2513

3 and a half stars. first book in a new trilogy called The Lotus Kingdoms that inhabits the same world as the earlier Eternal Sky trilogy which was set in a fantasy version of the steppes of central Asia. this one is set in more oriental locations. the world itself does not distinguish much between magic and science, resulting in an intriguing kind of hidden steampunk world without the industrialization. the first half of the book seems to plod along at little, concentrating on a trek to the Lotus Kingdoms, but once they arrive the book opens up, the characters come alive, the politics becomes compelling, and the reader hastens to order in the second book in the series. ( )

This seemed like a mashup of a standard fantasy novel and a post-apocalyptic novel, with some steampunk thrown in. It mainly follows two adventurers, a human soldier and a mechanical man, who are trying to find their purpose in the world, while on some very secret mission. They get involved in a conflict between multiple kingdoms, one ruled by a very young, very determined young woman. The conflict between the kingdoms and the challenges facing the rulers are the main plot. Mystery, intrigue, magic and and some trans elements. I read this a couple of years ago and still remember the essentials, so it was memorable. Good characters, but I never did get into the plot or the politics. ( )

By the end of this new fantasy of Elizabeth Bear, I was completely under its spell. Like, utterly.

But I really need to be honest here: most of the novel is really slow-paced and focused on slow reveals about the lands as the Gage (a fantasy cyborg) and the Dead Man, a highly-skilled bodyguard, travel in a caravan and we get to know and love them. We also get to know the ruler of their intended destination. And I got to love her, too. :)

The best part of this is not the action but the character development. And there's a LOT of character development. Very slow burn, but after a while, I was fully entranced and invested.

It hardly matters, by that point, that the full-blown action was blowing me away after they get to their destination. Once they are all together, everything gets really great. So great, in fact, that I had to drop all my other plans and start reading my ARC of the second book. Like, now.

And it is all action so far. :) Yay! Loving it. :) ( )

Full review to come. I really enjoy the detailed fantasy world Bear creates in this and the Eternal Sky trilogy, and it was fun to see some overlapping characters pop up (although Stone in the Skull is set in a different part of the world and can definitely be read without prior knowledge of the previous books). at the same time, this felt a lot like a set-up volume, and my patience is currently limited for books without a strong self-contained narrative. ( )