REVIEWED by J.A. Kenney
Review: 4.00 Stars
Summary: A Hero for the Empire is the first book in Christina Westcott‘s new The Dragon’s Bidding Series.
This futuristic tale about a militaristic empire, which has fallen into the hands of an immoral dictator.
Commander Kimber Fitzwarren is a cyberneticly augmented elite body guard whose life is being cut short by the very things that grant her her enhanced speed and strength. Her mission is simple, recruit ex-imperial turned mercenary, Wolf Youngblood, and get his help to find Arianne Ransahov. Ransahov is a military hero, and has a valid claim to the imperial throne. However, she went missing years before on a primitive planet outside the empire’s control.
Youngblood left the empire in disgrace after punching the then emperor in the face. He has spent years being a soldier for hire and running his own mercenary company.
When Fitzwarren appears in the middle of the night he is understandingly skeptical, since he just survived an imperial assassination attempt. But, he is the only one who can find his one time lover, Ransahov. The two team up to find the Empire’s much needed Hero, and non-stop action and adventure ensue.
Positives: This story is very accessible Science Fiction Romance, with a lot of almost fantastical elements, like telepathic cats, and immortal humans. Honestly, to me, it was reminiscent of Anne McCaffrey, with the science aspects being present, but not emphasized, and the human interactions being forefront.
The romance was very satisfying without feeling rushed, and the characters were all well developed.
Negatives: If you like your sci-fi more sci then fi….this might not be for you. The scientific aspects were mostly glazed over without much detail about faster than light travel, or the augmented humans, or even the aliens.
Also, the cat thing got a little out of hand. I love cats, I have 3 rescues myself, but even I started thinking, okay, I get it, there is a telepathic cat. Jumper ended up being the hero of the story just a few too many times in my opinion and it started to wash out the greater plot and love story.
Overall: This was a great read! Other than the few complaints I mentioned, it really was very well executed, well written, and well produced story. Definitely will be keeping my eyes open for more stories from this author, and in this series!
Keep Reading!
Genre: Science Fiction Romance
Publication date: October 7th, 2014
Length: 315 Pages
Blush Quotient: Red
Disclaimer: This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for a fair review.
Smart Girls love SciFi 
Great review! Love this cover! Well, maybe I could love the cover more without the cat. I love cats too–especially mine, LOL. I do remember one time when the awesome Ann McCaffrey used her telepathic cats in a really memorable way. I think it was in Damia’s book, and toddler-Damia figured out how to use the mechanism the cats triggered to open doors. Toddler on the loose! Afra to the rescue! Loved that book.
I’ll have to put A Hero for the Empire on my TBR list!
I was SO THINKING “DAMIA” when I read this book. Perhaps my favorite Anne McCaffrey book ever! But I admit Jumper was a bit more advanced and more a character than those animals…who if I recall correctly were actually cat/racoon hybrids? Need to break out the Rowan series again!
Now I really have to read Hero… I think I was In Love with Afra for a very long while. LOL. Yes, the cats in the Hive Tower series were a little different.
And I thought I was the only one with a crush on Afra! I think you will enjoy it! But I admit the connection to “Damia” might be one of those things that only my bizarre and seemingly random mental connections can make! My husband often looks over at me after a conversation segue and says….”HUH?”
I like how you state the positives and negatives in your review. I like to know how much sci-fi is in a book before I start. Nicely put!
I try to be fair and complete in my reviews, because just because I like something that doesn’t mean someone else will, or vice versa.
If anyone else reads it you might find the same parallels to Anne McCaffrey and the Hive Tower series, but it wasn’t the characters or the story even…it was the feel of the world, the space opera, and fantasy wrapped in sci-fi. But I do admit the aliens brought both Starship Troopers and the Hive to mind…