Rise of Empire

We join Royce and Hadrian again, but this time they're far deeper in Averyn politics than before. Additionally, we start to see Royce's hard facade crack a bit and he's a bit more human (something that has me worried for the fifth and sixth books). Of the two books in this omnibus, I definitely enjoyed the fourth book, The Emerald Storm, more because I'm a sucker for a nautical setting in fantasy books. Royce and Hadrian flounder onboard the ship for the first few days and eventually get better, with Royce using his accumulated talents for the good of the ship, while Hadrian enjoys a rather sedate job as cook. Meanwhile, we continue to see the New Empire grow, shift, and change as they work on binding everyone to their rule with the Essendons (in particular Arista) and Degan being some of the few willing to challenge them.

The fourth book leaves you without a clear ending, a gray area much like most of the characters, and it has me frothing at the mouth to start the third, and final, omnibus.