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A Confusion of Princes
338p. HarperCollins/Harper. 2012. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-009694-6; PLB $18.89. ISBN 978-0-06-009695-3; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-06-221356-3.
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Khemri's coming-of-age story begins with his emergence from years of genetic and technical "remaking" to take up his title of Prince, but eventually he begins to reinterpret all he's been taught about the Empire. Die-hard adventure story readers will be enthralled, but Khemri's cheerfully self-deprecating tone and unpredictable choices make this romp entertaining on multiple levels.
In this fascinating page-turner, Prince Khemri must not only defeat his enemies, he must also discover the hidden workings of the Empire. Readers will appreciate the stark and well-drawn contrast between Khemri’s competitive, technologically enhanced lifestyle and the sweeter, more domestic life of Raine, a girl he meets on one of his missions. Raises compelling questions about wealth and privilege as Khemri asks himself whether he can escape his destiny, and if he even wants to. “The alternative to ascending as Emperor,” he says, “was clearly death or something even worse, and I didn’t want to die. Or experience whatever the ‘worse’ might be. There had to be some other way. Only I couldn’t see it.”
Nix’s gaming-inspired, sci-fi fantasy is a pleasing mix of high-adventure space drama, total bunkum (e.g., "it’s functioning on the tertiary backup level, without a holo…"), and wry, boyish charm. Khemri’s coming-of-age story begins with his emergence from years of genetic and technical "remaking" to take up his title of Prince. But he’s only one of millions of Princes in the Empire, and immediately finds that Princely life isn’t the easy, glamorous ride he’d imagined. Instead he has to join the Navy, suffer manifold humiliations, and, if he wants to live, heed his personal Master of Assassins. But Khemri’s telepathic intelligence is above average, and eventually he moves into a new sort of training that involves him becoming an almost normal human. That experience and his native intelligence cause him to reinterpret everything he’s been taught about the Empire. Nix’s fantasy has enough gadgets, escapes, battles, duels, deaths, and near-death experiences to keep die-hard adventure story readers enthralled. Happily, Khemri is also a thoughtful, winsome, and somewhat complex character, and his cheerfully self-deprecating tone and unpredictable choices make this romp entertaining on multiple levels. deirdre f. baker
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