The Riven Kingdom

Great writing, story in which almost nothing happens; very few surprises and again it's a 100 page book, stretched to 550+; I still hope that the author can use her extraordinary writing skills and have an interesting plot, not page after page of filler.........more

4.25/5. Full review at my review blog. Karen Miller is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors, and this series is hands down my favourite series of the year (so far). Once again, I have been drawn and sucked in by an Australian female fantasy writer. There are so many whom I love, including but......more

It's in this second book that I finally understand what Miller was trying to achieve, but I'm still not convinced of her success. The good: The repetition and gore of the eastern 'Empress of Mijak' has been replaced by a more polished, western european-esque nation much more in the line of standard f......more

This second book in the godspeaker trilogy captured my attention more than the first. We have crossed the desert from Maijak to Ethrea, and met princess Rhian. Rhian's father and brithers have died leaving no heir. The advisors ofthe kingdom fight to marry Rhian to a prince of thier own choosing but......more

For a while now I’ve been ruminating on the role of the medieval setting in fantasy, and more specifically the kingdom. Monarchies are (largely) obsolete these days, though Charles Stross has some interesting ideas about how the divine right of kings could intersect with extreme libertarianism. It’s......more