How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It by K.J. Parker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If anything, this one might be a better read than the first, but only because I fell in love with the different characters a bit more. The first was a very engineering kind of novel. This one takes place in the same city, but years apart, and the focus is quite amusing.

Acting.

I mean, sure, we've got this cool little commonplace trope going on here where an actor takes over for whatever supreme ruler has just kicked, right, and we love it because it's absurd and full of absolute peril and we hope to see the little squirt get away with it and perhaps even do a better job of being Emperor than the original. RIGHT? Or is that just me? Nah. I think there are a lot of us who wish our supreme leaders would just get swapped out with an actor who then grows into his/her role and fixes the things that are so obviously wrong. :)

But yes, there's still a Siege going on here. And therefore it is still a good Xmas book. Who do we want to see swapped?

Not the author. This is too fun. And now that I know that K. J. Parker is just another name for Tom Holt, it looks like I have a growing list of books I need to read.

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