Empress of Dreams (Temple of the Traveler Book 3) - Scott Rhine

Title: Empress of Dreams (Temple of the Traveler Book 3)
Author: Scott Rhine
Genre: Fantasy
Published: 2012
Formats: Paperback/Ebook

Available at:
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Review:
“Empress of Dreams” is the third and final novel in Scott Rhine’s epic fantasy series, “The Tales of the Traveller”. It picks up from the ending of the 2nd novel although due to the nature of that ending I found that this book did have a different feel to the previous novel. In the end though it did close out the open plotlines in a satisfactory and enjoyable manner so is without doubt in my opinion a successful conclusion to the series.

In regards to the plot of this novel, Jotham, the priest of the Traveller who helped close that the final Door to Eternity is transformed by his actions into a new body complete with the six fingered hands of the Imperial race and a new name, Pagaose. His arrival at the heart of the Empire results in him being proclaimed Emperor and so begins a new adventure for this former priest. He must gain the acceptance as Emperor, find a wife and defeat the pretender to his new throne.

Again, we have an intelligent, complicated story that really delves down into the mythos and culture of the world which Rhine has created. Rhine has tried to tone down the pacing even more in this novel which ensures the reader can really digest and understand what is going on. Personally, I really hope Rhine continues to try and slow his stories down like this as it allows the reader to get immersed in the world he has created and appreciate the story that is being told.

In regards to characters, well I have two main points to make, the first of which is that the characters we have grown to know continue to evolve and mature in this novel. It was wonderful seeing Pinetto grow from student to teacher and Pagaose/Jotham really blossoms as he uses his knowledge, morality and experience to become a great Emperor. The second point is that the vast amount of characters Rhine had previously bamboozled us with is increased yet again. Luckily, I understood the original characters well enough and the new ones were different enough that I managed to avoid getting confused. This is a true ensemble story with multiple characters and multiple stories all being treated with equal importance. Basically, if you like books which concentrate on just a handful of characters then I think you may need to stay far away from this series.

Overall, I found this to be a great conclusion to the series and probably my favourite of them all. In part this is because by this point in the series I understood the characters and culture but it was also a very fun and enjoyable story. If you have read the other novels in the series then without doubt you need to go and pick this book up as it should leave you feeling very satisfied an the ending provided.