Beth's Reviews > Jaran

I have absolutely no idea what to think right now. Jaran combines familiar elements in a way that might be new, and yet when I look at it closely, might be derivative; events are telegraphed in a way that feels more obvious than organic; certainly a large part of the central relationship is nothing new at all.

Tess, as a political idea in a complicated power dynamic, is a fascinating character. As a person finding her way, her journey is much more typical: she's welcomed into strangers' homes because protagonists can't be allowed to die on the plains, she's compelling because she's foreign, which makes her attractive to everyone, and she's good at everything because - well, because she's the protagonist, I guess, and only significant people seem to have books center around them. She shakes up the gender politics in a way that's familiar to modern readers, even though the gender dynamics are different in the world of Jaran - an interesting inconsistency. Especially because one aspect of her relationship would make modern readers uncomfortable.

And yet it's well-written, which is where that sense of freshness comes from, I think. There's also a lack of obvious evil, a subtlety which is interesting for high fantasy. Jaran is - well, a good starting point would be Elizabeth Bear's non-European high fantasy. If you liked the idea of that but not the actual work, like I did, Jaran might be a good fit for you.