5 star review - Heirs of Empire by S. A. Melia

Reviewed by Christian Sia for Readers’ Favorite

S A Melia’s Heirs of Empire (Dodecahedral) follows the boy-king Teodor, thought dead after being lost in the wilds of Sas Darona; he returns riding the Charliki, the black Queen of Spiders. He finds out his cousin Tomas Storm has seized command of the Dome Militant, once his father’s army, and now sits on the throne. Plague-filled fire domes are consuming his capital, London. The love of his life, Nuria, who gave her life essence to save him, remains unconscious. He also learns that his two best friends, Guy Erma and Marline Jewel, are the lost Imperial heirs, and their bloodlines are targeted. Everything changes when Tomas kidnaps Marline, and his Magpies turn on the Dome Militant. Teodor must decide whether or not to make a desperate move with his giant arachnids. Across two worlds, royals are anointed, brothers fall, and no one is safe.

S A Melia creates characters I cared about deeply, especially Teodor, who suffers and faces challenges at every turn. He must prove that a king is measured not by blood, but by sacrifice. Marline captivated me as a character; I loved her wit and how she uses it to survive captivity. The worldbuilding in Heirs of Empire (Dodecahedral) is exquisitely developed and filled with details that create the magic, like the eerie hush inside the fire domes, Sas Darona's broken moon “like a freshly decapitated boiled egg,” and personal spiders spinning silk armor mid-battle. The cliffhangers and a countdown make it impossible to put this book aside. It is a fast-paced blend of fantasy and sci-fi, crafted with gorgeous prose and dialogue that sparkles on the pages.