Encrypted (Encrypted Series Book 1)

Good plot, the book kept moving. I also liked the characters, and I look forward to hearing about them again in some form. The world/setting is well-defined and well-executed, and I might start picking up some of the other books from this author in the same setting. Kudos to the author.

Though a tad similar in some ways to Burokers Emperors Edge series(which I love by the way), I found encrypted to be adventurous and exciting. A wonderful insight on different angle of the "emperors edge" world. As usual the characters are witty, intelligent, and conveniently capable. I also found it exciting and intriguing to see a,young Sicarious appear. Overall I enjoyed the book very much and await the release of its sequel. Love Buroker!!!

I just finished Encryped and it was a winner. Just about the best indie I've read (and I've read a LOT of them) The story was fresh and interesting, the characters endearing and the writing professional. I will be looking forward to any new books by this author. Thanks for a great read.

Loved this book. It has well developed characters, adventure, suspense, humor, and a little romance. I also loved it when a younger Sicarius from the Emporer's Edge series showed up. I hope there will be a follow up book.

This book was very engaging and the characters were interesting. very good story line. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to my friends. I would recommend reading The Emperors Edge series since it somewhat corresponds to this book.

The story and characters are compelling. The conflict and action keep the reader engaged and in suspense.

While I prefer the characters in Emperor's Edge more, the protagonists in Encrypted are also very likable.

As always with this author, the writing quality is excellent and nearly error-free.

I recommend this story to anyone who enjoys romance, lots of fight scenes, science fiction elements, military-based culture, a bit of magic, and a few monsters.

The story line is good, well thought out, and has a nice romance. The world is bigger than this one story, and now I plan on reading the other books set in it. I think the cheap price made me enjoy it more than I would if it had been 8 or 10 dollars but even then I would have given it at least 4 stars.

Genius. The heroine is smart and talented and strong and self-confident and the hero is fun and athletic and intellectual and together they are such great characters in this fast paced touch-of-fantasy, totally engrossing action romance. I love it

Premise: Tikaya is a linguist, but during the war, she became a master cryptographer, and was instrumental in protecting the allies of her island home from invading navies. After the war, the defeated Turgonians want revenge on the one they call the cryptomancer, but first they kidnap her to help them decipher some mysterious runes. Along with another prisoner with a mysterious past, Tikaya needs to help her captors enough to keep herself alive, but if the secrets lead to putting something dangerous in Turgonian hands, she'll have to try to stop them.

I enjoyed reading this book, although it was fundamentally sort of fluffy. The romance is fine, the characters are sweet, the action is well done. It just didn't make a huge impression on me. It doesn't linger in the mind.

Side Note: I hated the original cover. It's been updated, but it's still kinda boring.

Again, I liked Tikaya, she's super-smart with a bit of quirky humor, although a race of pale blond intellectuals living on a tropical island nation strains my credulity more than a little. Not a big problem for me, just a little reaction of "really?"

It was fun to read, it really was, but I'd have been more interested if the plot wasn't so pat. The good people are good. The nasty people are nasty. The good country is good. The nasty country is nasty. The good honorable people who come from this nasty country don't seem to be a contradiction. There is a clear answer to the moral question of what to do about the technology they find at the end of the arctic tunnels, and the good people agree about what the answer is.

I'm exaggerating slightly, the main couple had enough color to be entertaining and there was one supporting character (whom I think the sequel focuses on) with a little more depth, but most minor characters with more than one shade got disposed of once the plot was finished with them.

The balance between magic and technology is interesting, although since Tikaya spends most of the book with a group of low-magic people, I didn't get a good sense of how it worked.

I did really like the sequence when they were trying to decode and disarm the weird box that was making people crazy and violent. Even though I kept visualizing the scene as 30 Days of Night.

Overall a fun romp, a well-crafted fantasy action-romance, but nothing exceptional.

Again the writing style, story building, and character development kept me hooked to a book by Lindsay Buroker. I usually feel like being played when an author recommends to read (= buy) another of her books to fully understand a story, but after already being hooked to her Emperor’s Edge series I didn’t mind to prolong my stay in this “world” with a spin off. I did hope for a good read, but I did not expect to like this series even better.
While this counts absolutely as a stand-alone series (as well as stand-alone book, no cliff hanger), readers of Emperor’s Edge will probably enjoy to meet a young Sicarius …

After the lost war the Turgonians find the cryptologist they blame for their defeat. They kidnap her because, before they take revenge, they want to use her skills to help them with a deadly threat against their nation. She allies with another prisoner, who persuades her to rather help her kidnappers than escape them. While they hunt for ancient artifacts in mortal environments, he turns out to be not quite the man she should trust. And the mission may not have quite the objective she envisioned.

This is what I like/dislike about this book (and all other books of this series as well as the Emperor’s Edge series):

pros
- characters: the protagonists are heroes in their own ways, but they are not flawless
- romance: yes, there is definitely a romance aspect, but while the reader may sneak a glimpse at a kiss he/she does not have to share the intimate bedroom scenes, what a relieve!
- suspense: there are always turns and twists, never a dull moment
- humor: smart and witty, not many *laughing out loud* moments but plenty of chuckles
- dialogs: I just love listening to them talking to each other, quick witted and engaging
- plot: sometimes I do have to remind myself that this is a novel and, yes, the one good guy will beat the 20 bad guys. And, to tell the truth: that’s the way I like it. However unlikely, plots are well thought out and without smothering holes.
- even though the story goes on in following books in the series, there is no cliffhanger at the end of this book

cons
- believe it or not, I do not have any dislikes. It’s even edited well.
- however, while it did not bug me but some readers might want to know:
- fighting and death scenes are plentiful and do have some graphic description
- while romance is part of the book, the action/suspense does have a bigger part
- the book is full of very descriptive but not commonly used adverbs and adjectives. eBook readers benefit from a dictionary.

For eBook readers I recommend to skip buying “Encrypted” as a single book but jump right ahead to buy the three book collection under the name “Forgotten Ages (The Complete Series)” – all three books of the series for less money than the single edition (Feb 2016).

Very enjoyable first book in a series. Tikaya is not your run of the mill heroine which is very refreshing. Her strengths develop as she goeswihtout losing her human qualities. The growing relationship with her and another character was well drawn out and realistic. The plot moved at a great pace and had many delightful twists and turns. Very nicely developed concept.
A thoroughly enjoyable read that I highly recommend.

Encrypted is a great prequel to Lindsay buroker's emperor's edge series and solves the ongoing question about how young sicarius received his unbreakable knife. Following a cryptomancer after she breaks codes for the kyattese islands when turgonians attempt to take over, encrypted follows her journey from self imposed isolation, to being captive In a turgonian ship, and finally to solving the mystery of the "ancient" race who designed the weapons and ship talked about in emperor's edge. I would definitely say this is a must read, and a great addition to any Lindsay buroker's fans!

I have to admit, I normally hate romance novels...

Encrypted changed my mind. This is a fast-moving, nicely-written romp set in a parallel world. I feel a bit at a disadvantage (and a bit ashamed) because I had never read any of this author's works before, and am not as familiar with the setting and characters as the other reviewers who have read previous novels by Buroker. This was no hindrance to enjoying Encrypted as a stand-alone story. The slightly exotic, but believable, world of the protagonists Tikaya and Rias had an almost alchemic power to draw the reader into the increasingly complex plot. With elements of the paranormal and alchemy (thankfully not taking center stage...), this book is squarely in the fantasy genre, but also defies the reader to try pigeonholing it--there's a nice balanced dose of mystery, romance, war games, and sci-fi.

I am still not a fan of "romance" novels, but Encrypted has enough action and intellectual engagement to keep you curious and wanting more. I will certainly be reading more novels by Lindsay Buroker in the future.

As an avid reader of Science Fiction, Fantasy and historical novels.... I will read a book that has a decent review. This book and "Decrypted" kept me interested and entertained. Bravo! I will check out Lindsay's other books.

Encrypted is set in the same world as Lindsay Buroker's Emperor's Edge series but takes place slightly earlier and only has one overlapping character. It is a complete story that stands on its own just fine and doesn't require any of the other books to support or inform it. It has all the witty charm and almost over the top adventure of the Emeror's Edge books but more romance and a broader political landscape.

If you've read any of the Emperors Edge books, Encrypted adds some interesting background to the mysterious assassin, Sicarius, and another dimension to the world.

If you haven't read the Emperor's Edge books then you're in for a treat because you'll definately want more after reading Encrypted. Lindsay Buroker's stories are like chips... bet you can't read just one.
The Emperor's Edge Collection (Books 1, 2, and 3)

Enjoyed this story, it was an easy read, interesting characters, intriguing storyline and some gentle romance thrown in for free. Some violence and much humour keeps the pages turning.
Thank you Lindsey.

I read Encrypted because I was interested in steam punk fantasy. Buroker did a great job of creating engaging characters, an enticing plot, and just the right amount of sexual tension to keep me reading. I kept wondering how Tikaya and Rias were going to thwart the Turgonian Empire's mission and when they were going to finally act upon all of that sexual tension. The author has created an exciting world that incorporates technology and magic, and is rife with political strife. Encrypted has many layers, which is what makes a story a great read. I only wish the author had included a map! I recommend checking Encrypted out.

Encrypted was a book I could "test-drive" from the author. I will definately buy this book and the other book Ms. Lindsay wrote. I could not put it down and stayed up half the night when I had work the next day. I will recommend to anybody. I was confused a little bit because I had to stop during the action parts but quickly rememebered what happpened. I will be looking for other books from this author!!

INTRODUCTION: "Encrypted" is another indie novel I found out about through a review inquiry; the author actually let us know about her series debut The Emperor's Edge and while I liked its blurb/excerpt and asked for a review e-copy, I also noticed her other novel Encrypted which tempted me so much that I bought it on the spot and read it soon after.

Of course I plan to read The Emperor's Edge too - it starts great with the same engaging style of Encrypted - so in a month or so, I should have a review of that one here too, but for now I will talk about Encrypted since it resonated with me quite a lot and I want to explain why - the essential reason is because of its very close similarity in spirit and style with one of my all time favorite duologies.

Encyrpted is set some 15-20 years earlier in the same universe of The Emperor's Edge and it is a standalone with mostly different characters, though one of the main characters from the latter one appears here too in a pretty important role, so from that point of view it makes also a great introduction to the universe.

"Professor Tikaya Komitopis isn't a great beauty, a fearless warrior, or even someone who can walk and chew chicle at the same time, but her cryptography skills earn her wartime notoriety. When enemy marines show up at her family's plantation, she expects the worst. But they're not there to kill her. They need her to decode mysterious runes, and they ask for help in the manner typical of a conquering empire: they kidnap her, threaten her family, and throw her in the brig of their fastest steamship.

Her only ally is a fellow prisoner who charms her with a passion for academics as great as her own. Together, they must decipher mind-altering alchemical artifacts, deadly poison rockets, and malevolent technological constructs, all while dodging assassination attempts from a rival power determined the expedition should fail... "

OVERVIEW: Encrypted is set on a secondary world with a mix of paranormal stuff like telepathy and teleportation and early industrial tech.

There is a militaristic empire - Turgonian - that shuns magic and which faces the "magicians" of Nuria, the "mysterious" scientist from the formerly neutral and pastoral islands of Kyatt who helped the Nurians once the empire offered the islanders a deal it would not take no as an answer on, Tikaya Komitopis, a socially awkward woman with a talent for languages who breaks the Turgonian codes leading to their containment and reluctant truce, the mysterious artifacts that prove deadly in the Turgonian capital forcing them to kidnap Tikaya from her peaceful island and try and convince her to help them, the prisoner known as Five on the Turgonian ironclad that speeds towards the frozen wastes were the artifacts had come from, the Nurian saboteurs and later the expedition to find the artifacts and the surprises it encounters.

As you can see from this overview, substituting "paranormal" with advanced biotech and the one-world of this book with a multi-stellar polity and you get something that resembles in spirit the superb pre-Miles dulogy of Lois Bujold that starts with Shards of Honor and more than once when reading Encrypted, I thought the comparison apt in quite a few ways.

While today "Encrypted" fits under secondary world fantasy mainly for its elements of paranormal, for most of sff's history it would have been considered pure-sf since teleportation, telekinesis and telepathy have been staples of sf for a long time, so this is a book that should appeal to both lovers of fantasy and sf.

ANALYSIS: Why read Encrypted?

The first reason is that the novel is written in a very fast, page turning and fun way, alternating action, discovery with great dialogue especially between Tikaya and Rias - as this is the name the prisoner known as "Five" gives her once they get to know each other - but with several other compelling characters, most notably Bocrest, the Turgonian commander of the ship and expedition, the "good" corporal Agarik vs nasty sergeant Ottotark and later the young boy/assassin Sicarius, personal representative of the emperor and a familiar acquaintance of Rias and Bocrest.

As the main lead of the novel, Tikaya carries it well end-to-end and she makes a very compelling heroine - an almost genius philologist in her mid-30's with a talent for languages and patterns, neither beautiful, nor graceful but with a talent for bow shooting and courage and wit to match, while the Turgonian men around her - whether resenting or even hating her for her role in their defeat in the war, being neutral, or being friendly and more - offer a great contrast and variety. Rias slowly develops from the almost savage Five to the charismatic war-hero he used to be and later in the novel he almost takes it over, while Sicarius - who seems to be the main lead in The Emperor's Edge 15-20 years in the future -is excellent in his role of enigmatic boy-assassin here.

So despite starting as the enemies and with their militaristic and patriarchal culture to boot, the author's portrayal of the Turgonians is quite nuanced, while Kitaya's supposed allies the Nurians actually want to kill her - maybe for good reasons from their point of view - and this reversal of roles and expectations was another reason I enjoyed the book.

The expedition, its discoveries, the mysterious runes and deadly artifacts are also very well done combining the familiar with twists that were partly predictable, partly surprising, but that never failed to entertain, while the action builds up with both physical and psychological components until the excellent finale. I would not want to spoil more about the core of the novel since a large part of the enjoyment of the book lies in trying to figure out what's what before the heroes experience it...

Encrypted (A+) is a fun romp, an adventure in the Lois Bujold Barrayar spirit, with a clear ending though ample scope for more and which I highly recommend if you like your sff fast, page turning with action, mysteries and a dash of romance.

I am tough to please (especially when it comes to fantasy) and I liked this one. This is the fantasy version of Space Opera. I liked that it focuses on intelligent people and not on hack and slash, beat it until it's dead type of characters. Intelligence, education and knowledge take the characters far. Sure there is some physical action, but that's to be expected in war-like cultures. I like that they win a physical contest by thinking their way out.

It has aspects of romance in it but that was expected with the main characters. Also a nice change to see a main, secondary character that is gay and is not ostracized.

I left one star off because of the high amount of predictability in this story. I also had a little trouble with how easily they understand a completely alien, advanced technology. Don't get me wrong, it is very well written and kept me turning the pages right to the end. I wanted to see them get together even though I knew they were going to.

I will be picking up the other books in this series as well.

I've recently discovered Lindsay and this is the 1st book in a new series which I will now have to devour. I have not found any misses yet. Good characters, interesting plots and enough science fiction and intrigue to satisfy the most jaded reader. Oh, and just enough romance. You will definitely enjoy this book.