Empire (Heir Duology, #2)
About the book
Author: Sabaa Tahir
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
More info:
The StoryGraph | Goodreads
Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the review.
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My review
Nobody — absolutely nobody — does it like Sabaa Tahir. Somehow, she has managed an ending as exciting, intricately plotted, and perfectly executed as the ending of A Sky Beyond the Storm but in half as many books. I cannot believe how she keeps expanding the world and deepening the story in this universe (but always in a way that feels natural to the world/story and never forced or maximalist).
I’m assuming this review is mainly for people who have already read Heir, so I won’t dwell too much on the premise. After a quick opening chapter that has more of a prologue feel — which LITERALLY HAD ME SCREAMING ALL ALONE IN MY HOUSE (!!!!!!!!) — this one picks up shortly after Heir left off, with Quil/Suf/Aurelia in one corner of the continent, Sirsha in another, and Aiz and Cero in yet another. My heart broke for Quil and Sirsha to be separated, and let me tell you, as we have all come to expect from Sabaa, that was only the beginning of my heartbreak. Everybody goes THROUGH IT, and she has more than one twist left up her sleeve.
But HOLY SMOKES was it worth it, because when I finished this book at midnight (when I usually go to bed at 9:30), I laid there speechless. No spoilers, but the way she ties the central conflict of this duology back to the central conflict of the Ember quartet (we are all characters in one great story, after all!!) blew me away.
I am devastated that this duology is complete and can only pray Sabaa gives us more stories in this world.
Content and trigger warnings
War, violence, blood, injury details
Death and grief
Death of children
Animal death
