Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted over at Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about but haven’t yet read. Most of the time they’re books that have yet to be released, but not always. It’s based on the Waiting on Wednesday meme, which was originally hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.
This week my Can’t-Wait-For Book is Empire of Exiles by Erin M. Evans!
Genres: Fantasy, Secondary World Fantasy
Published on: 8th November 2022
Goodreads
Magic, mystery, and revolution collide in this fantasy epic where an unlikely team of mages, scribes, and archivists must band together to unearth a conspiracy that might topple their empire.
“The beginning of a truly epic tale. Deft worldbuilding and wonderful verbal fencing that is a delight to read. In these pages, you are in the hands of a master.” - Ed Greenwood, creator of the Forgotten Realms and internationally bestselling author
Twenty-seven years ago, a Duke with a grudge led a ruthless coup against the empire of Semilla, killing thousands. He failed. The Duke was executed, a terrifyingly powerful sorcerer was imprisoned, and an unwilling princess disappeared.
The empire moved on.
Now, when Quill, an apprentice scribe, arrives in the capital city, he believes he's on a simple errand for another pompous noble: fetch ancient artifacts from the magical Imperial Archives. He's always found his apprenticeship to a lawman to be dull work. But these aren't just any artifacts — these are the instruments of revolution, the banners under which the Duke lead his coup.
Just as the artifacts are unearthed, the city is shaken by a brutal murder that seems to have been caused by a weapon not seen since the days of rebellion. With Quill being the main witness to the murder, and no one in power believing his story, he must join the Archivists — a young mage, a seasoned archivist, and a disillusioned detective — to solve the truth of the attack. And what they uncover will be the key to saving the empire – or destroying it again.
Okay, I have three important reasons that I’m looking forward to Empire of Exiles.
#1: two of my favourite people in the whole wide world are called Erin. I always pay attention whenever an Erin appears, and as a life stratagem it hasn’t let me down yet!
#2: Mages, scribes, and archivists are all of the top of my I Want To Grow Up To Be list. I love getting to read about them – I am infinitely more interested in a fantasy-world scribe than I am in princes or chosen ones! I’m a nerd and want to read about fantasy!nerds, okay?
And mages. Because mages are cool.
#3: When I started looking into Empire of Exiles, I kept finding love and praise for Evans’ worldbuilding – especially with regards the various different cultures and, crucially, her non-human races.
Now, I’m always heart-eyes for intricate worldbuilding – but intricate worldbuilding plus non-humans?! I don’t know if we’re talking elves and dwarves or if Evans has gone ahead and created brand-new non-humans (although I’m betting on the latter, given the mention of ‘wonderfully unique fantasy races’ in the publishing announcement) but either way, my armchair-anthropologist self swoons at the thought of well-thought-out, interesting takes on non-human species!
HI YES THANK YOU I’M TOTALLY SOLD.
Are you???
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