A Confusion of Princes

by Garth Nix

[Briana @ Pages Unbound]

Technically, I can find little wrong with this book. It is well-written and well-imagined. It touches upon the classic themes of what it means to be human and how much you can trust a government that claims to give you everything it is possible for you to want. It is both creative and thought-provoking.

Yet somehow I was bored through most of it.

I do not want to say that “space books” are just not my thing. I have read a decent amount of science fiction books that I liked, including Ender’s Game and War of the Worlds. I am a huge fan of the show Doctor Who. A Confusion of Princes is lacking something that makes those examples work, and ironically, I think it is humanity.

Certainly, the book is about humanity and how Khemri discovers what it is and how he gains some. Unfortunately, a lot of the text is about the cool technology the Empire has, what kind of space suit Khemri is wearing, what type of space ship he is flying, what sort of weapons people are using. I skimmed a lot of this book waiting to get to some action or characterization.

Also, Khemri was annoying. He is supposed to be arrogant due to his background and training. I understand that. It nonetheless does not make him an overly endearing protagonist. I appreciate his journey of self-discovery, but it might have been nicer from my standpoint if the book had been a little shorter and I did not have to deal with his pride and ignorance for so long. (This is similar to the problem I had with Before I Fall. I guess I just do not empathize with mean characters as much as authors expect!)

In general, I am disappointed by A Confusion of Princes because it has such a good premise and I love the Abhorsen trilogy by Nix. Some selective editing could have fixed my main issues with the book.