this was great, full of ideas fed by ideas from earlier books in the series. it's about colonialism, imperialism, empire, with the story in many ways building its bones on the notion of portraying espionage and naval strategy in the Great Game of another version 0f the British Empire, in a fantasy version of The East at a moment of reckoning. the Masquerade series (this is the third book) should be required reading for anyone staying abreast of contemporary fantasy sf, and reminded me a little of the kind of stuff that Gay Gavriel Kay writes in this subgenre, although Seth Dickinson's imagination is a lot darker. ( )

An unfortunate reef of calcified characters and themes. ( )

I enjoy Seth Dickinson's books but they are definitely books I have to be in a certain mood to read. They are a bit of a grind to read and rather dark but after I finish them I always look back at them in a positive light. It is completely a case of the journey is worth it for the destination reached. ( )

The Masquerade series is deeply immersive and darkly addictive. It's a reading journey that is difficult to describe. The series demands a lot from the reader; the political machinations are complex, the characters are vast, and the history and setting of the story is ever-expanding. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get a little lost on occasion, but the payoff is always worthwhile.

In this and in its forbidding story, I would say The Masquerade could be compared to the scope of A Song of Ice and Fire (despite The Independent claiming that Baru makes Game of Thrones look like a children’s television series). However, I found Dickinson’s writing much more cerebral and philosophically probing. The entire series is a thought experiment that interrogates how cultures are formed, beliefs are shaped, and what exactly makes empires prosper. For Baru, it’s a constant struggle to understand the difference between pretending to act out Falcrest’s will, and actually obeying it.

The Tyrant is the most recent instalment, and possibly my favourite one yet. If you’ve read books one and two, you can look forward to epic sea battles, the secrets of the Cancrioth revealed, and understanding the true purpose of the cryptarchy (and getting your mind blown multiple times, obviously).

Dickinson’s worldbuilding is uniquely abstract, full of pseudoscience and all the anachronisms of steampunk invented philosophical frameworks and reimagined gender roles. Many fantasy worlds can be defined as broadly European-inspired or Asian-inspired, etc. This one simply is.

Trigger warnings: Racism, misogyny, sexism, reference to FGM, homophobia, torture ( )

Better than book 2, but still not reaching the heights of book 1. I had thought at 895 pages this would be the final push to complete the series without the necessity of further books, but despite the page count it's still not all over, and hence doesn't end where you might have expected from the title. It does remain interesting with gripping characters, but I think I'd rather have had a lot of book 2 edited out and shared with this one.

Baru has found what she came for, now she just needs to get enough of the evidence back to the capitol. Of course she realises that she's never been told the whole truth - why would that happen - and that there may be more than one cell competing, and in fact she needs to prove herself over her competitors' agents anyway. And of course if she's still determined in her course than she needs to do more than win enough political power to keep playing, she needs to win control. She's come to grips a bit with both her injury and her grief, and through a few conversations even has a somewhat more details of a plan. However it's incredibly risky and relies on people to act as she understands them to want to - and how good is her understanding? As previously she also forgets again that other people have their own motivations. The concept of 'trim' remains key, the whole southern nations have remained in peace for over 1000 years by this magnifying the personal connections. Is it thier secret, can anyone learn it, and what happens when someone is cut-off from it. Baru faces many key choices again.

In many aspects this is a happier book than Monster. I'm not sure that's completely appropriate, but the sense - despite the frequent critical situations - is that Baru has more control, and a manages to accept the people around her.

It's still a good series, and I'm very intrigued as to where it's all going, but it could have been finished by now. ( )