The author sent me a copy of this book at no cost. It comes out on December 1.

I read City of Lies last year, but I didn't review it because it was for the Norma K Hemming Award, and reviewing when judging feels wrong. It should be noted that this is definitely a sequel - don't come to it without the first book - and honestly that's no hardship, since the first book is excellent and I highly recommend it.

In one sense, you could describe these books in a way that makes them seem like well-written but run of the mill secondary world stories: small country beset with difficulties, strange magic system not entirely approved by the powers that be, fights enemies. That would, however, be to entirely miss what makes this series (trilogy, I assume) stand out. The dual-protagonist structure does that: brother and sister, connected to power but not really wielding it, sharing narrative duty. But again, multiple perspectives isn't all that unusual. Aspects of these siblings, though, is still highly unusual: she has what seems to be something like chronic fatigue, while he has anxiety and the sometimes-awkward coping mechanisms to deal with it. They're often in the public eye and people sometimes look on these 'conditions' with a dubious eye. And they are also both entirely competent at their jobs (diplomacy, and poison-tester) and at managing their health... issues? complications? The two of them are immensely real and relatable, not defined by what others see as (potentially) disability and also not ignoring it. These two, Jovan and Kalina, make Poison Wars unusual and excellent.

Also excellent is the writing; Hawke conjures a fascinating world, with political and commercial intrigue, malice, and cooperation interlaced throughout the different countries and their interactions. Different societies have different belief systems and social mores, and navigating those is a big part of this second book, in particular, as Silasta recovers from its civil war and the problems revealed by that. Silasta must confront its own history, and oppressed people, while also being wary of external threats. I feel that there's a particular nuance to a story touching on colonialism and empire when it's written by an Australia (maybe this can also be true of other colonial settings, too, but I find it easiest to see in Australians). Hawke deals with the lived reality of this sort of situation for colonised and colonisers, and I (as a white Australian) think she does so well.

There is excitement here, given its focus on intrigue and discovering whether someone is indeed trying to kill the Chancellor; but there's not a whole lot of set-piece battles, so if that's what you're after, you need to go elsewhere. I really like that the focus is on the people trying to stop an assassination, rather than perpetrate it; in general, the reader gets to be on the morally right side (or at least, I assume we are...) rather than cheering for a person actively trying to kill another, as in those stories focussed on the assassin themself!

Highly enjoyable; read the first book first; definitely worth throwing yourself into.

It’s been two years since Jovan and Kalina uncovered and defeated a conspiracy that threatened to overthrow the government of the city of Silasta. Since then, they’ve used their respective secret positions as poison-proofer and spy to hunt any surviving conspirators who might threaten their friend and protectee, Chancellor Tain. As the festival of karodee draws closer, Jovan becomes increasingly convinced that a larger threat to the city still remains, a worry made all the more complicated by the influx of foreign dignitaries arriving as part of the celebration. But as karodee begins, it soon becomes clear Jovan’s worries are not imaginary. The coup attempt a few years prior may have simply been the opening salvo in a much larger plot to bring down not just the city, but the entire country.

HOLLOW EMPIRE is a twisty espionage thriller set in a fantasy world. Assassinations, deadly explosions, and dark magics await you as Jovan and Kalina race to uncover the culprits and the motivations behind the attacks. It’s the kind of mystery where personal connections, international relations, and historical events each have a part to play in untangling the knot of murder and mayhem that threatens Silasta, with red herrings and dead-ends aplenty.

Jovan and Kalina are once again the POV characters, with chapters alternating between their first person perspectives. Jovan is struggles not just with his mental tics (the character being slightly on the spectrum) but with a full-on “Cassandra problem.” Even though he was instrumental in saving the city earlier, much of the leadership is ready to pretend the worst is behind them, and believe Jovan is overly paranoid, leaving him desperate to find evidence to prove his gut feelings have a basis in fact. He is also responsible for training Dija, his thirteen-year-old niece, to be his replacement poison-proofer should anything befall him and a new family member is required to step into the role. Dija is bright and a welcome new character, but Jovan isn’t quite sure what to do with her, as he’s always focused on his mission of protecting Tain above all else.

Kalina also has grown since CITY OF LIES. Where before she had to lean into her meek, unassuming role of the family invalid so that she would go overlooked, she’s now a well-known hero and allowed to operate more publicly. Although her health issues are very real, she now is on track to be a diplomat with an important ally nation, and spends much of her time mingling with political envoys from other countries, trying to assess if any of them have cause to see Silasta fall.

I enjoy a good fantasy series that does a time jump between books. While reading a trilogy that takes place in a short window of time is satisfying, it’s much more rare for an author to take a step back and let the events of one book have time to breathe and have consequence in the world at large. In CITY OF LIES, Kalina, Jovan and the rest of the city leadership were forced to confront the fact that their nation had been built on some pretty terrible treatment of the Darfri people, including stifling their culture and refusing them education. Two years isn’t enough time to fix the problems, but that small jump allowed for some steps to be made and to see how Silasta is trying to reconcile with the Darfri, to mend the rifts between the peoples. Those tensions continue to play an important part in city politics, and was a welcome layer to the overall story.

I did have one small issue with the book. By all research I can find, HOLLOW EMPIRE is book two in a duology, meaning (in my opinion) it should be putting to rest much of the questions I have about the plot and the world at large. While HOLLOW EMPIRE does resolve its plot and vanquish the immediate threat, it leaves a much bigger question about the world at large unanswered. Now, I would be THRILLED to read more books in this series, but none currently have been announced (something which is likely entirely out of the author’s hands). I understand problems are almost never neatly wrapped with a bow, but it left the overall plot feeling a bit unfinished, like there’s a book three I’ll never get to see. Again, I struggle a bit to fault the author for something they may not have control over, but it just felt a bit structurally weird to have this big unresolved issue at the end of a duology. Hopefully time will bring us more books set in this world, and this hanging thread will no longer be hanging!

That being said, I can whole-heartedly recommend this series to anyone who likes their fantasy to come with politics and espionage. The POISON WAR duology is all about mystery, intrigue, and a nation struggling to reconcile itself with a less than perfect past. Add in a splash of magic and some harrowing sequences, and HOLLOW EMPIRE makes a near-perfect cap to this fantasy series.

Hollow Empire is the second book in Sam Hawke's Poison Wars series, and one I had been waiting to read for a while. I had enjoyed Sam's first book, and was curious to see where she would take her story, and for the most part I was not let down. Hollow Empire combines elements of a mystery, regional politics, feuding families and strained relationships with just a whiff of the magical, and it works well.

Starting off a few years after the events of Lies, we reunite with Kalina and Jov (and a little bit of Tain), and get to see how they and the city have faired. While there are still issues, they seem to be doing well; Kalina is well regard by the populace for her role in freeing the city, and Jov has taken an apprentice. However mysterious deaths are starting to occur, and with foreign nationals on the way to the city, something must be done.

The Characters of the story have always been the stars in my mind. The humanness behind J and K remains at the forefront; from dealing with their chronic illness, to how they try to fit into society, the siblings shine. Their maybe opponents could be anyone, and we are given enough to work with on most that it's plausible that any could be behind the murders.

The biggest downside for me was the ending. To be honest it felt rushed and rather out of place. This was only furthered when I learnt that the second book was the end of the trilogy, adding too much neatness for my tastes. An escalation of power, a confrontation that whilst it had been hinting towards didn't feel quite right, and an...event at the last moment made me a little less in love with the story.

For the story, ending aside, I did love. I was never quite sure which direction the book would take, never quite sure whom to trust. The introduction of rival nations in the sporting events further clouded which way things would fall, and there were several times I was on the edge, wondering what would become of our protags. It felt like there was a deadline on events, so when J started delving deeper into the murders it seemed like we would get to a conclusion - but again, the book speaks to their humanness, and as such it shows how they fail as much as their succeed. Also, can we just admire the epigraphs that are littered throughout the book? Documented poisonings shouldn't make one giggle, but well, here we are.

Overall, I'd not hesitate to recommend reading Hollow Empire, especially if you enjoyed City of Lies. What was good in Lies has been made even better in it's followup.

I used this eARC copy to interview Sam Hawke about Hollow Empire for the Fantasy Inn podcast. The episode is live and the blog post can be found here: https://thefantasyinn.com/2020/12/15/e63-sam-hawke-interview/

I loved this again. The world building is truly extraordinary, in Hollow Empire the author expands that outwards, creating a wider understanding of the differing cultures that sets the scene perfectly before oh so many things start going wrong. We get alternating events between Jovan and Kalina, as well as poisoning updates that over time create a real feeling for the unfolding drama. The many many layers of narrative build over the course of the book, heading towards an edge of the seat finale.

The writing is beautiful. So much detail both in character and setting, never losing sight of the goal and genuinely addictive. In Hollow Empire you have fantasy, political thriller, mystery and hints of romance. It encompasses the best of all reading worlds and is both evocative and intelligent- with an added dose of page turning quality that will see its 500+ pages fly by if you let them.

WHAT a solid sequel. I am honestly in awe of this book. Sam Hawke returns us to Silasta with the same confidence and skill in which we were first introduced.

The stakes? Just as high. The treat? Just as deadly. The politics? 10x more thought-out, frustrating, exhilarating and intense as before.

I don't know how Hawke manages to build out a world, a people, and a culture with such finesse, but here we are given even more to sink our teeth into. As Silasta crawls back from the brink of internal destruction, Jovan and Kalina find themselves time and time again facing absolute failure. Relying on their wits, skills, and learning from mistakes made along the way, however, we are again shown that even two people at the top of their game can still grow beyond their own senses of self and become something more.

While City of Lies was a slow-burn read and utterly engaging, Hollow Empire ups the pace a bit more - there is less world building to do, less character to flesh out - but for all the whip-crack pacing, this book suffers little, if at all. Skillfully utilizing character POV to progress the plot and action, Hawke allows a deeper dive into the magic system revealed in the first Poison Wars novel, taking it to the next evolutionary status. This was a piece of the book I greatly enjoyed: the examination of the spirits and the magic, and the logical and illogical next steps. The battle of Traditionalists versus Revolutionaries, the internal politics of the magic-wielders and how they would fit into the greater society as a whole.

5/5 excellent sequel. Will keep my fingers crossed for more (should we be so lucky).

Hollow Empire is the follow up to Sam Hawke’s excellent City of Lies. And, not to give the game away, but it has all the cool stuff that made me like that book so much, but also manages to bring in a whole bunch of new cool stuff, to make it better.

Yes, I’m gushing a bit. But you know what, this book is worth it. It’s focused on politics, on reading people, on small scale actions. On poisonings and looking for the twitch at the corner of someone's eye that says they know more than they’re telling. On struggling within political institutions, and redefining those institutions. On the conflict between the rural and the urban, and on assassinations in the dark. On what people will do when they limit themselves, and what they can do when they refuse to accept those limitations. And, as ever, on the cost of past secrets in the future.


It’s...well, it’s a big book, alright? And there is just so, so much going on. It’s one part political thriller, one part epic fantasy, one part family drama, all parts awesome.


The story opens shortly after City of Lies, and once again centres on Kalina and Jovan. Siblings, one a diplomat and consummate politician, one a proofer, secret protector of the Chancellor from poisons, they form the heart of the book. Their relationship is warm, loving, and occasionally fraught. They work hard at being more one with each other, but secrets move behind everyones eyes. They love each other deeply, and that affection is visible and convincing on the page. Its a relationship of shared history, some of it filled with poison and blades in the dark. The banter is as witty and charming as ever, and both of them, in their interleaved viewpoint chapters, serve as smart, incisive commentators on each other. They’re a wonderful pair really, given agency and intelligence to see the threats before them, and working through them with skill and talent - even as they struggle to uncover the mysteries around them, the reader is walking beside them, knowing what they know, struggling to piece things together, as they do, before it is too late.


Incidentally, I want to talk about voice. Both Kalina and Jovan have utterly unique styles of thinking, and of talking. The prose given to each is distinct, memorable, and helps shape our view of each of them, and the world they inhabit. Even though they can be in the same room as each other, their perspectives, their lived experiences, can be very different, and that comes out clearly in the text. Both of them read like individuals. Kalina is fierce, ambitious, hopeful, and has a determination borne of injury and a struggle with long term illness - a topic, incidentally, which was approached sympathetically and with deft hands in City of Lies, and continues to be so here. Kalina suffers her pain as the price of her existence, but is not defined by it, and her struggles and vulnerability are very human. Jovan is more paranoid (which, given his occupation is understandable), given to obsessing over details, and falling into spirals of emotional harm alongside insight; but while this is a facet of his character, it is, again, not the only one, and he’s given the room to breathe, to shape and define himself which helps keep him real. Both, both siblings are realised with an emotional depth and intellectual ferocity which makes them come off as heroes. They do have their flaws; underestimating adversaries, trusting where they maybe shouldn’t, or not where they should, impulsiveness, caginess; but those flaws highlight their strengths, too. They highlight a loyalty to friends, a love of city and country, a willingness to do the right thing, sharp minds, and a capacity for love and affection, which mix with their flaws to give us complex protagonists whom we might recognise if we saw them in the street - or, indeed, in the mirror.


Incidentally, the City is as delightful as ever. Thronged with a population scarred by war, it;s nevertheless bursting with vitality. You can feel the cultural fusion, the slow mixing of an intra-society gumbo, coming together. There are those appearing from outside the city now, stepping into its streets with caution and optimism both, looking for opportunity, looking to help shape the path of their nation. And then there are the old embedded interests, looking to do not just what’s right for their world, but what’s right for them. And old grudges between aristocratic families of privilege are as liable to flair up lethally as newer ones between the city and the country; and, indeed, one can find odd allies all over. The city though, is the beating heart of the setting - and oh my, does it feel alive.


We do see a bit more of the setting this time too; in part that’s an exploration of rural villages, more isolated areas with communities and mores different to those we’re used to. But there’s also other nations entirely, come to see what all the fuss is about in this newly reshaped city state, From towering, expansionist Empires to more sparsely settled lands dependent on co-operation and with a penchant for river sports and log tossing, everyone has sent some observers to see what happens next - and their contrasts with the folk we’re used to, themselves a pretty diverse bunch, are exciting and shocking in equal measure. There’s a growing sense of a larger world, which has its eye on the city, andis making itself more known for the first time. You can almost feel the map unrolling, as the political perspective grows ever wider.


The story; I can’t talk about the story without spoiling it, because it’s so good. It’s a delicately woven mesh of moving parts. Character motivations, old secrets, new grudges. Quiet affections and slow poisons. There’s a whole heck of a lot going on. But you’ll walk with the characters every step of the way, trying to work out what’s going on. And I can promise that it’s worth it. There’s murders, and tragedies. Quiet triumphs and some truly epic moments of magic. Reversals, betrayals and unexpected loves. The politics is byzantine, the intrigue compelling, the whole edifice of the story ticking over like a well crafted clock. But it’s the human elements that make the story. You’ll be turning the pages at 2AM like I was, to see what happens to your favourite characters, to see how (or if!) they get out of their mess this time, wanting to see what will happen next, to unmask the villain(s) and cheer on our champions. This really is a thriller, a slow, simmering burn of tension slowly ratcheting up until you’re biting nails at every turn of the page, gasping at every revelation, wanting to see how the story ends, and not wanting it to end.


I really enjoyed City of Lies, but Hollow Empire is better, and that’s probably the highest praise I can bring to bear. If you were wondering if this sequel was worth picking up, I can only say this: yes, yes it is. Go and get a copy, right now!

So, think of everything that you loved about Sam Hawke’s ‘City of Lies. The incredible characters, the tangled relationships, the beautifully written little insets on the science of poisons, the way in which illness and neuro-atypical issues are handled, and that incredible, subtle shift that a matrilineal society creates in Hawkes world building.

Now add more danger, more intensity, more complications, and a heck of a lot more feeling!
Amazing.

This has easily been my most anticipated book of 2020. And yes, that’s with more Murderbot and Empire of Gold and other also excellent titles. And while Murderbot has my heart, the Poison Wars series has my soul because all of the characters are just so vital to me. I’m a mix of what Kalina and Jov struggle with most – health and compulsions – and seeing them out there managing to save the lives of themselves and others, do what’s best for their kingdom, and still care for those important to them gives me hope for myself.

Anyway. Enough waxing lyrical for a bit, onto the book.

We join our heroes two years after the events of the first book. Jov and Tain now have heirs who they need to train in their succession, and enough time has passed now that the theatre guild has put together a dramatic retelling of the siege, and part of it aren’t overly kind to the Oromani family. From here, as with the first book, life-changing events start taking place immediately and it soon becomes clear that someone is targeting very specific people to ensure it looks like the Oromani family are benefitting at every turn, so that perhaps it looks like the Chancellor’s shadowy friend Tain – who whispers are spreading out about his real role on the Council – may be getting a bit carried away…

So as if it wasn’t enough to be dealing with their usual duties as Credola and Credo, it’s also time for the biggest celebration Silastra has hosted. Karode, which involves games to display the best sporting ability each nation has to offer, lavish parades, and nights were celebrations take on a significantly more adult turn. It’s during this where the ever-careful Jov falls into something far more dangerous, and as if the book wasn’t hard enough to put down as it already was, be prepared to block out the rest of your day from that point on.

In short, I loved it. I loved the new characters – Dija, who is Jov’s apprentice – and Sjease, the new house manager and secretary to Jov and Kalina, who fits in perfectly to their secretive household and is of huge benefit to everyone, (beyond fixing Jov’s lack of taste in clothing.) I could certainly do with a whole series and/or side story involving either or both of these characters. Dija is so quickly intelligent, yet sensitive and fiercely proud of what their family does for the empire.

The plot itself was intricate and subtle mentions of things past crop up and become incredibly important – something so hard to pull off without it seeming forced, yet Hawke manages it with finesse. SO much happens within this book – and although it may be longer than some at 550 or so pages it keeps a consistent pace yet feels utterly realistic throughout.

The worldbuilding and passing of time was excellent, with the mentions of how particular clothing has changed rapidly as fashions come and go, how the city has changed since the siege’s destruction and the rebuilding that has taken place since. Especially how they’ve managed to put on such a show for their neighbouring royals and leaders in order to show off the best Silastra has to offer.

And the character development, I just – I have no words. At the start of the first book you may wonder how three young adults are going to cope when both Tashis are taken from them too early, leaving such a burden on their shoulders… and yet, here we are – two years on, and all three of them are pretty damn impressive with what they notice, what they figure out when a dozen other adults around them fail to, and now with the added responsibility of raising their heirs, well.

The background characters are also incredibly interesting, from a princess and an ambassador, to our favourite Lord Ectar who reappears, and a whole cast of villains from the first book as well as new who are targeting fair Silastra.

One of my favourite elements was the expansion from what we saw in the first book – where we see why things spiralled out of control – the Darfri situation – and how they were so integral to how Silastra was saved – we see now in the second book that just as in real life it hasn’t magically fixed everything. There’s still racism and childish taunts and accusations, and there are many heartfelt moments that are key in our world today akin to the Black Lives Matter movement – why is it always the Darfri who have to ‘try to understand’, ‘be tolerant and polite’ all to ‘not make you uncomfortable’. It’s impactful, and it has depth and meaning, and Hawke manages it all very well indeed.

This book has so much going on that I had to read it twice. I devoured it far too quickly and felt almost drunk on how amazing it all was… so I instantly started it again (not like I’d be able to read anything else for a few weeks anyway) so I could try to take it slowly and appreciate specific bits and characters. And, I won’t lie, cry all over again at a certain part.

tl;dr is I loved it, and I want more, and I can’t see what Hawke does next.

City of Lies was one of my favorite books of 2018. Here’s a small snippet from that review:

“Honor-down! City of Lies is a book filled with intrigue and violent passion, young idealism and old-world fanaticism, but most of all a loyalty among friends that will keep readers eagerly coming back for more of this series.”

You can only imagine my expectations when I received Hollow Empire… just know that they were met and exceeded. All that young idealism has had another two years to get used to the ruling the many factions vying for power in Silasta. And like City of Lies, the plot in this sequel relies on the identification of poisons by our expert, Jovan, but he’s now taken his niece Dija, as an apprentice. They work to keep the stability of the nation intact.

Beginning during the city-wide festival of Karodee, Hawke brings all the dark magic, politics, and danger directly to the heart of the city. In his position as chancellor, Tain will continue to be the public face of governance, but Jovan, Dija, and Kalina are tasked with searching the crowds for shifting eyes for the many enemies of the state.

Kidnapping, backstabbing, and of course, poisoning. And as much as I love the writing connected to the intrigue, it is the personal lives of these characters that keep me reading this series. Hawke’s attention to detail… it’s not just the physical fights that Jovan and Tain and Kalina are fighting, but that mental stress and anxiety that this strife brings. She has produced several of the most realistic characters in contemporary fantasy lit.

Please get started on The Poison War series, pronto! An opening salvo of City of Lies introduced me to this wonderful author, and Hollow Empire confirms that talent.

5 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Tor Books, and the author for an advanced copy for review.

“You never get used to poisoning a child.”

TW : death, gore, violence

ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Hollow Empire is the follow up to Sam Hawke’s fantastical debut book, City of Lies. Before I start my review, I am aware that I am late to the party. As much as I wished to post this review before the book is released it didn’t happen because of certain circumstances. I would like to thank NetGalley for providing the ARC and for being the sole reason I found out about this series. It is quite rare for me to jump right in to the second book of a series as soon as I finished the first book. The end of City of Lies left a huge impact on me emotionally that I just have to pick up Hollow Empire straight away. I would like to point out that the cover of this book gave me the impression of an ominous aura to the story.

The story in Hollow Empire picks up two years after the events of the first book. In City of Lies, Silasta lay besieged by a mysterious army that are aiming to destroy the city and its people. As Silasta’s Chancellor and his trusted adviser is poisoned, Tain, the Chancellors nephew, inherits his seat extremely unprepared under dire circumstances. With Jovan, Tain’s best friend, that comes from a family whose honor and life is dedicated to protecting the Chancellor is propelled into the role of advisor. Together with Kalina, Jovan’s sister, the three of them tackles the mystery surrounding the appearance of this army and unravel the reasons of such aggression towards their neutrally peaceful city.

"We don’t forget. We are patient. We are coming."

Silasta is recovering from their past traumas, all the while preparing for their biggest event yet. The city is hosting an annual celebration with honored guest from various countries with an array of backgrounds and cultures. This setting makes for a good chance for certain individuals to take advantage of the situation to wreck havoc. Because of past experiences everyone is on high alert especially our main characters, Jovan and Kalina. Throughout the novel the general mood of the story is as though someone is trying to jump on you when you least expect it. Hollow Empire delivers a much more intense plot driven story than its predecessor. Just when I started to doubt this sequel, Sam Hawke blindsided me with more conspiracies and assassinations on a much bigger scale. There are more poisons mentioned and used within the story that I find intriguingly exciting. With each new chapters readers are given a snippet of a certain poisoning case written in the Oromani’s Proofer Book, reading about previous cases that the Oromani proofers encountered is a good touch to the novel.

The author didn’t hold back in terms of mystery to challenge their characters. Sam Hawke surely elevated the circumstances and stakes for the characters. Jovan and Kalina are both desperate to keep up with the twist and turns of each lead they find to catching the invisible enemy. This invisible enemy seems to always be ahead of Jovan and Kalina no matter how hard they try to catch up. Sam Hawke weaved plot after plot into the story without it seeming confusing or diluted. It is easy to follow for readers, full of twist and turns that will make you second guess every character and every incident. The way the author sneaked in “signs” or small instances that I brushed over as meaningless came back tugging at the edge of my brain. It is smartly done and will keep you on your toes as you flip from page to page. Personally, I’ve grown to like Sam Hawke’s style in storytelling and I find her style fascinatingly original.

One of the key aspects of this series that I’ve grown to cherish and love with all my heart is the characters. The characterization from the first book did not drop in quality instead the characters exploded (yes, I said exploded) with vivid and vibrant personality. In City of Lies, I felt that Jovan and Kalina had similar voices that left me slightly confused while reading. The author clearly improved and gave both main characters time to shine equally to unravelling of everything. While reading City of Lies I wanted to see Kalina being more involved instead of being the weak character. Kalina did impress me in the last chapters of the first but it only left me wanting more chapters of her. And again Sam Hawke delivered. Most of my favorite chapters in Hollow Empire are from Kalina’s POV. Her role as character is much more deeply involved in solving the mystery. It is a sin that I ever thought of her as weak and I want to apologize personally to Sam Hawke that I ever viewed her that way. Another thing that impressed me about the author’s characterization is how Sam Hawke depicts disabilities. Not once that did Jovan’s anxiety or Kalina’s chronic illness is ever viewed as a weakness. There isn’t one instance, even during the tougher moments when they are in a bind, that Jovan or Kalina appeared helpless with their disability. As someone that has anxiety reading about characters like Jovan is like a fist bump to my heart. Besides that I also cared for the side characters as well. Specifically, Dija and Tain. Both of them are characters that made me want to instantly protect. Without spoiling anything, they left a huge impact in the story that I could not even explain why they are so impactful while writing this review. The enemies that they’re up against are illusive that from start to the moment of the reveal I could not pin point where the arrow is gonna point. Sam Hawke definitely created a new kind of fantasy with Hollow Empire.

"But also . . . . there were other magics in this world, other things we didn’t fully understand."

The well detailed world building of Hollow Empire expands and it doesn’t feel too cramped even though the setting mostly still takes place within Silasta walls. With an array of honored guest from various countries coming to Silasta, they bring in their customs and culture into the mix. The author shows the world surrounding Sjona through characters from different countries. It is well written without being info dump-y for readers to understand. If we have to compare the other countries to Sjona, Sjona is a much more progressive in culture and customs. Another thing to love about this book is the mind blowing explosive action sequences. It literally gave me goosebumps as I read this book. In City of Lies, we didn’t get to see any magic up until the end. Hollow Empire did not hold back, I love how the magic is interlaced into the mystery as the main characters try to comprehend how it connects to everything.

I will conclude my review by saying that if City of Lies left you breathless and utterly flabbergasted, say no more, pick up Hollow Empire, NOW! Especially since it’s already released by the time I publish this review. It is one of the best sequels I’ve read this year and I don’t know how I will functioning after this. With heart warming familial relationships, good representation of disability and mental illness, a variety of characters, engaging plot with endless twist in mystery and deceit, this book is a must read if you’re in the mood for mystery but make it fantasy. All the long chapters, that I normally would dislike, is well worth it when you reach the end. Hawke knows how to play with your emotions and pull at your heart strings at just the right time to make you comeback for more. Trust me, prepare tissues and don’t read it at work. I learned that the hard way by sobbing like a lunatic during my lunch break.

The quotes in this review were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

Hallow Empire has been a sequel I’ve been looking forward to for years now and I’m so excited to say I loved this! This book has everything I loved about it’s predecessor, City of Lies: suspenseful buildup, loveable complex characters, excellent worldbuilding, and just improved it all! City of Lies also holds a special place in my heart for being one of the first ARCs I received after starting this blog, which makes me all happier about Hallow Empire.

Oh where even to begin. Let’s start with the pacing. Like City of Lies, Hallow Empire starts with fairly slow, suspenseful pace as Hawke sets the scene and establishes the various characters. Also like City of Lies, however, this pacing gradually picks up until you’re knee-deep into political intrigue and absolutely unwilling to put the book down because you have to know more. With every new mystery solved comes two new questions to take its place and the reins simply never let up. There’s a fine balance between over-detailing events and giving the reader just enough information to keep them by the seat of their pants and Hawke successfully rides that line the entire way through.

With Hallow Empire, the world of Silasta has expanded to welcome in diplomats from her nearby, and much larger, sovereign neighbors. As I read, I was in awe at the richness and cultural details of both Silasta and her neighbors. We learn about the linguistics, the food, gender stereotypes and norms, and so much more. These countries, and Silasta especially, really feel like they’ve been brought to life in my mind. A common complaint I have with epic fantasy novels is that the worlds feel “empty” or their cities devoid of people aside from those useful to the main characters. Here, Silasta bustles with life and wonder and all the issues plaguing a major city.

Returning to the minds of Kalina and Jovan, was, too, a delight to read. I’m generally more of a ‘grey, morally-questionable character fan’, but Kalina and Jovan are just so damn likable, so well written that I can’t help but to love them. I loved seeing Kalina’s newfound determination and activeness, loved seeing her take action despite being put in situations where being female put her at a disadvantage because sexist assholes. I loved reading Jovan’s self-doubts, his battle between serving his country and his panics because ‘oh god he’s putting a child in harm’s way’. My Jovan/Tain ship has not sailed yet but that’s okay, I can wait.

Overall, I rate this book a 5/5. I adored City of Lies, and I was delighted with Hallow Empire. Hawke has really outdone herself with this amazing book packed full of political intrigue and delightfully complex characters.

This is the (continuing) story of Jovan and Kalina Oromani, who are nobles in the city of Silasta. Since the events of City of Lies, life has for the most part gone on. Jovan has taken on an apprentice proofer (poison taster), Kalina has thankfully recovered from things that occurred, and Tain Iliri is doing his best at being chancellor, despite his health being in somewhat of a decline since those events.

When strange things begin happening, and the Oromani family (as well as two others) are seemingly being specifically targeted for scandal and assassination, it takes all three of their skills to unravel what’s really happening and who would have a grudge so large on their family that they’d resort to witchcraft and assassination.

Having really liked City of Lies, I knew going in that I was going to like Hollow Empire. I love love love Jov, Tain, and Lini as characters. They are flawed, but never let their disabilities or differences stop them. I especially see myself in Jovan, who has anxiety and something similar in presentation to OCD. He has ticks and compulsions that sometimes even help him solve the mystery at hand.

And mystery it is. Just like City of Lies, this one had me suspect pretty much everyone of being the baddie. With the exception of the three main characters, I had my eyes metaphorically narrowed at nearly every single other character. When things really did start coming to light in the end, it was very much a surprise to me.

This book, especially the last quarter of it, gave me a couple really good kicks in the feels, and while they weren’t necessarily good feels (some were, though), they really gave the story that depth that always gets me so invested in it. I continue to be invested in these characters after the fact. The story was left in a place that fully closed the plot at hand, and yet left the world open to further exploration, and I for one hope that more exploration comes along.

All told, I loved Hollow Empire just as much as I loved City of Lies. Characters that I can’t help but love put into situations that I can’t help but fear for them in. That, to me, a good story makes. It was fantastic!

Australian author Sam Hawke’s debut City of Lies was one of the best fantasy books of 2018. A fact confirmed by its haul of nominations and awards. That book told a complete story of a civil war in the city of Sjona and the role of siblings Jovan and Kalina in not only ending that war but exposing the exploitation that was partly its cause. But there was more to the war that mere civil unrest. Hanging over the resolution of City of Lies was a feeling that Jovan and Kalina had only peeled back one layer of the onion. Readers were left satisfied that matters had been resolved but left hanging by all of the questions that were left unanswered. Given that City of Lies was subtitled as “A Poison War” novel, it could only be assumed that this was not actually the end.

The sequel, Hollow Empire, opens two years and four months after the end of City of Lies. For those who may be a little hazy on the events of City of Lies, Hawke delivers a recap in an enjoyable and non-exposition way, having her main cast attend a play based on those events (a similar technique used to great effect in the Avatar, the Last Airbender episode “The Ember Island Players”).
Jovan, himself trained and secretly employed as poison taster to the Chancellor, has started training his heir and younger cousin Didja, who is thirteen when the narrative rejoins the action. His sister, Kalina, trained in more of the craft of espionage, is slated to be the next ambassador to the neighbouring misogynistic and worryingly expansionist Talafan Empire.

The bulk of the action of this book takes place during and just after the karodee festival. Karodee is a week long celebration involving sport, art and masquerade to which Chancellor Tain has invited representatives of all of Silasta’s trading partners. (While maps are overused in fantasy novels, now that the story has referenced so many places beyond Silasta, a map of the world in the next volume might be useful). The chaos and free-wheeling nature of the festival makes it more difficult for Jovan and Kalina to protect Tain from a suspected assassin and there is an emerging feeling that wheels are turning to bring them down especially when an attempt is made to frame Jovan for a drug-fuelled murder.

As with the previous book, Hawke does not spare her characters from pain or tough decisions as they struggle to understand the threat facing them and their city. What initially felt a little YA in City of Lies, given the main characters ages and experience, moves into decidedly more adult territory here with drug use, blackmail, gruesome deaths and as the book goes on, some big scenes of destruction and devastation. But there is also plenty of diplomatic manoeuvring and tentative alliance building both within the city council, full of people who still have reason to hate the pair, and with the foreign dignitaries also caught up in the mayhem. This is fantasy more along the lines of the scheming and negotiation of Game of Thrones rather than epic Lord of the Rings-style models – while it is set in a fantasy world and there is a smattering of magic and the calling of spirit forces, Hawke’s primary focus is on people and how they interact with each other personally and politically.

Hollow Empire is a great entry in this series. It tops City of Lies for its complexity and its capacity to payoff long running plot threads. Hawke has supreme understanding of her world and how it works, including the various different types of magic and magic users. She also once again delivers what feels like a complete story in which all of the short-term, internal mysteries are solved and some long running secrets are revealed but leaves the danger hanging in the distance and the feeling that there is much more to be learnt as the series progresses.

ARC provided by the publisher—Tor Books—in exchange for an honest review.

An incredibly well-polished and absorbing sequel; out of all the books and series I’ve read this year, Hollow Empire is quite likely THE sequel that has the most significant improvement in overall quality over its predecessor.

Yes, I know what I just said can be considered an insane statement, especially because I’ve read so many magnificent sequels this year, but I must always be honest. I liked City of Lies, but the quality’s improvement in Hollow Empire blew my mind; it completely hooked me cover to cover. And this goes to the cover art as well, not just the content of the novel. The cover art by Greg Ruth is so stunningly beautiful, and I actually wondered whether the content could actually live up to it. No need to worry, Hawke’s storytelling skill did the cover art justice, and she starts the story with one memorable sentence:

“You never get used to poisoning a child.”


And with that first sentence, the twists and turns in Hollow Empire, the second book in the Poison War series by Sam Hawke, begins. The story in Hollow Empire takes place two years after the end of City of Lies. The first book was focused around a besieged city, I personally feel that Hawke has outdone herself with this sequel. The unstoppable assassinations, deadly poisons, and thrilling mysteries in a conflict and investigations against an invisible enemy just fit the tone and strength of this series so much. Mysteries were compiled before our two main characters were able to solve the first conflicts they stumbled upon. Seriously, the troubles that Jovan and Kalina encountered in this book piled on non-stop that Hamilton’s “Non-stop” would be applicable as the main themes for these exhausted Oromani siblings. I really loved reading Hawke’s plotting capability; this isn’t an easy book to write, and I’m sure Hawke has her fair share of pain writing it. However, the result was so worth it. Plots or small scenes that I, at first, thought were unnecessary sneaked on me; no spoilers, but none of them were ever redundant.

Great plotting aside, I think the key elements that enhanced the reading experience of this book over its predecessor was the characters development and the balance in their spotlight. When I was reading City of Lies, I was hugely in favor of Jovan’s POV chapters; I felt that Kalina didn’t have enough time to shine in the first book. Fortunately, that’s not the case here. Kalina’s role in the story is so much more crucial and involved now, and I honestly can’t decide which POV chapters I liked more in this sequel. Both Jovan and Kalina use their respective skill to investigate and find solutions to their predicaments, and Hawke did an excellent job in showcasing the depth of their familial relationship. I also found Jovan and Kalina to be so refreshing as main characters; Jovan’s anxiety issues or Kalina’s disabilities were never portrayed as weaknesses, and I highly enjoyed reading the development of their stories. In addition to Jovan and Kalina, Tain and Dida were easy-to-care side characters. To make things better, although these characters were so likable, due to the nature of the invisible villains and treacheries embedded in the narrative, I was left constantly questioning everyone’s—except Jovan and Kalina—motives and possible hidden agenda. That’s how good Hawke was.

Hollow Empire also shed light on the detailed world-building and cultures of this world. Hawke’s description of the environment, clothing, and differences in cultural behavior never hinder the pacing. The prose was well-written, and the action sequences were explosively better. Also, in City of Lies, each chapter starts with an epigraph of a specific poison—their description, symptoms, and proofing cues. In Hollow Empire, each chapter starts with an epigraph that entails an off-screen poisoning incident in the past that enriched the history and lore of the world. These epigraphs are made more hilarious and entertaining because Hawke uses real-life authors and bloggers as the victims of the respective incident. Here’s one example with Nicholas Eames, the author of Kings of the Wyld and Bloody Rose, as the victim:

“Incident: Poisoning of Lord Niceames, son of the 2nd Duke of Marutia.
Poison: Graybore
Incident notes: Lord Niceames visited Silasta on a recreational trip and took to life in the city, thereafter refusing to return to his duties in homeland. Presented to the hospital with a bloody cough and hair loss after apparent weeks increasing illness. Physics diagnosed graybore poisoning but Niceames died shortly thereafter. Traces of graybore later found in the man’s favorite perfume bottle. Political background suggests manservant may have been instructed by the Duke to carry out the gradual poisoning. Servant left Sjona shortly after the man’s death and determination council elected not to pursue further…”


If you’ve read and enjoyed City of Lies, I will give you a fair warning that Hollow Empire is about to become your on-demand addiction; reading this will spark your new reading obsession, and there’s no antidote for it. With genuinely likable sibling and family, an engaging plot brimming with mysteries that are stacked upon another mysteries continuously, intricate world-building, and devastating magic, Hawke has her reader’s heartstrings at her grasp, and she played with them as cruel as possible. This was such a wonderful, emotional, and satisfying reading experience. Hollow Empire is one of the best books published this year, and it’s easily one of the best sequels I’ve ever read. Treat yourself with a gift for surviving this nonsensical year by reading one of the best books to come out this year. You can thank me later.

Official release date: 26th November 2020 (UK) and 1st December 2020 (US)

You can pre-order the book from: Amazon UK | Amazon US | Book Depository (Free shipping) | Bookshop (Support Local Bookstores!)

The quotes in this review were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions

Utterly incredible. I had initially planned to pace myself with this book due to its size. But wow is it readable! The detail to the world and the characters is astounding. And I absolutely loved the blend of this epic fantasy-esque world with a mystery as the major plot focus.

The book is told from two characters' perspectives, both in 1st person: Kalina and Jov. And they had such distinct voices. The mystery was the driving force of the plot, but the characters drove the novel for sure. I also loved the aspect of how anyone could've been.a suspect. Major or minor character, they were all fleshed out. For example, we don't see much of Brother Lu, but we know he's exceedingly conservative in his ways. Witchcraft? Don't you dare utter those words in his presence. Yet, and it's hard to describe, he doesn't feel one note.

There were so many great scenes, from karodee near the beginning even up to the very end. The book is filled with moments that fill your imagination. Maybe surprisingly, the ones that really caught my attention were the Council meetings. You could feel the tension between Jov and the other people throughout those scenes. The absolute tiredness of Tain as it went on right in front of him. They don't sound like "exciting" scenes, but dang do they do so much for character work and the culture each member wants to uphold.

But wow that ending. There's a couple of parts where I did feel the pacing dipped a bit, but it was pretty brief and certainly not enough to lose my constant enjoyment.

Hollow Empire draws you in with its alluring characters, magical world, and tantalizing mystery. It's everything you could ask for in a book, really.