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, so don't be surprised if the recent reviews are a bit sparse.
Books by Seth Dickinson
The Traitor Baru Cormorant
by Seth Dickinson
· published 2015 · read 2019-05-05
★★★★☆
I loved The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson. I don't even know where to start. Our protagonist is a young girl in a "primitive" country when the story starts. Her country is annexed by the big empire next door by economic and cultural means. The Masquerade promptly sets about destroying local culture (which involves polyamory and homosexuality, which doesn't go well with the Masquerade's straight repressive culture and eugenic views). The protagonist is educated in the school, recognized as a genius, and on fast track to rise high in the professed meritocracy. Her talents are mostly in economy and related areas, and the book follows her first posting, complete with intrigue (well, mostly that), love (both homo- and heteroromantic), hate, betrayal, loyalty, some fighting, all that. The book moves very fast, which was a delight to me. Every sentence counts, and years can pass in one page, while still hinting at the important things left out. The ending is a very brutal payoff, and I was happy that I had the second book at hand.
The Monster Baru Cormorant
by Seth Dickinson
· published 2018 · read 2019-05-08
★★★★☆
I really liked The Monster Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson. It was provided to me as a review copy by the publisher. Some parts were weaker than the first part of the series, which was rich due to its time skips and introduction into the world, but other parts were just as good and better – we see Baru through other eyes, and even when people misjudge her, it's quite telling. Baru remains a very flawed, sometimes horrible, but always compelling protagonist. I mean, she explains how people are like hash functions, in a non-computerised fantasy world, of course I'd like her. Regrettably, the ending is quite open and we'll all have to wait for the last volume to come in. Drat.
Laws of Night and Silk
by Seth Dickinson
· published 2016 · read 2022-09-19
★★★★☆
Short story by Seth Dickinson, who feels like an author who attacks the ever-same problem from varying angles. Made me emotional. Omelas vibes (which is tough, because suddenly the story feels worse, the language too flowery, the gestures hollow, because comparing with le Guin benefits nobody). This book is part of the 2022 Backlog Incident.