Readers' rating:
Published Feb 2020
416 pages
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Speculative, Alt. History
Publication Information
This debut work of sociological science fiction follows a deadly battle for succession, where brother is pitted against brother in a singular chance to win power and influence for their family.
The cavern city of Pelismara has stood for a thousand years. The Great Families of the nobility cling to the myths of their golden age while the city's technology wanes.
When a fever strikes, and the Eminence dies, seventeen-year-old Tagaret is pushed to represent his Family in the competition for Heir to the Throne. To win would give him the power to rescue his mother from his abusive father, and marry the girl he loves.
But the struggle for power distorts everything in this highly stratified society, and the fever is still loose among the inbred, susceptible nobles. Tagaret's sociopathic younger brother, Nekantor, is obsessed with their family's success. Nekantor is willing to exploit Tagaret, his mother, and her new servant Aloran to defeat their opponents.
Can he be stopped? Should he be stopped? And will they recognize themselves after the struggle has changed them?
"Excellent...The impressively winding plot, layered worldbuilding, and psychologically acute characterizations are sure to hold readers' attention. Wade is an author to watch." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Delicious political intrigue and really cool world-building." - Ann Leckie, Hugo and Nebula award-winning author of Ancillary Justice
"A vivid, thrilling journey through a wonderfully realized and wonderfully complex world; and a fascinating look at power and its exercise across different strata of an intricate society." - Aliette de Bodard, Nebula award-winning author of The Tea Master and the Detective
"A twisty ride through family drama and tangled politics, Mazes of Power carries readers into a world of love and treachery, and doesn't let them go." - Laura Anne Gilman, author of The Cold Eye
"A deliciously complex, glittering work of family intrigue and life-or-death politics in a world that's utterly alien, with characters who are all-too human. I loved it." - Kelly Robson, Hugo award-winning author of Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach
This information about Mazes of Power was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Juliette Wade never outgrew of the habit of asking "why" about everything. This path led her to study foreign languages and to complete degrees in both anthropology and linguistics. Combining these with a fascination for worldbuilding and psychology, she creates multifaceted science fiction that holds a mirror to our own society. The author of short fiction in magazines including Analog, Clarkesworld, and Fantasy & Science Fiction, she lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her Aussie husband and her two sons, who support and inspire her. Mazes of Power is her debut novel.
The House on Biscayne Bay
by Chanel Cleeton
As death stalks a gothic mansion in Miami, the lives of two women intertwine as the past and present collide.
The Stone Home
by Crystal Hana Kim
A moving family drama and coming-of-age story revealing a dark corner of South Korean history.
The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu
Debut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman's midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
