A 2022 Eric Hoffer Award Finalist
2022 Indie Ink Awards Finalist
Empire's Heir - Empire's Legacy 7
Some games are played for mortal stakes.
Gwenna, heir to Ésparias, is summoned by the Empress of Casil to compete for the hand of her son. Offered power and influence far beyond what her own small land can give her, Gwenna’s strategy seems clear – except she loves someone else.
Nineteen years earlier, the Empress outplayed Cillian in diplomacy and intrigue. Alone, his only living daughter has little chance to counter the Empress's experience and skill. Aging and torn by grief and worry, Cillian insists on accompanying Gwenna to Casil.
Risking a charge of treason, faced with a choice he does not want to make, Cillian must convince Gwenna her future is more important than his – while Gwenna plans her moves to keep her father safe. Both are playing a dangerous game. Which one will concede – or sacrifice?
Reviews
There is a sense of atmospheric authenticity to the way Ms Thorpe writes and her world-building skills are incredible and vivid. While you understand this story hovers somewhere between the history of Britain and Rome, you emerge from the story believing in the history told of this alternate world of Thorpe’s imagination. This book is the passing of the torch, the past folding into the future, and the relationships which mold a child into the strong, resilient, and brave young woman destined to be a powerful ruler.
Intense, moving and deeply personal, this novel set on the edge of history is a picture of an unconventional family under various threats is an engaging read. A political thriller of sorts, this is a novel which features a subtle and intelligent story of a group of people who are playing for high stakes – their lives and the survival of their country in the face of a powerful ruling Empire. The talented author continues a saga in a created world which draws inspiration and historical veracity from Roman history with other elements added. . . I recommend this novel as an engaging continuation of a well established story, but also a tension filled narrative of a group of people negotiating a complex situation in its own right.
