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Loading... The Price of Valorby Django Wexler
   None No current Talk conversations about this book.   ) infjsarah | Sep 7, 2022 |  “What kind of man would put a known criminal in charge of a major branch of government? Apart from, say, the average voter.” - Fucking Raesinia, Probably. THE RANKING THUS FAR: tTh ( ) Raykoda3 | Sep 25, 2020 | “What kind of man would put a known criminal in charge of a major branch of government? Apart from, say, the average voter.” - Fucking Raesinia, Probably. THE RANKING THUS FAR: tTh ( ) sigma16 | Dec 5, 2019 | “What kind of man would put a known criminal in charge of a major branch of government? Apart from, say, the average voter.” - Fucking Raesinia, Probably. THE RANKING THUS FAR: tTh ( ) sigma16 | Dec 5, 2019 | Some other discussion about why I enjoy this series (but not necessarily other ostensibly similar military/flintlock fantasy) prompts me to enumerate the key points. (Snipping for length, no significant spoilers.) 1. Lady characters of genuine agency. This is not necessarily the most important thing, but it's a big one that leaps quickly and obviously to mind. The ladies of the Shadow Campaigns are strong and faceted, but most importantly they have their own stories, make their own decisions, are important for themselves (and not because of their involvement in some male character's story). I mean, Wexler also tackles gender issues head-on with his inclusion of the "Monstrous Regiment", but it's also there at the grass-roots level in the presence of significant female POVs and plot movers. 2. Action setpieces that have narrative and emotional weight. So often in all types of fantasy I come across action scenes (often but not always combat scenes) that are supposed to provide tension of a "will the character die/succeed?" kind. I am finding that I have grown numb to that sort of tension. After all, the character either will or won't, and the details of how are pretty much irrelevant, so I can just skip to the end of the scene and find out which result the author thought most interesting, and we can move on to how that changes the plot. An action scene needs more than just that kind of tension to hold my interest. A good bonus sort of tension is "how will they succeed/avoid death?" but even better is making the how/details mean something for the character ("What will they have to sacrifice in order to succeed/survive?") or complicating the issue: "Will they succeed and somehow achieve a secondary goal?" Because then there are two things that might actually get in the way of each other and turn the tension complex. Just something other than hack-and-slash, please, because that makes for fun viewing but boring reading. 3. Significant engagement with the military underpinnings. Just about any setting in fantasy is sort of boring and generic if it's just sprinkled on the top. The really interesting stuff comes from digging into the nitty gritty and showing the inherent tensions and the ways humans get stuck in them. And flintlock has a different sort of military arrangement than, say, a more medieval period. Wexler really engages with what makes a Napoleonic-era army (e.g. discipline and logistics) and that stuff is intrinsic to the characters, the setting, the conflict and thereby fascinating. 4. Janus is not a POV character. Janus is a genius, a fairy godmother, the genie in the bottle. He is a strong spice, and Wexler sprinkles just enough on the meat-and-potatoes of our main characters' stories to bring out the most delightful aspects of everything. But Janus is overpowered and too damn lucky, and if he were more centred in the narrative it would be just too damn much. (The hints of sinister potential starting to bubble to the top in this book are exactly what I didn't know I desperately wanted until they showed up, but they help too.) ) cupiscent | Aug 3, 2019 | no reviews | add a review
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"In the wake of the King's death, war has come to Vordan. The Deputies-General has precarious control of the city, but it is led by a zealot who sees traitors in every shadow. Executions have become a grim public spectacle. The new queen, Raesinia Orboan, finds herself nearly powerless as the government tightens its grip and assassins threaten her life. But she did not help free the country from one sort of tyranny to see it fall into another. Placing her trust with the steadfast soldier Marcus D'Ivoire, she sets out to turn the tide of history. As the hidden hand of the Sworn Church brings all the powers of the continent to war against Vordan, the enigmatic and brilliant general Janus bet Vhalnich offers a path to victory. Winter Ihernglass, newly promoted to command a regiment, has reunited with her lover and her friends, only to face the prospect of leading them into bloody battle. And the enemy is not just armed with muskets and cannon. Dark priests of an ancient order, wielding forbidden magic, have infiltrated Vordan to stop Janus by whatever means necessary" -- No library descriptions found. |
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 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyLC ClassificationRatingAverage: (4.07)
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