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Summary
Summary
*Named one of TIME's Top 100 Fantasy Books Of All Time
A nobleman's daughter with magic in her blood. An empire built on the dreams of enslaved gods. Empire of Sand is Tasha Suri's lush, dazzling, Mughal India-inspired debut fantasy.
The Amrithi are outcasts; nomads descended of desert spirits, they are coveted and persecuted throughout the Ambhan Empire for the power in their blood.
Mehr is the illegitimate daughter of an imperial governor and an exiled Amrithi mother she can barely remember, but whose face and magic she has inherited. When Mehr's power comes to the attention of the Emperor's most feared mystics, she must use every ounce of will, subtlety, and power she possesses to resist their cruel agenda.
And should she fail, the gods themselves may awaken seeking vengeance. . .
"An ode to the quiet, fierce strength of women. . .pure wonder." --Samantha Shannon, New York Times bestselling author of The Priory of the Orange Tree
"Stunning and enthralling." --S. A. Chakraborty, USA Today bestselling author of The City of Brass
"A darkly intricate, devastating, and utterly original story." --R. F. Kuang, award-winning author of the The Poppy War
By Tasha Suri:
The Books of Ambha duology
Empire of Sand
Realm of Ash
The Burning Kingdoms trilogy
The Jasmine Throne
Author Notes
Tasha Suri was born in London to Punjabi parents. She studied English and Creative Writing at Warwick University, and is now a cat-owning librarian in London. A love of period Bollywood films, history, and mythology led her to write South Asian-influenced fantasy.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Dark secrets lurk at an empire's heart in this complex, affecting epic fantasy from debut author Suri. In a land inspired by Mughal India, Mehr is a young noblewoman of ambiguous status: her father is a governor from a powerful Ambhan family, the most privileged group in the Ambhan Empire, but Mehr is an illegitimate child, and her exiled mother is one of the outcast Amrithi. Her mother's people claim descent from the daiva, strange, djinnlike creatures that roam the desert, gathering around magical storms said to be the sleeping gods' dreams. Mehr's latent magical abilities draw the attention of the empire's spiritual leader and his mystical coven, including a young Amrithi man named Amun who possesses similar abilities. Alongside the fantasy setting's courtly intrigue and magic, Suri explores deeper questions of power, love, and the human cost of prosperity and order. That cost falls heavily on the subjugated Amrithi, who are "the kindling wood that [feed] the fire of the Empire's strength"; on women, whose complex relationships with one another are brilliantly portrayed; and on the young people unwillingly caught up in the Ambhan arranged marriage system. Intricate worldbuilding, heartrending emotional stakes, and Suri's well-wrought prose ("Dreamfire bled across the sky, swift as spilled ink on paper, its jewelled edges tinged with darkness") make this a worthy addition to any epic fantasy fan's bookshelf. Agent: Laura Crockett, Triada U.S. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Exploited for the protective power in their blood, the Amrithi are scorned by the rest of the Ambhan Empire. Mehr is the product of an extended liaison between an Amrithi and an imperial governor. When her mother, who does not believe in vows, abandons her, Mehr is raised by her father to be a proper, dutiful Ambhan female. She tries to follow the household rules but values her mother's blood heritage and practices the rites she learned as a child. During a sandstorm, Mehr calls upon powerful desert magic, which attracts the notice of the emperor's dreaded mystics, a group of whom arrive at her father's palace with a marriage proposal and veiled threats. Mehr cannot imagine why the Maha, the mystics' leader, would want a bastard half-Amrithi for one of his acolytes. Nevertheless, she agrees, only to learn from her new husband that their wedding vow binds her to him and to the Maha and that the Maha has great plans for her, plans that could arouse the wrath of the gods. The desert setting, complex characters, and epic mythology will captivate readers of Suri's debut fantasy.--Lucy Lockley Copyright 2018 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Mehr is the illegitimate daughter of an Ambhan Empire governor and one of the Amrithi, a group of feared and despised nomads descended from spirits. In conflict with her stepmother, Mehr nonetheless lives a privileged life until she performs a rite that brings a band of mystics to her father's door. They are tools of the Maha, the powerful near immortals who created the empire. Faced with marrying the group's Amrithi mystic, Amun, Mehr sacrifices her freedom for the safety of her father and sister. While the mystics would rather see the Amrithi expunged from the empire, the couple's magic will fulfill the mystics' plans of continuing to extend the Maha's life and rule. With lives and beliefs at stake, Mehr must use her skills and growing abilities to thwart their plan. Familiar tropes such as overthrowing evil and a heroine finding love through adversity are given fresh life through the influences of Indian culture and history on both setting and plot. VERDICT This intriguing debut by a London-based librarian is a fabulous South Asian epic fantasy and recommended for those who enjoy S.A. Chakraborty (City of Brass). [Prepub Alert, 5/21/18.]-Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.