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Tales of the Empire #3
Dark Empress
When stranded on the fringe of a crumbling Empire, how do you defend what really matters?
The nomads of the southern deserts have a saying: “When something is broken it should never be discarded. So long as the pieces remains, the whole can be remade.”
A time of trials, war and terror is coming to the desert city of M’Dahz, the Empire’s southernmost outpost. As Imperial power falters, then withdraws, the population lives in constant fear of invasion by vicious Pelasian satraps. Meanwhile, brothers Samir and Ghassan, and their childhood friend Asima, are about to discover that while people can change the world, the world can also change people.
They must follow separate paths – as courtesan, naval officer, and pirate – yet their destinies are forever intertwined. Nothing is ever as it seems in this distant corner of the Empire, and a world of unexpected alliances, dangerous jealousies and deepest betrayals awaits them…
The third book in S.J.A. Turney’s Tales of the Empire series, Dark Empress is a heart-stopping journey by land and sea through a world of deception, scheming, and surprising valour. Reminiscent of C. S. Forester, Simon Scarrow, and Conn Iggulden, this is historical fantasy at its most readable, its enlightening and exciting best.
520 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 11, 2011
55 people are currently reading
198 people want to read
About the author
S.J.A. Turney
85 books509 followersSimon lives with his wife and children and a menagerie of animals in rural North Yorkshire, where he sits in an office, wired on coffee and digestive biscuits, and attempts to spin engrossing tales out of strands of imagination while his children drive toys across his desk and two dogs howl as they try to share a brain cell.
A born and bred Yorkshireman with a love of country, history and architecture, Simon spends most of his rare free time travelling around ancient sites, writing, researching the ancient world and reading voraciously.
Following an arcane and eclectic career path that wound through everything from sheep to Microsoft networks and from paint to car sales, Simon wrote Marius’ Mules and, with help and support, made a success of it. Now, with in excess of 20 novels under his belt, Simon writes full time and is represented by MMB Creative literary agents.
Simon writes Roman military novels in the form of the bestselling Marius’ Mules series based on Julius Caesar’s campaigns, Roman thrillers in the Praetorian series, set during the troubled reign of Commodus, medieval adventures in the Ottoman Cycle, following a young Greek thief around the 15th century world, and a series of Historical Fantasy novels with a Roman flavour, called the Tales of the Empire.
Simon can be found on Twitter as @SJATurney and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SJATurney/ as well as on his website http://www.sjaturney.co.uk
A born and bred Yorkshireman with a love of country, history and architecture, Simon spends most of his rare free time travelling around ancient sites, writing, researching the ancient world and reading voraciously.
Following an arcane and eclectic career path that wound through everything from sheep to Microsoft networks and from paint to car sales, Simon wrote Marius’ Mules and, with help and support, made a success of it. Now, with in excess of 20 novels under his belt, Simon writes full time and is represented by MMB Creative literary agents.
Simon writes Roman military novels in the form of the bestselling Marius’ Mules series based on Julius Caesar’s campaigns, Roman thrillers in the Praetorian series, set during the troubled reign of Commodus, medieval adventures in the Ottoman Cycle, following a young Greek thief around the 15th century world, and a series of Historical Fantasy novels with a Roman flavour, called the Tales of the Empire.
Simon can be found on Twitter as @SJATurney and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SJATurney/ as well as on his website http://www.sjaturney.co.uk
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
April 18, 2014
Dark Empress, the third volume in the Tales of the Empire series is yet another exciting, engaging, entertaining entry from S.J.A. Turney. The story revolves around two brothers, Samir and Ghassan and their childhood friend Asima. A strong bond develops between the three but they soon find themselves torn apart after their home town is invaded and conquered by a sinister Pelasian satrap. How they diverge in their pursuits and the methods they use to try and reach their goals makes for three tense filled story lines. The author does a masterful job in character development and treats the reader to some fascinating scenarios that can only play out within the framework of their individual mindsets. Cunning, deviousness and sometimes downright nastiness fills the pages as the story unfolds to a breath taking finale. Retribution, revenge and redemption are the watchwords in this wonderful tale. I believe this is the best of the three Tales of the Empire and serves as a stepping stone to Mr. Turney’s later works especially his Ottoman Cycle. I heartily recommend this book and give it 5 stars.
July 6, 2024
I really like this series. Turney has made a fantasy world which is basically the world of Ancient Rome, or a similar timeframe, so he can be unconstrained by the limits of history. His writing is really engaging, with great plots with some cracking twists. The first two in the series I really liked, this one, not so much.
The reason being it’s a book of two halves. The first is very strong. The border town on the edge of the Roman and Persian (or Pelasian in this case) Empire is fantastically described, very atmospheric. And if the two contrasting brothers – straight laced vs cunning and roguish – and a girl in the middle is a tad cliched, it’s very well done. There’s a few interesting shifts for the characters which make their lives take some very interesting turns. It’s set up brilliantly.
And then the second half of the book happens. Samir not letting people into his plans irritates all the other characters, which was an irritation I shared. Not so much because he didn’t reveal anything but rather he had a plan for everything, there were no real adversity or setbacks for him, and no matter how bleak the situation looked you knew he had it in hand. Thus, all the reveals lost all impact, despite some surprising turns, as you knew everything was always under control. No matter how difficult a situation or how chancy it was that his plans should be, it all went smoothly for Samir, with very little cost to rectify situations. In fact, I’m not sure rectify is the right word, as it never even got to that stage for him. Add in the fact the brothers had seemingly supernatural healing powers, and this book is a big downgrade on the first two books in the series. Add in the third main character, the girl lost her relevance and impact way before the finale and you feel the
A solid 2.5 book, which I’ll keep at a 3 as the quality of the writing bumps it up. It should have been much more than that.
The reason being it’s a book of two halves. The first is very strong. The border town on the edge of the Roman and Persian (or Pelasian in this case) Empire is fantastically described, very atmospheric. And if the two contrasting brothers – straight laced vs cunning and roguish – and a girl in the middle is a tad cliched, it’s very well done. There’s a few interesting shifts for the characters which make their lives take some very interesting turns. It’s set up brilliantly.
And then the second half of the book happens. Samir not letting people into his plans irritates all the other characters, which was an irritation I shared. Not so much because he didn’t reveal anything but rather he had a plan for everything, there were no real adversity or setbacks for him, and no matter how bleak the situation looked you knew he had it in hand. Thus, all the reveals lost all impact, despite some surprising turns, as you knew everything was always under control. No matter how difficult a situation or how chancy it was that his plans should be, it all went smoothly for Samir, with very little cost to rectify situations. In fact, I’m not sure rectify is the right word, as it never even got to that stage for him. Add in the fact the brothers had seemingly supernatural healing powers, and this book is a big downgrade on the first two books in the series. Add in the third main character, the girl lost her relevance and impact way before the finale and you feel the
A solid 2.5 book, which I’ll keep at a 3 as the quality of the writing bumps it up. It should have been much more than that.
September 6, 2017
Giod read
The their book in the series. Each book is a stand alone in the series the only common thread is this series takes place in the same planet. But at different times and with different characters.
The their book in the series. Each book is a stand alone in the series the only common thread is this series takes place in the same planet. But at different times and with different characters.
December 2, 2018
An Odd Change In Characters
Reversing rolls with abrupt changes, Turney has twisted elements of the story to a successful conclusion. Dialogue, settings, and descriptions are well-written and the action scenes are realistic.
Reversing rolls with abrupt changes, Turney has twisted elements of the story to a successful conclusion. Dialogue, settings, and descriptions are well-written and the action scenes are realistic.
December 31, 2024
It Was OK, If A Little Laborious At Times.
It’s a great story line, it really is. The issue with it was it went on a little at times. I also found the depth of narcissism of Asima to be a little grating.
Overall, as part of the series, this is a 6/10.
It’s a great story line, it really is. The issue with it was it went on a little at times. I also found the depth of narcissism of Asima to be a little grating.
Overall, as part of the series, this is a 6/10.
December 13, 2017
Pretty good...
Just not as much of a page-turner as his previous ones...Still, very enjoyable and I'll be reading the rest. Good plot
Just not as much of a page-turner as his previous ones...Still, very enjoyable and I'll be reading the rest. Good plot
September 7, 2019
Thriller well worth the read
Very good author.
Recommend this book as slightly different from his normal writing but well worth the read bringing two new heroes to his stable.
Very good author.
Recommend this book as slightly different from his normal writing but well worth the read bringing two new heroes to his stable.
November 29, 2019
Excellent
Liked everything about it he really does take you into that time ,exciting could not put it down would recommend it
Liked everything about it he really does take you into that time ,exciting could not put it down would recommend it
August 2, 2020
A fantastic tale..
A very absorbing book,I could not put it down until I had got to the end.Cannot wait for the next instalment......
A very absorbing book,I could not put it down until I had got to the end.Cannot wait for the next instalment......
May 5, 2012
Another winner from S J Turney.
Again despite the self publication the books improve with every publication, the characters grow, the plots expand and become more intricate.
Yes there are still a few errors and there is always room for improvement, but he is by far one of the best self published authors on the amazon market. If you have not tried one of his books i suggest starting with Marius Mules and following them and seeing the growth yourself.
This is well worth reading, full of pace and action and intrigue...and all for a couple of pounds how can you lose.
Product Description (From back of book)
The desert nomads have a saying:
"When something is broken it should never be discarded. So long as the pieces remains, the whole can be remade."
A time of trials, war and terror is coming to the desert city of M'Dahz, the Empire's southern bastion. As the Empire's government falters and crumbles, the people suffer.
But Samir, Ghassan and Asima, childhood friends and citizens of M'Dahz, are about to discover that while people change the world, the world also changes people and that the best and worst of folk are forged in hardship.
Again despite the self publication the books improve with every publication, the characters grow, the plots expand and become more intricate.
Yes there are still a few errors and there is always room for improvement, but he is by far one of the best self published authors on the amazon market. If you have not tried one of his books i suggest starting with Marius Mules and following them and seeing the growth yourself.
This is well worth reading, full of pace and action and intrigue...and all for a couple of pounds how can you lose.
Product Description (From back of book)
The desert nomads have a saying:
"When something is broken it should never be discarded. So long as the pieces remains, the whole can be remade."
A time of trials, war and terror is coming to the desert city of M'Dahz, the Empire's southern bastion. As the Empire's government falters and crumbles, the people suffer.
But Samir, Ghassan and Asima, childhood friends and citizens of M'Dahz, are about to discover that while people change the world, the world also changes people and that the best and worst of folk are forged in hardship.
May 30, 2016
I hate to give bad reviews especially for one of my favorite authors. This books was just different. I really can't put my finger on what I didn't like about it. I have read every other published book by Turney (at least I think I have) and have had trouble putting them down. I would read them at my peril as the books and their characters are so consuming. This third book in the series was a different story for me (pun fully intended). I felt it was a chore to read and actually put my Kindle down for a whole week just because I didn't want to read this book.
I gave this 3 stars because the first two books were so good and I have to think that part of my dislike of number three was just me.
Anyway I still highly recommend this author and will be purchasing his next available book.
I gave this 3 stars because the first two books were so good and I have to think that part of my dislike of number three was just me.
Anyway I still highly recommend this author and will be purchasing his next available book.
May 26, 2013
When I first started to read this book of Mr turney,I was really looking forward to it.But as I progressed I started to think that I wasn't going to enjoy.The problem I found was that there are the three main characters and you juggle between the three,and to be honest I personally think that he didn't stay with each long enough to get a feeling for the charater.Well until a 1/3 of the book.
Now the good news,I enjoyed this book and it was worth the read for the last 2/3 of the book.
Sorry to say Mr Turney not one of your best all the others were great.
Now the good news,I enjoyed this book and it was worth the read for the last 2/3 of the book.
Sorry to say Mr Turney not one of your best all the others were great.
March 5, 2012
I thought the book would be about the Roman Empire but it wasn't. Still the story takes place during Roman time and I was pleasantly surprised by how interesting the story was. The story revolves around three children two brothers and a young girl and follows their exciting adventures into adulthood. Surprisingly the protagonist who you just love to hate is a woman which adds to the story. I recommend this book to all my book reading friends you won't be disappointed.
September 16, 2012
Wow. After the first two books in this series I was hooked but this was something else. The way Turney fashions the story around the three main characters, their own vices and misgivings showing as they cope with the events unfolding far away, is just exquisite. The characters are fashioned in a way that you really want to engage with them and understand their mindset. Terrific!
July 31, 2015
Okay book, see thru plot
The book was reasonably well paced but with a very predictable plot. Decent character development. Really a good but not a great book, light reading, good beach read.
The book was reasonably well paced but with a very predictable plot. Decent character development. Really a good but not a great book, light reading, good beach read.
March 2, 2016
fantastic 3rd book from sja Turney, in a series that's could be three stand alone books, all written to my mind in a slightly different than style, Mr Turney is on top of his game and a definite must read author for fans of historical fiction, thank you for an epic few weeks of reading
February 17, 2022
good read, lots of twists and turns
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews