Imperial Twilight

Ashes of Empire, Book 2

By: Eric Thomson

Narrated by: Paul Boehmer

The most powerful empire in human history is rushing headlong toward destruction, ending our species' supremacy in the known galaxy.

Two men with widely divergent visions are on a mission to save civilization in at least one sector, far from the imperial capital where a demented ruler holds sway. The first, Jonas Morane, wants to create an impregnable vault containing humanity's accumulated knowledge so those who survive the coming darkness can rebuild in decades instead of millennia. The other, Devy Custis, seeks to fend off collapse by founding a new empire in the Coalsack Sector, one free of the madness that caused this civil war. But will either resist the ravages of a genocidal empress, blood-maddened barbarians, and scheming admirals?

Unfortunately, the vicissitudes of fate, abetted by greed and lust for power, could destroy both before they make their dreams a reality.

©2019 Eric Thomson (P)2021 Tantor

a great story

exquisitely dovetails from book one. All of the characters were more fully developed. As you get to know these interesting people they become relatable and real. The reader is a perfect talent to give life to the text. A fun read is an accurate description, though often used. can hardly wait for the next book.

Overly wordy

I liked the first novel, but the sequel is fairly grating.

The series started off with a great premise: Empire is collapsing, let's save a seed of human civilization. But rather than carrying forward that idea, we're stuck in the mire of overly dramatic characters making dumb choices.

My biggest pet peeve is that the author frequently inserts words that come sound like they come from a mid-century thesaurus. I'm halfway through and I think I've heard "perspicacious" at least 3 times or more, among many others.

The narrator is doing a fine job with the text he's been given. Despite his great narration, I still get an undertone of that old school fake mid-Atlantic accent you hear in early 20th century movies.

Oh, and nuns have telepathy. So there's that.

There's been at least 4 encounters between the old "I'm a count, respect me!" guy and the military head honcho yelling at him that he's not a count anymore, but not doing anything about it. Its an example of how annoying most of the character interactions are.