From the moment Khremri becomes a full Prince of the Empire his life is endanger.  But he's not too concerned.   Princes don't fully die; if the Imperial Mind judges them worthy they are brought back to their superhuman bodies.  Back to a life of glorious space battles, superhuman abilities, and victorious duels against other Princes, all of who want to become the next Emperor.

Khemri quickly learns that the Empire is anything but a chivalrous place.  After his first year of serving in the Navy, he is picked for the mysterious Adjustors—people who help the Imperial Mind maintain the precarious balance of the Empire.  But first he has to undergo a rigorous training: learning how to be human on the fringes of space. 

Khemri hates living without his augmented abilities, not being waiting on by his mind-programmed servants, and not being able to use the latest of technologies.  (Although he finds flying around in his own spacecraft ALMOST worth it.)  That is, until he meets Raine, a human girl raised outside of the Empire.  Through her, he starts to understand what it means to have a family and a real friend.  His time as a human is rapidly coming to an end, but does he really want to go back?

Or better yet, does Khemri have the strength to fight against the powerful forces of the Empire?

Other Garth Nix books to look into are Shade’s Children and the Abhorsen Trilogy.