Empress of Forever

by Max Gladstone

[Quirky Cat]

Book Summary:

Vivian Liao is what some may call a contemporary of Steve Jobs. She’s brilliant, tactical, and occasionally ruthless in her decisions. Now, she’s about to make another move - her great achievement. Pulling the trigger will send her through space and time to a future beyond what any of us can imagine,

What will she find there? Well, as it turns out, the end of time is ruled by a being that, until now, nobody was capable of resisting. Viv’s arrival is about to change all that, setting her perfectly in the middle of a new type of battle.

My Review:

If you’re looking for an action-packed space opera novel, Empress of Forever certainly delivers. It’s a thrilling and admittedly quite unique romp through space and time. I’m not sure I would have made the comparisons for this book’s pitch (feminist Guardians of the Galaxy meets Star Wars), but maybe that’s just me.

If you check out the reviews for Empress of Forever, you’ll see that they’re largely split. My theory is that this book took big swings, and not all of them landed. I’m more ambivalent on the swings, but that’s probably because I’ve enjoyed Max Gladstone’s writing in the past. I also love it when authors take risks.

Overall, I’d say I decently enjoyed Empress of Forever. It was fun and different. However, I’m not sure that I would choose to continue reading if it became a series. I hope that makes sense.

Highlights:
Science Fiction
Space Opera
LGBTQ+

Thanks to Tor Books and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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