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Strings of Empire #4
The Wizard Princess
After fleeing from the Kippunese, Quint must travel the length of Slinnon to a statue to find a certain wizard. His journey stalls when he reaches the capital. The fight against the Greens erupts again, and Quint finds new allies as he tries to satisfy an emperor, a goddess, and save the imperial domain while his relationship with Masumi undergoes a startling transformation.
350 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 13, 2025
132 people are currently reading
3 people want to read
About the author
Guy Antibes
82 books142 followersI write action/adventure fiction with a definite proclivity towards Sword & Sorcery. I like magicians, but I'm less partial to unicorns, dragons, elves and dwarves. But give me a hero with a magic sword and I'll make him sing... Wait, I already have!
I've published a number of works under the CasiePress imprint and there are more to come.
I'm an older guy (Guy!), married and all my kids have grown up and given me grandkids to dote over. I've read thousands of books and found that in most cases, I'd rather write than read.
I've published a number of works under the CasiePress imprint and there are more to come.
I'm an older guy (Guy!), married and all my kids have grown up and given me grandkids to dote over. I've read thousands of books and found that in most cases, I'd rather write than read.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 5, 2026
I think this series is a good example of something Brandon Sanderson has mentioned: readers may come for the magic system, but they stay for the characters (paraphrasing).
Unfortunately, the characters, plot, and writing here are overly simple and seem to become more stale and lifeless to me with each volume. The characters don't learn, the plot is repetitive, and the prose reads like a laundry list, with awkward syntax and lots of grammar issues. It honestly reminds me a bit of translated work where the focus was only on a literal translation with no effort toward style or polish afterward.
I hate to be so negative, because I understand the amount of effort put into writing novel-length works, regardless of how the final product turns out... but on the other hand, I also think it's contradictory for a person to spend the time and effort on writing a novel and somehow not bother doing any research on the Japanese influence (for example) or to not put additional efforts into the editing.
The story resembles a market product rather than art, which I guess just annoys me more than it might others. Personally, I prefer to enjoy the writing process rather than churning through it as if it's a school assignment.
I'm done with this series. The novelty of following the character as they explore an interesting magic system has faded since the character just uses the same half dozen spells over and over, the Japanese influence is insultingly shallow, and there's just nothing I enjoyed in this volume.
Unfortunately, the characters, plot, and writing here are overly simple and seem to become more stale and lifeless to me with each volume. The characters don't learn, the plot is repetitive, and the prose reads like a laundry list, with awkward syntax and lots of grammar issues. It honestly reminds me a bit of translated work where the focus was only on a literal translation with no effort toward style or polish afterward.
I hate to be so negative, because I understand the amount of effort put into writing novel-length works, regardless of how the final product turns out... but on the other hand, I also think it's contradictory for a person to spend the time and effort on writing a novel and somehow not bother doing any research on the Japanese influence (for example) or to not put additional efforts into the editing.
The story resembles a market product rather than art, which I guess just annoys me more than it might others. Personally, I prefer to enjoy the writing process rather than churning through it as if it's a school assignment.
I'm done with this series. The novelty of following the character as they explore an interesting magic system has faded since the character just uses the same half dozen spells over and over, the Japanese influence is insultingly shallow, and there's just nothing I enjoyed in this volume.
June 1, 2025
Disappointing
The magic is gone, this just weakly retreads previous books by the same author, but with no real substance. I couldn't even finish this one, it became so tiring to even turn a page.
Some of the retreads include the use of Japanese culture for a different group the main character meets, but this time it is lazy, unfulfilling and smacks of "Orientalism"
The magic is gone, this just weakly retreads previous books by the same author, but with no real substance. I couldn't even finish this one, it became so tiring to even turn a page.
Some of the retreads include the use of Japanese culture for a different group the main character meets, but this time it is lazy, unfulfilling and smacks of "Orientalism"
November 3, 2025
2.5 stars. This book, like the others so far, is like a spinning top. Lots of action, which is basically the same events over and over, but ultimately the story only slowly drifts along towards the setup for the final book in the series.
July 2, 2025
Best of the series so far
After a shaky start this series is starting to pick up. Look forward to book 5 as soon as possible please.
After a shaky start this series is starting to pick up. Look forward to book 5 as soon as possible please.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews