A Practical Guide to Conquering the World
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- Create Date：2022-01-10 08:51:27
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：K.J. Parker
- ISBN：0356514390
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Reviews
Emmalita
，
A couple of years ago， I saw someone who doesn’t usually make a fuss about books raving about K。J。 Parker’s Sixteen Way to Defend a Walled City。 When I saw it on sale， I bought it， but didn’t get around to reading it。 And then I saw A Practical Guide to Conquering the World on NetGalley。 I thought， this would be a great motivator to actually read a book already on my kindle！ Friends， I really wish I had read the first few pages of Walled City when I bought it。 I would have saved myself so much t A couple of years ago， I saw someone who doesn’t usually make a fuss about books raving about K。J。 Parker’s Sixteen Way to Defend a Walled City。 When I saw it on sale， I bought it， but didn’t get around to reading it。 And then I saw A Practical Guide to Conquering the World on NetGalley。 I thought， this would be a great motivator to actually read a book already on my kindle！ Friends， I really wish I had read the first few pages of Walled City when I bought it。 I would have saved myself so much time and unpleasantness。 I dnf’d that book so fast。 But meanwhile， I had this arc sitting on my kindle and I did not want to read it。 I have some other arcs on my kindle that I actually do want to read。 I dragged myself through A Practical Guide， and I didn’t enjoy it。By the way， here is the bit that made me close Sixteen Ways and say no thank you to that:“Please note I didn’t come in on the military mail。 As Colonel-in-Chief of the Engineers， I’m entitled; but， as a milkface （not supposed to call us that， everybody does， doesn’t bother me， I like milk） it’s accepted that I don’t， because of the distress I might cause to Imperials finding themselves banged up in a coach with me for sixteen hours a day。 Not that they’d say anything， of course。 The Robur pride themselves on their good manners， and， besides， calling a milkface a milkface is Conduct Prejudicial and can get you court-martialled。” The narrator， an enslaved person， doesn’t mind being called a “milkface” because he likes milk。 Nope。 Not going to work for me。 Please don’t explain to me that this is a fantasy， I am aware。I admit that I went in already unimpressed。 Early on， the narrator， different from the first book， points out that fat people are gross， but this other culture， to which he is indebted for his life， values fatness because it means wealth。 Everyone gets a jaundiced treatment in A Practical Guide to Conquering the World。 The narrator uses his knowledge of the frailties and stupidity of other people to save his life and the lives of people he considers ignorant barbarians。 Right now， I don’t need any help thinking people are awful。 And it was just too much cynicism for me。 For someone else， this might be an excellent Machiavellian political fantasy novel。Anyway， I don’t like not liking a book and I’m pretty grumpy about it。CW: occasional acts of brutality， including castration。Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for the advance reader copy。 My opinions are my own。 。。。more
Ed Otto
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I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest reviewA man is forced into exile to serve as an interpreter。 Then his home is destroyed， he is forced into servitude to people that despise him， then he has to lead a rebellion， and topple empires。 Plus， he finds religion。 Sorry， I mean， he founded a religion。 Little wonder why his name is Felix （it means lucky）。tK。 J。 Parker’s loosely tied-together trilogy “The Siege” reaches its conclusion with A Practical Guide to Conquering th I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest reviewA man is forced into exile to serve as an interpreter。 Then his home is destroyed， he is forced into servitude to people that despise him， then he has to lead a rebellion， and topple empires。 Plus， he finds religion。 Sorry， I mean， he founded a religion。 Little wonder why his name is Felix （it means lucky）。tK。 J。 Parker’s loosely tied-together trilogy “The Siege” reaches its conclusion with A Practical Guide to Conquering the World。 And I do mean loosely tied-together trilogy。 The basic premise is that in the Low Fantasy world there is an empire called the Robur that rules from their capital， the City。 They are cruel and harsh people， think the Roman Empire on a bad day。 So， obviously， they’ve made a lot of enemies that join forces and lay siege。 The novels follow the consequences of that battle。 Prior knowledge of the first two novels is not really necessary。 There are no returning characters。 Yes， the events of the previous ones will be mentioned， but there are enough context clues to help the reader figure out what they’re missing。 In fact， I skipped the second of the trilogy and found that made this reading experience rather delightful。 Parker plays up the lack of knowledge transmission and how what people are told is rarely what happens， so going in blind kind of helps enhance that aspect。 I knew just as much as Felix did about what happened to the City and the Robur。 The narrator， Felix， is engaging。 The man has depths that constantly surprise the reader。 You’re never really sure what his motives are and the reader gets a sense that it is because he’s not really sure what his motives are。 He’s a clever man that puts together scraps of information gleaned from a library and creates amazing strategies and performs seemingly miraculous feats。 His writings are witty and there are moments that caused me to actually laugh aloud。 Also， he’s a total jerk that uses people around him。 While Felix is a great character， he’s about the only one。 Every other character in the story is merely a cut-out。 They are there for a while till they are tossed aside after they’ve served their usefulness。 Some don’t even get real names。 While I tend to dislike stories with such an abundance of flat characters， I find myself making an exception here。 Since it is told in the first person， it reads less like a writing flaw and more like a look into Felix’s views on others。 What Parker lacks in characters， he more than makes up for it in an engaging look on religion。 Felix becomes the Prophet （a mixture of Moses， Elijah， and Jesus）。 The story shows the power that religion has and how it can be abused to serve the needs of the one in control。 Felix’s narration is very cynical on the nature of religion， but as the story goes on some questions are raised。 What is Truth？ If enough people say that he is the Prophet， then does that just make him the Prophet？ What is a miracle？ Sure he did miraculous things because he read them in a book， but the fact he found the right book， understood it， and implemented is rather miraculous。 In the end， I found A Practical Guide to Conquering the World to be entertaining， thought-provoking， and a little heartbreaking。 A sure read to anyone who loves a fantasy story that tries to mirror real history， wants to discuss the nature of faith， or just wants to read about a jerk conquering the world thanks to the power of a library card。 。。。more
Zoe Kaylor
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Summary: K。J Parker is a new Terry Pratchett。 Felix lost his people but finds new people as he conquers the world and orchestrates a new religion。 Don't come for the plot， come for the asides about camels。You don't need to have read the other Siege books to enjoy this one。 I hadn't and I didn't feel like I was missing anything。 I love the sardonic， dry humor， asides， and quirkiness of this book and the characters。 It's the type of book that's hard to recommend because I think a lot of people mig Summary: K。J Parker is a new Terry Pratchett。 Felix lost his people but finds new people as he conquers the world and orchestrates a new religion。 Don't come for the plot， come for the asides about camels。You don't need to have read the other Siege books to enjoy this one。 I hadn't and I didn't feel like I was missing anything。 I love the sardonic， dry humor， asides， and quirkiness of this book and the characters。 It's the type of book that's hard to recommend because I think a lot of people might get angry at this book and it seems boring。 But here's my advice， it's not about the plot - for the first 30% there's no clear idea what the plot is and even after that， it's a rather meandering， loose plot - or character development。 That's not to say the plot or characters are bad， but that's not the point of the book。 This book is about other things， and it's about the experience of reading an unreliable narrator who is sharp and cunning and will mislead you and aggravate you but has a lot to tell you in a roundabout way。 I really enjoyed this book and want to read some more KJ Parker as soon as possible。My one con here was that I thought the ending was going to have a little more payoff than it did， but I not convinced that that wasn't intentional。Thanks to Orbit and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Bakertyl
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This book is kinda marketed as Part 3 or a trilogy， and kinda marketed as a stand-alone book set in the world of the Robur。 But if you didn't read the first two books， several parts of this book will go right over your head。 Since all three books are great， just read all of them。This book follows the same pattern as the previous two; the narrator is writing his memoirs after a series of events that have changed the world。This is my only actual complaint about the book， the writing style for each This book is kinda marketed as Part 3 or a trilogy， and kinda marketed as a stand-alone book set in the world of the Robur。 But if you didn't read the first two books， several parts of this book will go right over your head。 Since all three books are great， just read all of them。This book follows the same pattern as the previous two; the narrator is writing his memoirs after a series of events that have changed the world。This is my only actual complaint about the book， the writing style for each narrator is the same。 I like the style， but makes the series feel more like a series。 In the Black Company series， the narrator changes meant the entire feel of the story changed。 Style， details， plot points， etc。， everything felt like a new story。 In this series， everyone writes with the same style， which is a little disappointing。Highly recommend the series。**I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Harrison Schweiloch
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A Practical Guide to Conquering the World by K。J。 ParkerI had never read anything by KJ Parker before， but I remember Jo Walton speaking fondly about his prior books in this world， Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City and How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It， so I was thrilled to get an eARC from Orbit and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 Jo Walton described Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City as a “grabby” book - a book that grabs you， that you can grab and not want to put dow A Practical Guide to Conquering the World by K。J。 ParkerI had never read anything by KJ Parker before， but I remember Jo Walton speaking fondly about his prior books in this world， Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City and How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It， so I was thrilled to get an eARC from Orbit and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 Jo Walton described Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City as a “grabby” book - a book that grabs you， that you can grab and not want to put down。 This book was definitely grabby， with a fun first person narrator that was not necessarily likable but fun to be in the head of。 As a former classical studies major， I really appreciated most of the author’s callbacks and references to actual history （those that I picked up on， at least - I’m sure I missed a bunch）。 A few times， towards the end of the novel， some of the coincidences felt a little too contrived， but this is a minor quibble。 The book was super fun from start to finish and I wholeheartedly recommend it。 I am going to go check out the earlier books by this author soon！ 。。。more
Jen
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Full disclosure: I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review。Felix is a translator for the Robur embassy in Echmen。 A survivor to the last， he constantly schemes to keep his skin amidst the fraught world of Echmen politics。 After word comes that the Robur empire has been destroyed， he becomes attached to the court of the princess of the Hus。 Through clever wiles， he gains influence over the Hus and other tribes， and uses it to try to take down the Echmen e Full disclosure: I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review。Felix is a translator for the Robur embassy in Echmen。 A survivor to the last， he constantly schemes to keep his skin amidst the fraught world of Echmen politics。 After word comes that the Robur empire has been destroyed， he becomes attached to the court of the princess of the Hus。 Through clever wiles， he gains influence over the Hus and other tribes， and uses it to try to take down the Echmen empire。I don’t normally review books I don’t like。 This is one exception， where I think the book is doing active harm。 I was uncomfortable with Parker’s handling of race in the first two books， where the Robur appear to be an analogue of Rome but with black people， facing down the barbarian “milkface” hordes。 I suspect he thought he was doing something clever by making black and brown folks the so-called civilized nations and white people the so-called savages， but it was problematically done。 It was a clueless white person’s attempt to flip the script; perhaps forgivable to some degree。 Here， it gets worse。 there are many other obvious analogues to European， Asian， and Middle Eastern ethnic groups， all of which are as stereotyped as possible， complete with slurs and racist jokes。 Occasionally， members of these groups are shown to do something surprisingly clever， as if to say， “hey， maybe they’re not all fools！” but the attempt falls flat。I’ve found K。 J。 Parker to be a hit-or-miss with me。 His clever， self-aware rogues and world-weary everymen are often a delight。 Had Parker not chosen to include racist caricatures of various ethnic groups， I think I would have enjoyed this book。 It wouldn’t have been a favorite of mine， but I’d be giving it a decent review。 I am honestly astounded that A Practical Guide to Conquering the World was this bad， considering that the world in which it is set is pretty well established at this point， what with all of the novels， novellas， and short stories set throughout long spans of in-world time。 He’s an established writer who’s had time to build out this setting， with all its messy， absurd geopolitical entities。 This is what I’d expect from a young， early career writer with a bad editor。 I get that Parker is known for lampooning overly complicated political structures and regulations and pompous officials。 That’s great and fun， but it takes a nasty turn when he aims that wit against people and groups that canonically， in text， have experienced oppression from both the Robur and Echmen。 。。。more
Metaphorosis
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3。5 stars， Metaphorosis ReviewsSummaryAn unassuming translator in a far capital finds his entire country has been wiped out， and that he himself has only a tenuous grasp on survival。 He sets out to make the best of it， and a little more。ReviewI won’t rehash my overall view of K。J。 Parker’s approach。 I’ve done that in other reviews。 Here， I’ll talk only about this book。 In addition， this is the third book in a loosely related series， and I’ve not read the first two， but this does function well as 3。5 stars， Metaphorosis ReviewsSummaryAn unassuming translator in a far capital finds his entire country has been wiped out， and that he himself has only a tenuous grasp on survival。 He sets out to make the best of it， and a little more。ReviewI won’t rehash my overall view of K。J。 Parker’s approach。 I’ve done that in other reviews。 Here， I’ll talk only about this book。 In addition， this is the third book in a loosely related series， and I’ve not read the first two， but this does function well as a standalone book。As always with Parker， the writing is excellent， the tone sardonic but appealing， the hero understated but engaging。 As is also often the case， but ever more so here， the book is desperately in need of a map。 The plot wanders across countries with abandon， especially in the final third， where we cross half a dozen countries in the span of a few pages， none carefully placed， and with no real sense of where in the world we are。 The story clearly takes place in Parker’s larger universe， with recognizable nations like the Aram Chantat and Aram No Vei， but his preference for generic names （the City， the Empire） makes it very hard to place anything in context。 He clearly recognizes and makes fun of his own tendencies here， but that doesn’t make things easier。 （He also alludes in passing to earlier books such as The Fencer and Devices and Desires。）As typical with Parker， the main joy here is not so much the plot as the journey – following along with the protagonist as he stumbles （or does he） his way through one difficulty after another。 Late in the book， Parker raises some larger questions about intent and self-determination， but then drops them without any kind of resolution。 The end of the book in general I found to be something of a letdown。 Neither the protagonist’s arc nor that of his nation is really concluded; they both simply fizzle out in a disappointing coda。Well written and engaging without breaking any new ground。 Good for Parker diehards and newcomers; less so for casual fans。I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Jennifer
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This is the third book in The Siege trilogy， but as someone who hasn’t read the other two， I can say that this definitely works as a standalone novel。 You don’t have to read the first two， but now I want to。 Our narrator is an unassuming translator without a home。 He’s also an avid reader， a master manipulator of events （but wouldn’t admit it if asked）， and a military and political genius （but only if you say so）。 The book presents an interesting perspective on the truth。 Saying more about the p This is the third book in The Siege trilogy， but as someone who hasn’t read the other two， I can say that this definitely works as a standalone novel。 You don’t have to read the first two， but now I want to。 Our narrator is an unassuming translator without a home。 He’s also an avid reader， a master manipulator of events （but wouldn’t admit it if asked）， and a military and political genius （but only if you say so）。 The book presents an interesting perspective on the truth。 Saying more about the plot would be giving things away。 I very much enjoyed this book。 It’s written in casual， funny first person。 I laughed， I marvelled at how things fell into place， and I kept turning the pages。 Also， one of the characters spends three years in a library with nothing to do but read。 It’s every bookworm’s dream！ I recommend this one， even if you haven’t read the others。 Thank you to Orbit for my copy。 。。。more
Heidi
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This series is great！ I’m not a giant fan of military fantasies but the author really did a great job with this series。 You could probably read this one a stand-alone book but there’s no reason to skip the other two！Each book， including this one， centers on one main character that has to hold things together in the face of war and get people to listen to them and their good advice to save the day。 It really is a sign of good writing when an author tells a story so well as to make it a page turne This series is great！ I’m not a giant fan of military fantasies but the author really did a great job with this series。 You could probably read this one a stand-alone book but there’s no reason to skip the other two！Each book， including this one， centers on one main character that has to hold things together in the face of war and get people to listen to them and their good advice to save the day。 It really is a sign of good writing when an author tells a story so well as to make it a page turner for a reader who wasn’t quite sold on the plot and theme at first。 It’s grimly funny at times but this is a pen name for Tom Holt so that shouldn’t be surprising。 。。。more
Ralph Blackburn
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A Practical Guide To Conquering The World by K。 J。 Parker-This third book in the Siege Series， following Sixteen Ways To Defend A Walled City and How To Rule An Empire And Get Away With It， is everything you've come to expect from the whit and wonder of K。 J。 Parker。 This one follows the others in that the narrator is a snarky individual with talent and determination in abundance。 Through imaginative twists and turns we follow his sometimes convoluted tale。 If you haven't read the first two， no A Practical Guide To Conquering The World by K。 J。 Parker-This third book in the Siege Series， following Sixteen Ways To Defend A Walled City and How To Rule An Empire And Get Away With It， is everything you've come to expect from the whit and wonder of K。 J。 Parker。 This one follows the others in that the narrator is a snarky individual with talent and determination in abundance。 Through imaginative twists and turns we follow his sometimes convoluted tale。 If you haven't read the first two， no worries， each story is self-contained and can be enjoyed on its own。 。。。more
Paul
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I missed the first two books， but liked this a lot。 It's a bit unique in it's way， and I can tell the author has some natural talent。 I want to circle back to the others。 Recommended。I really appreciate the free review copy！！ I missed the first two books， but liked this a lot。 It's a bit unique in it's way， and I can tell the author has some natural talent。 I want to circle back to the others。 Recommended。I really appreciate the free review copy！！ 。。。more
Bradley
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Getting through all three of these Siege books has been a real pleasure。 In each of these， we get to see a different aspect of life and profession but even though the times aren't the same， the wider world is。Above all， the main first-person characters are nicely droll and ironic。 Their meteoric rise from truly humble beginnings is a delight。 The way each of them gains their fame is both quirky and amusing。 In this particular book， we get away from a humble engineer or a poverty-ridden stage act Getting through all three of these Siege books has been a real pleasure。 In each of these， we get to see a different aspect of life and profession but even though the times aren't the same， the wider world is。Above all， the main first-person characters are nicely droll and ironic。 Their meteoric rise from truly humble beginnings is a delight。 The way each of them gains their fame is both quirky and amusing。 In this particular book， we get away from a humble engineer or a poverty-ridden stage actor and live a life of a lucky， but minor translator for a distant embassy who just happens to survive his nation's ruin and his boss's suicide。From there， it just gets wacky cool， jumping from an impossible situation to a life of book-reading pleasure to being welcomed by cannibals to becoming a prophet and then the supreme leader。 You know， normal， obvious stuff that happens to all us academic types。 :）I had a great time。 It's light epic fantasy， with all the humor AND the twisty plots and huge battles， wrapped into one。 。。。more
Liz
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Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit for the eARC！The snark， it continues。 This time our unreliable narrator is Felix， who may be the last surviving Robur after the fall of the City described in the previous book。However， the snark was less charming this time around。 Felix seemed more self-serving than the previous narrators -- although a desire for self-preservation is not surprising in someone who may be the last of his kind。 His purpose （to end all war） seemed generous， but the way he went about it Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit for the eARC！The snark， it continues。 This time our unreliable narrator is Felix， who may be the last surviving Robur after the fall of the City described in the previous book。However， the snark was less charming this time around。 Felix seemed more self-serving than the previous narrators -- although a desire for self-preservation is not surprising in someone who may be the last of his kind。 His purpose （to end all war） seemed generous， but the way he went about it （by conquering the world） was hardly altruistic。 。。。more
Emily Lind
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I greatly enjoyed the first two books in this sequence and had a fun time with this one as well。 Like the two previous books， there’s a lot of scheming and politics and adventure。 You don’t have to have read the other two books for this to make sense， though there are references to events that occur in them。 Parker is a fun， engaging writer。 The book is a quick romp and overall it’s solid。 But， well I had a good time reading it， in the end， I found myself a little dissatisfied。 Felix is always t I greatly enjoyed the first two books in this sequence and had a fun time with this one as well。 Like the two previous books， there’s a lot of scheming and politics and adventure。 You don’t have to have read the other two books for this to make sense， though there are references to events that occur in them。 Parker is a fun， engaging writer。 The book is a quick romp and overall it’s solid。 But， well I had a good time reading it， in the end， I found myself a little dissatisfied。 Felix is always the smartest person in the room， always the cleverest wit with back-up plans upon back-up plans and it quickly kills any sort of dramatic tension there could otherwise be。 For a book that is about a man taking over the world， the stakes never seem very high。 It’s a fun enough book， but one that ends up feeling a little slight。 。。。more
Kate Hyde
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I must confess that for once Parker’s vast knowledge of ancient history has outstripped my own not inconsiderable smattering。 For their own enjoyment， the reader will want to have read the previous two books in the trilogy， as this book continues， albeit on a wider stage， from the supposed fall of the Robur City。 However， readers of these previous books will have their favourite narrator （mine was Orhan; if you’ve ever worked in a bureaucratic organisation， where paperwork is more important than I must confess that for once Parker’s vast knowledge of ancient history has outstripped my own not inconsiderable smattering。 For their own enjoyment， the reader will want to have read the previous two books in the trilogy， as this book continues， albeit on a wider stage， from the supposed fall of the Robur City。 However， readers of these previous books will have their favourite narrator （mine was Orhan; if you’ve ever worked in a bureaucratic organisation， where paperwork is more important than the work supposedly being done， then he’ll be yours too） and I think Felix， our new protagonist， is not at all as sympathetic a character as the preceding two。 Both Orhan and Notker are archetypical Parker heroes， i。e。 reluctant and cynical， but ultimately good hearted and humorous; they are forced by circumstances to help people who despise them， and they do a pretty good job， collateral damage notwithstanding。 This theme is carried through most of Parker’s books， and he perfects it with Orhan; even Notker， for all his purported selfishness， commits the occasional unwitting act of true heroism。 Felix， though， is a different kettle of fish。 Admittedly， since the rumoured destruction of the City， and with it all Robur， he starts as a lonely character: he had originally been exiled to the court of the Echmen as a translator， and now it seems he is the very last of his race。 Difficult not to feel sorry for him， you would think， especially when he saves a Hus princess that he could as easily have abandoned to her fate。 But something about him grated slightly。 Orhan and Notker both had the same callous “can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs” （read: people dying） attitude， but they seemed less self-centred。 Even the reason why poor Felix was exiled （and worse） fails to account for the lengths he will go to （with the lives of others） to achieve his aim。 The fact that the previous two books were set in an enclosed world， where the characters had limited choice， whereas here Felix has literally the whole world （and one would be forgiven for thinking he could have taken a slightly less contentious route to survival） sets a different tone， which impacts negatively on the characterisation。 Also， Parker’s exhaustive Classical knowledge comes into play， and I think I may need to re-read A Practical Guide， with a large map and a bunch of lead soldiers to move around， as I go through the text， as this book contains far more complex characters and cultures （and less obvious） than previously。 That said， this is vintage Parker， and – like all his other books – is one that I will re-read several times over the next few years anyhow。 Parker’s superiority as a fantasy author lies not just in his superb attention to historical detail， but in his humour – always deadpan， always highly intelligent， and always with an excellent command of English。 And he delights the history geek with the accurate scams/stratagems of his heroes， copied from a variety of real-life leaders and tacticians。 Thank you so much to Edelweiss for the ARC of this book， it was as if Christmas had come early！ 。。。more
Steve
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I loved this book。 I found it well-paced。 The world building and character development are excellent。 The writing is clever and frequently very amusing。 I liked that the protagonist/narrator was not perfect and was sometimes annoying。 Although this is the third book of the series， the book was seamless and I didn't feel like I was missing anything。 There was also considerable social commentary that I enjoyed。 Yet there weren't a lot of fantastical elements in the book; it just seemed like a slig I loved this book。 I found it well-paced。 The world building and character development are excellent。 The writing is clever and frequently very amusing。 I liked that the protagonist/narrator was not perfect and was sometimes annoying。 Although this is the third book of the series， the book was seamless and I didn't feel like I was missing anything。 There was also considerable social commentary that I enjoyed。 Yet there weren't a lot of fantastical elements in the book; it just seemed like a slightly different Earth at a previous time。 Nonetheless， this book is a worthwhile read。 Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit Books for the advance reader copy。 。。。more
Meaghan Babin
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While I'm super sad that I hadn't read the first two books， I still found reading this book enjoyable。 The premise is really interesting。 While I'm super sad that I hadn't read the first two books， I still found reading this book enjoyable。 The premise is really interesting。 。。。more
MAB LongBeach
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A follow-up （not exactly a sequel） to Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City and How to Rule and Empire and Get Away With It， this works fine as a stand-alone。 The narrator and protagonist is Felix （whose name， he tells us， means 'lucky'）， a translator living in a distant empire as a junior member of a diplomatic mission。 Things go wrong， then they get worse。 Felix is mainly interested in saving his own skin， but somehow that turns into uniting quarreling barbarians and toppling an empire or two。 A follow-up （not exactly a sequel） to Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City and How to Rule and Empire and Get Away With It， this works fine as a stand-alone。 The narrator and protagonist is Felix （whose name， he tells us， means 'lucky'）， a translator living in a distant empire as a junior member of a diplomatic mission。 Things go wrong， then they get worse。 Felix is mainly interested in saving his own skin， but somehow that turns into uniting quarreling barbarians and toppling an empire or two。 Oh， and he might be a prophet。Dry， deadpan fun。I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Ron
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K。 J。 Parker has done it again。 He has provided a main character who brings about great changes in the world while trying only to preserve himself。 Felix is a Robur translator in the Echmen empire when the City fell。 Since he had saved the daughter of the king of Hus， they took him in as their translator。 Then when the Echmen turned on the Hus， Felix saved her again and then went on to set up a vast shift in power。 The fun of a K。 J。 Parker book is the characters and the details that fill out th K。 J。 Parker has done it again。 He has provided a main character who brings about great changes in the world while trying only to preserve himself。 Felix is a Robur translator in the Echmen empire when the City fell。 Since he had saved the daughter of the king of Hus， they took him in as their translator。 Then when the Echmen turned on the Hus， Felix saved her again and then went on to set up a vast shift in power。 The fun of a K。 J。 Parker book is the characters and the details that fill out the world。 If you enjoyed either of the first two books in this series， you owe it to yourself to find out how it ends！ Now I just need to track down the rest of his works and enjoy myself。Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to read this title！ 。。。more
Meredith Martinez
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2。5/5 stars -- I consider myself to be a pretty quick reader and yet somehow this book took me an entire week to read。 I could not pinpoint what it is about this book that made me loath to pick it up， but I just could not get into it。 On its face， it has everything I normally like in a book， complex world/culture building， a dark sense of wit， twists and turns， allusions to modern religions/philosophies， and more。 I just couldn't attach myself to the main character -- Felix was neither likeable 2。5/5 stars -- I consider myself to be a pretty quick reader and yet somehow this book took me an entire week to read。 I could not pinpoint what it is about this book that made me loath to pick it up， but I just could not get into it。 On its face， it has everything I normally like in a book， complex world/culture building， a dark sense of wit， twists and turns， allusions to modern religions/philosophies， and more。 I just couldn't attach myself to the main character -- Felix was neither likeable nor unlikeable， and perhaps that's why I felt so meh following his story。 The storyline felt like we were going off on a million tangents with explanations of philosophies/mythologies of the different cultures in the book， which normally I don't mind but here just didn't feel compelling。 This book is the third book in a trilogy， but the description said that it could be standalone。 I'm wondering if I missed out on some of the depth of the book because I didn't read the first two。 Honestly， this is the kind of book that I wanted really desperately to like and somehow just couldn't get there。 Maybe I'm in a book slump and you should take this review with a grain of salt， but the story didn't grab me and pull me along like I wanted it to。This book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review 。。。more
Liviu
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