This is an epic start to a new series by isabelle steiger. i read in order to prepare for the upcoming sequel. The history and characters of this world were greatly written. Filled with plots, intrigue, politics and lore, this book will be enjoyed by fans of George RR Martin and Morgan Rhodes.

Sadly not a story for me. This has the makings of a fine fantasy but it feels very familiar to me. There wasn't much new done in the first few chapters to persuade me that something novel (forgive the pun) would coming along. A dnf.

A great book and would highly recommend reading it. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

First of the series, this book create a rich world with complex characters that grab your attention and keep you engaged throughout the novel. Unlike many novels with world building you do not find yourself bogged down in details. The characters are so fully formed that you felt as if you were part of the world at times and it was easy to lose track of time while reading. A great work of adult fantasy perfect for those who have even sworn off the genre.

This author's gift for writing is hauntingly enchanting and I loved reading her work! Such a good book!

The Empire’s Ghost is a solid entry into the epic fantasy genre. It does take bit of time and patience to realize the plans/path for all of the author's disparate characters and the great number of perspectives. I will definitely be reading the next book, now that the basic setup for the series is complete. I expect the sequel will be throwing us straight into the action, and I’m looking forward to more revelations and answers.
Thank you to Isabelle Steiger, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this very much! The characters, the actions and even the plot itself! Very inspiring for my own book too!

this was a really good start to a series, the characters were great and I really enjoyed going through this world. I look forward to more from the author.

This is a very ambitious Epic Fantasy with a promising complex story. The book was solid and does setup a world that is unique and rich but it does has it's share of roadblocks. While I don't mind a large ensemble of POVs, especially in a Epic Fantasy, it does take a long time for each POV to really paint the picture Steiger is trying to setup. Like most POV books you tend to get more invested in some characters than others which made some chapters fell like fillers, while others more important which gave the book a slightly weird pace.

With all the characters provided I felt like the story was spreading itself thin, but this is a debut novel along with being a beginning of a series, so hopefully this set up will come with payback. This does very much feel like an introduction to something bigger, and there are a lot of unresolved issues which really make sure bite your nails wondering what will happen next.

Overall, a good setup to what is hopefully the next big Fantasy read.

The Empire’s Ghost is a massive fantasy book, with lots of characters and subplots! I think it is hard to describe it in one synopsis, because it is so vast and complex.
I had several issues with it, mainly the pacing and the writing. It barley moves plotwise and I found it a bit frustrating. The writing also did not match with me at all, and for example changed POV mid-page which was very disconnecting. I think the book had parts I did enjoy, there were some characters I really liked following and I wanted to know their journeys. But overall I struggled a lot with this first book and ended up giving it 2/5 stars.

The Empire's ghost is filled with a cast of very intriguing characters. Kelken stood out to me the most. He's very determined and passionate and that ultimately made him very likable and easy to route for. I like the world-building, although with the jumping back and forth between characters in different areas, I fear I might need a huge refresher by the time I can get to the second book.

The Empire of Elesthene once spanned a continent, but its rise heralded the death of magic. It tore itself apart from whitin, leaving behind a patchwork of kingdoms struggling to rebuild. But when a new dictator seizes power in the old capital and seeks to recreate the lost empire anew, the other kingdoms have little hope of stopping him.

I loved the premise and it all sounded wonderful, but I just couldn’t connect with the story. I always finish books, but in this case I DNF. I left the book and came back to it several times, I read great reviews about it and I had high expectations, but there were a lot of different plots and characters and it was really slow. I tried, but it didn’t work out for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas Dunne Books for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

http://www.instagram.com/booksandcoffeepleasemx

*** I received this book as a free copy from Netgalley and St. Martin's Press/ Thomas Dunne Books
in return for an honest review ***
Side note: Isabelle Steiger's new book is coming out next week, so St Martin's Press was offering a special download on her first book in exchange for a review. Unfortunately, the version they sent me was a protected PDF with horrible formatting. This mattered because the book has a lot of POVs and different characters and the POV in the PDF would shift from character to character with no warning whatsoever. Super confusing and annoying.

BUT ...
The good news is that I was enjoying the story, so I got a Kindle version (it's on sale at Amazon) and that was much better ... so on to the review.

This is a intricately-plotted novel with some excellent world-building. There are numerous characters all with their own POVs (did I mention that already?) The good news is that all the POVs belong to empathetic characters. There are no obvious villains or heroes in this book, just everyone trying to do the best they can to survive. There are no pitched battles, a couple of sword fights here and there (which can be good or bad news depending on what you are looking for). The not-so-good news is that it can get very difficult to keep track of everyone and all their relationships to each other. The bad news is that if you are looking for a clear plot-line with some idea of where the series is going, because of all these plotlines, you are pretty much screwed. Till the end, I'm still not sure where the author is taking this book.

Here is my sense of what is going on in the book: There used to be magic in the world, now its all gone. With the exception of the two of the protagonists, both rulers, Arianrod Margraine and her enemy, Imperator Elgar, who are sort of proto-mages with limited magic powers. There are a bunch of supporting characters, a gang of tavern hangers-on each with their own skills. There are a few soldiers/assassin who serve each of these rulers, but in many cases, have lost their memories, so have no idea what they are doing. Arianrod is trying to understand and restore magic, Elgar is trying to conquer the continent, but everything is very low-key.

I find this sort of refreshing because I've seen a lot of books with clear quests and clear goodies and baddies. I like Isabelle's lack of clear demarcation between good and bad (or indeed in her refusal to make anyone intrinsically bad). I like her world building, I like the way she describes her characters' issues and how they deal with them. I would put this down as a thoughtful book, quiet, understated and well-done. I would definitely want to read the next book - even if it is only to figure out where she is going with this.

It took me a while before I was really engaged in this book - that happened about 20% of the way in.

For the most part the characters were well developed. However, I felt there were too many characters implanted in the story and it made it really difficult to remember who was who. Some of the characters seemed to be important to the story line, however they didn't appear often enough to make an impression or for me to form an attachment. I would have liked the book a whole lot better if it was written to follow just a few of the characters, rather than the large number presented in the book.

I really liked the story and found the plot engaging. The book ended with a number of mysteries that makes me want to continue with the series.

This book is extremely long and slow paced with a long list of characters. I just couldn't get into it.

The book is certainly slow paced,but will appeal to fantasy readers.
The book picks up pace mostly after the first half and you are bound to get hooked to the story.
The character description and the writing style was pretty good too.

Many thanks to St. Martin's press for making this title available to read!
👍

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 golden stars!

This book took me by surprise! The Empire's Ghost will appeal to high fantasy readers who like a more thoughtful, slowly-paced fantasy with excellent characterization and great writing. The story started slow, but by the end I was hooked. I enjoyed learning about the world and the characters, and I will definitely be picking up the sequel.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is dense, but the detail makes for an intriguing adventure. Would recommend for people who enjoyed GOT or Mark Lawrence books because of the rapid POV change style. The characters are so delicately interwoven that it is difficult to see where the story is going to go, and each person is interesting enough you get enthralled before the POV abruptly changes. At first I did wish that there was more detail about the world that's being built, but with patience more was revealed. The book is slow until about the 2/3rd mark at which point it goes really fast. There is a lot of nuance and lore in the world that isn't explained right away, so I was compelled to keep reading to try and find out more. I think that it's important to relax and go along with the ride rather than try to anticipate where it's going to go, because the book is definitely a slow burn. I'm intrigued to read the sequel because I couldn't anticipate the ending and there are more twists and turns. The end of the book went so quickly I was unprepared for the ending and now I want to know more about where this is going to go.

Wow! Just… Wow. If you enjoy epic fantasy go get yourself a copy of The Empire’s Ghost by Isabelle Steiger and make sure to pre-order book two, The Rightful Queen, which comes out on July 21, 2020.

It’s been awhile since I’ve read an epic fantasy book. I think I was put off because I was reading the wrong ones. Ones where the women have big breasts and are scantily clothed. I should have known I need to seek out female authors. Authors like Steiger who has numerous strong female characters, not everyone is constantly thinking about or having sex, and where the men are allowed to have a feeling other than rage.

The characters are so well developed and I look forward to meeting up with them again. You have the usual tropes; magic is missing, quests for the royalty, hidden revolts, and more, but it doesn’t feel like you’ve read it before. Steiger takes a fresh approach that I really enjoyed.

And the world that is built is amazing. You feel like you’re actually there with her vibrant descriptions. You can smell the stew cooking in the tavern and feel the dampness of the prison walls seep into your bones.

Steiger masterfully had the story progress giving just enough information to have you believe you know what is going on with a particular character and then she gives you some more insight that has you second guessing yourself. This made me want to read faster to see how the different characters were intertwined and I was actually saddened when the book ended. But you know that’s a great book when an author leaves you wanting, no needing, to know more.

3.5- Rounded up because the last 20% of the book really brought it all together and made me eager to read the sequel! There were many different threads to this story and it took time for me to feel fully invested. With a wide range of characters, I never felt there was one central protagonist to focus on and instead the story followed everyone from power-hungry rulers to a tavern’s kitchen boy. The complex, character-driven worldbuilding packed a lot of information into the first half of this book. Once established, you can see it was clearly built with intense care and planning.

The Empire’s Ghost has a little bit of everything: quests, fight scenes, dark secrets, and tons of royal intrigue. It took time for me to feel a real connection with the characters, I think mainly due to the many POVs/worldbuilding. But once I was hooked, I couldn’t put it down! The clever power plays and behind-the-scenes plots were very satisfying. This book has complicated world building, a myriad of political schemes, and excellent dialogue. While it may take a bit to settle into the world, it is worth it. In particular, during the last act of the book, all of the story threads are pulled taunt and you begin to see how everything comes together. What an ending!

If you enjoy epic fantasy, royal politics, and satisfying stories with a slower pace- check this out! Book two will soon be released, which is very fortunate after reading that ending. The Rising Queen releases on July 21, 2020. I can’t wait to see what happens next! Thank you to Isabelle Steiger, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.