J.S.A. Lowe’s Reviews > The Hands of the Emperor > Status Update

my god this book is weird. kj charles is right, it really disintegrates in the back half. goddard is way too identified with her pov character and every single scene right now is about how modest and brilliant and morally superior he is, dressing down racist royalty and/or being underappreciated by his terrible family.

okay i had it backwards: kip is michael scott only he’s just proposed universal basic income, and his radiance is jim halpert. but it’s still the office.

also i decided his radiance is chadwick boseman

i’ve decided the imperial court is dunder-mifflin, his radiance is michael scott. and cliopher is jim. this is just an elaborate workplace comedy

I guess? I wish there were some diagnostic explanation for why I find western fantasy so uninteresting, when I am Supposed™ to love it. I can't even say "worldbuilding" without involuntary grimacing, so maybe this genre is just not for me. I'm happy for Cliopher and his Radiance! (who just had a massive strop about his circumscribed imperial life and Kip didn't get it, which seems like a missed opportunity to me idk)