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Eyes of the Empress is the second Camille Bacon-Smith contemporary fantasy novel, continuing the demon-touched protagonist material from her earlier work. The plot involves the protagonist Evan Davis taken further into the demonic political layer the previous book introduced, with the Philadelphia setting again the geographical anchor and the academic-of-fandom knowledge of urban-fantasy conventions visible in the book's structural choices.
Bacon-Smith's strength in Eyes of the Empress is the careful Philadelphia setting and the patient interior work on her protagonist. The demon-political material is handled with the kind of attention that a writer steeped in urban-fantasy traditions can bring to genre conventions. Fans of Charles de Lint's Newford series or of Holly Black's Modern Faerie Tales will recognize the careful urban-fantasy register.
The book is uneven in places. The strongest sections demonstrate why an academic study of the form can productively inform working in it.
Three stars. A pleasant urban-fantasy sequel. The Eyes of the Empress Camille Bacon-Smith novel is best read after the earlier entry in the series and after her academic work for context. Recommended to readers interested in seeing what a scholar of fandom does with the form herself.
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