A Confusion of Princes

By: Garth Nix

Narrated by: Michael Goldstrom

You’d think being a Prince in a vast intergalactic empire would be about as good as it gets. Particularly when Princes are faster, smarter, and stronger than normal humans. Not to mention being mostly immortal.

But it isn’t as great as it sounds. Princes need to be hard to kill—as Khemri learns the minute he becomes one—for they are always in danger. Their greatest threat? Other Princes. Every Prince wants to become Emperor, and the surest way to do so is to kill, dishonor, or sideline any potential competitor. There are rules, but as Khemri discovers, rules can be bent and even broken.

There are also mysteries. Khemri is drawn into the hidden workings of the Empire and is dispatched on a secret mission. In the ruins of space battle he meets a young woman, called Raine, who challenges his view of the Empire, of Princes, and of himself.

But Khemri is a Prince, and even if he wanted to leave the Empire behind, there are forces there that have very definite plans for his future. . . .

An Amazing Sci-Fi

This story is maybe one of my favorite sci-fi environments. My only concern is there are no other books about or set in this sci-fi world!

Excellent book. Very interesting

I really enjoyed this book. To me it seemed like this was Garth nix melding elements of Dune and foundation into an interesting new creation.

A Rollicking Space Opera From Beginning to End

Teenagers often feel like they're immortal, and Prince Khemri of the intergalactic empire is no different. Partially because he's not exactly mortal - as he tells us in the opening paragraph, he's died three times.

In Garth Nix's A Confusion of Princes, the thousands and thousands of princes (male OR female can - there are no princesses) are connected to the Imperial Mind, and so if they're killed, and deemed worthy, their uploaded memories and consciousness can be loaded into a new body. If they're deemed unworthy - or for some reason disconnected, that's another story.

An added difficulty is that there's a good chance your fellow Princes are out to kill you so they can advance their own political ambition. This is especially annoying for Khemri, who'd prefer nothing more than to command a starship, feast, and have sex with his courtesans. But when assassins show up, and his chances of renewal are questionable, the prince has to put his plans of luxury to the side and figure out how to survive.

It seems like there's a real dearth of YA SF, and so it's refreshing to hear Nix weave such a fun, high tech space opera. Khemri starts off as an arrogant youth, and so the story of how he learns to embrace more than his own selfish agendas and learns to love more than himself - told through his voice - feels pretty authentic.

Part of that is due to Michael Goldstrom's solid reading. This is my first exposure to Goldstrom, and he did a fine job of separating the characters from each other without being distracting.

The story and themes here are old ones, but it's told with slick tech, cool weapons, and world-building, that ultimately it makes for a lot of fun. Best of all, it moves at such a breakneck pace that there's no time to get bored. If you're looking for a fun YA space opera, this is your ticket.

A unique and entertaining YA Fantasy

Although this novel started off a little steeply by introducing the listener to the plethora of almost overwhelming sci-fi and fantasy jargon comprising Nix's empire, I was soon hooked by my desire to see the flawed, but sympathetic, Khemri succeed as a Prince. Although not as ground-breaking as some of Nix's previous works (such as Shade's Children or the Abhorsen series), I enjoyed the unique world and characters portrayed in this book. With plenty of exciting action and a smattering of satisfying and believable romance, this book has a healthy dose of everything lovers of young adult fiction could ask for in a novel. Overall, it was entertaining throughout and a good use of my credit.

excellent

I enjoy Garth nix a great deal, so I was pleasantly surprised by this little gem. this was a very well written and the narrator performed admirably. if you are a fan of books with a not of adventure and a lot of space this is a great book about a guy learning to be human.