A Confusion of Princes

( 11 )

Overview

Garth Nix, bestselling author of the Keys to the Kingdom series and Shade’s Children, combines space opera with a coming-of-age story in his YA novel A Confusion of Princes.
 
Superhuman. Immortal. Prince in a Galactic Empire. There has to be a catch….
 
Khemri learns the minute he becomes a Prince that princes need to be hard to kill—for they are always in danger. ...

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More About This Book

Overview

Garth Nix, bestselling author of the Keys to the Kingdom series and Shade’s Children, combines space opera with a coming-of-age story in his YA novel A Confusion of Princes.
 
Superhuman. Immortal. Prince in a Galactic Empire. There has to be a catch….
 
Khemri learns the minute he becomes a Prince that princes need to be hard to kill—for they are always in danger. Their greatest threat? Other Princes. Every Prince wants to become Emperor and the surest way to do so is to kill, dishonor, or sideline any potential competitor. There are rules, but as Khemri discovers, rules can be bent and even broken.
 
There are also mysteries. Khemri is drawn into the hidden workings of the Empire and is dispatched on a secret mission. In the ruins of space battle, he meets a young woman, called Raine, who challenges his view of the Empire, of Princes, and of himself. But Khemri is a Prince, and even if he wanted to leave the Empire behind, there are forces there that have very definite plans for his future.

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Editorial Reviews

Horn Book (starred review)
Nix’s fantasy has enough gadgets, escapes, battles, duels, deaths, and near-death experiences to keep die-hard adventure story readers enthralled. Happily, Khemri is also a thoughtful, winsome, and somewhat complex character, and his cheerfully self-deprecating tone and unpredictable choices make this romp entertaining on multiple levels.
Publishers Weekly
In this exciting space opera, 19-year-old Khemri is a Prince of the Empire, one of 10 million Princes who rule much of the galaxy under a mysterious Emperor and an AI called the Imperial Mind. Raised in splendor by mind-controlled slaves, physically and psychically augmented, and virtually immortal, Khemri, like the other Princes, is intensely self-centered, assuming that he will someday become Emperor. A year into his formal training, however, he is sent on a mission to the fringe world of Kharalcha where, stripped of his augmentations, he must fight space pirates and the forces of the Empire. Falling in love with a naval reserve officer, Khemri takes the painful first step in learning what it means to be human. Writing in the mode of Robert A. Heinlein or Andre Norton (to whom the book is dedicated), Nix (the Keys to the Kingdom series) has crafted an adventure filled with hostile aliens, deadly spaceship battles, cybernetic wonders, humor (often involving Khemri’s naïveté), and a touch of romance. The book is tied to a planned online MMORPG, Imperial Galaxy. Ages 13–up. Agent: Jill Grinberg, Jill Grinberg Literary Management. (May)
ALA Booklist
Khemri’s first person point of view, along with a fast-paced, action- and plot-driven story, is sure to appeal to fans of the Star Wars universe and any number of first-person shooter video games.
Tor.com
Garth Nix’s A CONFUSION OF PRINCES is YA FOUNDATION meets DUNE.
Horn Book
Nix’s fantasy has enough gadgets, escapes, battles, duels, deaths, and near-death experiences to keep die-hard adventure story readers enthralled. Happily, Khemri is also a thoughtful, winsome, and somewhat complex character, and his cheerfully self-deprecating tone and unpredictable choices make this romp entertaining on multiple levels.
School Library Journal
Gr 9 Up—Khemri is one of the newest Princes of the Empire and as yet unaware that mortal peril accompanies the luxuries, servants, and technological augmentations that come with his rank. The intergalactic Empire is directed by the Imperial Mind but run by millions of Princes who all compete to become the next Emperor. First among Khemri's servants is his Master of Assassins, Haddad, who guides and protects him on his first journey to the Naval Academy. There Khemri meets Morojal, a mysterious priestess who tells him that the Emperor has plans for him. From that point onward, Khemri's life takes many strange turns, even to the point of having to live as a regular human beyond the bounds of the Empire. It is then that he meets Raine and learns with her that it is possible to care for someone other than himself and something other than the Empire. Khemri seems to be on a path to becoming the Emperor but will he be able to choose another fate? Nix once again proves his mastery of speculative fiction by creating a society unlike any in his previous works. In this single volume he manages to tell a tale that is grand in scope with vivid characters and imaginative technology. Science fiction fans should enjoy his vision while the author's longtime devotees will find new reasons to appreciate him.—Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, WI
Kirkus Reviews
Exuberant and insightful, this science-fiction bildungsroman grapples with the essential question: "Who am I?" After 16 years of intensive training and superhuman augmentation, Khemri is ready to take his place as Prince of the mighty intergalactic Empire. Alas, he immediately finds out that his status isn't quite as exalted as he had always thought. To start with, there are tens of millions of Princes, and most of them are out to kill him. Khem must negotiate a deadly maze of military training, priestly recruitment and even Imperial interest, never knowing whom he can trust. He can rely only on himself--and all the mechanical, biological and psionic enhancements that far-future science can provide. Until the day even that is stripped from him… From the riveting opening sentence to the final elegiac ruminations, this is rip-roaring space opera in the classic mold. Add a perfect protagonist: Overprivileged, arrogant and not nearly as clever as he thinks, Khemri's first-person narration is also endearingly witty, rueful and infinitely likable. Perhaps his account relies a bit too much on "had I but known" foreshadowing, and the secondary characters are thinly sketched accessories to the hero's personal journey. But the rocket-powered pace and epic worldbuilding (with just the right amount of gee-whiz technobabble) provide an ideal vehicle for what is, at heart, a sweet paean to what it means to be human. Space battles! Political intrigue! Engineered warriors! Techno-wizardry! Assassins! Pirates! Rebels! Duels! Secrets, lies, sex and True Love! What more can anybody ask for? (Science fiction. 14 & up)
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780060096960
  • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
  • Publication date: 5/14/2013
  • Pages: 337
  • Sales rank: 271,017
  • Age range: 13 years
  • Product dimensions: 5.30 (w) x 7.90 (h) x 1.00 (d)

Meet the Author

Garth Nix grew up in Canberra, Australia. Besides being a full-time writer, he has worked as a sales rep, publicist, editor, marketing communications consultant, literary agent, and part-time soldier. He is the acclaimed author of the internationally bestselling Abhorsen Chronicles: Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen, as well as the story collection Across the Wall and the novels Shade's Children and The Ragwitch.

He currently lives in Sydney, a five-minute walk from Coogee Beach, with his wife, Anna, his sons, Thomas and Edward, and lots of books.

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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 11 )
Rating Distribution

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(6)

4 Star

(2)

3 Star

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Sort by: Showing all of 11 Customer Reviews

  • Posted June 4, 2012

    more from this reviewer

    lots of world building and action

    "I have died three times, and three times been reborn, though I am not yet twenty in the old Earth years by which it is still the fashion to measure time.

    "This is the story of my three deaths, and my life between."

    Chosen as a baby to be molded into a Prince of the Empire, Khemri has always had a wealth of luxuries at his fingertips. Raised in his own temple with an assortment of priests, servants, and even mind-programmed companions, Khemri's early life as a initiate Prince is everything he would expect or want.

    Unfortunately on the day Khemri becomes a proper Prince he also realizes everything he previously knew about Princes and the Empire was completely wrong.

    As a Prince, Khemri is smarter, faster and stronger than regular humans. Truly he is superior in every way. The only problem? So are the thousands of other Princes scattered throughout the Empire. Worse: All of those Princes are competing for a chance to become the next Emperor and most of them have no qualms about killing the competition during duels or through plain and simple assassinations.

    The more time Khemri spends as a Prince of the Empire the more he understands that the Empire can be a cruel, unsatisfying place. Being a Prince is all Khemri knows and all he has ever wanted. Until he dared to imagine having something more, even if Khemri isn't sure he will ever have the chance to choose a different life in A Confusion of Princes (2012) by Garth Nix.

    A Confusion of Princes is a standalone Space Opera. It is also Nix's first book for older readers since his widely acclaimed Abhorsen trilogy.

    Part of what marks Nix as an incredibly talented author is his richly detailed settings and well-realized characters. A Confusion of Princes is no exception with Khemri's story playing out not just on an entirely new world but in an entirely new galaxy. The worlds Nix created here are so compelling that A Confusion of Princes even inspired its own online game: Imperial Galaxy.

    The downside to creating such a rich setting is that it often makes for very dense writing. This book starts off with full throttled action and very little time for backgrond. With so many facets to being a Prince, readers have almost as much to absorb as Khemri himself throughout the novel.*

    Filled with minute details about the galaxy and Khemri's life as a Prince, A Confusion of Princes sometimes skips over opportunities to develop the plot in favor of developing the world as Khemri alternates between running around and standing still with very little introspection or enlightenment until the last third of the novel.

    Though Nix has undoubtedly created a fine addition to the science fiction genre, A Confusion of Princes does not stand up well compared to Nix's other fantasy novels which combined expert world building with a depth that is lacking in the characters here.

    *Other aspects of life in the Empire are painfully unexplained. A keystone of the Empire seems to be the use of mind-programmed servants and slaves but Nix never delves into the mechanics of this or the ethical implications. Though much of the story focuses on Khemri's shift in thinking more as a human and less as a Prince, this plot thread remains unexplored or explained.

    3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted August 15, 2012

    Ha

    Ha i am nine and i read this book (::)

    1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted July 14, 2012

    It had some interesting world-building, but the characters and p

    It had some interesting world-building, but the characters and plot were shallow and felt rushed.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted June 6, 2012

    Definitely interesting

    Definitely interesting

    1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 15, 2013

    SERENA TO DJ THRIFT

    Im sooo sorry. Go to our book nd read my last post

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted April 15, 2013

    DJ THRIFT TO BOTH

    You here?

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  • Anonymous

    Posted November 21, 2012

    Small Complaints aside Garth Nix has landed a good solid piece o

    Small Complaints aside Garth Nix has landed a good solid piece of science fiction. The story targets a younger audience then I'm used to for this genre but I don't think that's a bad thing at all. Even with all my whining for more descriptions of the technology I plowed forward hungry for more story. While he's not the most elegant writer Nix is far from a inexperienced one so you'll never feel frustrated. And if the story seems predictable I know but suck it up because it's still a great book...read full review at theofficebooks.blogspot

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 15, 2012

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 26, 2012

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 7, 2013

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted March 3, 2013

    No text was provided for this review.

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