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Django Wexler
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Memories of Empire Paperback – September 1, 2005

by Django Wexler (Author)
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Veil thought her life had ended the day her father sold her to a passing slaver. When the slaver's caravan is butchered by a lone attacker, her only chance for survival is to forge an unlikely friendship with the mercenary, Corvus. Beset on all sides by pursuing demons, she wonders if death wouldn't have been easier. Unbeknownst to Veil, Corvus, an apparently invincible swordsman, searches for the fragments of his past. Cutting a bloody swath across the Empire, now humbled by the Khaev invasion, he seeks only to know who he is. On the other side of the continent, Kei and her partner reluctantly join a mission to hunt down a rogue sorcerer. The expedition is led by an eccentric noble with a penchant for getting everyone around her killed. Kei's misgivings only increase when she's introduced to their erstwhile ally, the shadow spirit Jyo-raku. However, she is duty bound to obey her commander. Different lives; different paths. Each seeking destiny. Unaware they are merely the pawns of ancient spirits, players in a deadly game that will ultimately bring them together for the greatest prize of all.
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  1. Print length
    561 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Medallion Press
  4. Publication date
    September 1, 2005
  5. Dimensions
    5 x 1.72 x 8 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1932815147
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1932815146
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Django Wexler writes fantasy, science fiction, and horror. Originally from New York, Wexler has settled for the moment in Pittsburgh.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Medallion Press (September 1, 2005)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 561 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1932815147
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1932815146
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.3 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 1.72 x 8 inches

About the author

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Django Wexler

Django Wexler

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Django Wexler is the author of many fantasy novels as well as series for middle grade and young adults. In his former life as a software engineer, he worked on AI research and programming languages. He currently lives near Seattle with his wife, daughter, four cats, and a teetering mountain of books. When not writing, he paints tiny soldiers and plays games of all sorts.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
14 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

chelsea
5.0 out of 5 stars great book, wish there was more...
Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2013
Verified Purchase
I loved this book, i've read it at least a dozen times.
It has so much potential to be more, i want to know about corvus before he lost his memory and what happens to everyone after this book.
I'd love it if the author would write another book or two!
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Rough, But Compelling
Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2005
In Memories of Empire, Django Wexler creates a fantasy world with both depth and breadth, pitting numerous nations, factions, and personalities against each other in a setting that oozes with a "lived-in" feel. This ambitious debut novel primarily follows the story of Veil and Corvus, an escaped would-be slave and a seemingly unstoppable mercenary, and the story of Kei and Kit, a pair of drake-riders sent to escort an arrogant noblewoman as she hunts a rebel sorcerer.

Wexler lays out a profusion of plot threads and then leaps between them deftly, braiding them into each other one by one until the novel reaches its climax. While it can be a bit of work to keep track of who's plotting what against whom, the characters are all strongly-drawn and easily distinguished from one another. The "big picture" doesn't become clear until the endgame, when no fewer than four factions collide in competition for what are finally revealed to be colossal stakes.

It's all a bit dizzying but, as with Steven Erikson's books, the individual characters make it work. Wexler makes it easy to cheer for Veil or Kei to get out of various tight corners, even if the reasons they were in those corners to begin with are rarely clear. While there are plenty of standardized fantasy trappings in evidence, Wexler provides more than enough twists and surprises to keep the whole endeavor from feeling overly-familiar. And if it's hard to keep track of what's happening when it happens, the ending does an excellent job of revealing who's been doing what to our heroes and why.

It has its flaws, to be sure. The characters' motivations can come across as murky and arbitrary; in the early going, Veil in particular seems to be "going thataway" just for want of anything better to do. And with this many main and ancillary characters roaming the landscape, I do wish Wexler would have chosen names that were as easily distinguishable from on another as the personalities; witness the scene involving Kit, Kei, and Karl.

Most troubling, however, is the wretched condition of the text. This is, without question, the most poorly-edited novel I have ever purchased. Medallion Press is a legitimate small publisher, but based on the standards of line-editing represented by Empire, one could be forgiven for thinking they're a vanity press scam-house. The text is liberally sprinkled with obvious misspellings, spaces in the middle of words, random punctuation and capitalizations, and absent carriage returns.

The typos are merely annoying and unprofessional; it's the missed section breaks that can yank the reader violently out of the story to pause and figure out just what the hell is going on. The text does no favors in helping the reader keep track of Wexler's numerous plot threads; way too many scenes arbitrarily blur into one another. The most egregious mistake happens during what were clearly supposed to be a pair of short scenes showing Kit and Kei waking up at their campsite, and then flying above the countryside on their mounts. With the section break missing, it reads as though the two riders somehow have set up bedrolls and a campfire while in the air.

For the sake of both Medallion Press and its authors, one would hope that the editor responsible for this debacle has been fired and replaced by somebody who knows how to read.

Still, warts and all, Wexler's debut outing is a worthwhile read. Fans of George R. R. Martin, Steven Erikson, or Japanese anime will find plenty to enjoy. If you have a taste for Byzantine magic-powered scheming, if you like to see larger-than-life heroes prowling a landscape populated by powerful, cunning spirits and well-developed cultures that feel like they exist even when the reader isn't watching, give this novel a look.
16 people found this helpful
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Lucas Mietlowski
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2016
Verified Purchase
Great Read
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Casey S.
5.0 out of 5 stars Want to buy Kindle Version
Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2016
bought this when it came out in 05. I would do anything for a proper kindle version.
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Redline
5.0 out of 5 stars Another book that deserve(d) more sales.
Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2010
A great story told well, not much more you can ask for- just hate seeing so many good books that have sold so poorly. Buy it if it sounds interesting to you in the slightest. You won't regret it.
One person found this helpful
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TK
2.0 out of 5 stars Lacking Imagination
Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2008
I really want to like this book, and there is a lot of potential to the plot. Unfortunately the writing needs a lot of work. His words seem so cliche as are the characters. I felt there was nothing original even the demons and spirits aspect of the story.

There are too many "main characters" and nothing is explained well enough to actually understand what is going on. Granted the author obviously didn't want to explain every single thing, but he went overboard and really explained nothing. After reading the book, I still didn't understand the point of the story.

The transitions between points of view were horrible, though that could be the fault of the editors and the format of the book not the author. I would be reading from the point of view of one character and without any indication, end up reading about another character in a totally different environment.

What makes it even worse is how inappropriate the dialogue were. It did not match the setting the author tried to set up. Like what another reviewer said, it's like listening to modern teenagers talk. It keeps me from really getting into the world.

I feel like there is a lot of potential, and I'm being generous with 2 stars. Maybe his other books are better, but I'm not sure if I'm going to check those out.
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BeckyIA
4.0 out of 5 stars A new author to watch
Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2007
I foung Django Wexler's debut novel to be one of the better ones I've had the opportunity to read. Demons, sellswords, draek, and battles to be won. A map would have been nice, but hey, that's what imagination is for, right? I have to agree with one other reviewer who was extremely disppointed in the quality of Medallion Press' editing. The mispellings, the run-ons and the general appearance of lack of care with a new author is frustrating. I hope Django Wexler continues with his writing. I consider him definitely to be an author to watch.
3 people found this helpful
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Messiahsez
5.0 out of 5 stars could not put it down, my wife either
Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2005
great work. could not put it down. my wife is devouring it now. i want more.
3 people found this helpful
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