A 5 Star Review - Readers Favourite Reviews - Born of Empire by S A Melia
Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers’ Favorite
Sally Ann Melia’s Born of Empire follows Guy Erma, a sixteen-year-old orphan raised above a London fashion house. He wants to join the Dome Militant, Earth’s elite military force based inside an enormous glass dome, but nobody ever registered his birth, leaving him unable to satisfy its entry rules. Across London, Prince Teodor is preparing to become king while his mother, Regent Sayginn, tries to remove the Dome Militant’s powerful leader, Chart Segat. When Teodor is kidnapped during a cathedral performance, children are killed, and suspicion turns to the Dome Militant. As the emperor prepares for a debate over the Dome’s future, Zaracan diplomats take an interest in the search. Guy finds himself close to the men under suspicion, caught between the military he idolizes and the fate of the missing prince.
Sally Ann Melia’s Born of Empire is brilliant political science fiction, and the author shows how the Dome Militant can terrify its greatest admirer. The suspense is fantastic, especially when Guy hides from the half-human Battle Borgs in the square, assessing their metal limbs in case he ever has to fight one. I also love Karl Valvanchi, a Zaracan officer whose boldness makes him fascinating. His offer to help Regent Sayginn find Teodor at the Festival of Fashion, despite Emperor Frederon’s objections, is excellent. The science fiction elements are creative and fit naturally into the imperial world, from miniature surveillance droids to three-dimensional maps of hidden military corridors. Throughout, the story pushes forward at a fast clip while the royal family clashes with the Dome Militant. Well written and genuinely suspenseful, readers who enjoy royal space opera will adore this first book of the Dodecahedral Space Empire series.
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