The poison prince by S.C. Emmett

Name of Book: The poison prince

Author: S.C. Emmett 

ISBN:  9780316453424

Publisher: Orbit 

Part of a Series: Hostage of Empire

Type of book: Fantasy, Asian styled, manipulations, power plays, goals, assassin's, plans, trapped, hostage, marriage, bigger world, seasons 

Year it was published: 2020

Summary:

he lady-in-waiting to the princess of a conquered kingdom must navigate a treacherous imperial court, in this second book in a medieval East Asia-inspired epic fantasy trilogy.

The princess is dead, and the drums of war beat again. The imperial schemes that took her life have reignited tensions with her native Khir, and left her lady-in-waiting, Komor Yala, alone among the treachery of a foreign court. As the Emperor lies upon his deathbed, the palace is more dangerous than ever before-for there are six princes, and only one throne.

To survive, and get to the bottom of who ordered her princess dead, Yala will have to rely on some unlikely allies, like the sardonic third prince out of the line of succession, the war-hardened general who sacked her homeland but now asks for her hand, or the surprise visitor from her past who may hold all the answers.

But there's a danger greater than any of them have imagined on the horizon. In the distance, the hordes of Tabrak are rising. New perils appear on every border as the palace is beset by threats both within and without. The entire empire is at stake and only one man may be able to save it-if Yala can reach him in time.

Hostage of EmpireThe Throne of the Five WindsThe Poison Prince

Characters:

Main characters would be the six princes and two princesses as well as Yala. Yala is from a conquered kingdom, a handmaiden to a dead princess from Khir. She is resourceful, careful, and brave in trying to do what needs to be done. However she often feels trapped and at a mercy from people in Zhaon. 1st prince Garan Takyeo is emperor's spear child, his mother a peasant and deceased. Quite recently his love, the princess of Khir has died, and he is seeking time to discover himself and his needs. 2nd prince Kurin is manipulative, careful and son of first queen. He will play and do what he needs to do behind the scenes to accomplish his goals. 3rd Prince Garan Takshin has recently came back as a "hostage" to another nation and is prickly, stubborn and one either loves him or hates him. He is extremely loyal to the crown prince. 4th prince Makkar is studious and a scholar who cares little for political plays.( I can't recall if he belongs to second queen or first concubine) 5th prince Sensheo is a lot like Kurin, sadistic, manipulative but is very obvious in his goals and intentions. 6th prince Jin cares for nothing but learning weapons and being a soldier. 1st princess Sabwone, first concubines daughter, was recently given to another kingdom to seal an alliance, while second princess Gamnae, daughter of first queen is meek, mild mannered and frightened. General Zakkar Kai is a founding who became a celebrated General when he defeated Khir and got adopted by the emperor's second concubine. 

Theme:

What a tangled web we weave when we first learn to deceive 

Plot:

The story is in third person narrative from everyone's points of view. Unfortunately the chapter headings don't give hint as to who is talking, which means I had to write down the characters' names in each chapter, as I had done in previous novel. Also, while previous novel devoted a lot of time to Yala and General Zakkar Kai, this one focuses a lot more on the princes and the two princesses as well as concubines and queens, thus it is hard for me to say which characters took up most of the story. The pacing also differed from first story because first story is narrow, while second is broader. 

Author Information:
(From goodreads)

S. C. Emmett is a pseudonym for Lilith Saintcrow.

Opinion:

First of all, yes one does need to read the previous book, THE THRONE OF FIVE WINDS before beginning THE POISON PRINCE. THE POISON PRINCE, however, was quite different than the first book. The first book focuses on one place, that of the palace of an Asian inspired nation named Zhaon, and is primarily told from Yala's and General Zakkar's points of views, although when necessary other characters are also introduced to the reader. In this novel, however, Yala and General  Zakkar Kai, arent as prominent, and it was definitely odd to venture out of the palace and to see the larger world, be it a market or another nation. There is also more political plays, and it feels as if a lot of subtlety is dropped. The sense one got about characters from first novel? It's fulfilled in this one, although a lot of intrigues and hints are still left to be resolved. So yes, definitely a wonderful sequel to THE THRONE OF THE FIVE WINDS. I also loved the title, mainly because it hinted at one issue but turned out to be something else.  

This was given for review 

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)