Empire of Exiles by Erin M. Evans – Review

Published: November 8, 2022

Publisher: Orbit Books

Series: Books of the Usurper #1

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 432 (Paperback)

My Rating: 4.25/5.00

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:
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.

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Empire of Exiles presents itself as a fairly standard political/mystery oriented fantasy story. Standard is not a bad thing at all – it means that, in general, I know what to expect from the story. This was however surprisingly diverse in terms of non-human characters and had a super cool magic system based on affinities for various substances/materials. What a delightful surprise!

The book starts off with Quill, a Paremi apprentice scribe, entering the Imperial Archives to procure items for a client. The synopsis makes these items to be of much more import than the role they actually play in the story. The true event of import is the murder that occurs soon after Quill arrives in the city with his boss and fellow apprentice Karimo. Quill returns to their lodging and finds Karimo in the process of attacking several individuals who were attending a dinner with their host and then killing himself, but not before uttering a strange phrase. This traumatic event brings Quill together with ink specialist Yinii, archivist Amadea, and Vigilant Richa as they investigate the circumstances surrounding the unusual violence.

Empire of Exiles had a wonderful blend of mystery and political intrigue, made even more satisfying by some well placed flashbacks to Redolfo Kirazzi, attempted usurper, just prior to his hanging. And then the well placed revelations are mere icing on the glorious cake that is this book. I loved it, particularly when the changelings are introduced and become an important part of the storyline. Essentially changelings are shapeshifters that live on the other side of the salt wall that was magically erected many years prior. Their blood can be used to make people forget or even create false memories, which certainly adds a layer of complication to the whole “why did Karimo murder these people” plot line. As the story progresses, it becomes clear how much this concoction plays a role in events as far back as Redolfo’s failed revolution.

This was an excellent, engaging read that kept me guessing as to the character’s true motives and even identities. While it doesn’t always move at a breakneck pace the way many more action-centric books do, I never for a moment found it boring but it did take just a bit of effort to sink into the story at first. I was particularly fond of Yinii, Amadea, and the other specialists in the Archives because they felt like such a warm family unit with Amadea being their guiding figure. Quill grew on me as the story went, but Richa felt underdeveloped in comparison to the others. I’m hoping that Richa will get more backstory and be fleshed out a bit more in the sequel. Overall, I think if you enjoy a good political fantasy with murder, magic, and mayhem, then Empire of Exiles might just be the perfect book for you!