The Accidental Empress by Justin R. Smith

A period novel elevated with magical powers, fantasy tech, and covert intelligence drama, The Accidental Empress by Justin K. Smith is a Shakespearean farce wrapped in the inventive shell of an alternate timeline.

Battling storms of doubt from within and without, Kristin is chosen as Iceland’s very first representative to the Temple of Knowledge and Miskatonic University. However, a terrorist attack on her airship plunges Kristin into the dark heart of European geopolitics, where this sheltered genius is coerced into temporarily taking on the body-double role of a freshly deceased Princess, heir apparent to the Iron Throne of Germany. Kristin longs to learn the secrets of the universe at her dream school, but putting her telepathic powers to work might just help prevent a global war.

Straightforward in its delivery and endlessly creative in its imagined history, this novel is fueled with immense energy and suspense, though Smith sometimes rushes key scenes and revelations. There is some obvious suspension of disbelief required, as the idea that an Icelandic teenager who had never been in an elevator could fool the world into thinking she was a German princess borders on the impossible, but it’s an entertaining premise to concede.

There are some overly idiomatic and anachronistic moments in the prose, and a final proofread could clean up the odd grammatical error, but as a whole, The Accidental Empress is an ambitious, amusing, and innovative slice of faux-historical fiction.