Garth Nix, bestselling author of the Keys to the Kingdom series and Shade’s Children, combines space opera with a coming-of-age story in his YA novel A Confusion of Princes.
Superhuman. Immortal. Prince in a Galactic Empire. There has to be a catch….
Khemri learns the minute he becomes a Prince that princes need to be hard to kill—for they are always in danger. Their greatest threat? Other Princes. Every Prince wants to become Emperor and the surest way to do so is to kill, dishonor, or sideline any potential competitor. There are rules, but as Khemri discovers, rules can be bent and even broken.
There are also mysteries. Khemri is drawn into the hidden workings of the Empire and is dispatched on a secret mission. In the ruins of space battle, he meets a young woman, called Raine, who challenges his view of the Empire, of Princes, and of himself. But Khemri is a Prince, and even if he wanted to leave the Empire behind, there are forces there that have very definite plans for his future.
A Confusion of Princes
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Book Description
Best Value
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Gr 8 Up-Khemri, now 19, was taken from his parents at birth to be molded into a superhuman, nearly immortal prince of a vast intergalactic empire, joining millions of others like him who carry out the work of the mysterious "Imperial Mind." As his training wraps up and he is set to begin his duties, Khemri discovers that being a young prince of the empire is not all he hoped it would be, and he must prove himself worthy of the title. A year into his service, he is stripped of his super powers and sent on a secret mission where he falls in love and begins to question his destiny. Conceited and overconfident with grand plans of rising to Emperor himself, Khemri soon realizes there is more to life than immortality and all-encompassing power. Garth Nix weaves an intricate plot (HarperCollins 2012) and creates a fascinating futuristic world with enough action, space gadgetry, and tech lingo to appease hard-core science fiction fans, while providing a rich story and deep characterization that will win over those hesitant to delve into the genre. Michael Goldstrom's crisp voice brings the character to life, delivering the first-person text with an initial air of cockiness and later humility as the prince undergoes his internal transformation. He uses unique and sometimes electronically enhanced voices to distinguish the cast of characters, making this a highly enjoyable listen.-Amy Dreger, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Beachwood, OHα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
--This text refers to the
Audio CD
edition.
Review
Space battles! Political intrigue! Engineered warriors! Techno-wizardry! Assassins! Pirates! Rebels! Duels! Secrets, lies, sex and True Love! What more can anybody ask for? (Kirkus Reviews (starred review) )
Nix’s fantasy has enough gadgets, escapes, battles, duels, deaths, and near-death experiences to keep die-hard adventure story readers enthralled. Happily, Khemri is also a thoughtful, winsome, and somewhat complex character, and his cheerfully self-deprecating tone and unpredictable choices make this romp entertaining on multiple levels. (Horn Book (starred review) )
Nix once again proves his mastery of speculative fiction [as] he manages to tell a tale that is grand in scope with vivid characters and imaginative technology. (School Library Journal (starred review) )
[An] exciting space opera. (Publishers Weekly )
Khemri’s first person point of view, along with a fast-paced, action- and plot-driven story, is sure to appeal to fans of the Star Wars universe and any number of first-person shooter video games. (ALA Booklist )
Garth Nix’s A CONFUSION OF PRINCES is YA FOUNDATION meets DUNE. (Tor.com )
“Exuberant and insightful. The rocket-powered pace and epic world-building provide an ideal vehicle for what is, at heart, a sweet paean to what it means to be human.”— (Kirkus Reviews (starred review) )
Nix’s fantasy has enough gadgets, escapes, battles, duels, deaths, and near-death experiences to keep die-hard adventure story readers enthralled. Happily, Khemri is also a thoughtful, winsome, and somewhat complex character, and his cheerfully self-deprecating tone and unpredictable choices make this romp entertaining on multiple levels. (Horn Book (starred review) )
Nix once again proves his mastery of speculative fiction [as] he manages to tell a tale that is grand in scope with vivid characters and imaginative technology. (School Library Journal (starred review) )
[An] exciting space opera. (Publishers Weekly )
Khemri’s first person point of view, along with a fast-paced, action- and plot-driven story, is sure to appeal to fans of the Star Wars universe and any number of first-person shooter video games. (ALA Booklist )
Garth Nix’s A CONFUSION OF PRINCES is YA FOUNDATION meets DUNE. (Tor.com )
“Exuberant and insightful. The rocket-powered pace and epic world-building provide an ideal vehicle for what is, at heart, a sweet paean to what it means to be human.”— (Kirkus Reviews (starred review) )
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More About the Author
Garth Nix has worked as a bookseller, book sales representative, publicist, editor, marketing consultant and literary agent. He also spent five years as a part-time soldier in the Australian Army Reserve. A full-time writer since 2001, more than five million copies of his books have been sold around the world and his work has been translated into 38 languages. Garth's books have appeared on the bestseller lists of The New York Times, Publishers Weekly (US), The Bookseller(UK), The Australian and The Sunday Times (UK). He lives in Sydney, Australia, with his wife and two children.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
The galaxy-spanning Empire is ruled primarily by the ten million Princes, young men and women enhanced by Bitek, Psitek and Mektek, and educated to rule. Psychically attached to the Imperial Mind, they can be reborn over and over.
But the Princes pretty much live in a gilded cage, and the protagonist of "A Confusion of Princes" takes awhile to discover that. Garth Nix's first sci-fi novel in fifteen years is an epic space opera, slowly following a young man through his lifetime as a Prince -- and while it's slow-moving at times, Nix's unique "teks" and society make it a delight.
The first days of Khemri's life as a Prince are less fun than he expected -- he's nearly assassinated twice, and his Master of Assassins Haddad whisks him off to join the Imperial Navy (which he doesn't want to do). And after he's connected to the Imperial Mind, Khemri begins to realize that unseen powers in the Empire have special plans for him... assuming he isn't permanently killed first.
But despite a rocky start (including a quiet feud with House Jerrazis), Khemri distinguishes himself when he dies defending a post from the alien Sad-Eyes. When he graduates, a mysterious priest offers him a special assignment as an "Adjuster."
However, the entry test for being an Adjuster involves months of living as a normal human, vulnerable to a permanent death. Khemri -- now renamed "Khem" and and without most of his tek abilities -- ends up living in the Kharalcha system, where he falls in love with a young woman named Raine. As his half-hidden destiny in the Empire approaches him, Khemri must figure out what he truly wants -- a life in the Empire, or a human life?
I'm not into most kinds of space opera, usually because the futuristic stuff just rips off "Star Trek," Heinlein, Asimov and so on. But "A Confusion of Princes" takes place in a truly brilliant world -- it has a race of psychic cyborg Princes, space mantas, ninjas, insectoid soldiers and space stations that can have anything from bamboo forests to deadly lakes to mountains in a BLIZZARD.
The writing is a little unusual for Nix, since it's entirely told from Khemri's POV. But it does give the prose a wry, clever quality, and the style is elaborate and vivid ("I felt a cold, loathsome touch, almost as if something had plunged its frozen fingers into my brain and was feeling around for something it had lost"). The story moves a little slowly at times, but the exotic sci-fi elements keep it from getting boring.
But the center of everything is Khemri. We see him evolve in a surprisingly natural way from an arrogant, naive brat into a selfless young man who... well, learns about family, love and free will, and discovers that he wants to be human. It sounds sappy, but it WORKS.
And Nix rounds it out with a solid cast, ranging from the strong-willed Raine to the insectoid warrior mekbi. The best is easily Haddad, a shadowy Master of Assassins who serves as a father/uncle figure to Khemri, but who has a bittersweet undercurrent to his tutelage. If there's a problem, it's that a few of the minor characters could have used a bit more fleshing out (Tyrtho, who seems significant but... isn't).
Garth Nix leaves behind a lot of space opera cliches in "A Confusion of Princes," a slow-moving, character-propelled sci-fi tale. Definitely a must-see.
But the Princes pretty much live in a gilded cage, and the protagonist of "A Confusion of Princes" takes awhile to discover that. Garth Nix's first sci-fi novel in fifteen years is an epic space opera, slowly following a young man through his lifetime as a Prince -- and while it's slow-moving at times, Nix's unique "teks" and society make it a delight.
The first days of Khemri's life as a Prince are less fun than he expected -- he's nearly assassinated twice, and his Master of Assassins Haddad whisks him off to join the Imperial Navy (which he doesn't want to do). And after he's connected to the Imperial Mind, Khemri begins to realize that unseen powers in the Empire have special plans for him... assuming he isn't permanently killed first.
But despite a rocky start (including a quiet feud with House Jerrazis), Khemri distinguishes himself when he dies defending a post from the alien Sad-Eyes. When he graduates, a mysterious priest offers him a special assignment as an "Adjuster."
However, the entry test for being an Adjuster involves months of living as a normal human, vulnerable to a permanent death. Khemri -- now renamed "Khem" and and without most of his tek abilities -- ends up living in the Kharalcha system, where he falls in love with a young woman named Raine. As his half-hidden destiny in the Empire approaches him, Khemri must figure out what he truly wants -- a life in the Empire, or a human life?
I'm not into most kinds of space opera, usually because the futuristic stuff just rips off "Star Trek," Heinlein, Asimov and so on. But "A Confusion of Princes" takes place in a truly brilliant world -- it has a race of psychic cyborg Princes, space mantas, ninjas, insectoid soldiers and space stations that can have anything from bamboo forests to deadly lakes to mountains in a BLIZZARD.
The writing is a little unusual for Nix, since it's entirely told from Khemri's POV. But it does give the prose a wry, clever quality, and the style is elaborate and vivid ("I felt a cold, loathsome touch, almost as if something had plunged its frozen fingers into my brain and was feeling around for something it had lost"). The story moves a little slowly at times, but the exotic sci-fi elements keep it from getting boring.
But the center of everything is Khemri. We see him evolve in a surprisingly natural way from an arrogant, naive brat into a selfless young man who... well, learns about family, love and free will, and discovers that he wants to be human. It sounds sappy, but it WORKS.
And Nix rounds it out with a solid cast, ranging from the strong-willed Raine to the insectoid warrior mekbi. The best is easily Haddad, a shadowy Master of Assassins who serves as a father/uncle figure to Khemri, but who has a bittersweet undercurrent to his tutelage. If there's a problem, it's that a few of the minor characters could have used a bit more fleshing out (Tyrtho, who seems significant but... isn't).
Garth Nix leaves behind a lot of space opera cliches in "A Confusion of Princes," a slow-moving, character-propelled sci-fi tale. Definitely a must-see.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bitek, Mektek, Psitek, shiplice... finally a scifi with actual "sci"
July 10, 2012
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Garth Nix's CONFUSION OF PRINCES reminds me of the classic scifi that I grew up with. Sort of a combination of Robert Heinlein's early work with a transfusion from Larry Niven and maybe a wee bit of Keith Laumer's RETIEF liberally sprinkled about.
As a consequence you can expect more science speculation than you get in most current YA literature, and some cleverly humorous observations about the way the Universe and it's inherent beaucracy works --now and apparently in the far future as well.
The world building in this book is excellent. The story is told in First Person but beautifully done so that you get a real feel for what it feels like to live in Prince Khemri's world. Khemri's been augmented in dozens of ways. Made into a real super human, but despite that, Nix manages to make the super-abilities not so much of an advantage, and the prince comes off as vulnerable, and frequently naive.
Which brings me to another wonderful aspect of this book: CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. Hot D*, it's nice to run across because it's not something I find in the YA dystopias I've been reading. For while I truly enjoyed Divergent/Insurgent, Enclave, and Partials, their heroes and heroines really all find themselves at the end of the book with the same over-achiever competence they began with. You don't see anyone's eyes opening, nor any shocking internal revelation.
Now, on the downside, the secondary characters weren't that well developed. I understood the main character perfectly, and comprehended his culture and biases very well, but there was a wall that existed between me and other characters. It might be a result of the First Person telling, but they remained flat for me.
.
.
Final Notes:
CONFUSIONS OF PRINCES is not a quick read. It's not frothy and fast. It's intelligent and 'full bodied'.
There's no swearing (that I recall), but there is more than one mention of drug use and courtesans of all genders who tend to the princes' pleasures. Nothing 'raw'. Mild violence.
I recommend this books to adults that like classic scifi, as well as it's recommended YA audience. I wish it was a series.
Pam T~
As a consequence you can expect more science speculation than you get in most current YA literature, and some cleverly humorous observations about the way the Universe and it's inherent beaucracy works --now and apparently in the far future as well.
The world building in this book is excellent. The story is told in First Person but beautifully done so that you get a real feel for what it feels like to live in Prince Khemri's world. Khemri's been augmented in dozens of ways. Made into a real super human, but despite that, Nix manages to make the super-abilities not so much of an advantage, and the prince comes off as vulnerable, and frequently naive.
Which brings me to another wonderful aspect of this book: CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. Hot D*, it's nice to run across because it's not something I find in the YA dystopias I've been reading. For while I truly enjoyed Divergent/Insurgent, Enclave, and Partials, their heroes and heroines really all find themselves at the end of the book with the same over-achiever competence they began with. You don't see anyone's eyes opening, nor any shocking internal revelation.
Now, on the downside, the secondary characters weren't that well developed. I understood the main character perfectly, and comprehended his culture and biases very well, but there was a wall that existed between me and other characters. It might be a result of the First Person telling, but they remained flat for me.
.
.
Final Notes:
CONFUSIONS OF PRINCES is not a quick read. It's not frothy and fast. It's intelligent and 'full bodied'.
There's no swearing (that I recall), but there is more than one mention of drug use and courtesans of all genders who tend to the princes' pleasures. Nothing 'raw'. Mild violence.
I recommend this books to adults that like classic scifi, as well as it's recommended YA audience. I wish it was a series.
Pam T~
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Many of my friends have been certain to inform me about how horrible I am for not reading Garth Nix's Sabriel and its accompanying novels. Okay, so I haven't read them, and as many times as I try to get them back into my to-be-read pile, they never seem to make it to the top. Yet, I have attempted some other Nix novels, and always found myself somewhat disappointed. With all of the hype I've heard about Sabriel, my expectations for Nix are very high, and so far nothing has really lived up to those expectations. A Confusion of Princes is just another title in that long line of Nix disappointments.
A Confusion of Princes takes place in a highly science fiction-like world where Princes are programed from birth for their responsibilities. And when the time comes, out of the many Prince candidates, one will be chosen as Emperor. More than anything, Khemri wants that honor -he can even feel the crown of the empire on his head. But that crown threatens to slip after he's sent off on a secret mission after graduation from military school -a mission that brings him into contact with a woman named Raine.
Let's take a look at this book in pieces -there were some good pieces and some not-so-good pieces. First, the writing. Nix is undoubtedly an incredible writer, he weaves elements of the world and characters together effortlessly, his style is fun and easy to read, and he really brings characters to life on the page. If it wasn't for Nix's strong characters, I may not have been able to finish this book (and overlook the not-so-good elements).
And, the not-so-good elements: this book was incredibly predictable. I pretty much knew the plot as soon as the truth behind Khemri's secret mission was revealed and he started to get to know Raine. Even worse, the predictable plot of the book isn't that original. There were no unexpected twists, no shocking moments, nothing that set this book apart from everything else out there that it mimics. Speaking of mimicking -Princes reads like a video game, complete with having multiple lives, somewhat cheesy science fiction elements and an imperial system with an outer space backdrop (it's been done in video games).
Strong characters and a fun writing style are what got me through this book. Though I was able to get through it rather easily, the other elements were major distractions. This book may work for some readers, but I was really looking for something more original and less predictable.
A Confusion of Princes takes place in a highly science fiction-like world where Princes are programed from birth for their responsibilities. And when the time comes, out of the many Prince candidates, one will be chosen as Emperor. More than anything, Khemri wants that honor -he can even feel the crown of the empire on his head. But that crown threatens to slip after he's sent off on a secret mission after graduation from military school -a mission that brings him into contact with a woman named Raine.
Let's take a look at this book in pieces -there were some good pieces and some not-so-good pieces. First, the writing. Nix is undoubtedly an incredible writer, he weaves elements of the world and characters together effortlessly, his style is fun and easy to read, and he really brings characters to life on the page. If it wasn't for Nix's strong characters, I may not have been able to finish this book (and overlook the not-so-good elements).
And, the not-so-good elements: this book was incredibly predictable. I pretty much knew the plot as soon as the truth behind Khemri's secret mission was revealed and he started to get to know Raine. Even worse, the predictable plot of the book isn't that original. There were no unexpected twists, no shocking moments, nothing that set this book apart from everything else out there that it mimics. Speaking of mimicking -Princes reads like a video game, complete with having multiple lives, somewhat cheesy science fiction elements and an imperial system with an outer space backdrop (it's been done in video games).
Strong characters and a fun writing style are what got me through this book. Though I was able to get through it rather easily, the other elements were major distractions. This book may work for some readers, but I was really looking for something more original and less predictable.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
excellent storytelling
Very entertaining story. Excellent book for adults as well as teenagers. Very imaginative world and great fleshing out of the societ.
Published 2 days ago by Andrew S.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting Storyline
This is an interesting story and it shows a unique side of Garth Nix. I bought this book because I need a Garth Nix fix and this book does the trick. Great sci-fi!
Published 6 days ago by C. Nelson
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not his best work.
I was unimpressed by this Nix novel. It lacks his signature flare and while the premise of the plot is absolutely amazing, I feel like he didn't maximize it. Read more
Published 9 days ago by N. Ashford
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pretty good, but not my thing...
I have never really cared for books like this, and was never a huge fan of Garth Nix, but this book wasn't that bad. Read more
Published 9 days ago by Josh Strickland
3.0 out of 5 stars
Didn't enjoy it, but kept reading out of curiosity
I didn't enjoy the story, and I didn't like the protagonist, but I did finish the book because it kept me curious. But I wasn't satisfied by the ending. Read more
Published 14 days ago by Indalo
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Author!
Garth Nix is an amazing author. He creates worlds and characters that are so detailed and realistic.
He's one of my favorites and this book is another great one from him
He's one of my favorites and this book is another great one from him
Published 1 month ago by KN
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great book that could have been improved upon.
"A Confusion of Princes" was one of the best Nix books I've read yet. Having long-since been a fan of his "Keys to the Kingdom" series, I was eagerly anticipating getting my hands... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Tome Raider
4.0 out of 5 stars
An easy sci-fi
I really enjoyed this book. I read it while I was very stressed and out and I couldn't seem to put it down. Read more
Published 2 months ago by indychaser
3.0 out of 5 stars
Princes of the Universe original and enjoyable read.
I enjoyed reading this book it was very different from many of the other Grath Nix books I have read. My favorite by him are the Abhorsen series. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Annalisa L.
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book!
Once I started reading it I literally couldn't put it down till I finished it! I loved this book so much!!!
Published 2 months ago by Carlisle Hochenedel
