I have been reading novels and comic books for about the same number of decades, and I’ve enjoyed both throughout my reading journey. But I prefer my I have been reading novels and comic books for about the same number of decades, and I’ve enjoyed both throughout my reading journey. But I prefer my novels to read and feel like novels, not comic books, and this novel felt far too much like a comic book in the end.
There are a ton of enjoyable and inventive aspects in this book: Clark’s joy at creating a steampunk version of Cairo that blends magic with early industrial tech is refreshingly infectious. He pokes at and interrogates classism and colonialism and racism in satisfying ways. And he provides ample, empowered space to the women in his tale. But the plot and its many action sequences motor along with both too much shorthand and too little depth, which is what made it feel like a multi-issue comic book arc in the end.
I’m still an admirer of Clark, having enjoyed — but not fallen in love with — his previously-published novellas — and I’m hopeful that he will find ways to infuse his future writing with more emotional depth. As with his other works, the 3-star rating I’m giving this novel isn’t really a grumpy one; there’s too much goodwill and generosity of spirit on display here.
Merged review:
I have been reading novels and comic books for about the same number of decades, and I’ve enjoyed both throughout my reading journey. But I prefer my novels to read and feel like novels, not comic books, and this novel felt far too much like a comic book in the end.
There are a ton of enjoyable and inventive aspects in this book: Clark’s joy at creating a steampunk version of Cairo that blends magic with early industrial tech is refreshingly infectious. He pokes at and interrogates classism and colonialism and racism in satisfying ways. And he provides ample, empowered space to the women in his tale. But the plot and its many action sequences motor along with both too much shorthand and too little depth, which is what made it feel like a multi-issue comic book arc in the end.
I’m still an admirer of Clark, having enjoyed — but not fallen in love with — his previously-published novellas — and I’m hopeful that he will find ways to infuse his future writing with more emotional depth. As with his other works, the 3-star rating I’m giving this novel isn’t really a grumpy one; there’s too much goodwill and generosity of spirit on display here....more
This is another fascinating, strange, absorbing work by the fiercely intelligent Arkady Martine. She once again displays some quirks that are perhaps This is another fascinating, strange, absorbing work by the fiercely intelligent Arkady Martine. She once again displays some quirks that are perhaps a bit too ubiquitous — a prevalence of both a lot of italics and many parenthetical interruptions — but I also can’t help but admire her commitment to her idiosyncratic style. Her characters are vividly drawn — although sometimes her dialogue feels a bit too hyper articulate, a la Aaron Sorkin — especially, in this installment, the child Emperor-in-waiting Eight Antidote and the second-in-command Swarm. And she is able to dramatize in very convincing fashion the complex, horrible truth that the fates of entire civilizations rest on flawed, lonely individuals and their whims.
I know folks who bounced off of A Memory Called Empire, and I can understand why, but I’m glad to have read these two novels, which I found to be quite satisfying and evocative.
Merged review:
This is another fascinating, strange, absorbing work by the fiercely intelligent Arkady Martine. She once again displays some quirks that are perhaps a bit too ubiquitous — a prevalence of both a lot of italics and many parenthetical interruptions — but I also can’t help but admire her commitment to her idiosyncratic style. Her characters are vividly drawn — although sometimes her dialogue feels a bit too hyper articulate, a la Aaron Sorkin — especially, in this installment, the child Emperor-in-waiting Eight Antidote and the second-in-command Swarm. And she is able to dramatize in very convincing fashion the complex, horrible truth that the fates of entire civilizations rest on flawed, lonely individuals and their whims.
I know folks who bounced off of A Memory Called Empire, and I can understand why, but I’m glad to have read these two novels, which I found to be quite satisfying and evocative....more
This novel (it’s difficult to believe it’s a first novel, it’s so accomplished) is invigoratingly original, crisply and subtly and wittily written, anThis novel (it’s difficult to believe it’s a first novel, it’s so accomplished) is invigoratingly original, crisply and subtly and wittily written, and features a propulsive narrative peopled by richly drawn characters. I’ll be very much looking forward to reading its sequel(s) upon release.
Merged review:
This novel (it’s difficult to believe it’s a first novel, it’s so accomplished) is invigoratingly original, crisply and subtly and wittily written, and features a propulsive narrative peopled by richly drawn characters. I’ll be very much looking forward to reading its sequel(s) upon release....more
There is a great deal to admire about this ambitious novel: its central characters are vividly drawn, complex, and satisfyingly larger than life. ParkThere is a great deal to admire about this ambitious novel: its central characters are vividly drawn, complex, and satisfyingly larger than life. Parker-Chan’s sense of place is authentic. And the genderqueer themes are a welcome presence in the landscape of mainstream fantasy literature. Where this book falls short for me is in its many chapters of palace and court intrigue; the inclusion of a vast cast of supporting players makes following the twisting threads of betrayals and shifting loyalties challenging and murky.
Still, over all, I’m glad to have spent time following this tale, and I’ll be interested to see its development in future installments.
Merged review:
There is a great deal to admire about this ambitious novel: its central characters are vividly drawn, complex, and satisfyingly larger than life. Parker-Chan’s sense of place is authentic. And the genderqueer themes are a welcome presence in the landscape of mainstream fantasy literature. Where this book falls short for me is in its many chapters of palace and court intrigue; the inclusion of a vast cast of supporting players makes following the twisting threads of betrayals and shifting loyalties challenging and murky.
Still, over all, I’m glad to have spent time following this tale, and I’ll be interested to see its development in future installments....more
This was a bewildering, entertaining, and inventive sequel to the wonderfully enjoyable Gideon the Ninth. I can’t say that I’m able to parse fully allThis was a bewildering, entertaining, and inventive sequel to the wonderfully enjoyable Gideon the Ninth. I can’t say that I’m able to parse fully all of the implications of the various revelations and plot twists that Muir flings at her readers in this installment, but that doesn’t overly trouble me. As with the first novel, I have the feeling that Muir is wanting some of her thornier emotional beats to land with a little more impact, and for me, they fall short of that. But I remain thoroughly impressed by how confidently and wittily and boldly she crafts her work, and I definitely will continue on with The Locked Tomb. ...more
This book started out promisingly, with a breezy style and a welcome exploration of class differences as told in a fantasy setting. And its central chThis book started out promisingly, with a breezy style and a welcome exploration of class differences as told in a fantasy setting. And its central characters felt fresh and alive.
But as it wore on, it became clear that Canavan had almost no sense of dramatic tension or plot momentum, and a tedium set in that, coupled with mounting excessive cliches such as all characters sighing multiple times on a page, made me resist picking up the book, until at long last I finished it.
Ah well, another popular fantasy selection that I read because it was voted up by the SF and Fantasy Book Club goes into my growing pile of two-star reads. ...more
This is an intriguing, emotionally chilly exploration of the theory of the multiverse, and of how class differences are also in some ways manifestatioThis is an intriguing, emotionally chilly exploration of the theory of the multiverse, and of how class differences are also in some ways manifestations of parallel universes.
I was always kept at an arm’s length from being emotionally engaged as much as I think Johnson was hoping her readers would be, which is what ticked down the rating a notch.
But she’s an assured, inventive writer with a lot on her mind, and I’ll definitely follow her career with interest. ...more
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