Pirate of the Prophecy

Empress of the Endless Sea, Book 1

By: Jack Campbell

Narrated by: Caitlin Davies

On the world of Dematr, the Emperor and his legions rule over the lands on the eastern side of the Sea of Bakre, and the Great Guilds rule over the Emperor and his subjects. The Mechanics Guild, whose members claim they came from the stars, controls technology far beyond that of the swords and sailing ships of the common people, while the Mage Guild wields strange powers that terrify all who face them.

Jules, an orphan from the Imperial city of Landfall, has fought her way up to become an officer in training with the Emperor’s fleet. But her plans and her life are shattered when a Mage prophesizes that a daughter of her line will one day overthrow the Great Guilds and free the world. In that moment, the prophecy takes over her life. The Mages plot to kill her, the Mechanics try to find ways to use her, and the Emperor seeks to coerce her into having his children.

Unwilling to surrender her life to serving the prophecy, Jules makes her escape by joining the crew of a pirate ship. As she fights for her comrades’ freedom as well as her own, she learns that the world is finally changing. But if that change triggers all-out war between the Great Guilds and the Empire, it may well devastate the world rather than free it.

©2020 John G. Hemry (P)2020 Audible Originals, LLC.

this book did not disappoint!!

although I miss the voices of MacLeod Andrews , I soon realized that those voices belonged to Master Mechanic Mari' and Mage Alane( never had to spell their names out before so I hope I got it right) the heros of the prophecy.

A retelling of a known story

This is a very hard review to write - being a great fan of Jack Campbell's writings, I was excited to see another attempt to extend the universe of "The Pillars of Reality" and "The Legacy of Dragons". Both of these two series exist within the same universe and one builds on the other creating an ever more complex. While Campbell does a lot of repetition in his series this time it's like a complete reset and a full rediscovery of a universe already known. And that's a big disappointment.
Another aspect is the performance. I listen to most of my books as I can do other things while listening, driving, flying, programming etc. - it's a great format. It does however add something that a book doesn't have - you get attached to the performance - it becomes part of the book, part of the experience. Changing the actor/actress makes for a completely new experience - almost like a new book by a different author. And in this case the switch from MacLeod Andrews to Caitlin Davies is not an improvement. It's not a disaster but it changes the whole experience and for me, not for the better.
I'm not sure why this series was created; granted it covers history only hinted at in the other two series - this is a retelling and a rediscovery of the universe already known. Mages, Mechanics and how they operate, the empire and the lands. All is being described as new and unknown. Yes technically this would be the first book if you do it chronologically by time, but it's the 3rd book published so the whole idea of having to figure out who is who, what is what just seems a waste of time. I'm done with the second book in this series, and I've yet to learn anything new! Given we know what will happen (the main point of this book refers to predictions of things happening in the existing series) there aren't any surprises here. And you sit and go "yes I know the Mages don't have expressions; I know the Mechanics don't respect people" and all the other general stereotypes that the series are based upon (stereotypes that gets broken down in the other series).
Worst, how you're introduced in this series to the universe is so boring compared to the other books. In "The Pilars of Reality" we start right away with Mechanics and Mages in a fight first against a common enemy, then each other, and then they realize they have to work together to survive. You learn from personal experiences who these groups are - where as in this book is by 3rd person perspective and it's very basic knowledge and speculation. You cannot help going "I know this already, and I know so much more than you do - get on with it!".
Our lead character even gets to do the same thing as the lead character did in the first series. Being a pirate, learning leadership, fighting greater powers to stay alive and so much more.

So I'm feeling disappointed - this is not a new story. It's not adding to an existing universe. You're getting a bit of background information about some of the locations used in all the books, but otherwise there's little value here. I was hoping things got better but I'm realizing that isn't much benefit in continuing this series. Now, if you're starting with THIS series - it will be going slow but you will not have the experience I have.

Just as good as the first series

I love this series and the world in which it's set; the characters are down to earth and feel real. It's a pleasure watching them mature and explore the world and its mysteries while defying the odds and standing up to injustide and arrogance. My only complaint is that I was hoping for a sequel to Daughter of Dragons instead of a prequel to Pillars of Reality; I’m already invested in those characters and want to know what's going to happen to their next generation.

Im going to do these in order

(No spoilers) this book was awesome normally no matter the content books dont make me sad in general but this one did the way that jack Cambell made the mages so mysterious but the mechanics still placed in the time of steamships was also really well done

Great story, narrator leaves something to be desired

Love this author and these stories but wish a different narrator assigned to this audio book. Not terrible but kind of monotone and has to over pronounce her “T’s”. Sounds odd when listening.