Although it is a challenging read, the strong narrative thread in this new series from Hurley (God''s War) pulls readers through the imaginative tangle of multiple worlds and histories colliding.' - Library Journal (Starred Review) 'With vividly inventive world building and a fast-paced plot, The Mirror Empire opens a smart, brutal, and ambitious epic fantasy series. Readers will blaze through this opening installment and eagerly await the promised sequel.' - Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) 'This is a hugely ambitious work, bloody and violent, with interestingly gender-flipped politics and a host of factions to keep straight, as points of view switch often. 'Hurley reuses old tropes to excellent effect, interweaving them with original elements to create a world that will fascinate and delight her established fans and appeal to newcomers.

File Under - Fantasy Orphaned Child World at War Blood Magic The Fluidity of Gender Stretching from desolate tundras to steamy, semi-tropical climes seething with sentient plant life, this is an epic tale of blood mages and mercenaries, emperors and priestly assassins, who must unite to save a world on the brink of ruin. Through tense alliances and devastating betrayal, the Dhai and their allies attempt to hold against a seemingly unstoppable force as enemy nations prepare for a coming together of worlds as old as the universe itself.In the end, one world will rise-and many will perish. As the dark star of the cataclysm rises, an illegitimate ruler is tasked with holding together a country fractured by civil war a precocious young fighter is asked to betray his family to save his skin and a half-Dhai general must choose between the eradication of her father's people or loyalty to her alien Empress. At the heart of this war lie the pacifistic Dhai people, once enslaved by the Saiduan and now courted by their former masters to provide aid against the encroaching enemy.

In the frozen kingdom of Saiduan, invaders from another realm are decimating whole cities, leaving behind nothing but ash and ruin. An ambitious tale of magic, war, and parallel worlds that pushes the boundaries of epic fantasy-from a two-time Hugo Award winner On the eve of a recurring catastrophic event known to extinguish nations and reshape continents, a troubled orphan evades death and slavery to uncover her own bloody past.

The Mirror Empire by Kameron Hurley