August 22, 2022
Brutal. Brian Staveley’s writing is not for the faint of heart, nor the weak of stomach. Where authors like George R. R. Martin fill their books with death and loss, most of it anonymous, Staveley hones in on what death looks like, feels like, sounds like, smells like. How it affects the people who keep living, how it affects those that do the killing. The world of The Empire’s Ruin is one steeped in violence, and like its preceding trilogy, it lends itself to discussions of human nature, and how both individuals and societies cope with the hard and hellish truths of life: all people die, and rarely does that death matter. Staveley once again plays with religion as a vehicle for these discussions, but rather than the deep and cerebral explorations of death, life, emotion, and emptiness that he leaned into previously, he shifts focus to more tangible and immediate worships, e.g. survival and what a person might do to keep surviving. A theme that is emerging in Staveley’s narratives is the idea that a person that experiences extreme trauma, whether physical or emotional or both, is no longer the same person, and even if they find a way to begin healing, those scars don’t ever fully fade. His exploration of real despair and depression in the lead character embraces the notion that holding on to who you might have been is impossible, and the best path forward is to find who you’re going to be. A brilliant opening to an engaging story in a world I have come to love.
9.5/10
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