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The Broken Trust #3
Inheritors of Power
The third book of The Broken Trust continues a deadly battle for power in this sociological sci-fi novel where brother is pitted against brother.
Many years have passed since the Eminence Nekantor and Heir Adon seized power, and life in Pelismara has found a fragile equilibrium under Nekantor’s thumb. Now the Imbati Service Academy suspects that Xinta, Manservant to the Eminence, may have taken control of Nekantor for his own sinister purposes, endangering what peace still remains. Imbati Catín, an Academy prodigy, vows service to Adon, balancing two core purposes — to advance her Master's designs on power, and to determine the full extent of Xinta's influence.
When a trash hauler named Akrabitti Corbinan walks into a place he doesn’t belong, everything falls out of balance. Catín, who is investigating this newly discovered hidden library, immediately arrests Corbinan for trespassing. Nekantor then seizes Corbinan, believing he's a spy who sought to topple the government, and Xinta vanishes him before Catín can determine his intent. What was Corbinan really seeking? What dangerous information does the library contain, that Xinta might seek to control? And what might happen if someone more dangerous finds Corbinan first?
Many years have passed since the Eminence Nekantor and Heir Adon seized power, and life in Pelismara has found a fragile equilibrium under Nekantor’s thumb. Now the Imbati Service Academy suspects that Xinta, Manservant to the Eminence, may have taken control of Nekantor for his own sinister purposes, endangering what peace still remains. Imbati Catín, an Academy prodigy, vows service to Adon, balancing two core purposes — to advance her Master's designs on power, and to determine the full extent of Xinta's influence.
When a trash hauler named Akrabitti Corbinan walks into a place he doesn’t belong, everything falls out of balance. Catín, who is investigating this newly discovered hidden library, immediately arrests Corbinan for trespassing. Nekantor then seizes Corbinan, believing he's a spy who sought to topple the government, and Xinta vanishes him before Catín can determine his intent. What was Corbinan really seeking? What dangerous information does the library contain, that Xinta might seek to control? And what might happen if someone more dangerous finds Corbinan first?
400 pages, Paperback
First published February 22, 2022
2 people are currently reading
146 people want to read
About the author
Juliette Wade
20 books82 followersJuliette Wade's fiction has appeared in Analog, Clarkesworld, and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Her studies in linguistics, anthropology and Japanese language and culture inspire her work. She lives the Bay Area of Northern California with her husband and two sons. She runs the Dive into Worldbuilding show on YouTube.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 8, 2021
I received an advance copy. It was an incredible read. I swear, this series keeps getting better and better. I was happy to supply a blurb:
"This third book in the series delves deeper into an incredible world divided by caste and culture, with stunningly nuanced characters that will break your heart in the best sort of way."
"This third book in the series delves deeper into an incredible world divided by caste and culture, with stunningly nuanced characters that will break your heart in the best sort of way."
March 12, 2022
While this series of books is worth waiting for, it might be better to read them all in a much shorter period of time. The unique world depicted is complex and the relationships among characters is deep, so remembering those details becomes more difficult over time. Still, the caste system and the succession process for the leadership, essentially a monarchy, are most interesting. In this particular episode the climax is not as political as expected, but rather it resolves a moral question while leaving the political action an open question, presumably for the next book, or two.
February 17, 2022
Excuse me, I'm caught between swooning and shrieking at that ending.
Full rtc when I've recovered somewhat!
FULL REVIEW
HIGHLIGHTS
~it was all a set up!!!
~(for this book. It was all a set up for this book)
~sometimes ‘we’ and ‘I’ are the same
~the best kind of buried treasure is books
~everything you think you know is wrong
:DO NOT COME ANYWHERE NEAR THIS REVIEW UNLESS YOU HAVE FIRST READ THE PREVIOUS BOOKS IN THE SERIES!!!:
I’ve loved this series from the first line of the first book, but I didn’t comprehend the sheer genius of Wade’s storytelling until Inheritors of Power.
Because this book? This is where the story starts.
Think about that for a sec.
(Strap in, it’s gonna be more than a sec.)
Another author would have begun the series with this book. They would have started the story here. And maybe they could have made it work – but they couldn’t have made it brilliant. Because so much of this story – the story Wade’s been waiting to tell us, and good GODS I cannot imagine the willpower and patience it took to wait and write two whole books, books that are completely amazing in their own right, FIRST, before finally getting to write the story she wanted to write! – so much of this story hinges on context. On the histories of the characters, the dynamics between the castes, the political and social divides in Varin society. So much of Inheritors of Power depends on us, not just being invested in these characters and this world, but on knowing them.
Because we know them, Wade doesn’t have to wave a flag at us to make us pay attention to the Important Thing – we’re already gaping at the page. Because we know them, Wade doesn’t have to spell it out for us – we’re already flailing, and shushing the anxious questions from our loved ones who want to know if we’re okay. (WE’RE NOT. THE THING. AND THE OTHER THING. AND THE THING AFTER THAT! WE ARE NOT OKAY. HOW DARE YOU. BUGGER OFF SO WE CAN GET BACK TO OUR BOOK!) Because we know them, Wade doesn’t have to lecture us, or info-dump us, or spell out all the implications of The Things – we’re already pacing the kitchen while ranting about All The Things with many dramatic arm gestures as emphasis!
(By ‘we’ I mean me. Obviously. We is me. I have been pacing the kitchen and ranting with a great deal of arm-gestures and my poor husband has had to sit through it all. He is wonderful and indulges me terribly. Send him good vibes!)
And honestly…just freaking WOW. Because who does that?! Who has the willpower, and the patience, to sit down and write two books to serve as context and background for the story you really want to tell??? Who has the brutal self-honesty to admit, and insist, to yourself that it’s necessary, that starting the series with Inheritors will cost you so much impact and poignancy???
WHO HAS THE GODS-DAMN SKILL TO WRITE TWO BOOKS THAT ARE NOT THE BOOKS YOU WANT TO WRITE…AND MAKE THEM AMAZING ANYWAY?!?!?!
Wade, I doff my cap to you. I really do. I am in awe.
Because it wouldn’t have worked, writing it the normal way, the expected way. If Inheritors of Power were a series opener, instead of book three… It wouldn’t have mattered. Not as much. Not enough. We might have gone ‘omg!’ at The Thing, but we wouldn’t have really felt it, deep down in our guts. I wouldn’t have freaked out at what we learn about the Grobal Trust in this book, if I hadn’t lived through the modern reality of it via two previous books and about 20 fictional years. I wouldn’t have been biting my nails over Xinta’s situation if I didn’t have the the weight of Nekantor’s history on my shoulders too. Breathtaking reveals and WHAT THE FUCK twists and the emotional gut-punches would have instead been… ‘oh, that’s interesting’ or ‘hm, clever bait-and-switch’. I would have raised my eyebrows in polite interest, rather than been SHRIEKING.
Wade has spent years – in real-world time, and decades of fictional-time! – immersing us in this world and these characters…so that we care. And so that we get it, so that we understand the implications and ramifications in ways that, honestly??? I think we understand better than we would understand, or do understand, events in our world!
Do you see?
GENIUS.
Which is all to say… Folx, this is where the story really starts. Everything that’s come before, everything we’ve gone through with these characters and their world, was just setting the scene for us.
Read the rest at Every Book a Doorway!
Full rtc when I've recovered somewhat!
FULL REVIEW
HIGHLIGHTS
~it was all a set up!!!
~(for this book. It was all a set up for this book)
~sometimes ‘we’ and ‘I’ are the same
~the best kind of buried treasure is books
~everything you think you know is wrong
:DO NOT COME ANYWHERE NEAR THIS REVIEW UNLESS YOU HAVE FIRST READ THE PREVIOUS BOOKS IN THE SERIES!!!:
I’ve loved this series from the first line of the first book, but I didn’t comprehend the sheer genius of Wade’s storytelling until Inheritors of Power.
Because this book? This is where the story starts.
Think about that for a sec.
(Strap in, it’s gonna be more than a sec.)
Another author would have begun the series with this book. They would have started the story here. And maybe they could have made it work – but they couldn’t have made it brilliant. Because so much of this story – the story Wade’s been waiting to tell us, and good GODS I cannot imagine the willpower and patience it took to wait and write two whole books, books that are completely amazing in their own right, FIRST, before finally getting to write the story she wanted to write! – so much of this story hinges on context. On the histories of the characters, the dynamics between the castes, the political and social divides in Varin society. So much of Inheritors of Power depends on us, not just being invested in these characters and this world, but on knowing them.
Because we know them, Wade doesn’t have to wave a flag at us to make us pay attention to the Important Thing – we’re already gaping at the page. Because we know them, Wade doesn’t have to spell it out for us – we’re already flailing, and shushing the anxious questions from our loved ones who want to know if we’re okay. (WE’RE NOT. THE THING. AND THE OTHER THING. AND THE THING AFTER THAT! WE ARE NOT OKAY. HOW DARE YOU. BUGGER OFF SO WE CAN GET BACK TO OUR BOOK!) Because we know them, Wade doesn’t have to lecture us, or info-dump us, or spell out all the implications of The Things – we’re already pacing the kitchen while ranting about All The Things with many dramatic arm gestures as emphasis!
(By ‘we’ I mean me. Obviously. We is me. I have been pacing the kitchen and ranting with a great deal of arm-gestures and my poor husband has had to sit through it all. He is wonderful and indulges me terribly. Send him good vibes!)
And honestly…just freaking WOW. Because who does that?! Who has the willpower, and the patience, to sit down and write two books to serve as context and background for the story you really want to tell??? Who has the brutal self-honesty to admit, and insist, to yourself that it’s necessary, that starting the series with Inheritors will cost you so much impact and poignancy???
WHO HAS THE GODS-DAMN SKILL TO WRITE TWO BOOKS THAT ARE NOT THE BOOKS YOU WANT TO WRITE…AND MAKE THEM AMAZING ANYWAY?!?!?!
Wade, I doff my cap to you. I really do. I am in awe.
Because it wouldn’t have worked, writing it the normal way, the expected way. If Inheritors of Power were a series opener, instead of book three… It wouldn’t have mattered. Not as much. Not enough. We might have gone ‘omg!’ at The Thing, but we wouldn’t have really felt it, deep down in our guts. I wouldn’t have freaked out at what we learn about the Grobal Trust in this book, if I hadn’t lived through the modern reality of it via two previous books and about 20 fictional years. I wouldn’t have been biting my nails over Xinta’s situation if I didn’t have the the weight of Nekantor’s history on my shoulders too. Breathtaking reveals and WHAT THE FUCK twists and the emotional gut-punches would have instead been… ‘oh, that’s interesting’ or ‘hm, clever bait-and-switch’. I would have raised my eyebrows in polite interest, rather than been SHRIEKING.
Wade has spent years – in real-world time, and decades of fictional-time! – immersing us in this world and these characters…so that we care. And so that we get it, so that we understand the implications and ramifications in ways that, honestly??? I think we understand better than we would understand, or do understand, events in our world!
Do you see?
GENIUS.
Which is all to say… Folx, this is where the story really starts. Everything that’s come before, everything we’ve gone through with these characters and their world, was just setting the scene for us.
Read the rest at Every Book a Doorway!
February 27, 2025
Book three of a trilogy. In Inheritors of Power, more than a decade has passed since the demagogue Nekator seized control of the underground society the city of Pelismara. When a man from the lowest caste stumbles into a trove of secrets hidden centuries ago, it upends the life of the young servant of the Heir, a young woman working in a prison, and the very city itself.
The Broken Trust series has had an interesting approach to dystopia. A lot of authors write a dystopia where the protagonists overthrow the Bad Parts and fix society, which is very dramatic but not a good reflection of the world we live in. This series, on the other hand, is much more focused on small-scale change. As well as fruitlessly trying to get rid of That One Guy who does not create all of the systemic problems, but is making the situation a whole lot worse. (Big mood.) I especially like the choice to jump fifteen years in the future and introduce new characters in each new book. Something about the incremental and sometimes backwards progress of change, and getting to see the characters evolve over decades.
Our new cast of POV characters includes two Akrabitti, the shunned lowest class. It was interesting to learn about their culture, after the first two books' focus on nobles trying to change the system from above. It's hard to effectively write sociological SF about a culture when the concerns of ordinary people are elided, and unlucky Corbinian and clever Enory are great characters. In fact, we don't get any noble POVs at all here, just two characters who act as personal body servants for the Eminence and the Heir. I loved the devotion-as-service themes and downstairs information networks that characterized the Imbati in the first two books, and they take center stage here as well. I'm usually hard to sell on sprawling multi-POV plotlines, but Wade handles it excellently, and I'd even go so far as to say it's compulsively readable.
The book ends very abruptly, to the degree that I wondered if there were more books planned that the publisher didn't purchase. Still, the ambiguous ending makes its own statement about whether true societal change is really possible. I highly recommend the series overall. It's worth the comparison to the sociological SF of Cherryh, although it's much more fast paced, and the series as a whole is tragically overlooked. Don't start here though, go back to book 1.
The Broken Trust series has had an interesting approach to dystopia. A lot of authors write a dystopia where the protagonists overthrow the Bad Parts and fix society, which is very dramatic but not a good reflection of the world we live in. This series, on the other hand, is much more focused on small-scale change. As well as fruitlessly trying to get rid of That One Guy who does not create all of the systemic problems, but is making the situation a whole lot worse. (Big mood.) I especially like the choice to jump fifteen years in the future and introduce new characters in each new book. Something about the incremental and sometimes backwards progress of change, and getting to see the characters evolve over decades.
Our new cast of POV characters includes two Akrabitti, the shunned lowest class. It was interesting to learn about their culture, after the first two books' focus on nobles trying to change the system from above. It's hard to effectively write sociological SF about a culture when the concerns of ordinary people are elided, and unlucky Corbinian and clever Enory are great characters. In fact, we don't get any noble POVs at all here, just two characters who act as personal body servants for the Eminence and the Heir. I loved the devotion-as-service themes and downstairs information networks that characterized the Imbati in the first two books, and they take center stage here as well. I'm usually hard to sell on sprawling multi-POV plotlines, but Wade handles it excellently, and I'd even go so far as to say it's compulsively readable.
The book ends very abruptly, to the degree that I wondered if there were more books planned that the publisher didn't purchase. Still, the ambiguous ending makes its own statement about whether true societal change is really possible. I highly recommend the series overall. It's worth the comparison to the sociological SF of Cherryh, although it's much more fast paced, and the series as a whole is tragically overlooked. Don't start here though, go back to book 1.
April 24, 2022
Another compelling, engrossing novel from Juliette Wade. Why aren't more people reading these books? I was completely sucked in from page 1.
Inheritors takes us back to Varin where Nekantor has been ruling for many years. Adon is the reluctant Heir and desperately trying to find a way to shift the balance of power away from Nekantor.
Many characters from the previous books make an appearance, including Tagaret, Della, Tamalera, Aloran, and even Forder. I was glad to see that Reyn was doing well and had found a partner.
The story begins with Catín, who will become Adon's manservant (the word used in the book). It introduces Akkrabitti Meetis and finally takes the reader into the world of the "trashers."
Culture makes these books incredibly interesting. Each caste has distinct rituals, norms, behavioral patterns, and mindsets. By sharing completely foreign yet understandable ways of acting and thinking, Wade invites us to think about our cultures, about the behaviors we take for granted, and the people we write off based on stereotype.
Highly recommended!
Inheritors takes us back to Varin where Nekantor has been ruling for many years. Adon is the reluctant Heir and desperately trying to find a way to shift the balance of power away from Nekantor.
Many characters from the previous books make an appearance, including Tagaret, Della, Tamalera, Aloran, and even Forder. I was glad to see that Reyn was doing well and had found a partner.
The story begins with Catín, who will become Adon's manservant (the word used in the book). It introduces Akkrabitti Meetis and finally takes the reader into the world of the "trashers."
Culture makes these books incredibly interesting. Each caste has distinct rituals, norms, behavioral patterns, and mindsets. By sharing completely foreign yet understandable ways of acting and thinking, Wade invites us to think about our cultures, about the behaviors we take for granted, and the people we write off based on stereotype.
Highly recommended!
July 17, 2024
This book was so underwhelming, which is such a shame because the covers are so beautiful.
I think this series is really interesting because theres a significant time gap between each book, and each book usually focuses on different characters. In this book though, that made it more boring for me because I didn't really care about any of the characters that were narrating. I assumed this series would be a trilogy, but based on this book I assume the author is trying to prolong the series because this book was so boring and almost nothing happened. Definitely no satisfying conclusion and a lot of characters endings are still pretty open so, maybe those were just my own expectations
Based on the ending, I assume there will be more books but I won't be continuing with this series.
I really wanted to like these books, and they started off great but went downhill fast.
I think this series is really interesting because theres a significant time gap between each book, and each book usually focuses on different characters. In this book though, that made it more boring for me because I didn't really care about any of the characters that were narrating. I assumed this series would be a trilogy, but based on this book I assume the author is trying to prolong the series because this book was so boring and almost nothing happened. Definitely no satisfying conclusion and a lot of characters endings are still pretty open so, maybe those were just my own expectations
Based on the ending, I assume there will be more books but I won't be continuing with this series.
I really wanted to like these books, and they started off great but went downhill fast.
July 31, 2022
Such rich characters! A deep and layered plot combining characters across the society with a nuanced perspective of multiple characters. Ending is so damn clever!
It was wonderful to learn more about the undercaste of Varin.
I am the author's husband and I loved this story and am so proud of this novel.
It was wonderful to learn more about the undercaste of Varin.
I am the author's husband and I loved this story and am so proud of this novel.
listed
January 10, 2022Ace character https://twitter.com/KA_Doore/status/1...
March 7, 2022
Masterfully deepens our understanding of, and expands upon, the artfully-crafted world of Varin.
September 11, 2023
I guess this isn't a trilogy. (Oops, i just remembered this has 5 books. my bad)
It is as interesting story concept. However from the beginning i Thought the system was so flawed by rules, castes and strange personalities, that the society would have failed a long time. I looks like a high tech 'Cities of Ember'.
I do like it enough to wait for #4.
It is as interesting story concept. However from the beginning i Thought the system was so flawed by rules, castes and strange personalities, that the society would have failed a long time. I looks like a high tech 'Cities of Ember'.
I do like it enough to wait for #4.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews