Lost interest. Same world, no longer same characters. ( )

Once again, only Achmed is marginally cool, and even that was mostly lacking this book. I'm tired of how magical it is to be a mother, and oh my god NOTHING HAPPENED. This book was pointless! ( )

I, like many others, have been waiting forever for this book. I loved the initial trilogy when I read it in high school, and continued to fall in love with them as the series continued. This book was both a joy and a disappointment. I was glad my favorite characters were featured more heavily than in the last book, and some of my less favored characters were more absent. I very much enjoyed reading it - that being said, I mostly enjoyed it because I'm already six-books-invested in this series. I'm already on board with the world and the story line. This books focuses on pushing some of the story lines along to get characters where they need to be for the next aspect of the narrative. I would be much more sympathetic to this (a common complaint about mid-series volumes) if it weren't for the fact that now we will most likely have to wait several years to find out what all of that positioning has been moving towards. For a book that took so long to come out, with no plans for an immediate sequel, it didn't have much of its own plot.

I still loved it though - I just want to recognize that I loved it because I love the whole series, not because I loved this particular installment of it. ( )

This excellent series continues after a long delay. Many scores to be settled and conflicts to be resolved. The next installment is eagerly awaited. ( )

The Merchant Emperor is the seventh book in The Symphony of Ages series by Elizabeth Haydon. With an 8 year gap since the release of book 6 and the couple more years it took me to discover that Haydon has finally finished the series, this one has been a long time coming. I was so happy to be back in this world that I've come to love with characters that I've missed.

The war for the known world has come. Talquist, former merchant and now the Emperor or Sorbold, has two ambitions: exterminate everyone involved in the Cymrian Alliance and become immortal. With the aid of a giant statue animated by a pair demons Talquist is confident he has almost everything he needs to acheive his goals. There is just one piece remaining. According to an ancient prophecy, to gain immortality Talquist needs to eat the living heart of the Child of Time. Unsure of his name or where the child is located, one thing is certain: the Child of Time is Rhapsody's newborn son. To protect her son and save her people Rhapsody must reconcile her duties as a mother and a ruler to join the war herself, wielding Daystar Clarion, whether she likes it or not.

Now that I've finished it, I have to say I feel conflicted. I think Haydon found herself in a bit of a bind when writing this book. How much would her fans remember of the previous books? With that in mind she spends a good portion of the book giving the reader reminders of what went on before through character dialog and memories. This bogs down the books pacing dramatically. Just as actual plot is revealed another flashback would be described for a few pages. While I appreciate the idea, I think she went overboard with all the reminders as they started to distract from the story itself. This continues for a good three quarters of the book before the real story begins to move forward. Once it does, I remember why I love this series so much!

The writing is wonderful as always. All the characters I have missed are back. Each of the personalities are the same as before, with their flaws and and some fantasy tropes mixed in. Achmed and Grunthor are not given near enough page time. Achmed's scene with Tristan at the end does not disappoint! Talquist's character is fleshed out more. His motivations are revealed and he's become the ultimate sociopath villain. Rhapsody's character arc came as a surprise. I'd gotten so used to her Mary Sue ways that when circumstances force her to change, it's an unexpected breath of fresh air and completely in line as something her character would do in such a situation.

The Merchant Emperor is one of those middle books that feels like the set up for something much bigger. All of the characters have been moved to their places, the stage is set, and just as things start to happen, it ends. This is definitely the bridge between what has happened before and what is going to happen next. ( )