A feral girl, Coa, is forced to participate in a deadly game called The Great Hunt to save her family from execution in a dystopian world ruled by the nationalist regime, the Allied Force. Princess Ife, married into the authoritarian lineage, navigates a dangerous alliance to survive and take down the oppressive regime from within.

Reader Review Summary

"The Empire Wars" is an astonishingly powerful and impactful YA debut novel that brilliantly weaves together elements of fantasy, dystopia, science fiction, and social commentary into an unforgettable narrative. Akana Phenix has crafted a captivating and thought-provoking world that draws haunting parallels to real-world tragedies like genocide while exploring important themes of survival, oppression, rebellion, and the fortitude of the human spirit.

One of the book's greatest strengths is Phenix's fearless willingness to confront the harsh realities of genocide head-on. The atrocities committed by the fascistic Allied Forces regime are depicted in brutal honesty, refusing to shy away from the devastation wrought on subjugated peoples. Phenix handles these intense subject matters with remarkable care and nuance, using masterful storytelling to expose the dangerous ideologies that enable such catastrophic inhumanities. In doing so, she issues a powerful clarion call against hatred, bigotry, and the toxic perils of nationalism and ethnic supremacy ideals taken to the absolute extreme.

The world-building is staggeringly immersive and intricate, thrusting readers into a richly-realized future Earth where nations have fallen and reformed under new authoritarian rule following cataclysmic meteor strikes. Phenix meticulously layers this setting with thought-provoking socio-political and magic systems informed by both grounded realism and imaginative flourishes. The Great Hunt itself - a macabre ritualized spectacle forcing conquered "foreigners" to fight for survival while their entire families hang in the balance - makes for relentlessly gripping and high-stakes storytelling.

Equally compelling are the dueling perspectives of the two young heroines - fierce warrior Coa and princess-turned-revolutionary Ife. Their arcs showcase remarkable narrative symmetry and powerful thematic contrasts, with both characters driven by unbreakable love and devotion to their respective peoples. Their roles represent different vantage points on the Allied Forces' cruel campaign of subjugation and cultural erasure. Coa's struggles both in the deadly Hunt and as a former captive showcase the dehumanizing brutality, while Ife's position married into the regime exposes the insidious rot and dangerous ideology from within the villainous power structure. Watching these two vastly different but equally heroic young women navigate their impossible circumstances makes for riveting, emotionally-gripping fiction.

Where "The Empire Wars" truly soars is in Phenix's staggering ambition and scope. This is an intricately layered, genre-defying page-turner that fearlessly tackles systemic racism, xenophobia, dehumanization, fascist regimes, and the historical cycles of oppression. At its core burns a profoundly life-affirming message of hope, resistance, and the resilience of the human spirit against darkness. It is a harrowing yet vitally important and thought-provoking exploration of our world's worst impulses and atrocities - but also the courage and heroism that can ultimately overcome them. This is a phenomenal series-starter that establishes Akana Phenix as an immensely talented and culturally-impactful voice in speculative YA fiction.