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    A Confusion of Princes
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    A Confusion of Princes
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    A Confusion of Princes
    Audiobook9 hours

    A Confusion of Princes

    Written by Garth Nix

    Narrated by Michael Goldstrom

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    You'd think being a Prince in a vast intergalactic empire would be about as good as it gets. Particularly when Princes are faster, smarter, and stronger than normal humans. Not to mention being mostly immortal.

    But it isn't as great as it sounds. Princes need to be hard to kill-as Khemri learns the minute he becomes one-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. . . .

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateMay 15, 2012
    ISBN9780739368275
    Author

    Garth Nix

    Garth Nix is a New York Times bestselling novelist and has been a full-time writer since 2001 but has also worked as a literary agent, marketing consultant, book editor, book publicist, book sales representative, bookseller, and part-time soldier in the Australian Army Reserve. Garth’s many books include the Old Kingdom fantasy series, beginning with Sabriel and continuing to Goldenhand; the sci-fi novels Shade’s Children and A Confusion of Princes; the Regency romance with magic Newt’s Emerald; and novels for children including The Ragwitch, the Seventh Tower series, the Keys to the Kingdom series, and Frogkisser!, which is now in development as a feature film with Fox Animation/Blue Sky Studios. Garth has written numerous short stories, some of which are collected in Across the Wall and To Hold the Bridge. He has also cowritten several children’s book series with Sean Williams, including TroubleTwisters and Have Sword, Will Travel. More than six million copies of his books have been sold around the world and his work has been translated into forty-two languages.

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    Reviews for A Confusion of Princes

    3.5/5

    155 ratings24 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Lots of technobabble, but since it is a world-building series-opener, I can forgive the author for the glut of information. What interested me was the idea of a battle to be royale, as it were. Multitudes of children taken to be molded into the next heir apparent of this future society; all given the best of everything and then turned out and told to kill their way to the throne. An interesting concept- and a new MMORPG, apparently.
    • 4/5
      A fun read looking into the journey from being a Prince among millions of Princes to becoming the one to replace the Emperor. This takes place every 20 years and Prince Khemri has quite an adventure along the way.
    • 4/5
      I received an ARC of this book from Harper through a First Reads giveaway.

      This is the 10th book I've read by Garth Nix, having previously read the Old Kingdom and Seventh Tower series as well as Across the Wall. A Confusion of Princes shares some thematic similarities to the Seventh Tower series since both center around a main character raised in a life of privilege who discovers the world he lives in is more complex than he was taught. Also both protagonists encounter girls which lead them to question the values of their societies.

      Not knowing much more than the genre and what I could gather from the back cover blurb, I was expecting a science fiction plot based around political intrigue. That turned out to be the case, but there is also a significant element of military action which would not be out of place in, say, a John Scalzi novel. Likewise, the technology described will not be surprising to an experienced reader of SF, though newcomers to the genre might feel a bit adrift until they can work things out from context. The result is an entertaining mix of action and scheming, as Princes vie with each other as well as outside threats in a intriguing SF universe.

      The content is a little more mature than some of Nix's other books, though nothing that couldn't be found in other YA novels. I was pleased to see that the futuristic Empire reflects the human diversity of real life, with Khemri described as brown and other characters running the gamut. The Empire, through distopianly hierarchical, is also rather egalitarian in a way. There is no mention of racial conflict and the term "Prince" is employed in a gender neutral way. Though Princes enjoy the largest amount of freedom in this society, they are still constrained in their choices, as Khemri discovers. Other people have far less freedom, with some reduced to being basically human automatons, and the lives of the lower classes are held in low regard. Ultimately this aspect of Imperial society is relatively unexplored, since our first person narrator is rather self-focused throughout.

      All in all, I rather enjoyed this novel and was pleasantly surprised to find it resolving satisfyingly at the end, since I had been anticipating that this might be the first in a larger series. This was also a disadvantage however. Although Khemri's personal story comes to a neat conclusion, the fate of the rest of the galaxy is largely up in the air and the outlook for Khemri and those he cares about could eventually be very bleak indeed. Looking at Garth Nix's website I see that an online game is apparently being developed around the same universe, but I would welcome another novel that explored the Empire and its neighbors further.
    • 3/5
      A quick read, and an interesting coming of age story. The far future Nix created is interesting, and he uses it well to comment on privilege, duty and happiness. The second half feels very rushed, particularly the last section, but overall it was still enjoyable.
    • 2/5
      Rating refers to the audiobook only.I remember enjoying the book when it was originally published, but I couldn’t get on with the audiobook. It was partly the narrator’s voice and partly, I think, the difficulty of trying to keep track of the plethora of strange words and names.
    • 4/5
      This space opera romp drops you into the head of a young prince, whose altered body and mind place them in the elite class of rulers over a galactic empire. Thrust into a world of assassinations, politics, and far more danger than they expected, this adventure takes you through Khemri's maturation. The point-of-view is excellently deployed. The narrator casually drops mentions of incredible cruelties, which princes of the empire have simply learned to accept. Furthermore, the strange technologies and politics of the empire were paced out and revealed enticingly.The book's ending was a let-down. After such delicious point-of-view dissonance, having Khemri quickly internalize a moral code that the reader could more easily sympathize with was rushed and unsatisfying. I recommend this book despite the ending for anyone who likes coming-of-age adventure stories with a space flavor.
    • 3/5
      Kind of a silly spaceboy coming of age tale.
    • 3/5
      From birth, Khemri has been molded into a superhuman Prince of the Empire, one of millions who work to carry out the will of the "Imperial Mind." After years of training, he is stripped of his powers and sent on a secret mission in which he begins to question his destiny.The first half of the book is mostly setting up the world and Khemri's role in it, so it feels slow until about midway through. The plot and Khemri's overall character arc was somewhat predictable, but how it happened was pretty fun to read once things really got going. Only three stars because it took so long for me to get invested in it--maybe bigger fans of science fiction would enjoy the world building better than I did.
    • 4/5
      Wow. This one was unique.

      Nowhere near as powerful as some of Nix's earlier works (The Abhorsen Trilogy, Shade's Children), but Nix has always been the epitome of the epic world builder for me. He creates an amazing, unique world, and manages to fit some incredibly unique characters within it who have compelling story lines, which always appeals. I've not been as much a fan of the Keys to the Kingdom series, which always felt like they were aimed at younger readers, but I remain highly respectful of him.

      The missing star represents the fact that I just didn't like this as much as some of those previous books. It does not mean it wasn't a good book. Very cool.
    • 4/5
      Garth Nix presents another of his usual high-concept, action-packed universes, and for a YA audience it does not disappoint. The main character goes from superhuman to human, a narrative path exactly opposite of the one most books give us, and it's all the stronger for it.I was sad to see how quickly the story moved past certain characters. Very interesting people are introduced into the story, and then quickly snatched away as the rapid pace moves relentlessly on. Again, I feel this is a testament to the intended YA audience. As an adult reader, I would have liked to have spent more time in each of the major settings of the novel, getting to know the secondary characters that much better, and seeing (rather than being told) how these changes affected our narrator.A fun casual read.
    • 3/5
      This kept switching genres on me. The main character begins life as an incredibly privileged prince who is trained in war and espionage by his innumerable servants and androids. He battles the other princes (both male and female) to survive, knowing that only one of them will one day be chosen by the king (who is not their biological father, and who was once a prince in their position hirself) to be the next ruler of a galaxy-spanning empire.

      Then, he undergoes several years of tests, in which he is abandoned without weapons or any of his formerly necessary servants in various dangerous situations, from wild jungles to a human mining town.

      And eventually, he turns against the empire he once hoped to rule. But his realization that he loves a human girl and does not wish to rule is too late--he's already been chosen to be the next king. At which point the story becomes very trippy indeed, with plot reveals and conversation taking place in a purely psychic realm.

      It is very much not a book I expected from the cover, the title, or the author. It's good, but goes by too quickly. Too much is passed over; too many personality sea changes take place without enough to support them. It is definitely good, but I think if it had been expanded it would have been better.
    • 3/5
      I loved the Abhorsen trilogy. The story was complex, the characters were compelling, and the fear was well crafted. This new one? It felt like cotton candy. A pleasant read but I couldn't remember much of it when I was done.It didn't help that there was a mistake early on: “As you are not aligned with any senior Prince, and as he is actively recruiting, he will with a 0.98 percent certainty offer you attachment to his own House…”Umm... 98 percent is a great probability, as is 0.98 certainty. But 0.98 percent? That sucks. And it really bugs me when a mistake like this pulls me out of the fiction I am reading.
    • 3/5
      First thing to note: the protagonist of this seems to be a person of colour. It's only mentioned a couple of times, and the cover obscures this fact, but I'm pretty certain of it. Yay for Garth Nix; ugh at cover design.A Confusion of Princes is really fun. I enjoy most of Garth Nix's stuff, and it was interesting to read something that is more technology-based than magic-based. I think I might prefer his fantasy work, but still, I found this very enjoyable and I liked the concept of the world he created. The romantic subplot was predictable, and I figured out immediately the necessary elements were introduced how Khem would end and what he'd do.I'm not sure about the narrative voice. It had to be first person narration, I think, for the characterisation to work, but there were some info-dumpy bits that felt clunky and Khemri doesn't start out as the nicest person to know -- and unless I missed something, the reason why he narrates the story in the way he does isn't explained. I.e. why does he record his story and put it somewhere it could be accessed by a Prince if he just wants to settle into his new life? He's told his story to Raine, to whom it most matters. It also didn't quiiiite work for me in his quick progression from Prince to person, even inside his head. That part of the story went by too fast.Still, A Confusion of Princes is a good read, quick and absorbing.
    • 4/5
      Garth Nix has an uncanny ability to create characters I fiercely identify with, mainly because no matter how fantastical or alien the universe they inhabit, these characters are unavoidably, unapologetically human. They have egos, and at times they can be arrogant, reckless, foolish or even cowardly. But beyond any of this, Nix's creations have a great deal of heart. Prince Khemri, Nix's latest protagonist, is no exception.You see, Khemri has been chosen. From a young age he has been raised in luxury, taught to use his physical and psychic enhancements, and regaled with tales of the deeds he will do and the battles he will win as he fulfils his destiny to become the next Emperor. Unfortunately, the other ten million Princes of the Empire have been raised on the same tales. And when Khemri comes of age he quickly discovers that there is more to the stories than anyone has been told.Khemri is in over his head, fighting to stay alive and one step ahead of his rival Princes. When he's selected for a special opportunity, Khemri must go outside the Empire for a year and make his way back alone for any hope of gaining the power he's expected his whole life. But will he want to return after he's seen what life outside the Empire is really like?Nix takes an interesting approach to worldbuilding: he doesn't spoon feed a comprehensive outline of his universe to the reader, choosing rather to let the pertinent information come out over the course of the story. I love this, because it feels as though Nix trusts his readers enough to let them work their way into his world, rather than being passively led through it.Make no mistake: this is my kind of writing. The plot is tightly constructed and satisfyingly complex, with a few different and equally valid points of view to consider. Khemri is a wonderful protagonist, and the supporting cast are just as well imagined, particularly Haddad, Khemri's Master of Assassins (who even gets his own short story at the end of the book!).
    • 3/5
      amazing worldbuilding, cardboard characters
    • 4/5
      Finally managed to pry it from my husband. I really did enjoy the read, a universe where ten million princes fight for the right to be emperor, being trained and moulded into a certain mind-set. Into this world comes Prince Khemri, who dies three times and from these deaths learns how to live.Very much in the tradition of the older SF it does seem to come abruptly to a halt after a roller-coaster ride to that point.
    • 3/5
      Khemri is an arrogant young Prince of a star-spanning empire, biologically altered and psionically enhanced for superiority. And it turns out he’s been selected for special treatment even among Princes, if he can survive his training. His superpowers are supposedly limited in various ways, though I didn’t often have a sense of genuine risk. The narrative framing—wisdom recalling the actions and emotions of callow youth—draws the sting of some of the awful stuff he does, but there are still the mind-enslaved courtesans (and other servants) who make up the Princes’ staff. At the end he realizes that love is better, but “better” isn’t what was wrong with the mind-enslaved courtesans, and I didn’t feel that “whew, I’m glad I’m out of there” was exactly the reaction I wanted from my heroes.
    • 5/5
      This was a quite enjoyable piece of fiction from an author that I already enjoy. I'd seen a recommendation for this book on the web a few months ago, so I was eager to get it through the library.When it came in, I was completely enthralled with it... for just over 3 hours. The brevity of the book was my only real issue with it. Nix created an expansive, amazing universe, populated it with a rich tapestry of characters in a complex and fully-realized political structure, and then kicked us out after only a couple hundred pages. I would have preferred a much longer story, or even a series of stories. I want to know so much more about the side characters and their various stories, and what happens to the Empire after this book is finished.... I realize it's just supposed to be a short sci-fi offering for young adults, but this universe is too brilliant to be constrained to just a single volume. Please, Mr. Nix, give us more!
    • 4/5
      A Confusion of Princes is the first book by Garth Nix that I've read, despite his being an Australian author of some note. After reading it, his other books have moved up on my mental TBR list.The story takes place in a space opera galactic empire, complete with fancy technology, body augmentations and psychic priests holding the empire together. The empire is run by the Emperor and the Imperial Mind, a sort of psychic presence that monitors almost everything and directs the actions of the empire's priests, assassins and princes. Princes are chosen from a young age based mostly on genetic predisposition to the augmentations that make them super human. They're taken away from their ordinary human families and raised in temples (which have very little to do with religion) and trained to be arrogant and self-centred pricks.The thing that prevented the main character from being insufferable was that the story was told retrospectively by his grown-up self (mind you, he's 18-19 for most of the story), who fully acknowledged what an idiot he was. I think if it was told in a more present manner, he would have been much more insufferable. There were many humorous moments where I laughed out loud at him as he learnt how the real world worked. I was also amused by some of the scenarios Nix set up which seemed to be poking fun at certain SF/space opera tropes.A Confusion of Princes is also a very action-packed and fast paced novel. Although it covers about two years, it jumped from highlight to highlight quite quickly with several "and nothing exciting happened for a few months" moments. In a way this was good because it kept the plot moving, but I also couldn't help but want to know more about the world Nix has built. Although this is a stand-alone novel, I wouldn't mind reading more stories set in the same world. There was a short story appended in the edition I bought (which I think is the standard Aussie Allen & Unwin edition — can I just say how nice it is to see vapourise spelt with both a u and an s?), about the main character's mysterious right hand man (aka Master of Assassins) but I didn't feel it added much to the story. I mean, it wasn't bad, I was just hoping a deeper look into the guy's psyche.What I found particularly interesting was the way all the imperial roles were gender neutral. Princes could be male or female, as could assassins and priests. There was a special gender-neutral pronoun for the Emperor heirself and while the main character was male and the world revolved around him, background characters were just as likely to be female as male (and Nix didn't shy away from the whole fighting a girl thing that trips up some). The only thing that annoyed was the whitewashing/homogenising of the main character on the front cover. He's meant to be black and spends most of the story with a mohawk.Overall, a fun read. I would call it YA but more for its brevity than, even, the coming of age aspect of the plot. Oh, and none of the science made me angry, yay! I recommend it to anyone who enjoys YA science fiction or wants a light, non-strenuous, read.4 / 5 stars
    • 4/5
      My library called this book young adult fiction but I'm far from a young adult and I enjoyed it. Prince Khemri comes of age and is assigned a Master of Assassins. Good thing because someone tries to kill him before he can connect to the Imperial Mind. If a prince isn't connected to the Imperial Mind when he is killed he can't be reborn. We know from the beginning that Khemri died three times and was reborn three times. The book tells the tale of how he came to be killed and how he survived other attempts to kill him. It would spoil the book if I told any more about it. Just read it for yourself.
    • 3/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      Prince Khemri has been trained, enhanced, and programmed since infancy to become one of the elite rulers of the galaxy. He dreams of someday becoming Emperor. When he leaves his secure training area to take his place among other Princes, however, he learns that the world is not at all what he expected. Competition between princes is cut-throat, he has to work for the luxuries he expected to come with his station, and not all Princes are just and honorable. The biggest challenge comes when he is sent on a top-secret training mission where e has to live as a normal human, among other normal humans. Will he be able to function without the technologies that have surrounded him his entire life? Will he be able to complete his mission and return to the world of privilege he's always longed for -- or does a different destiny await him?This novel is pure sci-fi, so a change of pace from what I've been reading for a while. There's plenty of action as Khemri moves from one challenging situation to another. The heart of the story, though, is Khemri's character development -- and that character development is masterfully done. Khemri goes from believing everything he's ever been told about the nature of the Empire, to learning to think for himself. He retains some of his cold analytical thinking skills, but he also slowly learns how to relate to other human beings. Some readers may feel that he doesn't change enough, but it felt entirely believable and natural to me. I'd recommend this to any reader who enjoys character-driven sci-fi.
    • 2/5
      I've always been a huge fan of Garth Nix and his writing, counting all three books in his Abhorsen trilogy among my top fantasy novels, but A Confusion of Princes left me unimpressed. I really liked the idea of A Confusion of Princes. The competitive nature of all the princes, the plotting and assassination attempts, and the secrets were all interesting, but everything seemed so vague and shallow. I never felt like the reader was given any in depth descriptions or explanations, which made it too easy to forget what I'd just read... something that isn't good in any novel, let alone a science fiction novel. My biggest complaint regarding A Confusion of Princes is the main character and narrator, Prince Khemri. I felt no connection to him at all. In fact, I found him to be quite whiny and annoying. As the novel progressed, he did improve slightly, for which I was grateful, but I still never found myself actually liking him. Instead, I sometimes wished he would die and stop being reborn so I could somehow have a different main character. Harsh? Maybe, but Khemri and I didn't see eye to eye on much. And, even when I thought that I might be able to connect with him (once he grew up a bit), Nix seemed to rush through situations where I might have come to build a bond with Khemri. This was very disappointing. The writing, however, is wonderful. I expect nothing less from Nix. Unfortunately, A Confusion of Princes fell short for me, but I wouldn't discourage you from giving this book a chance if you're a big Nix fan or a devoted lover of science fiction. Personally, I prefer Nix's fantasy novels... and if you're reading this review and are reconsidering picking up this book up, PLEASE consider reading any of Nix's other novels, especially Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen! They're excellent!
    • 5/5
      I got a copy of this book through the Amazon Vine program to review. I have really enjoyed Garth Nix’s writing in the past and was eager to see what this book would hold. I loved his Seventh Tower series and his Abhorsen series; I also enjoyed his Keys to the Kingdom series. This ended up being a great book, but was very different from anything I had read from him before.Khemri is born with a number of enhanced mechanical and biological abilities; he has been trained for years on diplomacy, history, and technology all because he is born as a Prince of the Empire. Now the time has come for him to exit training and enter his service to the Empire. Should he die, he will be reborn. This is the story of his three lives. It’s a good thing he can be reborn because as soon as he enters society he finds out that there are millions of Princes and they all want each other dead.The beginning of the book was a bit slow to start and throws a million undefined terms at the reader, many sci-fi books do this. This book wasn’t as bad as some sci-fi but it does take a bit to figure out what is going on. Khemri isn’t the most likable fellow in the beginning of the story. He feels that as a Prince he is entitled to certain respect and comforts. When he finds he is one of millions struggling to be recognized it is a bit of a shock. Although Khemri does some stupid things, he also does heed the advice of his lead advisor, which saves him a number of times.The world building here is amazing. We are talking millions of worlds and an interesting power structure for them. The scope of the story focuses on the couple worlds that Khemri is directly involved in. It is a very interesting premise as well.Khemri grows a lot as a character as the story progresses. He is forced to live side by side with humans at one point and begins to learn about things like loyalty and love; things that were foreign concepts to him.The book is action packed and fast-paced. It was a very engaging story. The whole time you are wondering why Khemri is treated somewhat different than the other Princes and you keep wondering what his fate will be. Will he become Emperor? Will he die a permanent death? What is his fate?There is a great message in here too. In the end Khemri is forced to make some hard choices; will he be who he was born to be or will he be who he wants to be? It brings up some excellent questions around morality and mortality.This is a self-contained story, so everything is nicely wrapped up. I enjoyed the irony of the ending and really ended up loving the whole story. I would recommend for older teens as there is talk about sex in here; Khemri has a slew of courtesans to ease to his needs and the sex is talked about in a very casual (yet not overly descriptive) way.Overall I really enjoyed this book. Nix has created an intricate, intriguing, and creative world that is huge in scope but manages to focus on just a few worlds so that it doesn’t overwhelm readers. Khemri is an interesting character and watching him grow as he changes from a predestined powerful Prince to something more unique is fun. The story is engaging and brings up some interesting questions about mortality. I absolutely loved this book and highly recommend to fans of Nix’s other works as well as fans of science fiction.