The Garden of Empire

Pact and Pattern, Book 2

De: J.T. Greathouse

Narrado por: Jeremy Ang Jones

The boy once known as Wen Alder has become the rebel witch Foolish Cur.

Schooled in both the powers that bound him to serve the emperor as well as the furious, wild magic of his mother’s ancestors, he was torn between two worlds, until he realized the brutal nature of the emperor and his rule.

Joining the rebellion, he soon experienced the painful sacrifices that come with defiance. Yet even more dangerous times lay ahead.

For the emperor—covetous of all the magic he controls—has decided to take his ruthless quest for power to the gods themselves. If he succeeds, the gods will unleash a storm of death and destruction unlike any even imagined. Only Foolish Cur has the skills and strength to stave off such a nightmare.

While Foolish Cur fights the Empire in Nayen, others wage their own rebellions. A successful tutor opens a school to preserve his own dying culture while a warrior of the plains discovers powers long thought lost. And a servant of the empire begins to question the violence that threatens to engulf them all…

©2022 J.T. Greathouse (P)2022 Podium Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“An original fantasy filled with magic and culture.” — New York Times bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson

An epic in metamorphosis

I finished the first book hungry for more, and Greathouse did not disappoint. While The Hand of the Sun King set the world and rules for Foolish-Cur, this book expanded on the perspectives and experiences of those in his wake - figurative and literal. The magic doesn't grow stale as politics, philosophy, morality, and every character's pursuit of or flight from justice carries the reader further into the garden of landscapes, cultures, and mysteries. I especially enjoyed the interludes, which brought a new narrative style that fed a fertile bed of possibilities - for the reader and Greathouse's characters.

Now, as I put the book down, I am hungry for another - but this time with a clean pallet. This garden has much to offer - beyond the wake of Foolish Cur.

I enjoy Jones as a narrator. His accents feel natural and add to the characters, sometimes drawing attention by contrast to the real-world histories and cultures they relate to. One characteristic of his reading style is to drop his voice mid-sentence, as if it is the end, only to continue the thought. More than a few times I had to revise the meaning in my mind to bridge one of these caesuras.

great story

i’m really like this story and the evolution. the magic system is cool and great setting.

I’m hooked

I pre-ordered immediately after finishing Hand of the Sun King. A decision of blind faith that was well rewarded. The story of Wen Alder (Foolish Cur) was as gripping and nuanced as the first book. I look forward with quiet eagerness to book 3!

A good sequel

I generally find true stories more compelling than fiction. That said, the first book of this series was enjoyable, if a bit predictable. This sequel is better--I had a hard time turning it off. I particularly enjoyed the character development of Wen Alder. His growth as he matures from a sincere but untested youth to a young adult that realizes wisdom is elusive is realistic. Any book that makes the reader care about a character is a win for the author! Looking forward to book 3.

A disappointing second book

In the first book we followed Wen Alder and his growth from childhood to a young adult. Time passes by and while many said the story crawled at a marginal pace, it was enjoyable. This book the pacing felt like it was snail slow as the story happens over the course of the year.

In this book we follow 3 new perspectives. I do not mind new point of views but the biggest flaw is how jarring it goes from one perspective, Wen Alder, to three new characters told from a 3rd person narrative. For some, they will find some characters incredibly boring, and others will see it as refreshing. I was the former.

We jump from Foolish Cur’s venture into a rebellion. To Hand Pinion’s perspective as he runs from The Phoenix King’s encroaching army. We get glimpses of a new witch rising on the other side of the world. Then we get 45 minute segments of Wen Alder’s former teacher, Kora Hal, exciting story of… opening a school? I found myself at 1.5x the speed or even skipping by boring segments of Kora Hal trying to teach young student just so I could jump back to Foolish Cur’s far more interesting plot. In fact, I could argue you could erase Kora Ha’s whole character arc and write his backstory in a chapter. It was that boring to me.

Foolish Cur’s character progression practically halts in this book. His intelligence is still there but is mired by self-loathing. This gets tiring after awhile. You understand his perspective, but everyone walks over him because he believes he is guilty for it all. A slight spoiler but the ending will only make him even more self-loathing in the sequel, if I decide to get book 3 I do not look forward to more self-loathing. At least Hand Pinion sees growth and Kora Ha grows more into himself.

Overall I’m just disappointed with the book. The prose is still great, the narrator is great, but the story left me disappointed. I probably will not pick up book 3. But do not let this review dissuade you from picking this book up though, maybe you will like it.

This is my new favorite fantasy series!

When I finished Hand of the Sun King earlier this month, I knew I had discovered something special. But with The Garden of Empire, J.T. Greathouse's Pact & Pattern trilogy has vaulted to my favorite new fantasy series.

The story broadens and deepens in The Garden of Empire, now being told in four POVs -- each wrestling with conflicting allegiances, and some dealing with life-shattering moral questions. While HotSK was about Wen Alder/Foolish Cur's development into a Hand of the Empire, this book is mostly focused on the growing Naiyeni rebellion, and war is central to most of the text.

I had been concerned that Wen Alder/Foolish Cur was too powerful at the end of HotSK, but that was swept aside in the first few pages. He still has a lot to figure out, his magic has made him dangerous, and no one trusts him. Hand Pinion is reeling from the aftermath of the battle at Greyfrost Keep, and keeps being thrust into situations that he is unprepared for. While his character can be annoying at times, he's very believable and his arc becomes quite interesting in ways I had not anticipated. Koro Ha's story is fascinating and tragic, and I'm looking forward to see how he intersects with the primary story arc in the final book of the series. And there's a new POV character who we see only in brief interludes, to give us an idea of what's happening on the opposite side of the empire. Looking forward to seeing a lot more of her in the next book as well.

As before, we are treated to rich characterization, vivid description, a believable lush world, amazing magic, and wrenching moral conflicts. I don't want to spoil anything, but the scope of this series turns quite epic by the end of The Garden of Empire.

Also, the audio narration by Jeremy Ang Jones is excellent.

Recommended for fans of:
Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun
Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen
Shelley Parker-Chan's She Who Became the Sun
Seth Dickinson's The Traitor Baru Cormorant
R.F. Kuang's The Poppy War