/lit/ - Literature

The Redemption of Time, Remembrance of Earth's Past - Baoshu (2011/2019)

The Redemption of Time is a fanfiction webnovel written by Li Jun under his Baoshu pseudonym, which literally means divine tree. It was originally posted online less than a month after Death's End was published as Three Body X: Aeon of Contemplation. It's not officially canon, but it was approved by Cixin Liu and published by the same publisher. This is the first novel length work of fanfiction that I've read. It definitely reads like it is. If you have high expectations, you may want to reconsider them.

This book is in many ways an apologia, a formal defense of Death's End, primarily told through Yun Tianming's perspective, though various other perspectives are used as well. It's not only that it provides additional explanations for several events, it's specifically ones that I believed to be idiotic or glossed over. That leads me to assume that a significant number of others thought they were as well, hence the need for providing additional detail so that what happened seems more reasonable and rational. I can appreciate a fan's dedication to an author, but I would've really preferred there to be more narrative rather than scene after scene telling me why I should've trusted that whatever was offpage was amazing and had faith that the author knew what he was doing.

Speaking of faith, I was surprised by how much Christianity was included in here. It's certainly a different take on heaven, angels, eden, God, and satan. I don't know how literally versus metaphorically it's meant to be taken considering how explicitly everything is presented, including bible verses. Other religions are mentioned in passing, but the focus is on Christianity. Li Jun attended a Catholic university in Belgium for a philosophy degree, but I didn't know that until after I finished reading.

What amused me the most were the anime references, especially citing the Endless Eight episodes of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya anime as justification for his actions. The Legend of the Galactic Heroes epigraph was nice as well. There's also various literary references, which are around as common as referencing the same Japanese porn star over and over. The ending is a metafictional display of admiration, which I found to be entirely silly, but it's not terrible.

This novel was published in English in 2019, which means that his later written short fiction was translated and published in English before this novel was. "What Has Passed Shall in Kinder Light Appear" is a great story and it was the first story I read from him. Unfortunately, everything afterwards has been disappointing. I read it mostly for the sake of completion, but also because I thought there would be a chance it could be decent. There doesn't seem to be any reason to me to read it other than for a perhaps misguided sense of completion or simply because anything more suffices.

Rating: 2/5

>>23043214
Death's End - Remembrance of Earth's Past #3 - Cixin Liu - (2010/2016)

Death's End begins with the fall of Constantinople in 1453 CE. That may seem odd, but its purpose is to set expectations that something may seem like magic, but it's not, because magic doesn't exist. It's simply a phenomenon inexplicable to us with our current level of understanding. The book then follows a different narrative than was presented in the second book, which was mainly about the Wallfacer Project. For this book it's the Staircase Program, though it's not followed as closely. Eventually it catches back up to right after the second book ended, though following a different character. From there on it goes far further into the future than you may expect, but that's the power of hibernation, time dilation, and even more advanced technologies. The scope of the series greatly increases as do the consequences of its decisions. Humanity faces their greatest challenges yet.

There's so much in this series that's done very well that raises it in my estimation. The future eras and the specific details that make up the world are wonderful, especially the space habitats. The scientific ideas are intriguing thought experiments and are detailed in fantastical ways. However, there's considerably more that drags it down to where it's frustrating, if not tortuous for me to read. It's not that I don't understand the perspective, or even at times think it's wrong given a specific set of circumstances. The problem is how unrelentingly heavyhanded it is about its social ideals. Seemingly almost every situation has the same problem and resolution, repeated over and over. Does society as a whole ever learn from what is considered to be their mistakes? No, no, they don't. What frustrates me the most is how much idiocy has to be allowed for plot reasons. That being said, I consider the character that was considered to be the stupidest and worst by many simply to be a scapegoat for ideological reasons.

Depending on personal preferences some may be annoyed that although there's explanations for a lot of what happens and why, the advanced technology may as well be magic for a lot of it, especially the further along in the book that it goes. Three fairy tales are also included that metaphorically explain science and I was surprised by their inclusion and their length. There's also a considerable number of events that occur because they need to, rather than having any plausible reason, but I found that to be far easier to accept than the idiocy.

Despite the numerous issues I have with this book, author, series, and otherwise, it does a lot of things that I enjoy, though I prefer how Greg Egan did them in his novels and short fiction. Overall I'm glad that Oepin had me finish the series. If nothing else, it provided a rather different perspective on human nature, societal limitations, and morality than what I'm used to.

Rating: 3.5/5

The Great Change (and Other Lies), First Law World - Joe Abercrombie (2023)

The first three of these stories were previously included in the Waterstones special editions of the Age of Madness trilogy books. The Great Change is published here for the first time. Abercrombie warns that these stories shouldn't be read until after you've read the book it goes with and for the last, until after you've finished the trilogy. What I've written can be read without having read anything else.

The Thread
The devaluation of labor and the ascendancy of capital in an unregulated free market is demonstrated through the production of clothing starting from the harvesting of cotton to the presentation of a garment to a wealthy businesswoman. Quality plummets as profits soar.
Enjoyable

The Stone
The path of a single huge blood diamond is followed from its discovery to its incorporation into regalia. Along the way all manners of criminal activity ensue. A great amount of individual profit is gained through undermining the guild system, organized labor, and solidarity. However, it's never enough.
Enjoyable

The Point
Hundreds of prisoners, political and otherwise, slaves, and other forced labor toil away in the iron mines. Their lives hold no value other than the value they produce for the owner. A man ponders whether the downsides of profit at the expense of all else is worth its rewards. The foundries are indifferent to its usage, cutlery or swords, it matters not as long as they're paid. An arms dealer sells to all sides, as to do otherwise would enrich someone else.
Enjoyable

The Great Change
The origins of The Great Change are revealed. Scenes from the trilogy are presented from a different perspective. New scenes fill out what wasn't previously put on page.
Enjoyable

The Hallowed Hunt, The World of the Five Gods #3 - Lois McMaster Bujold (2005)

Lord Ingrey kin Wolfcliff, twenty four years old, has been ordered to investigate the murder of Prince Boleso. The prince had been sent away because he had murdered, skinned, then butchered one of his manservants. Lady Ijada killed him because he attempted to rape her during a forbidden forest ritual involving animal sacrifice and their spirits. Ingrey must return to Easthome with Boleso's salt preserved corpse and Ijada so that they both stand trial, the former before the gods and the latter at court. Ingrey and Ijada immediately fall into a peculiar relationship with an unexpected power dynamic. All five gods and their representatives, a sorcerer of immense power, and the nobility influence their actions. A plot centuries in the making unfolds. All the pieces on the board must think they're moving themselves rather than being moved.

The Hallowed Hunt has a completely new cast, aside from the gods, and takes place in a previously unmentioned land. I've seen this described as a trilogy of standalone fantasy novels and while I think that's somewhat arguable for the first two that's definitely true for this one. I don't know quite how to sum up what this one is about without spoiling a lot, but even I did, I think what it is about is rather underwhelming. For the most part the characters lack agency and go where they're supposed to and do what they're forced to. What saved this book for me was the writing. It was nice enough to read, even though most everything else was lacking. This was especially the case for the mastermind antagonist's motivations. When they were revealed I was vastly disappointed because of how petty it was.

Of the three books this one has the most romance by far. I wouldn't have minded as much, but it just seemed to happen because the plot needed it to be. It was oddly developed and there's a slight bit of shifter stuff as it deals a lot with animal spirits. It may be unfair of me, but the kind of paranormal romance it made me think of definitely detracted from my enjoyment. I also don't think they made a good couple in general, or were that interesting of characters. I don't know what happened with this book, relative to the previous two.

I'd say this one is an optional read. The first two are great and this one is alright, though the comparison to the previous books hurts it. My first thought was to give this 3.5 rounded up, mostly out of inertia, but after writing this and thinking it over, I don't think I can. There's simply not enough that I liked about it, but even so, it's still a close call. Next in the setting is the dozen or so Penric and Desdemona novellas. I expect them to be at least somewhat better than this was.

Rating: 3.5/5

Previous books
>>/lit/?task=search2&search_text=five+gods+world&search_tripcode=sffg&search_ord=old

Paladin of Souls, World of the Five Gods #2, Lois McMaster Bujold (2003)

Three years after the events of the previous book, Ista is now forty years old and deeply unsatisfied with her life despite the curse having been lifted. From birth she was brought up to be someone who'd marry into greatness, so she couldn't ever be herself. When she came of age and married the king the role she had to play was even more false and tormented. Even after being widowed and secluded, the anguish from the curse and trauma she endured left her without a self. Grief and loss were her world entire. The crushing weight of expectation began at birth and seemed it would not relent until death. Now at forty, her life half over, she wonders if she can begin to live as herself. Perhaps there's yet remains time to experience life, embrace the world, and see what exists outside of what has been forced upon her. After glimpsing what her life could've been, she resolves to go on pilgrimage despite her fears of relapsing into madness. She doesn't do so for a religious reason, but to save her soul, and if that's not possible, then to at least to lighten the burden upon it. Though she wants nothing to do with the gods any longer, one of the gods sees this as an excellent time to have their will worked through her. What ensues is a tale of mystery, magic, murder, demons, gods, love, war, self-discovery, and acceptance.

Ista is the sole viewpoint character and the only one from the previous book to be in this one in a significant role. Past characters make brief appearances and are mentioned in passing, but this is almost entirely about the new cast. Whereas the first book was about courtly life, intrigue, and adventure, this one is traveling for the first quarter then exploring a mystery for rest of the time that's much more than it initially seems. Although it's rather different from the first book I greatly enjoyed it anyway. Overall I prefer the first book, though that may change in time, as this has greater strengths in some areas than the previous one did, primarily in terms of being a character study. Ista's story is one that I personally find to be very compelling. It's often very introspective and deals with how to navigate relations with both the self and others. I found it to be fascinating how she comes to terms with the life she's lived and is able to move on from it, step by step.

Based on what I understand this is as far as the story goes in chronological terms. As far as I know all other works in this setting take place in the considerable past. Regardless, I'm eager to read them, as this book has shown that what really matters is simply that Bujold is writing in this setting. Even more so it's about how meaningful it feels. I don't mind reading entirely for entertainment, however if it can also be meaningful, then there's little else I'd want from it.

Rating: 5/5

Previous book:
>>/lit/thread/22678324#p22679394

>>22979027
Machine Vendetta, Prefect Dreyfus Emergency #3 / Revelation Space - Alastair Reynolds (2024)

Six years have passed both in the real world and in-universe since the last book was published. From early on the characters begin referencing events from four years ago, a text search shows they directly do so twenty times throughout the book, and that confused me. Had I entirely forgotten what had happened and these characters? No, I hadn't, this was simply a case of Reynolds having a lot of stuff happen outside of the written story. The way it's presented though is as if the reader is already aware of everything. Usually when a book follows up from events that occurred it's something that happened in previous books. That's not the case here, as it's mostly a follow-up to the events of four years ago, which sought to resolve the Clockmaker and Aurora situation.

Tom Dreyfus and Thalia Ng are the two major perspectives, though there's a few other minor ones. This is probably one of the least convoluted books that Reynolds has written. It's almost entirely a straightforward investigation going from place to place and talking with people. Most of the thriller, survival, and action scenes are gone, as is much of the stuff from the wider Revelation Space series. Depending on your preferences this may be considered mundane, if not dull, because there isn't anything particularly exciting and certainly nothing epic. Yet, somehow it worked better for me than what the previous books did.

If you've read a few books from Reynolds before, you're aware that identity issues may be his favorite plot device. They're present here, but I think for first time Reynolds has a scene where he acknowledges and intervenes with the identity issues because he knows you're speculating about the identity of a character. The identity issues are eventually resolved in a way that could be considered divisive.

This is where I admit that I don't know what it is about this time, but for some reason I felt especially charitable about all the issues that would've otherwise bothered me. Others may feel the problems to be of greater severity, but unlike the previous books there wasn't anything here that lessened my enjoyment. There were several questionable narrative choices, but it seems I've become inured to them or maybe it was my mood.

I didn't notice it until I was doing text searches, but I realized whenever Ng is mentioned by itself I unconsciously replaced it with Thalia. This led to me wondering why she was always referred to by her first name while Dreyfus is almost always referred to by his last. Stuff like this has happened before.

The ending concludes Dreyfus's story and I'm satisfied with both that it has ended and how it has. It took some plot contrivances to get to this point, but apparently I don't mind.

Rating: 3.5/5 (4)

Previously in the series
>>/lit/?task=search2&search_text=Dreyfus+&search_tripcode=sffg&search_ord=old

>>22953722
Nightborn, Coldfire - C. S. Friedman (2023)

This is a strange book. I don't think it stands on its own. It really seems like something only for those who have already read the Coldfire trilogy. I don't believe it's necessary reading for those who have read the Coldfire trilogy though. Probably only the people who need to read it are completionists and those who want to read how the first two weeks or so of colonization went. It doesn't even cover all of what was already included in the trilogy. The Rakh don't make an appearance on-page. I was hoping it would show more of their colonization efforts, because I'd like to read more like that. Instead it mostly focuses on the horror of the unknown and the helpless despair that it creates. I'd describe it as being more horror focused than science fiction or fantasy. To their credit by using the power of science and reasoning they figure out what's going on rather quickly. Unfortunately for them that doesn't really help much at all.

The plot covers from being in orbit to some days after The First/Great Sacrifice. That would seem like the page count is far too much for that. Maybe it is, but it read quickly and I didn't really notice. As for the characters, well, they're there. It's almost entirely told through the perspective of their leader, Leon Case, through daily journal logs. There's 200 colonists to start with and certainly less by the end. I don't really have much to say about them. A few of them of them have flashback scenes to their life on Earth explaining why they decided to join to the seed ship. I didn't care enough about the characters for them to mean much to me though. The main problem with Earth is that there's too many people and not enough opportunities. Every place except for where the seedships are headed have very strict population controls and new positions for anything doesn't open up unless someone dies.

The most troubling issue was that all of it felt insubstantial to me. It really feels like Friedman was just fleshing out the lore for hardcore fans rather than writing an actual novella. That's a nice gesture and one I can appreciate, but the content is lacking for me. Thematically it remains similar to the other books, especially Crown of Shadows.

Dominion, the Tarrant novella that barely qualifies as one, is also included in this book. I've separated it out and it isn't included in my rating for this book. It was rather disappointing and I didn't feel like writing anything for it on its own. I may read more from Friedman, though those 3.5s I gave for each book of the trilogy could've easily have been rounded down.

Rating
Nightborn: 3/5
Dominion: 2/5

Previous books in the series
>>/lit/?task=search2&search_text=Coldfire&search_tripcode=sffg&search_ord=old

>>22940205
Crown of Shadows, The Coldfire Trilogy #3 - C. S. Friedman (1995)

Around a year has passed since the events of the previous book because returning from the continent that no one returns from was much more difficult than getting there. The size of the planet is unclear, but six months to get there and ten to get back must involve considerable distances. It's good thing their travel time is skipped over between books because otherwise the majority of the time from the beginning of the first book to the end of the third book would be them at sea.

The enemy this time is what they consider to be an extremely powerful demon that they have no idea how they're going to beat. He's the guy behind the big bad of the second book who was the boss of the antagonists of the first book. Is there someone above this demon? It's as likely as you'd think. There's also a literally Unnamed manifestation of the all evil ever committed by humanity, which normally would seem like it'd be a big deal, but it never really is. Anti-climatic reveals and downplaying that which seems to be powerful happens a lot in this series. I thought it was just how it was written, but maybe it's meant to be subverting expectations. If that was the intent, then well, I don't know that it's advisable to do it continuously for all three books.

For the third time it's all about journeying. This time though the first half is a spiritual journey and the second half is a physical journey for spiritual reasons. That's not all though since there are several POVs this time. There's Damien and Tarrant who want to destroy what they see as the ultimate evil, the demon. Narilka and Andrys want to destroy the ultimate evil, Tarrant. Patriarch, who forever remains unnamed, wants to destroy the ultimate evil, the fae. There are a few other one-off POVs as well.

The primary theme is that through penance one can be absolved, if not redeemed. It leans heavily into the question of whether a few great deeds can mitigate a lifetime of evil. I'm not really much for heroic self-sacrifice as I think living is preferable, but as with some other ideals, I believe its arguments are presented here well enough. I'm skeptical of whether the character development was credible enough for what happens, but I'll allow it. I'm conflicted about the late story reveals and the epilogue, which were mildly to the detriment of my enjoyment.

I don't know what Friedman was going for with this series overall. I do know that I enjoyed most of it aside from the plot though. This is the end of the trilogy, but not the end of the works in this setting. There's still a work of short fiction and a novel left. The novel was published 28 years after this one, so I'm interested to see how much has changed in how Friedman writes in this setting.

Rating: 3.5/5 (4)

Previous books in the series
>>/lit/?task=search2&search_text=Coldfire&search_tripcode=sffg&search_ord=old

>>22923663
When True Night Falls - The Coldfire Trilogy #2 - C. S. Friedman (1993)

Following a six-month time skip the party arrives at the eastern continent from which no one has ever returned. The last attempt was over 400 years ago. There they face a far greater evil than before. Across this new continent they journey to vanquish The Undying King.

That's the whole plot, from beginning to end, a singular journey to defeat the evil overlord. The plot is again by far the weakest part. As with the first book, this one is a self-contained story. There's a lot of wasted potential here, at least in terms of my personal preferences. Somehow I didn't mind that much that it was almost only travelling. There's even at least a few repeated story beats, yet it doesn't matter because this trilogy is all about the character interactions. That's especially the case with Tarrant. Without him this would be a thoroughly mediocre series. However, without Damien it wouldn't even be a series. Their interplay is easily the best part of the books. That's good, but it really ought to be more than that.

I've seen a lot mention the implicit homoeroticism of the two male leads, but I believe that to be a considerable exaggeration. There are those who see moral corruption, dependency, and much else as inherently sexual or even romantic, but I don't think that they are. Far too much is made of their relationship in sexual and romantic terms. I'm not going to say their relationship isn't unusual, it is, and that's what makes it's so interesting.

There's definitely a lot more religious content in this one compared to the first. It's primarily a comparative sort in how it can go right and how it can go wrong. On a personal level for Damien it's about confronting nihilism and how much necessary evil is allowable. If relying on specific evils leads to far better outcomes than not using them, then is one obligated to use them? It's one of the better arguments for The Greater Good and The Ends Justify The Means that I've seen, though of course in fiction the outcomes can be whatever the author wants them to be for any given action.

It's difficult to for me to say which I've enjoyed more of the two books. The first had both more high and low points while the second is somewhat better than decent the entire time except for the last 20%, which I really enjoyed despite being conflicted about what happened. Also in the latter's favor is that it has Tarrant from the beginning.

Next up is the final book of the trilogy. If the third book is also a simply plotted journey I'll be disappointed. My biggest problem with this book is a meta consideration. If plot twists seem to have been for the author's convenience, does that make them less meaningful? I prefer it when it feels like it wasn't something that had to happen.

Rating: 3.5/5 (4)

Previously in the series
>>/lit/?task=search2&search_text=Coldfire&search_tripcode=sffg&search_ord=old

>>22911765
Origin Complex - Andrew Skinner, Steel Frame #2 (2022)

Crash Bin'Syan is one of the highest ranked analysts for the Sigurd-Lem corporation. She has a Mirror, a cybernetic twin that she shares a dual consciousness with, though they can mentally split apart and act independently. For the last decade or so she's been analyzing the quarantined alien ruins on planet Vija. Thirty years ago an alien AI was unleased there that made what humanity had built become a new layer of ruins. However, it's now believed to have been only a testing grounds to create a prison for a far worse AI. Somehow it's a second transition point to The Eye. What's happening at The Eye threatens all of human existence.

This book is significantly different from the first, of which it takes place before, during, and after. I enjoyed it less, if only because I found it to be less interesting. There's much less emphasis on Shells (mecha), combat, and thrills. It's much more investigations and travelling. The writing and the atmosphere it created remained pleasing, but that wasn't enough for me. As with the first book the relationship with the protagonist and their mechanical counterpart is a primary focus. The characters from the first book are present in this one as well, though only at the very end.

Writing about this, and rating it possibly more so, presents its own difficulties in that as of this writing it's the only review on Goodreads and one of the few anywhere else. As such, I don't want to present further challenges, but I also don't want to write or rate differently than what I feel. What I feel is that this is a 3.5 rounded down. I felt the same about the first book, though I liked it somewhat more, and even then it was a very near thing that I rounded that one up. My main problems is that it reads like a side story. The most it does to justify its existence is providing a new ending and explaining the downfall of the alien civilizations. Although Crash does a considerable amount of self-reflection with her Mirror which provides for questioning, I don't think it went far enough. The same goes for the attempt at romance, which seemed almost more like a nod to Gundam The Witch From Mercury which began the prior month than an organic relationship.

None of this is to say that you shouldn't read the first book then this one. The main problem with reading this one first is that much of scant worldbuilding isn't repeated from the first, so it may be confusing in that it doesn't explain everything all over again. I do believe that reading both of these is a worthwhile due to the different perspective it provides. The first book was traditionally published though this one was self-published, then co-published. I haven't any idea whether this is the final book in this setting. This storyline seems to have ended, though it is somewhat ambiguous.

Rating: 3.5/5 (3)

A newer edition includes a short story.
https://scarletferret.com/books/origin-complex

>>22897750
Morning Star, Red Rising #3 - Pierce Brown (2016)

This wasn't as enjoyable as the second, but I liked it more than the first. Darrow was relatively better this time, though that was mostly through the lessening of everyone else. The highlights for me were the space battle for being fun and neat, and the ending, which was absurd and ridiculous. The ending makes it clear that you can stop reading here as it provides suitable resolution. I understand why many would think this concludes everything that needs to have been written.

https://www.goodreads.com/interviews/show/993.Pierce_Brown
https://scifibulletin.wordpress.com/books/science-fiction/interview-pierce-brown/

After I read this book I read two interviews, one that came out the month before the second book was released and another around a year later. I found them to be very revealing of Brown's thoughts on the series. He talks about his inspirations, one of which was The Count of Monte Cristo, and that's quite evident for this book. Once again what happens through the story has changed a lot and I liked it less if only for that. There's a heist, some special operations, and a space battle. Mostly though it's going from place to place recruiting allies to their cause. That's an odd choice of narrative pace to me for what was originally intended to only be three books.

As Brown says in the acknowledgements of this book, this one was far harder than the previous two to write. Considering that he says in the interview that he wrote Red Rising in less than two months without any outlines or structure, that's entirely understandable. It shows his growth as a writer and how he's transitioning styles, as discussed in the latter interview. A few years and a few books can really make a difference. The unfortunate truth though is changing as an author may make the author less popular even if they've become more proficient, or perhaps because they have. It may just be aging as well.

When Brown talks about greek plays, Plato, Dune, Book of the New Sun, and literary classics as what he sees as comparisons rather than YA, I have to wonder what he thinks he's writing. It's also telling when he says "Young Adult is simply a book that is interesting in every chapter." In the latter interview Brown pushes back even more on the YA label. When he said that Darrow is an unreliable narrator like Severian I was baffled. It showed that he had quite the different perspective on Darrow. He also emphasizes plot over everything else because as he says he's not trying to write a literary novel.

It makes me wonder what his current thoughts are, but that'll have to wait until I read more into the series, which probably won't be until considerably later in the year. Overall this trilogy can be a worthwhile read if you don't mind that it's all about entertainment and little else. If this is where it had ended I wouldn't believe it to be a notable series aside from its popularity.

Rating: 3.5/5 (3)

>>22888465
Golden Son, Red Rising Saga #2 - Pierce Brown (2015)

Golden Son is better in every way than Red Rising, which is what everyone has told me. Brown has clearly improved and learned a lot. This time it's space opera and while it doesn't focus on being military science fiction, it's certainly present. One of the biggest differences is how much more expansive it is and how much it's willing to do. I wasn't able to take the first book seriously, and I still can't with this one, but I can appreciate what it's doing. This is exceedingly commercial genre fiction done well. It knows what it is, focuses on that, and doesn't pretend otherwise.

Darrow remains insufferable, though I have to wonder how much that's because it's in first person. I get the feeling that for many others what I find insufferable may be relatable or even appealing. My main problem is that he's a character rather than a person. What I mean by that is that he's whatever the current scene requires him to be regardless of any other consideration. The same goes for every other aspect of the novel, but the weaknesses in characterization are the most readily apparent and the hardest to overlook for me. This book is among those that has that greatest gap between what I think about the protagonist and the book overall. Several other characters are better, but it wouldn't be the same story if Darrow weren't the protagonist.

This is a strange book in that it feels entirely crafted to reader considerations, yet still works well. It's not organic at all in the way it plays with reader expectations, however it does know what those expectations are and what to do with them. It's all very calculated in its craft. I don't know how sustainable that is, as with anything that relies upon novelty, but it suffices in the short term. The question Brown seems to ask himself for every scene is "What would make this most entertaining for the reader?". So, if you're reading this for anything other than base entertainment, I think you're doing it wrong. That puts a hard cap on how highly I can think of it, but I consider that entirely separate from enjoyment, and not at all relevant for most.

Despite almost everything I saw about this book being much better, I still had considerable doubt, but I was wrong. Even so, I'm keeping my expectations in check. However, as I've written before, I'm not concerned with novelty most times. If someone writes a formula that I enjoy, I don't care if they do it over and over again, as long as I'm still enjoying it. That's not something I would want everyone else to do, but it's what I do. As I wrote, I can't take this book seriously, though I can appreciate it. I don't find it meaningful, but not everything has to be. Sometimes fun things are simply fun and don't need to be anything more than that. At the end I realized that I had laughed enough in joy and was amused enough by its ridiculousness to give it a 4 rather than a 3.5 rounded up.

Rating: 4/5

>>22878295
The Surviving Sky, Rages #1 - Kritika H. Rao (2023)

All that remains of humanity reside in flying cities where plants and trees form the basis of their society. The architects design, maintain, and arguably control everything through their inborn ability to manipulate plants. Sungineers develop technology that runs on the architect power, such as computers and other modern technologies. Humanity was forced to escape to the sky over a thousand years ago due to the Earth Rages which through both tornadoes and earthquakes utterly destroy a region.

This book has a lot of Hindu influence. Most of what I recognized was because it had spread to other cultures. There's a considerable amount that was a clear reference, so I was able to look up a lot to have a general idea what it was going for. The spiritual aspects dominate the narrative for the last ~20%. I admit that much of its significance was lost on me and surely was the greatest contributor to my not comprehending the end goal of the antagonists.

There are two viewpoint characters, a husband and wife in their 30s. Irevan is a senior architect and a member of the council, while his wife, Ahilya, is the world's sole archaeologist. Their relationship is quite troubled for a lot of reasons and they're very bad at acknowledging their problems let alone resolving them. Their relationship drama is present from the beginning, though much else is more important than it. There's a considerable amount of political discussion, social commentary, and philosophizing. Later on the focus shifts to what felt like almost exclusively relationship melodrama with brief interludes of plot progression. Their cycle of remorse and apologizing then lashing out at each other becomes more aggressive, spiteful, and petty until it finally reaches a climax at around 75% through where they have a barely existent sex scene that instantly resolves all of their relationship problems and allows them to have multiple epiphanies.

As to what happens in the book, Ahilya is trying to prove her theories and Irevan is in damage control mode about everything all the time. Their sky cities aren't sustainable any longer and since they don't want them to crash they're trying to figure out what to do about that.

This has been one of the most difficult books for me to write about in a long time because of how promising it started and how disappointed I became by the end. I was greatly enjoying myself and thought I would be giving this 5 stars. For most of the first half I was already planning out how I'd write a strong defense of how and why it hadn't received the reception it deserved. Afterwards there was more and more I couldn't overlook or excuse. Overall, I still liked it for its world and ideas. If the second half and ending hadn't lost me, I would've rated this much higher. It's unlikely I'll read the sequel unless I get over my expectation of more disappointment.

Rating: 3.5/5 (3)

>>22756330
Pandora's Star, Commonwealth Saga #1 - Peter. F Hamilton (2004)

Humans landed on Mars for the first time in 2050, which would've been a momentous occasion if weren't entirely overshadowed by the wormhole generators that allowed humanity to quickly and easily colonize planets 100s of light years away. In the present day of 2380, humanity has established itself on over 600 planets in a spherical volume 400 light years wide. All of the alien species humanity has come across have been peaceful. The sentient AI that humanity developed is a friend and ally. Rejuvenation allows the elderly to become young, over and over again. Even death has lost much of its sting, as memories can be backed up and implanted into clones. For many it is a golden age, but the discovery of a star that disappears in less than a second is an omen of the troubling times to come.

Dudley Bose, an astronomer, discovers the disappearing star and believes that it's his chance for fame and fortune. Adam Elvin is a revolutionary socialist trying to reform the Commonwealth, though his actions have become much more mercenary. Paula Myo is a senior investigator obsessed with a case she's been pursuing for nearly 150 years. Nigel Sheldon oversees the organization that controls interplanetary transit. Justine Burnelli is a member of one of the most powerful families and is deeply involved in politics. Wilson Kime landed on Mars and now all these centuries later his expertise is needed again. Oscar Monroe leads an exploratory team finding new planets to colonize. Ozzie Isaac created the wormhole generators and now lives an itinerant lifestyle throughout the Commonwealth. Mark Vernon has had enough of fast-paced urban life and moves his family to a frontier planet that guarantees a slow and cozy lifestyle. Kazimir McFoster is a teenage member of the Guardians of Selfhood who believe that a being called the Starflyer secretly controls humanity. Mellanie Rescorai begins as a teenage trophy girlfriend to an old wealthy man.

That's not all of the viewpoint characters. The narrative continually switches between perspectives, often several times per chapter. For much of the novel it seems like a mosaic of lives as they don't often intersect. Depending on your preferences this may present itself as a slog of seemingly endless filler or a detailed depiction of everyday life in the Commonwealth. For me, it was more the latter. I loved the setting.

Here are some things I found to be notable. There are literally dozens of neologisms that are only used once, as are many characters and specific details. This creates a veneer of very detailed worldbuilding. There are several LGBT and non-white characters. Heterosexual sex happens a few times. I was reminded of Dan Simmon's Endymion with one of the storylines. Hamilton is another author I didn't think I liked, but turns out I do. This is first novel I've read by him, though I'll be reading many more if they're like this.

Rating: 4/5

>>22745951
Cixin Liu
So goes forgetting to put stuff from time to time when doing other things.
This was a winner's chosen book for me to read from A Contest of Ratings. The next book, the 6th, will be the last of those.

>>22744694
The Dark Forest, Rememberance of Earth's Past #2 (2008/2014)

The Dark Forest is primarily about ideas, as science fiction tends to be. The plot, characters, and whatever else matter, though mostly in what role they play in the elaboration of the ideas. Some of the the main ideas are survival at any cost, great man theory, dark forest hypothesis, and the difficulties involved with informational transparency when confronting an enemy. Many of these ideas are presented through the interplay between the Wallfacers and the Wallbreakers who oppose each other. Personally, I found it to be silly in that it seemed to be more for dramatic purposes than practical. Though, anything involving the ETO was garbage, as it was in the first book. There's also what people seem to call the tulpa part, but I think it was more a commentary on weltschmerz, contemporary literature, and the writing process than anything else, especially considering what later happens.

The first 60% of the book took place in more-or-less present day while the latter 40% was centuries later. The former was fine, though I preferred the latter because its presentation of the future within the technological restrictions and how society progressed during that time. Ideology is important to this book and unlike many other SF novels, their ideology evolved more over time than their technology. I believe these restrictions served a dual overt and covert purposes. They allow for a more plausible future because it's only, what if now only more developed, and without any surprises. It also places greater emphasis on non-technological changes. Perhaps less obviously it shows the effect that stagnation of theoretical science has on society as well as what wrong lessons may be learned due to ideological laxity.

What bothered me most in this book in particular was the way that it was presented as being serious, except when some moral lesson was expressed in which case everything was subordinated to that. Unfortunately, this happened a lot. Many characters, and a lot of the absolute idiocy, seemed to exist only to demonstrate to the reader why the character's way was a form of wrong thinking and then the character and/or reader were lectured on proper behavior. However, oftentimes that's only at face value. Some characters may lecture on about whether something is good or correct, but what seemed to be more important were the results and their implications. This can be especially seen when comparing the differences of the four plans, particularly their results and what the actual problem was with them.

This second book was better and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. It still had many problems that greatly annoyed and irritated me, though not anywhere to the degree of intensity I felt when reading the first book. Since I've now read the second book I may as well read the third book eventually. That's when I'll decide if the series was worthwhile.

Rating: 3.5/5

>>22729911
Neverness, A Requiem for Homo Sapiens #0 - David Zindell (1988)

Mallory Ringess's graduation from journeyman to pilot is upon him. He has sworn to discover the secrets of the Solid State Entity. Many of the greatest pilots in the Order's nearly three millennia history have been lost to the nebula where the Solid State Entity resides. Neverness is on the planet Icefall, which is located in the densest thickspace known, as it has billions of connections to the manifold. Faster-than-light travel is made possible through continually solving mathematical equations that allow for a one-to-one mapping between stars. However, there are mysteries far closer as well. The secrets of those who genetically engineered themselves to live a primitive life as Neanderthals may prove equally useful in determining the meaning of life and the secret to immortality.

Thematically, the closest book I've to read to this would be The God Emperor of Dune, though Wolfe's influence is also evident. The vast majority is philosophizing about metaphysics in some way or another. Primarily there are discussions and monologues about existential topics. Why does anything exist at all? Who am I? What is meaning? How ought life be lived? Does free will exist? What is the fate of humanity? Questions abound and most of the events of the book attempt to answer them. Each of the characters have their own answers and change according to them. I found the character development to be peculiar in that they struggle towards insight then have an epiphany or some extraordinary event occurs and they become rather different. This happens multiple times. It's sort of like if Kuhn's paradigm shift was applied to character development. There's also a lot of sex, a whole lot of sex. Quite possibly an absurd amount of sex, including incest, though it's mostly told rather than shown.

Although there eighty-six civilized human planets, a multitude of alien species, a considerable amount of space travel, and even space battles, I don't consider the focus of this to be the space opera. The focus is on experience. The Order wants it to be about quests that allow for a greater understanding of the manifold and the universe in general, but it turns out to be much more about self-discovery and coming into one's own. By the end, Mallory is much more than what he began as, in every way. The climax is detailing the proof to a mathematical theorem, that's the kind of book it is. It serves a functional purpose, but honestly they're more excited about having solved it.

I was amazed by the first quarter of the book and less so by the next quarter as it becomes a very different story, at least in terms of its setting. The third quarter goes the hardest on the metaphysics and the last quarter is the most action oriented, though it still has many digressions. I'm impressed that this was Zindell's debut novel and I will definitely read the rest of this series.

Rating: 4/5

>>22719176
The Stars My Destination - Alfred Bester (1956)

Gully Foyle is lacking in all ways and he's been trapped in an inoperable spaceship for six months. After having a glimmer of hope revoked, he swears vengeance on those who left him stranded. All that he is and that all that he must become will be for destroying those who denied him freedom.

In the 24th century all humans can jaunte, teleport, up to 1000 miles away. This is an excellent premise, and if it had followed through on it I would've enjoyed this considerably more. As it is though it seems to be a metaphor for the golden age of air travel that was ongoing at the time of its publication. This is a book devoted to psionics of all sorts, as much was at the time. There's a lot that's of its era and I would've preferred that they were less metaphor and more explored. Society has reverted to the worst sorts of prudery. Religion has been outlawed. The solar system has been colonized and is at war. Corporations are as powerful as governments.

One of the problems with the science of science fiction for me is that it's based on relatively quickly outdated, if not obsolete ideas. When almost nothing is known anything is possible. The more that's known the less possibilities there are, until there's only one. The more that is known by everyone the less acceptable any alternative is if it's seriously proposed. I have no doubt that it's possible to entirely ignore all these concerns, but I don't think I can, nor do I want to. At least not for this book anyway, there are always exceptions. It doesn't help that it's centuries in the future but the technology is mostly the same, though often there isn't much that can be reasonably done about that. I have no doubt future generations will complain about the depiction of future technology as seen by the 2020s as well.

I may dislike pulp SF in general, though not categorically. Certainly it would seem that I have preference for the more recent based on my ratings and reading selections. There isn't a single pre-1962 SF novel I've rated higher than 3 stars. I don't seem to have much interest prior to New Wave SF. It's somewhat ironic to say that considering that Bester was championed by New Wave writers. Apparently it was initially received with a mixed reception at best, though it continually grew in stature over the decades, which I don't understand.

There wasn't really anything I liked about this, aside from the absurdity of the constant plot twists and contrivances. While Foyle does greatly develop as a character, I still disliked him from beginning to end. That's mostly because the more he changes, the more he stays the same. He simply switches from one monomaniacal pursuit to another. I did find it funny though how it denies that that self-improvement makes you a better person. It simply makes you more capable. I disliked the dialogue, but even more so I disliked the stylistic choices of the book's last 10%.

Rating: 2/5

>>22706730
Light, Kefahuchi Tract #1 - M. John Harrison (2002)

Reading Light is quite the experience. Oftentimes it feels like Harrison is indifferent to entertaining his reader. The reader is a spectator to what is happening and serves the functional role of having the story become some small part of them, for better or worse. It's not so much contempt for the reader as it is disinterest. That can understandably be off-putting both in attitude and stylistic effect. The narrative doesn't much care whether the reader has any idea of what's going on or why it matters. Some of what it means is stated, but the specific details are mostly left for the reader to speculate upon and attempt to make inferences and associations. That doesn't make it a puzzle, in which its purpose is to be solved, so much as an exercise in apophenia. Maybe it's meaningful, or maybe it isn't. My thought process was all over the place, especially about cats and names. There are many references.

Usually I'd write some sort of synopsis to start with, but I don't believe that's needed this time. You can find that easily enough if it's what you need as a hook. This isn't a character driven book. The characters matter, but they aren't the ones making the decisions, or if they are, their free will isn't meaningful. The "plot" is what determines everything. If you need the characters to be likeable, have a lot of agency, be well-developed, or experience much growth, you won't find it here. There's a considerable amount of philosophy, which I surely didn't understand much of, let alone what relevance it has, aside from that dualities are prominent. The story alternates between three different perspectives and times. Science is present as well, in that extreme technologies are used and that it's advanced to the point where it may as well be magic for some things. Is it ultimately technobabble? I don't know. It does state that everything is possible, even when theories are mutually exclusive.

Light is New Weird Cyberpunk Space Opera. That's being reductive, as it doesn't seem to know any boundaries. There's various elements of horror, mystery, thriller, romance, and other genres. It's absurd and surreal, comedic and tragic. It may try to be too much all at once. There's an abundance of sex and masturbation, which is much more notable for its frequency than its eroticism. The relationships are dysfunctional and tenuous.

As shown by its rating distribution, its readership doesn't know what to think about it. I'm not exempt from that. What I do know is that I'll read the rest of the trilogy. I recommend reading it if you're willing to have an open mind and put in some effort trying to understand it. The ratings are all over the place so why not see how you feel about it? This is difficult to rate, but because it's such a different experience, though I don't how enjoyable of one, I'm giving it the benefit of rounding it up. Reading it definitely affected me.

Rating: 3.5/5

>>22697481
A Portrait in Shadow - Nicole Jarvis (2023)

A Portrait in Shadow is a historical fantasy novel that loosely follows the life of Artemisia Gentileschi, a renowned 17th century painter, who accomplished several firsts as a female painter. The first half is Artemisia at nineteen years old trying to establish herself in Florence. She paints, seeks out patrons, attempts to be accepted by the academy/guild of magical artists, and tries to earn enough to avoid literally being a starving artist. The latter half has a focus on romance, introspection, and conflict. This novel is about her daily life and the struggles she goes through. It's almost entirely character driven. As this is a fantasy novel, the few years of her life that are depicted are considerably different from what is thought to be known. These differences are explained to be because in this version of Earth, magic and mythical beasts exist.

Magic is either healing or necrotic. The passionate emotions that an artist imbues their art with determines its function. A work of art can either be bound to a single person or affect everyone in an area. The two most common healing properties are alleviating chronic ailments and life extension. As a result the wealthy and Vatican priests commonly live to be well over a hundred years old. Artists die young though because they must give away part of their soul for each magically imbued work of art they create. The more powerful the magic is, the more of their soul it costs. At the opposite end is necrotic magic, the most powerful of which caused the Black Plague. The Grave Age then followed where for centuries all artists were hunted down and killed out of fear that they would bring down more plagues upon the world. Even now, centuries after the Grave Age, any artist who is even accused of dabbling in the dark arts can lose their entire reputation and be tortured to death. The two most important beasts are the Griffon and the Blood Drake, which symbolize Good and Evil, and were nearly hunted to extinction in Europe during the Grave Age.

I read this because I'm reading a manga, Arte, that's inspired by the life of the same historical person. It's even further from her life, though that's because isn't meant to be her. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. A lot of that is because I simply like how it's written. The romance of the latter half is a bit too saccharine and all the would-be sex scenes are fade to black, though I felt it did well enough. I'm conflicted about the purpose of changing so much and saying it's a different version of her rather than being an inspired character, but in this case I'll accept it. I had concerns about how meaningful the beasts and magic would be, but they're both organically integrated into the story in a pleasing way and matter a lot. There's also a considerable amount of sociological exploration concerning magic that I appreciated alongside the social commentary.

Rating: 4/5

>>22688429
Tigana - Guy Gavriel Kay (1990)

Eighteen years ago Tigana was more than conquered. Its name was wiped from the memories of everyone who lived in the nine provinces of the Palm, except those who lived in Tigana. Its surviving citizens would have to live with everything they knew having been renamed. Anyone who heard them utter "Tigana" would hear but not understand. Nineteen year Devin, a musician in a traveling troupe, was born in Tigana but never knew his homeland. His fate takes a drastic turn when he stumbles upon a group of rebels seeking to restore Tigana. Catriana was a teenager when Tigana was erased and she swore to take vengeance upon Brandin, their conqueror. However, after so many years as part of his harem she's no longer who she once was.

As stated by the author in the afterword, The Palm is a stand-in for the city states of Italy during the Italian Renaissance. Two sorcerers, Brandin and Alberico, one representing Spain and the other France, have each conquered half of the Palm. Their magic does whatever they feel like it doing. They just think and it happens, whatever it may be, though the greater the magic, the more they expend themselves. Both are caricatures. Alberico is an insecure and paranoid psychopath while Brandin is a melodramatic obsessive who gave up his kingship, family, and humanity to pursue a grudge against Tigana. Opposing them is group of rebels that includes Devin who go from place to place setting up plans for the entire book except for the climax, which mostly happens for plot convenience. Catriana, the other main viewpoint, is basically a case study of stockholm syndrome. There are other viewpoints that serve to explain characters as well.

Tigana is made of metaphors and allegories. The integral one, Tigana, is about identity and self-worth. It gave me a nice sense of saudade, despite how overwrought it was about it. If that's all there was, I'd be happy with it. Unfortunately that's only where it begins. The sex scenes, which are ridiculous, are all allegorical as well. I know this because both the text and author say they are. The problem I have with that is that the allegories are elevated above everything else, which for me is to the story's detriment. Apparently all of GGK's novels take place in the same universe, but references are only that and nothing more meaningful.

This is the most disappointing novel I've read this year, whereas disappointment is measured by the distance between expectations and reality. I was expecting a serious historical fantasy and instead I got half melodrama and half tragedy. I can somewhat understand why it received so many rewards and praise in it has probably has great appeal for those who appreciate its prose and allegories at the expense of everything else. That seems to make this a rather polarizing book. It's still possible I may try reading something else from GGK eventually. It'll be a long time though, if ever.

Rating: 2.5/5

>>22678324
The Curse of Chalion, World of the Five Gods #1 - Lois McMaster Bujold (2001)

Cazaril, 35 years old, is bereft of all that he once had save the raggedy clothes he wears. Half his life has been in the military, though that ended when he was sold into slavery through betrayal. Having now escaped, he trudges towards where he spent time as a page for the provincial ruler. Though broken in body and spirit, he struggles on. Better days are soon to come for him. To his bewilderment, he finds himself having become a tutor to two teenage girls, a princess and her handmaiden. He becomes ever more involved in the battlefield that is courtly life.

This is a very character focused book, both in terms of introspection and what matters. The vast majority of that involves daily life at the palace and the court intrigue that entails. There's the occasional fight and some adventure, though it all results from the moves that players have made against each other. That means it's much more talking than anything else. Threats, demands, manipulation, bribes, accusations, and gossip abound. When those fail there's blackmail, beatings, and assassination to fall back upon. There's also some romance, a considerable amount of flirting, and a few unwanted advances. Despite the dark moments, it tends more towards being uplifting and triumphal by the end. I found this to be very refreshing and invigorating. I wouldn't call it a feel-good fantasy, but it's certainly closer to that than what I mostly read.

The Curse of Chalion has some historical inspiration and basis from the ending years of the Reconquista in the 15th century. One of the main differences is that their religion has five gods, who meddle in human affairs when possible. There are many religious customs and rituals to appease them. Various sorts of miracles are possible by the saints though they are mostly for the benefit of the god's agenda rather than anything else. However, death magic can potentially be used by anyone. If it's successful it takes both the life of the user and the target. There are theological conversations that discuss the particulars and implications of their religion. Aside from this there aren't really any other fantastical elements. It's the sort of book that could be called something like secondary world historical fantasy.

I ended up enjoying this more than anything else I've read this year and it's among the most I've enjoyed any fantasy novel. There's almost nothing with which I take any issue. It may not be exactly what I want, but it's close enough. One a different note, it's truly astounding and frustrating how different books can be from the same author. It'd a lot easier to be able to dismiss an author without any concerns if it could be assumed that all they write would be received in a similar way. If the rest in this setting are anywhere as pleasing as this was, then it'll definitely be among my favorite series.

Rating: 5/5

>>22667398
The Dragonbone Chair, Memory, Sorrow, Thorn #1 - Tad Williams (1988)

Simon is a fourteen year old orphan who has been raised among the kitchen staff since birth at castle Hayholt. His days are filled with menial chores, which he often doesn't complete to satisfaction, as he'd prefer to explore the castle grounds, daydream, or listen to stories. After a time he becomes apprenticed to the castle's wizard, from whom he hopes to learn magic, but finds instead he first must undergo an education. These pleasantly indolent days are not long to last. A dark being from ancient days rises once more. Having stumbled upon the truth, Simon must flee everything he has ever known to survive.

The preceding paragraph is an overview of Part One, which covers about 25% of its length. Depending on your preferences, its leisurely pace with much description and abundant lore may feel comfy and immersive or slow and lecturing. That goes for the entirety of the book, but especially so for Part One. There are several songs, pages at a time of lore, readings from a book, and much else in terms of exposition. Simon isn't the only viewpoint character, so at times there will be others who are doing their own separate thing that builds up what's going in the world outside of Simon's quest.

Where they are is called Osten Ard, probably meaning Eastern Earth or similar. It's their year of 1164. I would say that it's Arthurian if it weren't for that the king is literally called John Presbyter, a legendary Christian figure who was said to have reigned in the East. There's also considerable influence from a Norse-like people. Osten Ard was settled by this story's version of elves and then men came and started a war in which humans triumphed. Another notable race are the trolls, one of whom Simon travels with, though it's certainly a different take on what a troll is. It was nice though.

Based on this first book it seems like a fine enough standard quest fantasy series. The series name refers to the three legendary swords that may be needed to defeat the Dark Lord, which I assume they travel around to various locales in their meandering way to obtain. This isn't really my preferred sort of fantasy and I didn't find Simon to be a protagonist I wanted to spend more time with, but I didn't find anything particularly bad about it. Simon seems like he's in for a considerable amount of suffering despite the easygoing opening, so it doesn't seem like it'll be casual and lighthearted adventuring.

What I've written is reductive, it's considerably more complicated that that, but it remains smooth and easy reading. Most everything outside of Simon's perspective seemed extraneous to me, which may have been because I wasn't fully engaged with the narrative. I won't be continuing this series, but I'll try Williams other novels at some other time since I've liked his short fiction, though I don't know that I'll give them as much of a chance as I gave this one.

Rating: 3/5

>>22652157
Promise of Blood, Powder Mage #1 - Brian McClellan (2013)

Do you dislike Brandon Sanderson? If so, you may not need to read to any further, as this is a Sandersonian novel through and through. If you enjoy all things Sanderson adjacent, then you may want to read this as well. McClellan took the same writing class taught by Sanderson twice. The first time Sanderson said he needed to write better and be more creative. The second he said he had great talent and a future in writing. Both seem accurate to me. Maybe eventually McClellan comes into his own voice, or maybe that doesn't matter at all in terms of commercial sales. In any case, here's what it's about and what I thought about that.

Adamat is an ex-police, private investigator, and failed book publisher. He's been summoned to see the field marshal, Tamas, who has just deposed the king, slaughtered the Privileged in their sleep, and will soon publicly execute many hundreds. He's also the second POV. Tamas tasks Adamat to find out what the dying gasps of the Privileged mean. Taniel, the third POV, is Tamas's son and has been tasked with hunting down a dangerous Privileged. When they finish these tasks, Tamas gives them more tasks. Nila, a servant of a noble, is the fourth POV and becomes quite involved despite her station. Most of the book is about putting down the remaining Royalists, being worried about an impending invasion, and it wouldn't be a Cosmere-ish novel if it didn't involve something from beyond.

This book has at least four magic systems. Sometimes it wants to be hard fantasy and at other times it's as soft as it comes. There's the Privileged, who are elementalists and who can renounce their powers to be able to nullify magic. The Marked snort gunpowder as if it were magical cocaine with similar effects plus being able to mentally control bullets. The Knacked have one arbitrary magical ability. Then there's the one that isn't really understood but uses dolls and other stuff with a variety of abilities. That seems like an excessive amount to me.

Everything about this book is on the borderline of adequate and inadequate. The characters aren't notable or especially distinct, but that's fine. The dialogue is lacking, but it works. The plot doesn't do enough and not the way I prefer. The magic is cluttered and overdone. The worldbuilding suffices. Its greatest flaw may be its lack of focus and coherence.

Promise of Blood is tolerably written and has a lot that I could like, which makes it become rather disappointing in its failure to do enough with its content. For me this a case where an author's reach has exceeded his grasp. McClellan's skill isn't matched by his ambitions. There could've been a book I would've loved to read here, but then it would be an entirely different book. I haven't the slightest interest in continuing. That's why I'm rounding down. However, you may like it considerably more than I did since these are mostly personal issues.

Rating: 2.5/5