Empire of Shadows

Gr 8 Up—Exiled from her Tribe and haunted by the ghosts of her past, Mara turns to the Order of Khatar, a monastic community of fighters pledged to protect the innocent, as a way to atone for her sins. Now fully trained, Mara sets out to fulfill her duty—to find the person she will dedicate her life to protect. Mara meets Emil, a lowly Wind caste boy whose touch stirs in her the longing to belong to someone, and Revathi a noblewoman of the Flower caste, who serves the Emperor himself. Once inside the innermost sanctum of the Empire's capital, Mara learns that nothing is as it seems and no one is to be trusted, while outside the protected walls of its richest citizens, the Empire is a powder keg waiting to be ignited. The explosion brings the protagonist face-to-face with the shame of her past, and jeopardizes her hope for a future with the one person who offers her a chance for redemption. In this prequel to City of a Thousand Dolls (2013), Forster creates a vast novel rich with Asian-inspired mythologies and an extensive cast of characters. While the dramatis personae helps keep characters straight, there is no denying that the author has created a grandiose plot that, at times, sacrifices well-developed protagonists for its epic scope. Fans of fantasy will enjoy the magical elements, while the subtle commentary of the novel's stratified society lends it a dystopian vibe similar to Veronica Roth's Divergent (2011, both HarperCollins) that will appeal to readers outside of the fantasy genre.—Sarah Lorraine, Nazareth Academy, LaGrange Park, IL