't love it, but then I’m glad so many others did.
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glowing reviews it has garnered, but also I was personally very excited to finally read my first Kameron Hurley novel. Truly, I wanted to love this book and was set and prepared to add my praise to the chorus, but as a reviewer I also have to be honest with others and with myself when a book does not meet expectations.In the end, I think The Mirror Empire is one of those cases in which I can recognize its literary merits and applaud the author’s designs to challenge the conventions of epic fantasy fiction, but the story itself failed to connect with me on any deeper level and I found myself strangely dissatisfied when I completed it.
First, a bit about the book: The world is about to be shaken up by a cataclysm, and as the dark star rises to herald this event, you have an orphan girl named Lilia who would anything to fulfill a promise to her mother, even if it means putting herself in danger and having to face down unspeakable threats. In another place, a new Kai ascends to power after the suspicious death of his sister and fights to keep his place and his land together even as legitimacy of his rule is called into question. Meanwhile, a young boy said to be destined for great things undertakes a journey to discover himself and his loyalties, for one day he ultimately must choose between sides. And on the battlefield, an able but brutal general faces a similar predicament, caught between her heritage and her oaths to the Empress.
As you can imagine, there are a lot of perspectives involved, and many more characters besides. That should have been my first warning sign. Don’t get me wrong; I don’t mind a big cast of characters (when you’re into epic fantasy, I think that sort of comes with the territory). However, that also means a greater onus on the author to strike a balance when it comes to giving every one of her players enough time to resonate with the reader, and to pace their sections accordingly. Hurley falters in this area by trying to introduce too many characters, both main and supporting, without sufficiently developing them – especially in the beginning. Not only do the odd-sounding names make it harder to remember who’s who, but ironically they also make it all the more obvious when new major to semi-major characters are still being introduced even past the halfway point of the novel. It makes it that much hard to sit back and just enjoy the story when so much effort is going towards trying to keep all the characters straight.
However, to be fair, you should know that I am a “Characters First” kind of reader. Arguably, I place an inordinate amount of emphasis on characters and how effectively I can engage with them. They absolutely don’t have to be admirable or even likeable, but I have to care. Characters are like the foundation of a story – everything else tumbles like a house of cards if I can’t care about them. Naturally, anything they do or anything that happens to them isn’t going to impact me in any meaningful way. The biggest issue I had with this book is the lack of any strong characters, in the sense that none of them were very memorable. Hurley doesn’t develop any of them nearly enough, and her pacing is haphazard and disorganized, so that many long chapters could go by before returning to a perspective character, and then I find myself asking, “Who are you again?” That shouldn’t be happening.
The only one – ONE out of a half dozen or so main characters and at least four times as many supporting characters – that I found myself interested in was Lilia, and that’s likely just because she was the first to be introduced in the prologue. Zezili, Captain General of the Empress, was a close second, and probably because Hurley went to great lengths to make her memorable but did so by taking the easy way, presenting the general as archetypically evil, the cruel mass murderer and an unfeeling lover. Everyone else faded into the background, which unfortunately made me feel very indifferent towards any events of significance, including plot twists or unexpected character deaths.
But look, I’ve gone on for long enough about the negatives, and I don’t want to make it sound like I downright disliked this book, because I didn’t; so I think it’s time to talk about the positives. There were a lot of things I enjoyed about this book, not least of all was the world building. So much praise has been heaped onto this facet of the novel and I have to agree 100% with everything that has been said about originality, spirit and vividness of the universe and cultures of The Mirror Empire.
My favorite thing about this book is that it is bold, it is epic, and it is refreshingly different. I love the idea of two realms clashing together in a catastrophic world-shattering event, and also the more minute details like the sentient flora and giant carnivorous plants. Hurley is a great writer with an incredible imagination, and she’s at her best and in her element when she’s actually not trying so hard to turn things on their head or to be over-the-top. I can’t stress how important it is for both authors and readers to examine and confront the status quo and current state of fantasy, but doing something for the sake of doing it is also rarely interesting. Admittedly, Hurley is not at all subtle when it comes to her attempt at subversion in this novel, but at the same time I still respect her immensely for her steadfast interrogation of the genre.
These days, one can probably find some degree of social commentary in many works of speculative fiction; however, my favorite ones tend to be those that arrive at their messages organically, part and parcel with compelling storytelling, starting with well-developed characters. Since it’s the characters that fell flat for me in this case, I just couldn’t immerse myself in the story. It certainly wasn’t for the lack of trying, but as I’ve explained, I’m also aware I have some rather nitpicky and particular tastes. Despite my tepid feelings for this novel, I believe the accolades are well-deserved. Sure, I didn't love it, but then I’m glad so many others did.
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LibraryThing member thegreatape
Is there an award for "best use of gender fluidity and consent culture in brutal genocide-centered epic fantasy"? Because we've got a shoe-in here.
LibraryThing member pwaites
Trigger warnings for rape and self-harm
The Mirror Empire is a very inventive and very grimdark epic fantasy. While I enjoyed the world(s) Hurley created and the ideas she was working with, ultimately it was too dark for my tastes.
The Mirror Empire can be a hard book to wrap your mind around.
In The Mirror Empire there are sentient plants which walk, houses formed from seedpods, and a system of magic based on the stars overhead. A large part of what makes the book so interesting is how Hurley dismantles the gender assumptions and social norms that tend to creep into fantasy cultures supposedly different than our own. Her world is non-hetronormative, and most of her characters appear to be bi or pansexual (except possibly Zezili). One of the cultures is a very violent and oppressive matriarchy reliant on slavery. Another is a patriarchal culture that segregates men and women but which also recognizes three different genders. The probable “protagonist culture” is that of the Dhai, a nation made up of escaped slaves. The Dhai’s social system is based around kinship ties and the large families resulting from polygamous families (multiple husbands and multiple wives). While they are nowhere near as matriarchal as the culture which enslaved them, they do seem to slant that way with a matrilineal system of ruler ship.
The plot of The Mirror Empire is tied up in the magic system and could possibly be considered a spoiler. In short, some people can draw powers from three satellites that orbit the world. Their powers wax and wan with the rising and setting of these satellites. However, there is a fourth satellite – Oma – which rises roughly every 2,000 years. Those who draw on Oma can use the powers of all the satellites and open gates between the different worlds. However, Oma also heralds great destruction. The world next door to the main one is ending, and a woman of that world is sending her armies to conquer it. But you can only travel from one world to another if your mirror counterpart is dead. Thus, the people of the “next door” world are eradicating the people of the “main” world. Unsurprisingly, a book about genocide is incredibly dark.
There are so many characters that it can be hard to keep track of them all at times. (Hint – the glossary in the back is very helpful!) While they are hardly the only characters to get POV sections, the four mentioned on the back probably get the most page time, and I will go over a few here.
Ahkio is possibly the most likable character. His section begins with the unexpected death of his sister, and him being called to the temple to be sworn in as the new Kai, the leader of the Dhai people. While the narrative notes that the preceding Kai have been a variety of different genders, Ahkio is the first without the ability to give birth to an heir. He is also without magical gifts, another reason he struggles to maintain power. Ahkio is well intentioned and doesn’t do anything despicable (unlike most of the characters), but he suffers from lack of agency, too often constrained and manipulated by the people around him.
Lilith is a young girl from a different world who promised her mother that she would one day return to her. Various different groups are after Lilith for the powers she supposedly has, but she just wants to find her mother and fulfill her promise. She starts off naive and innocent and gets less so, proving herself rather ruthless in the process. Like Ahkio, she has problems with agency, although these do get better towards the end.
Finally, I reach Zezili, who is the absolute worst. I will admit that she can be fascinating to watch, sort of like Cathy in Steinbeck’s East of Eden. Zezili is a half Dhai general from the matriarchal culture who has no problems with committing mass murder and genocide, or with raping and abusing her husband both physically and psychologically. At least Anavha, her husband, has his own POV sections and looks like he will be having his own character arc. FYI, he also cuts himself, so tread lightly if you have problems with self harm.
If you’re someone who wants heroic characters, you’d be better off not reading The Mirror Empire. With a few exceptions, pretty much everyone is horrible. The best comparison I can think of in terms of characters is Game of Thrones, with all it’s morally complex grey characters. Possibly for this reason, I had trouble becoming invested with any of them. Most of them could die and I either wouldn’t care or would cheer.
I don’t know if I’ll read the next book in the series. While I really like the sheer imagination and Hurley’s willingness to confront and challenge gender norms, I’m not sure if I want to spend my time on such a brutal read.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
The Mirror Empire is a very inventive and very grimdark epic fantasy. While I enjoyed the world(s) Hurley created and the ideas she was working with, ultimately it was too dark for my tastes.
The Mirror Empire can be a hard book to wrap your mind around.
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There’s a multitude of characters and POVs, over three different cultures, and two worlds. Plus, Hurley blows the “medieval Europe” obsession of fantasy out of the water, creating an entirely original world instead that does not appear to be based off any part of Earth’s history. It is astoundingly inventive.In The Mirror Empire there are sentient plants which walk, houses formed from seedpods, and a system of magic based on the stars overhead. A large part of what makes the book so interesting is how Hurley dismantles the gender assumptions and social norms that tend to creep into fantasy cultures supposedly different than our own. Her world is non-hetronormative, and most of her characters appear to be bi or pansexual (except possibly Zezili). One of the cultures is a very violent and oppressive matriarchy reliant on slavery. Another is a patriarchal culture that segregates men and women but which also recognizes three different genders. The probable “protagonist culture” is that of the Dhai, a nation made up of escaped slaves. The Dhai’s social system is based around kinship ties and the large families resulting from polygamous families (multiple husbands and multiple wives). While they are nowhere near as matriarchal as the culture which enslaved them, they do seem to slant that way with a matrilineal system of ruler ship.
The plot of The Mirror Empire is tied up in the magic system and could possibly be considered a spoiler. In short, some people can draw powers from three satellites that orbit the world. Their powers wax and wan with the rising and setting of these satellites. However, there is a fourth satellite – Oma – which rises roughly every 2,000 years. Those who draw on Oma can use the powers of all the satellites and open gates between the different worlds. However, Oma also heralds great destruction. The world next door to the main one is ending, and a woman of that world is sending her armies to conquer it. But you can only travel from one world to another if your mirror counterpart is dead. Thus, the people of the “next door” world are eradicating the people of the “main” world. Unsurprisingly, a book about genocide is incredibly dark.
There are so many characters that it can be hard to keep track of them all at times. (Hint – the glossary in the back is very helpful!) While they are hardly the only characters to get POV sections, the four mentioned on the back probably get the most page time, and I will go over a few here.
Ahkio is possibly the most likable character. His section begins with the unexpected death of his sister, and him being called to the temple to be sworn in as the new Kai, the leader of the Dhai people. While the narrative notes that the preceding Kai have been a variety of different genders, Ahkio is the first without the ability to give birth to an heir. He is also without magical gifts, another reason he struggles to maintain power. Ahkio is well intentioned and doesn’t do anything despicable (unlike most of the characters), but he suffers from lack of agency, too often constrained and manipulated by the people around him.
Lilith is a young girl from a different world who promised her mother that she would one day return to her. Various different groups are after Lilith for the powers she supposedly has, but she just wants to find her mother and fulfill her promise. She starts off naive and innocent and gets less so, proving herself rather ruthless in the process. Like Ahkio, she has problems with agency, although these do get better towards the end.
Finally, I reach Zezili, who is the absolute worst. I will admit that she can be fascinating to watch, sort of like Cathy in Steinbeck’s East of Eden. Zezili is a half Dhai general from the matriarchal culture who has no problems with committing mass murder and genocide, or with raping and abusing her husband both physically and psychologically. At least Anavha, her husband, has his own POV sections and looks like he will be having his own character arc. FYI, he also cuts himself, so tread lightly if you have problems with self harm.
If you’re someone who wants heroic characters, you’d be better off not reading The Mirror Empire. With a few exceptions, pretty much everyone is horrible. The best comparison I can think of in terms of characters is Game of Thrones, with all it’s morally complex grey characters. Possibly for this reason, I had trouble becoming invested with any of them. Most of them could die and I either wouldn’t care or would cheer.
I don’t know if I’ll read the next book in the series. While I really like the sheer imagination and Hurley’s willingness to confront and challenge gender norms, I’m not sure if I want to spend my time on such a brutal read.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
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LibraryThing member majkia
An ambitious book, taking on lots of societal assumptions. Complex characters, most of whom are surviving as best they can, and not always doing the right thing as a result. The magical system is not clearly defined so the reader is left to feel her way through the book attempting to make sense of
It reminded me of Mieville's [The City & the City] in many ways, as worlds collide and bleed through into each othe
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things. And not all of it ever manages to make sense.It reminded me of Mieville's [The City & the City] in many ways, as worlds collide and bleed through into each othe
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LibraryThing member ansate
hard to get into at first with a giant cast of characters and each having lots of names, BUT totally new and different take on a fantasy world and i love it and I got caught up
LibraryThing member Strider66
Pros: lots of political intrigue, culturally diverse, brilliant world-building, interesting story
Cons: some issues with genders, several protagonists became unlikeable
The dark star of Oma is rising, infusing power into blood magics that were lost for 2000 years. Dhai on a dying world use that power
There’s a lot going on here and a ton of characters to keep track of, many of whom have similar sounding names. There is a glossary of characters and terms at the back to help you if you forget who someone is. The different nations are all distinct, with vastly different governments, attitudes, cultures, and languages. It was fascinating reading about how each nation dealt with different problems.
The politics of the different nations, and how they interacted, was fascinating. I enjoyed how Hurley brought in past battles and showed that various nations’ wars helped shape the current political climate.
There were a wide variety of characters the story followed (several men and women at different levels of power and skintone). I started off liking most of them, though some of their choices as the book continued made me less sympathetic towards them. In a few cases I ended up respecting what they achieved, even if I didn’t much like them as people anymore.
The magic system of drawing power from stars/satellites, was pretty cool. I liked how that contrasted the satellite plus blood combination necessary for calling on Oma. The deadly flora of the world was also cool to read about.
I did have some issues with the world building, mostly with how gender was used/defined. The Dhai, we are told, use five genders: female-assertive, female-passive, male-assertive, male-passive, and ungendered. I couldn’t understand how being passive vs assertive changed your gender. I understand that you can have a linguistic marker of politeness or class (Japanese uses different pronouns to denote this), but again, how does it change gender? That leaves 3 genders, which is what the Saiduan use, denoting male, female, and ataisa. Why then does Roh, a Dhai, have trouble understanding which pronoun to use for the ataisa when his language has something similar (ungendered)? Yes, the two languages use different words (ze vs hir), but that’s a linguistic difference, not, necessarily a gender difference. I was left wondering if the ataisa and ungendered were in fact different genders, rather than different words for the same ‘doesn’t fit into male or female’ category.
I also disliked how the genders in Dorinah are basically swapped. Women are larger, stronger, better educated, assertive, domineering etc. than men. Men, meanwhile, are only around as possessions, useful for status, sex, and children. They’re weaker and powerless over their own lives, fully submissive to the women who own them (their mothers and wives). I was ok with the idea of gender swapping the country (making it matriarchal), but when you give the men all the stereotypical characteristics of women and all the women the stereotypical characteristics of men, you’re basically saying that traditionally female attributes are weak/useless and male ones are strong/worthwhile. Rather than pitying Anavha, Zezili’s husband, I found myself reviling him, and felt bad about it considering he’s basically a stand in for an 18th century British woman (stereotypically speaking, of course).
I did enjoy the sexual politics of the different countries, how many husbands/wives different groups had and whether that was a matter of status or openness of their cultures. Seeing the Dhai culture’s openness with regards to loving both genders freely was also refreshing. I’d have like to learn more of how the Dhai deal with marriages, as I imagine genealogies would be hard to track with multiple husbands and wives in the same marriage (and an openness to affairs), as would preventing incest (assuming that’s not allowed there, which isn’t a given, considering Ahkio and Liaro are cousins).
Lilia’s actions towards the end of the book felt rushed. While much of the book took time to thoroughly develop things, Lilia manages to take several important actions with little preparation or training, which didn’t seem as realistic as what happened earlier.
This was a slower read for me, mainly because so much was happening. I needed to take my time with the book in order to keep track of everything. It had some things I loved, some things I liked and some things that irritated me. On the whole, it’s a fascinating story with some great in depth world-building and some intricate real world style politics. I’ll be curious to see what happens next.
Cons: some issues with genders, several protagonists became unlikeable
The dark star of Oma is rising, infusing power into blood magics that were lost for 2000 years. Dhai on a dying world use that power
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to form gates to a mirror world they wish to conquer, one like theirs but where history went in a different direction, leaving the Dhai pacifists among more warlike neighbours. But not everyone wants to see their reflections on this new world enslaved, and as more and more people on the imperilled world learn what’s happening, they start fighting back.There’s a lot going on here and a ton of characters to keep track of, many of whom have similar sounding names. There is a glossary of characters and terms at the back to help you if you forget who someone is. The different nations are all distinct, with vastly different governments, attitudes, cultures, and languages. It was fascinating reading about how each nation dealt with different problems.
The politics of the different nations, and how they interacted, was fascinating. I enjoyed how Hurley brought in past battles and showed that various nations’ wars helped shape the current political climate.
There were a wide variety of characters the story followed (several men and women at different levels of power and skintone). I started off liking most of them, though some of their choices as the book continued made me less sympathetic towards them. In a few cases I ended up respecting what they achieved, even if I didn’t much like them as people anymore.
The magic system of drawing power from stars/satellites, was pretty cool. I liked how that contrasted the satellite plus blood combination necessary for calling on Oma. The deadly flora of the world was also cool to read about.
I did have some issues with the world building, mostly with how gender was used/defined. The Dhai, we are told, use five genders: female-assertive, female-passive, male-assertive, male-passive, and ungendered. I couldn’t understand how being passive vs assertive changed your gender. I understand that you can have a linguistic marker of politeness or class (Japanese uses different pronouns to denote this), but again, how does it change gender? That leaves 3 genders, which is what the Saiduan use, denoting male, female, and ataisa. Why then does Roh, a Dhai, have trouble understanding which pronoun to use for the ataisa when his language has something similar (ungendered)? Yes, the two languages use different words (ze vs hir), but that’s a linguistic difference, not, necessarily a gender difference. I was left wondering if the ataisa and ungendered were in fact different genders, rather than different words for the same ‘doesn’t fit into male or female’ category.
I also disliked how the genders in Dorinah are basically swapped. Women are larger, stronger, better educated, assertive, domineering etc. than men. Men, meanwhile, are only around as possessions, useful for status, sex, and children. They’re weaker and powerless over their own lives, fully submissive to the women who own them (their mothers and wives). I was ok with the idea of gender swapping the country (making it matriarchal), but when you give the men all the stereotypical characteristics of women and all the women the stereotypical characteristics of men, you’re basically saying that traditionally female attributes are weak/useless and male ones are strong/worthwhile. Rather than pitying Anavha, Zezili’s husband, I found myself reviling him, and felt bad about it considering he’s basically a stand in for an 18th century British woman (stereotypically speaking, of course).
I did enjoy the sexual politics of the different countries, how many husbands/wives different groups had and whether that was a matter of status or openness of their cultures. Seeing the Dhai culture’s openness with regards to loving both genders freely was also refreshing. I’d have like to learn more of how the Dhai deal with marriages, as I imagine genealogies would be hard to track with multiple husbands and wives in the same marriage (and an openness to affairs), as would preventing incest (assuming that’s not allowed there, which isn’t a given, considering Ahkio and Liaro are cousins).
Lilia’s actions towards the end of the book felt rushed. While much of the book took time to thoroughly develop things, Lilia manages to take several important actions with little preparation or training, which didn’t seem as realistic as what happened earlier.
This was a slower read for me, mainly because so much was happening. I needed to take my time with the book in order to keep track of everything. It had some things I loved, some things I liked and some things that irritated me. On the whole, it’s a fascinating story with some great in depth world-building and some intricate real world style politics. I’ll be curious to see what happens next.
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LibraryThing member iansales
I’d been sufficiently impressed by Hurley’s Bel Dame Apocrypha to overcome any reluctance I might have at reading a secondary-world fantasy. I’d also seen a lot of positivity for this book on social media. So it would not be unfair to say my expectations were reasonably high… And yet, as I
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read it, I just couldn’t get that excited. Partly, it was the casual brutality – in particular, a world in which a people have been enslaved for thousands of years and their masters are now slaughtering them like cattle. Fight-scenes, even battles, are one thing, but the systematic butchery in The Mirror Empire read more like an attempt to up the ante in grimdark’s brutality arms race, and I’ve yet to be convinced such a race is even a good thing. The much-touted five-genders – a neat idea – is only mentioned half a dozen times in passing, and matriarchal societies in epic fantasy are not actually all that new… But. The world-building was mostly done well, even if it does take a while to get the hang of things; and the characters were (relatively) sympathetic, although some were more successful than others. But the plot really does take a long time to get into gear, and you’re two-thirds through the book before any kind of shape becomes apparent. As epic fantasies go, The Mirror Empire is not as innovative as has been claimed, although it’s plainly a notable, if overly dark, example of the genre. More than anything, it put me in mind of Ricardo Pinto’s Stone Dance of the Chameleon trilogy, although they’re the better books. I don’t think I’ll be bothering with volume 2 of the Worldbreaker Saga. I will, however, give Hurley’s new sf series a go when that appears. Show Less
LibraryThing member GSB68
Very good opening for the series with interesting world-building and characters. The multiverse approach isn't one I have seen used in fantasy before. The sexual politics seem overdone and didn't really add to the story, but i will definitely be on the lookout for future volumes of the series and
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Ms.Hurley's other work. Show Less
LibraryThing member anyaejo
Any book this long and intense can't really be accurately summoned up in a paragraph so bear with me. This is the most unique and intricate fantasy I have ever read. It is also pretty dark and depressing and full of grey morality questions. The magic, diversity of characters, and world building are
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simply astounding. You hopefully can decide from that if this is a book for you and if you think it is omg go read it! Show Less
LibraryThing member StigE
Complex. The depth of the world created makes this a bit complex to follow, but at the same time worth following.
LibraryThing member AltheaAnn
Hurley goes epic with 'The Mirror Empire'!
Previously, I've read her 'God's War,' and absolutely love it - it's one of those books that I randomly recommend to people looking for groundbreaking new sci-fi. Personally, I think I prefer the more personal, closer focus.
As the title might indicate,
The main story is one that's definitely in keeping with the epic fantasy genre: One world is at threat from a parallel world. Through magic, denizens of one world can cross-over to another - but only if one's doppelganger on the other side has been killed. Cue lots of military action, invasion-planning, and nasty, nasty politicking.
Did I say 'nasty'? Nearly everyone in this book is a horrible, amoral, vicious person. If they haven't actually murdered anyone, it's probably just by coincidence that they haven't gotten around to it, or no one's ordered them to kill anyone yet. This is not one for the people who demand 'likeable,' 'relatable' characters (luckily, I'm not one of those people.)
I have to admit, it even took me a while to get invested in the characters. It takes a while to introduce everyone involved, and to get the scene set. (This is quite a long book.) However, I did feel that the payoff was worth the invested time. I'll also definitely be reading the sequel (no, nothing gets finally settled here - this is definitely first in a series.)
The striking aspect of the book is the worldbuilding. (As I said, the plot, while good, is fairly standard fantasy fare. The setting, however, is bizarre and fascinating - and not like anything you've read before.) The descriptions of poisonous, motile plants and freakish animals are wonderful. There are several very distinct races of people as well, and their cultures and conflicts are painstakingly drawn. Some of the tropes and themes will be familiar to readers of 'God's War,' but many are unique to this book.
Recommended for fans of Glen Cook, Gene Wolfe, and maybe Joe Abercrombie as well.
Many thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. As always, my opinions are my own.
Previously, I've read her 'God's War,' and absolutely love it - it's one of those books that I randomly recommend to people looking for groundbreaking new sci-fi. Personally, I think I prefer the more personal, closer focus.
As the title might indicate,
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this is a tale of Empire - Empires, actually. It's big, sprawling and very, very ambitious. The main story is one that's definitely in keeping with the epic fantasy genre: One world is at threat from a parallel world. Through magic, denizens of one world can cross-over to another - but only if one's doppelganger on the other side has been killed. Cue lots of military action, invasion-planning, and nasty, nasty politicking.
Did I say 'nasty'? Nearly everyone in this book is a horrible, amoral, vicious person. If they haven't actually murdered anyone, it's probably just by coincidence that they haven't gotten around to it, or no one's ordered them to kill anyone yet. This is not one for the people who demand 'likeable,' 'relatable' characters (luckily, I'm not one of those people.)
I have to admit, it even took me a while to get invested in the characters. It takes a while to introduce everyone involved, and to get the scene set. (This is quite a long book.) However, I did feel that the payoff was worth the invested time. I'll also definitely be reading the sequel (no, nothing gets finally settled here - this is definitely first in a series.)
The striking aspect of the book is the worldbuilding. (As I said, the plot, while good, is fairly standard fantasy fare. The setting, however, is bizarre and fascinating - and not like anything you've read before.) The descriptions of poisonous, motile plants and freakish animals are wonderful. There are several very distinct races of people as well, and their cultures and conflicts are painstakingly drawn. Some of the tropes and themes will be familiar to readers of 'God's War,' but many are unique to this book.
Recommended for fans of Glen Cook, Gene Wolfe, and maybe Joe Abercrombie as well.
Many thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. As always, my opinions are my own.
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LibraryThing member Gretchening
I really wanted to love this book. In some ways I did enjoy it, but it ended up being kind of a slog, I didn't really connect to any of the characters, and I had a hard time keeping everything straight. She puts a lot into her worldbuilding, the range of gender identities and culturally significant
I just... felt like this book was trying to do too much and sacrificed interesting character development. It's probably still one of the better books to come out this year, and I do recommend it especially if you are into complex plotty violent fantasy with large casts (*cough* Game of Thrones *cough*) but want more female and nonbinary characters in major roles. I'll probably read the next book. I just wish I liked the characters more, because I found the world really interesting. I think it suffers a bit for the height of my hopes and expectations?
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means of communicating different identities was appreciated, as was the inclusion of poly families. I was really grossed out by one of the major characters, who is an unrepentant slaughterer of thousands of people just like herself and who participates viciously in a reverse-sexist culture (TW: domestic assault/rape). I don't think we're supposed to like her? But it definitely feels like the narrative wants us to accept her as a product of her culture, possibly as a metacomment on the types of brutal male heroes we frequently see in epic fantasy? But I didn't, I really hated her and I hated feeling like I should root for her during her POV scenes.I just... felt like this book was trying to do too much and sacrificed interesting character development. It's probably still one of the better books to come out this year, and I do recommend it especially if you are into complex plotty violent fantasy with large casts (*cough* Game of Thrones *cough*) but want more female and nonbinary characters in major roles. I'll probably read the next book. I just wish I liked the characters more, because I found the world really interesting. I think it suffers a bit for the height of my hopes and expectations?
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LibraryThing member gendeg
If there's one thing that can be said about Kameron Hurley, she is today's dominatrix spinner of yarns pushing the boundaries of genre fantasy. With The Mirror Empire (the debut book in her new Worldbreaker Saga series), she practically pokes out the eyes of the genre itself.
I was first introduced
It was with these high expectations that I devoured The Mirror Empire. And after a whirlwind of reading, when I turned that last page, I left the book on a high, but with mixed, even polarizing feelings.
As others here have waxed on about, Hurley turns the genre inside out again with this new book. The Mirror Empire starts with Lilia, a young blood witch. Their village is attacked by a ruthless invading force. To save her daughter, Lilia's mother opens a portal. Lilia is smuggled through only to find herself an orphan in a completely different place, far from the carnage. The surroundings are familiar to Lilia but also different, and it reminded me of that Freudian concept of "unheimlich"where you have that juxtaposition of the familiar and unfamiliar. Aside from Lilia, readers are bounced around to the POVs of other characters who play starring roles themselves.
The color of the sky tells the truth. As the story develops, we soon discover that Lilia's new life is actually in a new world—not the one to which she was born. Confused yet? The Mirror Empire isn't really that complex once you understand that there are actually two worlds. And so the true meaning of the title is made clear.
War is coming, but not along the old lines of dueling empires and tribes. There are two worlds, and those worlds are colliding.
Concept-wise, this is just brilliant: There are two planes of existence, connected through a portal that one side is building. But there are terms and conditions (which I won't reveal here), which causes confusion, chaos, and mayhem.
Writers have long dealt with the notion of parallel universes and realities in books, TV shows, and film, though it has often been the domain of science fiction rather than fantasy. (Think Star Trek's mirror universe storylines). The themes of parallel identities and perspectives are rich ore for any writer of any genre to mine, and I admire Hurley's nerve. In The Mirror Empire, Hurley gives us a world where one people are the conquerors; in its counterpart, the same people are scattered pacifist tribes. Instant conflict. Hurley sets up the idea … and yet something falls flat.
The constant switching from character to character, even within chapters was abrupt and jarring. With two worlds, and potentially two of each character, I didn't trust my characters as I was reading them. "Which world am I in?" I kept asking myself. For some reason, I thought Hurley would go back and forth between the two worlds, and yet we really only stay with one. Honestly, I think the book would have been better served if Hurley had housed her chapters into sections, and clearly alternated between one world and the other. Later, those parallel worlds do come closer, and the various characters cross paths and meet, and the novel's structure could have echoed that accordingly to better effect. Instead, we have something of a hodgepodge.
The use of multiple POVs was also clumsy. Some of Hurley's characters were better fleshed out than others. Lilia, for example, starts off as a fascinating lead character and ends up a fascinating hero-figure character by the end of the book, but her journey from point A to point B felt lacking. For most of the book, she is buffeted around, a simple pawn, and I grew tired of her storyline at times.
One of the best things about this book is the world-building. Some people found the gender role reversals weird, but I didn't; it fit the book's overall tone and style very well. Hurley creates two worlds and three or four societies within each without resorting to massive info dumps. Still, it was overwhelming at times keeping track of the jargon and cultural terms, and I often had to cross-reference the glossary at the back of the book.
More than anything, The Mirror Empire is showing us that everything has a shadow, a dark side. The Mirror Empire is a brutal book, and it doesn't hold back on the violence and atrocities of war. Characters die in grotesque ways. Hundreds of people are slaughtered indiscriminately. Hurley's story is otherworldly and yet there are parallels to our own very real world of genocide and ethnic cleansing. That's probably the most horrific part of all. Syria and Iraq, or the conflicts in central Africa are not too far way from the world of this book. The Mirror Empire is a sobering reminder of how our tendency to prejudice can lead to brutality.
Dark and imaginative, but ultimately in need of content editing and tightening, The Mirror Empire is a challenging read. But it's a worthy read just for the way it has enthusiastically defied so many fantasy conventions. Despite my reservations, I am eagerly anticipating Book 2.
I was first introduced
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to Hurley's work with her Bel Dame series starting with her award-winning God's War. I don't remember how I stumbled on it. I think I read an excerpt or a review on Tor.com. From the first few pages on, I was blown away and thoroughly hooked on her heroine, Nyx, a badass assassin mercenary. Hurley had somehow taken the fantasy genre, creaking in its sexist, medieval tropes, and made it postmodern, hardboiled, and even feminist. It was also the first time I'd heard of the subgenre, "bug punk." I think Hurley handcrafted this new category herself with Bel Dame. I became a Hurley fan.It was with these high expectations that I devoured The Mirror Empire. And after a whirlwind of reading, when I turned that last page, I left the book on a high, but with mixed, even polarizing feelings.
As others here have waxed on about, Hurley turns the genre inside out again with this new book. The Mirror Empire starts with Lilia, a young blood witch. Their village is attacked by a ruthless invading force. To save her daughter, Lilia's mother opens a portal. Lilia is smuggled through only to find herself an orphan in a completely different place, far from the carnage. The surroundings are familiar to Lilia but also different, and it reminded me of that Freudian concept of "unheimlich"where you have that juxtaposition of the familiar and unfamiliar. Aside from Lilia, readers are bounced around to the POVs of other characters who play starring roles themselves.
The color of the sky tells the truth. As the story develops, we soon discover that Lilia's new life is actually in a new world—not the one to which she was born. Confused yet? The Mirror Empire isn't really that complex once you understand that there are actually two worlds. And so the true meaning of the title is made clear.
War is coming, but not along the old lines of dueling empires and tribes. There are two worlds, and those worlds are colliding.
Concept-wise, this is just brilliant: There are two planes of existence, connected through a portal that one side is building. But there are terms and conditions (which I won't reveal here), which causes confusion, chaos, and mayhem.
Writers have long dealt with the notion of parallel universes and realities in books, TV shows, and film, though it has often been the domain of science fiction rather than fantasy. (Think Star Trek's mirror universe storylines). The themes of parallel identities and perspectives are rich ore for any writer of any genre to mine, and I admire Hurley's nerve. In The Mirror Empire, Hurley gives us a world where one people are the conquerors; in its counterpart, the same people are scattered pacifist tribes. Instant conflict. Hurley sets up the idea … and yet something falls flat.
The constant switching from character to character, even within chapters was abrupt and jarring. With two worlds, and potentially two of each character, I didn't trust my characters as I was reading them. "Which world am I in?" I kept asking myself. For some reason, I thought Hurley would go back and forth between the two worlds, and yet we really only stay with one. Honestly, I think the book would have been better served if Hurley had housed her chapters into sections, and clearly alternated between one world and the other. Later, those parallel worlds do come closer, and the various characters cross paths and meet, and the novel's structure could have echoed that accordingly to better effect. Instead, we have something of a hodgepodge.
The use of multiple POVs was also clumsy. Some of Hurley's characters were better fleshed out than others. Lilia, for example, starts off as a fascinating lead character and ends up a fascinating hero-figure character by the end of the book, but her journey from point A to point B felt lacking. For most of the book, she is buffeted around, a simple pawn, and I grew tired of her storyline at times.
One of the best things about this book is the world-building. Some people found the gender role reversals weird, but I didn't; it fit the book's overall tone and style very well. Hurley creates two worlds and three or four societies within each without resorting to massive info dumps. Still, it was overwhelming at times keeping track of the jargon and cultural terms, and I often had to cross-reference the glossary at the back of the book.
More than anything, The Mirror Empire is showing us that everything has a shadow, a dark side. The Mirror Empire is a brutal book, and it doesn't hold back on the violence and atrocities of war. Characters die in grotesque ways. Hundreds of people are slaughtered indiscriminately. Hurley's story is otherworldly and yet there are parallels to our own very real world of genocide and ethnic cleansing. That's probably the most horrific part of all. Syria and Iraq, or the conflicts in central Africa are not too far way from the world of this book. The Mirror Empire is a sobering reminder of how our tendency to prejudice can lead to brutality.
Dark and imaginative, but ultimately in need of content editing and tightening, The Mirror Empire is a challenging read. But it's a worthy read just for the way it has enthusiastically defied so many fantasy conventions. Despite my reservations, I am eagerly anticipating Book 2.
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LibraryThing member macha
3 and a half stars. good, but not as original, insightful, or sharply observed as her earlier Bel Dame Apocrypha series.
LibraryThing member nwhyte
It has one good idea, of magic connection between parallel worlds, ehere if a vital participant in a spell is not available, their double from the next universe can be brought in to help, There is lots of 'orribl war. I'd have liked a bit more of a sense that this society had culture as well. And
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the book is too long by at least a third. Show Less
LibraryThing member allison_s
Review to come in the next day or two.
Still processing this epic extravaganza and the 8?? genders and parallel worlds.
For right now, in two words: overwhelmingly impressive.
Update: As in her Bel Dame series, Hurley builds a huge, complex world and fills it with a cast of vivid characters and an
Still processing this epic extravaganza and the 8?? genders and parallel worlds.
For right now, in two words: overwhelmingly impressive.
Update: As in her Bel Dame series, Hurley builds a huge, complex world and fills it with a cast of vivid characters and an
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array of intriguing cultures. Societies with five genders? Matriarchies? A "satellite"-based magic system? Yes, yes, YES. I'm a big fan of her "show, don't tell" writing and world-building. It makes for a challenging, but ultimately more rewarding, reading experience. Show Less
LibraryThing member 3j0hn
Dark and full big cool ideas.
LibraryThing member elenaj
On the one hand, fascinating worldbuilding. On the other hand, an unbelievably bleak story packed with too many characters.
LibraryThing member tatere
It strikes me thinking about this book and "God's War" which I also just recently finished, how *unpleasant* just walking around in those worlds seems. The plants want to kill you, or everything smells and it's full of bugs, no green and pleasant lands in sight. But I wonder if the people living
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there see it that way. What are the killer plants in our world that we just ignore as background noise? Uh oh, I feel a thought coming on, better stop now... Show Less
LibraryThing member davisfamily
DNF I had a very hard time keeping track of who was who, became frustrated and just gave up.
LibraryThing member bibrarybookslut
The Mirror Empire is that rarest of fantasy beasties – a successful mainstream epic fantasy that is also boldly, brashly, and brazenly diverse.
It all begins with a harsh, post-apocalyptic fantasy universe that is fully aware of its own mirror worlds. These are not just mirror worlds into which
As for that post-apocalyptic fantasy landscape, there is a strong theme of environmental awareness buried within it. Kameron Hurley avoids any long-winded speeches about the madness of foolishness of humanity, and does not bore the reader with details about we destroyed the world. Instead, she moves past all that, simply acknowledges that it happened, and shows us just how resilient and vengeful nature can be. This is a hostile environment with which humanity is constantly at war, fighting back carnivorous vegetation, including bone trees that incorporate human bone shards into their bark.
In terms of gender, gender roles, and sexuality, this is certainly the most diverse epic fantasy I have ever encountered. Gender is as much about roles as it is biology, with both passive and assertive males and females, as well as truly gender fluid individuals. I found myself confused by the diversity of pronouns at times, so I can only imagine how a mainstream reader might feel. Despites those gender differences, this is largely a world of matriarchal societies, where masculine rulers are almost unheard of, and the very idea of a male warrior is laughed at. It is the women who make the decisions, who fight the battles, and who enjoy the spoils. Assertive men generally serve as clerics and scribes, while passive men serve as the equivalent of the stereotypical housewife, performing domestic chores and providing sexual release for their polyamorous marriage partners.
Despite the diversity and the imagination involved here, this is a very dark and very violent epic fantasy. Kameron Hurley ploughs through her story about as quickly, almost dragging the reader along in her wake, so that we do not truly appreciate what she has accomplished until the very end. There are a lot of characters and a lot of points-of-view, which only adds to the confusion, but it does personalize much of the diversity and really allow us to experience the world of the Worldbreaker Saga.
As reviewed by Sally at All Our Worlds
It all begins with a harsh, post-apocalyptic fantasy universe that is fully aware of its own mirror worlds. These are not just mirror worlds into which
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individuals accidentally slip, but worlds that wage war upon one another to survive the latest apocalyptic cycle. What is really interesting here is that everyone has a mirror counterpart, with whom they cannot coexist, leading to a sometimes confusing game of murder and usurpation. Most of the conflict centres upon a pacifist empire known as the Dhai, which just happens to be situated on the marching path of mirror conquerors.As for that post-apocalyptic fantasy landscape, there is a strong theme of environmental awareness buried within it. Kameron Hurley avoids any long-winded speeches about the madness of foolishness of humanity, and does not bore the reader with details about we destroyed the world. Instead, she moves past all that, simply acknowledges that it happened, and shows us just how resilient and vengeful nature can be. This is a hostile environment with which humanity is constantly at war, fighting back carnivorous vegetation, including bone trees that incorporate human bone shards into their bark.
In terms of gender, gender roles, and sexuality, this is certainly the most diverse epic fantasy I have ever encountered. Gender is as much about roles as it is biology, with both passive and assertive males and females, as well as truly gender fluid individuals. I found myself confused by the diversity of pronouns at times, so I can only imagine how a mainstream reader might feel. Despites those gender differences, this is largely a world of matriarchal societies, where masculine rulers are almost unheard of, and the very idea of a male warrior is laughed at. It is the women who make the decisions, who fight the battles, and who enjoy the spoils. Assertive men generally serve as clerics and scribes, while passive men serve as the equivalent of the stereotypical housewife, performing domestic chores and providing sexual release for their polyamorous marriage partners.
Despite the diversity and the imagination involved here, this is a very dark and very violent epic fantasy. Kameron Hurley ploughs through her story about as quickly, almost dragging the reader along in her wake, so that we do not truly appreciate what she has accomplished until the very end. There are a lot of characters and a lot of points-of-view, which only adds to the confusion, but it does personalize much of the diversity and really allow us to experience the world of the Worldbreaker Saga.
As reviewed by Sally at All Our Worlds
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LibraryThing member JJbooklvr
I was a little unsure if I was going to like this in the beginning. There is a lot to take in with all the characters, flora, and fauna in the universe the author has created. Once the story gets going though look out! This is epic fantasy at its best. I can't wait for the next book.
LibraryThing member lyrrael
So… I made the mistake of reading The Language of Knives (short story) at the same time as this. And the two paired just give a whole new meaning to bringing relatives to dinner. Okay, having said that, and having read the Bel Dame Apocrypha, I knew what I was getting into here: Hurley is a
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master (mistress?) of the creation of TRULY unique worlds with intricate worldbuilding, but also being able to delicately throw that information at the reader. I have absolutely zero doubt that she’s figured out plumbing for each of her cultures, but she has the grace not to explain it to the reader. I have to admit that most of her writing leaves me in the mind of China Mieville, who I consider the king of the New Weird genre, but honestly? I think she’s better at it. Unfortunately for me, I’m not a huge fan of New Weird, so while I enjoyed the uniqueness of the setting, it also had a tendency to get under my skin. THIS IS NOT TO SAY this is not an awesome book, because it is -- it is to say that I’m not one for this much complexity in my reading. Show Less
Awards
Locus Award (Finalist — Fantasy Novel — 2015)
British Science Fiction Association Award (Shortlist — 2014)
David Gemmell Legend Award (Shortlist — 2015)
Language
Original publication date
2014-08-26
Local notes
On the eve of a recurring catastrophic event known to extinguish nations and reshape continents, a troubled orphan evades death and slavery to uncover her own bloody past… while a world goes to war with itself.