Empire Ascendant is the second novel in the Worldbreaker Saga by Kameron Hurley.
Finished on: 13.9.2024
[Here’s my review of the first novel.]

Content Note: domestic violence, genocide

Plot:
Worlds are literally colliding, and everybody is affected by it, one way or another. Lilia tries to use her new-found powers and strategic abilities to fight a war for the otherwise peaceful Dhai against the encroaching mirror world. Zezili knows that her Empress has some kind of nefarious plans, but she is beholden to her and wants nothing more than to find her husband, even if that means having to work with a man. And then there are the two Kais, one from each world, fighting for the survival of their people – and only one of them can survive.

Empire Ascendant is a great sequel, keeping things interesting, breaking tropes, and ever expanding its already complex world. It’s no easy read, but it is a good one.

Getting into Empire Ascendant was much easier than getting into The Mirror Empire, simply because I had already understood at least the rough outlines of how the worlds work here. So, as we start checking in with the various characters we have gotten to know so far, things feel almost familiar.

And then SHIT HAPPENS. I marvel at Hurley’s ability to keep on expanding the world and make it feel completely seamless, like the things were always already there (and maybe they were, in her head), you just didn’t know about it. So you learn, and you keep learning. You learn, for example, that some of the tropes that are well-entrenched in the genre can be easily broken, and why shouldn’t they. Characters can lose powers permanently. Protagonists can die. And what is good and evil anyway when everybody is kind of fucked up, as is the world?

I was completely invested in everything, and I am still pretty sure that this is a series that profits hugely from being re-read. But first, time to read the third and final book in the trilogy. I wonder where Hurley will take us in the end. I don’t dare making any bets, because I’m pretty sure that Hurley has things up her sleeves that I couldn’t guess at, and that will still make all kinds of sense.

Summarizing: impressive.