An Empire Asunder (The Scourwind Legacy, 2)

Pro: Episode1 is a (very good) screenplay; I found it extremely visually stimulating, and the characters so shallow and annoying that I hesitated buying episode2. I'm glad I read ep2, it's almost on par with Currie's best stories: same gorgeous cinematic visuals, dramatic science fiction details (eg: the armor and especially the aircraft), and fleshed-out, interesting characters. The adorable annoying hated scruffy orphaned urchins of the ep1 almost completely disappear, and the annoying bratty young female protagonist grows up spontaneously (and is limited). The main protagonist continues to act unhinged, which is unusual for Currie and dropped my rating to 4star, but she's interesting, complex. Currie doesn't completely demonize his antagonist, forcing us to consider there were two sides to the conflict.

Con: these episodes are too short to call novels; the two episodes together almost would be a novel. Also, after two episodes, the reader still doesn't know the plot: how much longer can Currie drag this out before it's a distraction? Although this is the most visually stimulating tale I've ever read, the overall story-telling is not quite up to Currie's best moments in OdesseyOne and SilverWings (Eric Weston is one of my favorite sci-fi characters); considering how superior ep2 is to ep1, I'm hopeful Currie will reach his full depth as the story goes on.

If you're looking for Herbert-esque deep dives into philosophy, this isn't it. Currie writes to a big-tent-libertarian audience, but little is discussed above surface generalizations. If you're looking for stories that read like a beautiful big budget special effects movie with smart characters, you'll be lucky to find better: I would invest in the production if someone films this.

An Empire Asunder by Evan Currie is the second book in the Scourwind Legacy series and a fantastic follow up to Heirs of Empire. The traitorous General Corian is back once again, as are fledgling Empress Lydia and Brennan, now a cadreman-in-training. The Empire is in more perilous straits than ever before. With Mira Desol and the prototype Barr class ship missing in action, both the Empire and the Alliance are in an all out race to build similar ships to bring against one another. Though there seems to be an uneasy truce, all of that is shattered and the upcoming storm may be too much for the Empire to bear.

Will the Empire survive? Will Desol, Brennan, and Lydia be able to save the Empire before it is too late? If you enjoyed Heirs of Empire, you will adore An Empire Asunder. I had a hard time placing the book down and am already waiting impatiently for the next book in the series. What Currie does so well in this book is crafting amazing characters and immersive plot lines. I recommend this book highly with five stars and hope the next book comes out soon!

I received this book for free from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.