I had some problems with the beginning, which was a bit too much whimsical adventuring for me, randomly stumbling from one situation to the next without any apparent purpose.
And it had some of that throughout the rest of the book as well, with too much world-building that didn't contribute to the story. I don't like reading long descriptions of landscapes and such, even if they include flying forests.
But it also had what I really wanted: Artorin. His interactions with people, his character, his friends, his thoughts, his emotions. That part was lovely and more prevalent as the book moved on. I cried. A lot.
I also loved seeing some of Kip's work in effect... ( )

I hadn’t read any other books by Goddard before, so I was afraid I would miss the meaning of the references to earlier events in this one, but in fact it is those very allusions which tell the story. A subtle, meandering style and a beautiful and heartfelt society with a deep history made this a very enjoyable read, and I shall certainly return to this world. ( )

Oh, lovely. One of my favourite characters from the Nine Worlds books finally regains some freedom and can go on an adventure.

I love Fitzroy as a character. And really, who else would get asked *this* in the very first chapter?

“Are you planning on breaking into any more tombs?”

I love Fitzroy as a narrator, too. He warms my heart. With all that sarcasm, he is hiding his griefs from the reader. Yet, what a joyful adventurer he is, despite everything. And the real quest is about finding missing pieces of himself, of course. In the meantime, there are ancient wonders to meet; people to help; lots of mischief to accomplish; hidden cities to find; great feats of magic to do.

Meetings with old friends had me reeling - in a joyful and delightful way. Masseo is wonderful, I want to see so much more of him. I love Jullanar too, come and drink tea with us, Jullanar! I don’t quite love Pali yet (she was mean to Fitzroy! No one gets to be mean to Fitzroy!), but she seems cool, anyway. I loved how this book filled in some of the blanks of the larger story. Give me more, please.

Can you imagine how refreshing it is to read a fantasy novel with middle-aged characters? They are slightly out of practice when it comes to adventuring, though. How about that tent? Nope, we didn’t pack a tent, oh dear.

“You watched me do all my packing!”
“I don’t think you should sound so superior. You had a spare anvil ready to go, but not a tent?”
…….
“And you had all those pillows!…”

They did bring firewood…

Is this a cozy book? Not if you want tea and scones. But if you want good people being good, then yes. It doesn’t mean that there aren’t any hurt feelings, tragedies in the background, emotional conversations or confessions.

Would I have loved this book as much if this was my very first Victoria Goddard? No, I would have shrugged and wondered. So, this is not an ideal entry point for the Nine Worlds stories. But I still would have loved this:

“…for I am a wild mage and my heart sings when the deed is right and the time is now.”

My only complaint is that the book was too short ;) ( )

Artorin Damara begins his quest to find his heir - or, well, sort of. He's looking for three mirrors that will show him the past, present, and future. Now that Cliopher is left behind officially running the government, the old taboos of not being touched or meeting his eyes no longer apply, but Artorin - who was also the notorious poet and adventurer Fitzroy Angursell before he was the Last Emperor of Astandalas - doesn't know who he is as a man any longer, either. Along the way on one quest, he may just rediscover more that is equally, if not more, important.

The Hands of the Emperor was one of my five-star, favorite reads of 2022. This one picks up very soon after that, and while it doesn't have the same tone or length, it is equally delightful. I loved learning more about Artorin/Fitzroy and meeting new-to-me characters along his travels. As a quest narrative, it was more episodic, but it has the same heart and I found myself laughing and tearing up along the way. Just excellent, and I can't wait to read more set in the Nine Worlds. ( )

https://tamaranth.blogspot.com/2023/01/2023012-return-of-fitzroy-angursell.html ( )