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Range of Ghosts just released today. It's a new novel by Elizabeth Bear. It's the first in a fantasy trilogy, the kind with a map in the front of the book and a lot of travel and conflict between nations. It's set in a non-European second world fantasy, and it's about a princess who gave that up to study magic, and a prince who was on the losing side of a civil war. Together, they fight crime! ...or at least fight evil sorcery and the manipulations of someone who wants more war, because honestly, they are not very pro-war. It's bad for trade and it kills a lot of people. But sometimes you need an army to make peace.
I have a difficult time reviewing this book, because trying to state more than the bare facts--it's about these two people (and many others), the prose is gorgeous, the setting is fascinating, even the cover is beautiful--starts descending into uncontrollable squee on my part.
Because this book is a god damn masterpiece.
I mean, let's start with the prose. Prose often doesn't get a lot of comment in reviews unless it's exceptionally awkward or exceptionally unusual, but this is a book where every single sentence is a polished little jewel--without in any way distracting from the rocking adventure story. A novel with excellent prose is a lot like a dinner made from scratch; you can get something pretty tasty from a lot of pre-made and canned goods, but getting all the best and freshest ingredients elevates the whole damn thing.
And the plot! It's complex, but by god, I could follow it. There are a lot of different people working towards their own individual goals, noble or horrible or selfish or otherwise, but I never ended up confused. (It's perhaps a reflection on my own reading ability how often I am confused by plot, but never mind that.) The slowly shifting goals of the characters were a joy to watch as they changed what people meant to do. Our prince starts with "get off this battlefield alive," our princess starts with "live through the process that lets me try to acquire magic," and...well. Things shift. Expand. React to other things.
The characters are spectacular. I adored the protagonists, I adored many of the supporting characters--including the Best Mare Ever, who is my new favorite animal companion--and even the villainous types always had plausible, sensible goals and motivations of their own. Even the man doing child sacrifice for horrible magical powers has a sane, practical reason for doing so.
Oh, and there's a woman warrior who happens to be a bipedal tiger. She's pretty awesome too.
See, this is the problem with trying to review the book. Every time I try to explain some aspect, I realize I forgot something else. The horses! The ghosts, and how to fight them! The complex mix and overlap of cultures that aren't Ye Olde Fantasye Europe for once! The way the sky overhead changes--color and moons and direction of the sun's movement--depending on which nation you're in, to the point that you can tell something's happened to a city if you get there and the sky isn't the one you expected! Culture shock and family ties and women who do things and delicious marmot snacks and and and
*gibbers, waves hands around*
I got to read an eARC of this book, and have been waiting for the release date to tell other people about it, so that you can all go buy it RIGHT NOW. My copy of the hardcover (have I mentioned how pretty the cover is?) should be waiting for me at Book People any day now.
(Oh, and for those who care about such things: this is clearly the First Book Of A Trilogy, with a lot of major plot threads set up to be resolved in other books, but several plot points are dealt with in a satisfactory manner in this one. It's not all cliffhanger.)
I have a difficult time reviewing this book, because trying to state more than the bare facts--it's about these two people (and many others), the prose is gorgeous, the setting is fascinating, even the cover is beautiful--starts descending into uncontrollable squee on my part.
Because this book is a god damn masterpiece.
I mean, let's start with the prose. Prose often doesn't get a lot of comment in reviews unless it's exceptionally awkward or exceptionally unusual, but this is a book where every single sentence is a polished little jewel--without in any way distracting from the rocking adventure story. A novel with excellent prose is a lot like a dinner made from scratch; you can get something pretty tasty from a lot of pre-made and canned goods, but getting all the best and freshest ingredients elevates the whole damn thing.
And the plot! It's complex, but by god, I could follow it. There are a lot of different people working towards their own individual goals, noble or horrible or selfish or otherwise, but I never ended up confused. (It's perhaps a reflection on my own reading ability how often I am confused by plot, but never mind that.) The slowly shifting goals of the characters were a joy to watch as they changed what people meant to do. Our prince starts with "get off this battlefield alive," our princess starts with "live through the process that lets me try to acquire magic," and...well. Things shift. Expand. React to other things.
The characters are spectacular. I adored the protagonists, I adored many of the supporting characters--including the Best Mare Ever, who is my new favorite animal companion--and even the villainous types always had plausible, sensible goals and motivations of their own. Even the man doing child sacrifice for horrible magical powers has a sane, practical reason for doing so.
Oh, and there's a woman warrior who happens to be a bipedal tiger. She's pretty awesome too.
See, this is the problem with trying to review the book. Every time I try to explain some aspect, I realize I forgot something else. The horses! The ghosts, and how to fight them! The complex mix and overlap of cultures that aren't Ye Olde Fantasye Europe for once! The way the sky overhead changes--color and moons and direction of the sun's movement--depending on which nation you're in, to the point that you can tell something's happened to a city if you get there and the sky isn't the one you expected! Culture shock and family ties and women who do things and delicious marmot snacks and and and
*gibbers, waves hands around*
I got to read an eARC of this book, and have been waiting for the release date to tell other people about it, so that you can all go buy it RIGHT NOW. My copy of the hardcover (have I mentioned how pretty the cover is?) should be waiting for me at Book People any day now.
(Oh, and for those who care about such things: this is clearly the First Book Of A Trilogy, with a lot of major plot threads set up to be resolved in other books, but several plot points are dealt with in a satisfactory manner in this one. It's not all cliffhanger.)