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The Books of Ambha
by Tasha Suri
Book Reviewed by:A nobleman's daughter with magic in her blood. An empire built on the dreams of enslaved gods. Empire of Sand is Tasha Suri's captivating, Mughal India-inspired debut fantasy.
The Amrithi are outcasts; nomads descended of desert spirits, they are coveted and persecuted throughout the Empire for the power in their blood. Mehr is the illegitimate daughter of an imperial governor and an exiled Amrithi mother she can barely remember, but whose face and magic she has inherited.
When Mehr's power comes to the attention of the Emperor's most feared mystics, she must use every ounce of will, subtlety, and power she possesses to resist their cruel agenda.
Should she fail, the gods themselves may awaken seeking vengeance...
Empire of Sand is a lush, dazzling fantasy novel perfect for readers of City of Brass and The Wrath & the Dawn.
The plot is creative and kept my attention, although the pacing felt a little slow at times...Overall Empire of Sands is one of those books to be treasured as a complete escape from present concerns; it's not a novel one has to think about for a long time afterwards to completely comprehend its inner meaning, and sometimes it's a joy to just disconnect for a while. It is the first book in what is expected to be at least a two-book series, and I'm sincerely looking forward to the sequel...continued
Full Review
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(Reviewed by Kim Kovacs).
Tasha Suri's novel, Empire of Sand, features a heroine named after an influential Mughal woman.
Mehr-un-Nissa (whose name means "Sun Among Women") was born on May 31, 1577, in the province of Kandahar, Afghanistan, on the western edge of the Mughal Empire. Her parents, Mirza Ghias Beg and Asmat Begum, were both Persian nobility, but for reasons unknown had fallen on hard times and decided to relocate. Mehr was born during the journey, and by some recounts was almost abandoned after her family was robbed of their possessions, and saved only by the intervention of a friendly fellow traveler. Her father had apparently formed some influential contacts along the way and was soon appointed treasurer of the neighboring Afghan province of Kabul....
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Fran Wilde
Empire of Sand is astounding. The desert setting captured my imagination, the magic bound me up, and the epic story set my heart free.
