Jeffrey Bardwell

The empire is in a growing state of turmoil. All mages are being targeted, blamed and treated as rebels against the empire.

Sir Corbin, retired Hero of Jerkum Pass, will finally get the recognition (and money) he deserves at the most opportune moment. His daughter is an undercover mage and already townsfolk are being suspicious.

Alas, sir Corbin dies on the privy some days before his celebration, it falls to Kelsa (with the help of an enchanted ring) to become her grandfather, get the money and make it back home.

However, affairs in the empire are more dire then they seemed, the emperor was supposedly killed by rebel mages, the new empress is going to extreme lengths to eradicate all mages from the empire and Corbin has to choose a side.
Add to that some very old friends that want to bring him into the empresses fold, an ex-lover and mage who knows what really happened at Jerkum Pass and a whole regiment more flammable then a powder keg.

Kelsa has her work cut out for her. Get through the ceremony intact, get home and leave for a better place or try and save all mages...

My take on the book:

I'm not sure what to think really...

World building was good, the author takes us into an empire on the verge of mass conflict, targeting mages who have given their all for the wellbeing of the empire and its citizens. All scenes were well detailed and clear without getting boring.

Character development was good. We had Kelsa, a young woman, who had to pick up the burden of becoming her grandfather in order to protect her mother.
Little by little she looses her own identity however, letting the Corbin persona take over.

So if that was all good... what didn't I like?
Well.. there was a lot of talking, some more talking and very little action :(

Apart from that the book is well written, there were no (noticeable) errors. Oh and if it's important for you, yes, there is sex in the book (which in hindsight was pretty disturbing, but ah well).

I voluntarily read an advanced reader copy of this book and yeah, this book clearly was setting the stage, placing all the pieces on the board so the reader knows exactly what's going on. For me however, it took too long and there was not enough happening.
That being said... now we have this whole staging behind us, bring the action!… (mer)