Fate of the Free Lands

Empress of the Endless Sea, Book 3

By: Jack Campbell

Narrated by: Caitlin Davies

Length: 11 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's Summary

Trapped inside the Empire, Captain Jules of Landfall has to use every deadly trick and strategy she knows to avoid recapture by the Emperor’s legions, and stay alive despite every attempt the Mages make to kill her. The only chance to get away may require walking back into the trap she barely escaped the first time. But even her freedom won’t be enough. The prophecy that consumes Jules’s life demands she has an heir to carry on her line. Yet how can she satisfy that while being hunted everywhere? And what might the prophecy cause to happen if she doesn’t have a child?

Battling wind, waves, implacable Mage assassins, and Imperial ships, Jules is forced to turn to an unlikely ally - the hated Mechanics. She must gather men, women, and ships from all of the new settlements to face the Imperial legionaries and galleys. For only Jules can lead the free people of the west in the final battle that could be their salvation - or the destruction of all that she’s fought for.

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

didn't know how much I needed this

Having read the other world of Dematr books, I knew what had to happen, but it hurt. listening to this at work may have been a mistake, as I was crying through parts of it. As skeptical as I was about this trilogy, I'm so happy its here because I couldn't have guessed how much I needed the story of Jules!

this book redeems the rest

I'm sorry; it may be that the books are better than the narration makes them. But the narration is so spotty, it's distracting. Jack Campbell is a top-notch writer and has created here a non-space opera world that is fascinating.

Let me explain the narration first. CD's voice is a bit strident, but after several hours I decided that this reflected the acerbity of Jewels' personality, so it's good. The women's voices are pretty good on the whole, However, the negatives are several. Her men's voices are painful. She doesn't shout well. Poor Jewel's shouting voice is thin and whispery, lacking the strength she needs and has. I understand that this is done so as not to overwhelm the mike, but the point is that you are not supposed to remember that there is a mike. But the worst is the cadence. I guess one can get beyond the constant lilting, swooping sentences, but the many incorrect emphases and contrasts are just mistakes. She has trouble with adjectives, pausing right after them so that they are rarely paired with the nouns they describe. Other phrasings are problematic as well, leading me, as a teacher, to mark this as about a 70%. This is an insufficient grade for a narrator, who needs at least a 95% to keep the job.

Now, the story. I love (with some reservations) the stories of Mari and Alain, and Kira and Jacin. I want to slap Mari sometimes when she is so double-standard condescending to Alain, but see, that's the point. I want to slap Mari, not Jack Campbell. That shows the quality of the writing, that I'm involved with the characters, not the author. I had a harder time with these 3 books. The characters were a little thinner to me, but that may really be due to the narration, not the writing. The constant sex discussion (almost cut and paste from Mari to Kira) or argument (Are we gonna do it? Do you want to? Not here, on the rocks! They kissed, then kissed again, and that led to other things.) is thankfully missing from Jewels' conversations despite her need to procreate! There is honest talk about having children and how the Prophecy complicates but necessitates that, but it is not annoying.

The best aspects of this series are the foreshadowing of Mari's life and events. We know they are put in on purpose, but they are still good. There are a few lines people say that echo down the ages. These are good too. The best part is the contemplation of being "chosen". Both Jewels and Mari discuss it, and how it steals their lives and choices. I love how Jewels takes back her destiny from the notion that she is just a womb for the really important person, to being herself and deciding to embrace that daughter and, as best she can, prepare the way for her daughter to fulfill her own destiny.

I'm still waiting for the answers to some questions! We need to know what sort of nuke or hyperdrive is buried under Pacta Servanda, and why. Why were the shuttles stored away without being properly shut down? We also need to know the mystery of the Western Continent. Will Demeter develop space flight? Will Mage powers dwindle and fade as they refuse to allow children to be abused? Will the Queen of Te marry? Will Cath? There are many more stories to be told and I want to read them all!

Great Prequel

So I loved the original series by Jack Campbell and the world he created. I have enjoyed these 3 books that have fleshed out the legends and history alluded to in the other series. It was fun learning how things “started” and seeing the places you visit later in their infancy. I was wondering how I would like the narration with Caitlin doing the voices of all the men and women but I think she gives a solid performance and the story was great. I loved it.

Satisfying

What a satisfactory way to end this series. Really like this narrator. The worst part is that the story is too short.

well done novel

it was a great foundation for the next series. Campbell always leaves you wanting for more. I do hope he does a sequel to this one.

Love his Writing

Jack Campbell is a master!!!🤩 His story lines are very believable and factual...all the intrigue and suspense one could ask for and never a curse word has he written in any of he's books and I've listen to all of them!!😃

Only sad thing for me is he can write as fast as I can listen!

Delivering three books at once was a real treat!!!

Looking forward to the next 3 in 2021!!!

Another outstanding serious

Superb writing, Captivating, narration was right on could not of asked for a better person to narrate the series

Great book

Calvary vice cavalry, minus one on performance because it annoyed me once I noticed it.

Good storyline. bad execution

With a less obvious dialog and a better narrator this would be a good series.