Born and raised on Taranoke, Baru Cormorant lived
her life with her mother and two fathers and the freedom
of true choices. Traders from the Masquerade, a nation of
modesty and hygiene, come and slowly build roots. Things
begin to change on Taranoke. Families are taken apart
under the guise of social cleansing. Modesty and
education are enforced. Baru knows that if she is to
rescue her home, she must take down the Masquerade from
the inside. She takes her lead from the original trader
and becomes an excellent student and useful tool of the
Masquerade. When she is sent to Aurdwynn to become
Imperial Accountant, she is told that even here unrest is
the norm. Baru becomes the arm of revolution in order to
make good her dream of rescuing Taranoke, forcing her to
make harder decisions than ever she has had to before.
With two nations in the balance, can Baru Cormorant
become what is Necessary?
THE TRAITOR BARU CORMORANT is a game-changer. I
have never found a fantasy novel written so well with
such deep lore and LGBTQ+ representation. It is one of the
best
books I've read this year.
This has earned a permanent place on my mind and in my
heart. It's a truly excellent work of fiction. The
language, first and foremost, is beautiful. The point of
view follows Baru so closely. The reader can really feel
what Baru feels through the poetry of her words. Every
paragraph hosts a sentence that is mind-blowing. Even the
highly creative names blend perfectly in with the
wondrous setting, which seems straight out of Tolkien.
The story is just as convoluted as you could ever
desire it to be. The people of the Masquerade lead by a
gentle pressure rather than all-out force, which makes
them even more terrifying as Overarching Villains. The
whole village of Taranoke slowly succumbs to the
pressures of the Masquerade. It's an excellent parallel
to real-life colonizing efforts, and that's scary in
all the best ways. The story grows and builds to
revolution, in a natural way. It's such a fantastic read,
so smooth you don't even notice how deep you are
into it until the action is already happening. Usually,
when there's a large number of multifaceted characters
they can get jumbled into a faceless mass which acts on
the plot. Not so in this case; I truly knew who was
speaking at what time and what they meant to the story.
Baru herself is such a magnificent heroine, bold and full
of inner turmoil which makes her actions stand out among
the legion of fantasy heroines in the world.
There is a point at which the convoluted plot
becomes too much. The total immersion in the story can
make it hard to tell when Baru's loyalties and ideas
shift. It might be a problem for some readers who like a
simpler execution. Otherwise the novel's positive
qualities far outweigh any negatives that can be found.
THE TRAITOR BARU CORMORANT is one of the best
novels I've had the privilege to read in a long time. It
is a most excellent fantasy novel, on par with Anne
McCaffrey or J.R.R. Tolkien. I would love to see more
from this author, and I would especially love to see more
of Baru Cormorant herself. I look forward to the author's
next effort, and I strongly recommend this to everyone
who can get hold of a copy. Check out THE TRAITOR BARU
CORMORANT for yourself. There is an adventure to be had,
and you cannot miss it.
In Seth Dickinson's highly-anticipated debut The Traitor
Baru Cormorant, a young woman from a conquered people
tries to transform an empire in this richly imagined
geopolitical fantasy.
Baru Cormorant believes any
price is worth paying to liberate her people-even her
soul.
When the Empire of Masks conquers her island
home, overwrites her culture, criminalizes her customs, and
murders one of her fathers, Baru vows to swallow her hate,
join the Empire's civil service, and claw her way high
enough to set her people free.
Sent as an Imperial
agent to distant Aurdwynn, another conquered country, Baru
discovers it's on the brink of rebellion. Drawn by the
intriguing duchess Tain Hu into a circle of seditious dukes,
Baru may be able to use her position to help. As she pursues
a precarious balance between the rebels and a shadowy cabal
within the Empire, she orchestrates a do-or-die gambit with
freedom as the prize.
But the cost of winning the long
game of saving her people may be far greater than Baru
imagines.
© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy