I think I liked it, but it left me feeling a bit cold. I think it could have used a bit heavier hand with editing, because probably a quarter could have been cut out without losing the story. One really good thing about reading this on Kindle was I could easily go back when a character who was introduced near the beginning finally became significant 3/4 of the way in, and I could refresh myself on who the hell this person is. I don't altogether mind the meaning of certain details not becoming apparent until later on, but it was a LOT to keep track of. I did like the aspect of the main character being an accountant, so she figures out how to control the country via the financial system; that's a premise I don't think I'd really seen before and it gave the story a different flavor. ( )

The title made me want to read it. Then I saw it recommended if one enjoyed The Goblin Emperor and I knew I had to read it immediately. I liked it, a lot. Had the final third of the book not been bogged down with war prep, and battles, I would have loved it. I definitely want to read more of Dickinson’s stuff. ( )

A complex, masterful first novel, beautifully told and epic in the classical sense. Dickinson out-grimdarks George R.R. Martin with a story that explores the ethics of resisting an imperialist power from within the system. Baru is like the gritty amoral older sister of Ender Wiggin, and if she's a bit distant on the page, it's by design.

I've got to be honest, though - this novel is so devastating that I don't actually have much desire to read the sequel. Baru is a brilliantly constructed character, but the prospect of following her through a series is exhausting.

That said, it is the low-fantasy epic about a central banker that I never knew I wanted. ( )

Actual rating 2.5/5

I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.

Ok, so, I am definitely in the minority on this, so it is highly likely that you may disagree with me, but... I was deeply disappointed by this book. I went in with very high (maybe too high) expectations and I desperately wanted to like this. But I just didn't.

I guess there were quite a few things that just didn't work for me personally. For starters, the writing style didn't quite manage to catch my attention. It wasn't objectively bad, mind you, but it just didn't draw me in... This is of course an incredibly personal thing, but I found it heavy at best, and had real issues in keeping concentrated throughout the book. This was made worse by the fact that for about 25% of the book, I actually had no idea who anyone was.

Now, I am notoriously bad at learning names, but apart from our main character, Baru, I had just about no clue who we were talking about... And more than a quarter into the book is just too late for me to start figuring out who's who. The main flaw, for me, was the fact that several characters were presented at once, with no real chance for me to actually associate names and roles before the next one came in. And, as any fantasy book worthy of this name would have it, each character just has to have a more complicated name than the one who came before... It must be some sort of rule. Throw in some geographical locations too (though points for having a map at the beginning!) and... voilà! You now have a throughly confused reader just hoping she'll eventually figure out what's happening.

This was all just extremely frustrating for me, and it did impact on my enjoyment of the book as a whole. It's definitely something that relates to my personal taste, but reading is an entirely personal experience, so it's possible it won't bother you at all...

BUT! Not all was bad here, there were actually things I did enjoy, starting with diversity. There is an incredible variety of characters in this book, starting with Baru herself. She is a strong, independent woman, who'll stop at nothing to achieve her goals. And she just so happens to be an LGBT and black character. I loved the fact that the diverse characteristics weren't the main focus of Baru's character: they are just a part of who she is, no more and no less than her mathematical abilities, her fierceness, or her focus. However, I had real issues in getting attached to Baru, although it is possible that I was just so focused on navigating the rest of the book that I didn't take enough notice of her... Still, I hardly ever felt anything for her, good or bad. The rest of the characters (when I eventually managed to figure them out) were just sort of "there", and didn't really give me that much emotion... Which was a shame, because there was some real potential there.

I also liked the themes this book touches on and the reflection points it raises. Aside from Baru's personal mission, which is the main focus of the book, several questions are raised in relation to important and relatively unexplored themes, such as the rights of minorities; the issues relating to conquest and the relationship between conqueror and indigenous peoples; progress vs civil liberties, and so on... For me, this was probably the best thing in the whole book, and possibly the only reason I actually got to the end of it.

All in all, I had a very difficult relationship with this book. I had to seriously force myself to see the end of it, because for a very big part I was tempted to DNF it. Contrary to the majority of books, this one had no sprint in the beginning, picked up a lot in the middle, started lacking tension again towards the end and exploded at the very end. This continuos increase and decrease in tension, coupled with confusing characters and settings made this a very difficult read for me personally, even though I adored the themes explored by the author and the questions he raised. As I said, this book just didn't work for me based on my taste, so if it still makes you curious, by all means give it a try! It may be that the things that didn't work for me won't actually be an issue for you. ( )

Not for the faint of heart. Great world-building, a gripping plot, and some genuinely gut-wrenching moments. I'm weary of the "outmaneuvering political genius" trope, though, partly because it seems more and more unrealistic to me and partly because of the year we're having as a world. Still an excellent book. ( )