The Emperor's Edge by Lindsay Buroker

Imperial law enforcer Amaranthe Lokdon is good at her job: she can deter thieves and pacify thugs, if not with a blade, then by toppling an eight-foot pile of coffee canisters onto their heads. But when ravaged bodies show up on the waterfront, an arson covers up human sacrifices, and a powerful business coalition plots to kill the emperor, she feels a tad overwhelmed. 

Worse, Sicarius, the empire's most notorious assassin, is in town. He's tied in with the chaos somehow, but Amaranthe would be a fool to cross his path. Unfortunately, her superiors order her to hunt him down. Either they have an unprecedented belief in her skills... or someone wants her dead. Book Description

Every so often we have a book that more that one reviewer wants to read, and this week it was A steampunk novel called "The Emperor's Edge".  Reviews from a male and female point of view. So let's see how this book holds up under the weight of 2 DarkissReads reviewers.

Review by Avalon :

The novel was recommended by Cardmon and is my first journey into the realm of Steampunk and it won’t be my last! I did think it might have been very technical, however I have been pleasantly surprised. The story is interesting and different with a touch of humour thrown in. The characters themselves are all a mixed bunch but individual, very likeable and gel very well together.

The storyline is quite different, plenty of action, lots of twists and turns and the outcome only makes you want for more...(I’ve just found out that this is the 1st book in a series-brilliant!) I’ve gathered that this is a "lightweight" in the Steampunk genre but as the series goes on into the 2nd book that side develops more, which I’ll be interested to see what that entails.

For anyone who wants to move into this genre I would strongly recommend this novel- it’s well written and has been a pleasure to read- and I’m looking forward to completing the rest of the series.........I’ll keep you updated and now for the rating: 4 Stars

Review by Cardmon

I fancied a change in reading material, so I decided on going back to the Steampunk Genre as I thoroughly enjoyed my last foray. Now I'm not up-to speed on this genre, so I looked through Amazon for inspiration, ( there is quite a bit of Steampunk ) and after about half an hour came up with The Emperor's Edge by Lindsay Buroker. The synopsis was the thing that grabbed me, and  I presume as it is the first in a series it was a free download.

As usual I'll keep it fairly short & try to put across my thoughts without giving anything away. This is proving harder than usual, mainly as I thoroughly enjoyed this book, read it in one sitting ( apart from bathroom breaks ) and I'm still a little surprised.

It is set in a world that is filled both with the scientific and the magical, or the unexplained scientific if you want, and in fact reminded me in a lot of ways of sword & sorcery at its best. The Author's writing style is first rate, the storyline progresses at a steady pace with just the right mix of the unexpected at just the right time. The characters are immediately likeable, just so well written they feel like you have known them or people like them all your life, her ability to make them life like in this setting is refreshing. It was also good to see that each character evolved, they all had different traits which fully played out as you would expect, while in a group they complemented each other and not in a contrived way. The world itself was not overly descriptive, just enough as it wouldn't work as well if over described.This just made me want to keep reading ( which I did ) all the more, to see how they managed to escape from whatever predicament they were in, and what they got into next.

I did get a sense that good as it was, this novel really cemented the characters in your mind ( very well developed ), introduced you to the world & possibilities for the future & I have to say that it bodes well. The interplay for a first time novelist is excellent, in fact even for more mainstream authors as well, the world is big & diverse enough for the storyline to become even more exciting. I can't find anything really discordant for me, so much did I enjoy the experience, which I didn't fully expect, quite refreshing. So much did I enjoy it that I have purchased the next volume, it has a lot to live up-to, fingers are crossed.

It has to be 5 stars.

Well looks like top marks for "The Emperor's Edge" and the ebook is now free on amazon! So for those who love a good Steampunk novel now is the time to check it out!  Just follow the DarkissReads Bookstore link to amazon. 

 You may purchase "The Emperor's Edge" here :DarkissReads Bookstore 

You may find more about Lindsay Buroker herehttp://www.lindsayburoker.com/: