Laith
Thanks to Zack for the recommendation. _____
"None of it could be reduced to something as simple as invader and invaded. Baru saw in the city what she felt in herself. The two-faced allegiances, the fearful monitoring of self and surroundings, the whimpering need to please somehow kneeling alongside marrow-deep defiance. One eye set on a future of glittering wealthy subservience, the other turned to a receding and irretrievable freedom. The liquor of empire, alluring and corrosive at once, saturating everything, every old division of sex and race and history, remaking it all with the promise and the threat of power."
This is probably the hardest review I've tried to write so far; this book is undoubtedly one of the best that I've read this year, but it's such a complex and all-encompassing type of story that all I want to do is to give the play-by-play. This book defied my expectations, offering a profound exploration of colonization and empire disguised as fantasy. Baru, our protagonist, navigates a world of power politics and cultural clashes. Her journey takes her from her island home to a position within the very empire she initially resisted. Themes of duality pervade the narrative as Baru grapples with her identity and ambitions. The depth of the world-building and the complexity of its characters elevate this story, delving into the mechanisms of power and economics with captivating detail.
Baru, born into the multi-parented culture of Taranoke, is a bright and curious child whose fascination with the Empire of Masks/Falcrest leads her into its folds. Despite her parents' reservations about the Empire's oppressive practices, Baru's talent for numbers catches the attention of local authorities, propelling her into the imperial education system. Driven by a desire to save her home, Baru resolves to infiltrate the Empire, embracing its ways to dismantle it from within. Rising through the ranks, she becomes the Imperial accountant of Aurdwyn, facing moral dilemmas and personal sacrifices as she navigates the empire's oppressive grip on her identity and values.
The level of depth and complexity built into this world and its characters are so far beyond the norm, what first appeared to be a puddle was actually a pit. Where other fantasy stories color their worlds with picturesque settings and a deep magical lore, Dickinson injects reality. The characters are diverse and multifaceted, the world is rendered in brilliant detail, but it's the mechanisms and levers of power upon which this world operates that are the real bread and butter. Pages and pages are devoted to mercantile trade, political structure, and the economics of this fantasy world, and they are gripping. I did not realize that I would have my heart in my throat reading the fantastical equivalent of Thomas Mun meets Edward Gibbons, but here we are.
I picked this up imagining palace intrigue and power politics, instead I found a reflection of reality that is unflinchingly honest. This book cuts right to the heart of the human condition, and it's as intelligent and nuanced as it is brutal and exacting. I can compare this to a lot of other "Hard Fantasy" about Empire, but those books are often about the Emperor or the empire, whereas this book is about the mechanism of power and empire. What does that mean exactly? Well, empire comes horror included. In exchange for roads, laws, and trade, you also get social reconditioning, eugenics, exploitation, and plague. Whether by trade and assimilation or outright extermination, the Empire always sees its will executed, and this book does not hesitate to show us those mechanisms in action.
Of course, nothing is perfect and many of the choices that Dickinson makes about his prose, his story structure, and his characters are double-edged. I start with prose because that's the most consistent complaint I've heard about the book. This book can be dry and mechanical; it does read a bit like the love child of a history text, autobiography, and The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. If you're not into political theory and monetary policy, then you might find yourself wishing that there were more fantasy elements in this fantasy story. There's so much mechanical/expository detail in this book that it chokes the life out of many of those elements. Notably, the majority of the supporting cast and moments that are important later in the story were lacking in necessary characterization and detail. The "magic" of this world (it's very Clarke's Third law) doesn't even feature in this first book!
One final Note: This book is coming from a very forward-thinking, liberal-minded type of place, and it makes sexuality one of its core topics. That means this won't be everyone's ideological cup of tea, but I felt that the book handled the issue of sexuality and gender in an extremely mature - almost indirect - way. The book doesn't necessarily make any judgement calls, but it frames the issue with substantive in-universe quandaries and situations that leave the (obvious) moral calls up to the reader. I don't think that you'll see many of your right leaning friends adding this to their TBR, which is a shame because this is exactly the type of book they probably should read.
All in All, this was a fantastic debut novel from Seth Dickinson; it's intelligent, complex, and brutal. If you like grimdark or Hard Fantasy/SF, this will absolutely scratch the itch and leave you thinking well after you've turned the last page.
Thanks to Zack for the recommendation. _____
"None of it could be reduced to something as simple as invader and invaded. Baru saw in the city what she felt in herself. The two-faced allegiances, the fearful monitoring of self and surroundings, the whimpering need to please somehow kneeling alongside marrow-deep defiance. One eye set on a future of glittering wealthy subservience, the other turned to a receding and irretrievable freedom. The liquor of empire, alluring and corrosive at once, saturating everything, every old division of sex and race and history, remaking it all with the promise and the threat of power."
This is probably the hardest review I've tried to write so far; this book is undoubtedly one of the best that I've read this year, but it's such a complex and all-encompassing type of story that all I want to do is to give the play-by-play. This book defied my expectations, offering a profound exploration of colonization and empire disguised as fantasy. Baru, our protagonist, navigates a world of power politics and cultural clashes. Her journey takes her from her island home to a position within the very empire she initially resisted. Themes of duality pervade the narrative as Baru grapples with her identity and ambitions. The depth of the world-building and the complexity of its characters elevate this story, delving into the mechanisms of power and economics with captivating detail.
Baru, born into the multi-parented culture of Taranoke, is a bright and curious child whose fascination with the Empire of Masks/Falcrest leads her into its folds. Despite her parents' reservations about the Empire's oppressive practices, Baru's talent for numbers catches the attention of local authorities, propelling her into the imperial education system. Driven by a desire to save her home, Baru resolves to infiltrate the Empire, embracing its ways to dismantle it from within. Rising through the ranks, she becomes the Imperial accountant of Aurdwyn, facing moral dilemmas and personal sacrifices as she navigates the empire's oppressive grip on her identity and values.
The level of depth and complexity built into this world and its characters are so far beyond the norm, what first appeared to be a puddle was actually a pit. Where other fantasy stories color their worlds with picturesque settings and a deep magical lore, Dickinson injects reality. The characters are diverse and multifaceted, the world is rendered in brilliant detail, but it's the mechanisms and levers of power upon which this world operates that are the real bread and butter. Pages and pages are devoted to mercantile trade, political structure, and the economics of this fantasy world, and they are gripping. I did not realize that I would have my heart in my throat reading the fantastical equivalent of Thomas Mun meets Edward Gibbons, but here we are.
I picked this up imagining palace intrigue and power politics, instead I found a reflection of reality that is unflinchingly honest. This book cuts right to the heart of the human condition, and it's as intelligent and nuanced as it is brutal and exacting. I can compare this to a lot of other "Hard Fantasy" about Empire, but those books are often about the Emperor or the empire, whereas this book is about the mechanism of power and empire. What does that mean exactly? Well, empire comes horror included. In exchange for roads, laws, and trade, you also get social reconditioning, eugenics, exploitation, and plague. Whether by trade and assimilation or outright extermination, the Empire always sees its will executed, and this book does not hesitate to show us those mechanisms in action.
Of course, nothing is perfect and many of the choices that Dickinson makes about his prose, his story structure, and his characters are double-edged. I start with prose because that's the most consistent complaint I've heard about the book. This book can be dry and mechanical; it does read a bit like the love child of a history text, autobiography, and The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. If you're not into political theory and monetary policy, then you might find yourself wishing that there were more fantasy elements in this fantasy story. There's so much mechanical/expository detail in this book that it chokes the life out of many of those elements. Notably, the majority of the supporting cast and moments that are important later in the story were lacking in necessary characterization and detail. The "magic" of this world (it's very Clarke's Third law) doesn't even feature in this first book!
One final Note: This book is coming from a very forward-thinking, liberal-minded type of place, and it makes sexuality one of its core topics. That means this won't be everyone's ideological cup of tea, but I felt that the book handled the issue of sexuality and gender in an extremely mature - almost indirect - way. The book doesn't necessarily make any judgement calls, but it frames the issue with substantive in-universe quandaries and situations that leave the (obvious) moral calls up to the reader. I don't think that you'll see many of your right leaning friends adding this to their TBR, which is a shame because this is exactly the type of book they probably should read.
All in All, this was a fantastic debut novel from Seth Dickinson; it's intelligent, complex, and brutal. If you like grimdark or Hard Fantasy/SF, this will absolutely scratch the itch and leave you thinking well after you've turned the last page.