In
A Confusion of Princes
by Garth Nix, Prince Khemri has been trained, enhanced, and programmed
since infancy to become one of the elite rulers of the galaxy. He dreams
of someday becoming Emperor. When he leaves his secure training area to
take his place among other Princes, however, he learns that the world
is not at all what he expected. Competition between princes is
cut-throat, he has to work for the luxuries he expected to come with his
station, and not all Princes are just and honorable. The biggest
challenge comes when he is sent on a top-secret training mission where e
has to live as a normal human, among other normal humans. Will he be
able to function without the technologies that have surrounded him his
entire life? Will he be able to complete his mission and return to the
world of privilege he's always longed for -- or does a different destiny
await him?
This novel is pure sci-fi, so a change of pace from
what I've been reading for a while. There's plenty of action as Khemri
moves from one challenging situation to another. The heart of the story,
though, is Khemri's character development -- and that character
development is masterfully done. Khemri goes from believing everything
he's ever been told about the nature of the Empire, to learning to think
for himself. He retains some of his cold analytical thinking skills,
but he also slowly learns how to relate to other human beings. Some
readers may feel that he doesn't change enough, but it felt entirely
believable and natural to me. I'd recommend this to any reader who
enjoys character-driven sci-fi.
(Reviewed from a copy borrowed through my library system.)
No comments:
Post a Comment