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readcharlotte's review
4.0
I initially didn't write a review, but months later, I keep thinking about THIS book. I've read 50+ books since I've read it, and this is still something I keep thinking about and wanting more of.
It's not your typical sci-fi book or dystopian world. I especially like that it follows the upper class vs. the lower, and has some interesting dynamics. It takes awhile to figure out the world and political structure, but I really liked it!
It's not your typical sci-fi book or dystopian world. I especially like that it follows the upper class vs. the lower, and has some interesting dynamics. It takes awhile to figure out the world and political structure, but I really liked it!
jlas123's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I didn’t really find the characters or the world building very compelling. I kept waiting for there to be more development than there was. Characters seemed a bit flat. Final few chapters were the best in the book, and created enough forward momentum that I am tempted to start the second book in the series to see if there is more development.
siavahda's review against another edition
4.0
HIGHLIGHTS
~do not trust the pretty glowy floaty things
~the sky is a myth
~gloves will save your life
~“My heart is as deep as the heavens. No word uttered in confidence will escape it.”
~cavern-cities are safe from everything except other people
Reader, I have a new favourite series.
Like so many other books I’ve fallen in love with, I discovered Wade’s Broken Trust series via KA Doores’ annual list of queer SFF – 2021’s list included book two of the series, Transgressions of Power, and it sounded interesting, so I picked up book one to give it a try.
And was hooked pretty much instantly.
The world Wade has created is phenomenal – detailed, intricate, believable, and other – by which I mean, the society and culture (cultures, really) of Varin are not drawn from any real-world culture; the characters are very human, but the society they live in is just alien enough to make it really feel like we’re not in Kansas anymore. Too often, I see fictional worlds which really don’t capture that sense of being separate from ours; settings that don’t feel like they developed organically on another planet or in some other dimension, uninfluenced by our world’s history and religions and conflicts and everything else. But the world of Mazes absolutely feels like that – as though Wade isn’t writing fiction, but is instead giving us a look into a real place, populated by real people; a parallel universe, maybe, where humans evolved on some other planet entirely and thus turned out very differently.
Does that make sense?
Mazes is set in the capital city Pelismara – which exists entirely underground; of all the characters we meet in this book, only two have ever seen the open sky. The people of Pelismara – actually, all the people of Varin, the world in which Mazes is set – are divided into castes, with each caste having its own role in the function of society; Arissen are guards and police officers; Imbati serve; and the Grobal…well, the Grobal rule. Or the men do, at least; unlike the other castes we see, the Grobal are very patriarchal. Grobal women are meant to be decorative, good helpmeets, and, most of all, fertile – Grobal birthrates are very low, Grobal children tend to be pretty sickly, and Kinders fever, while occasionally dangerous to members of other castes, is pretty much a death-sentence for any Grobal who contracts it. Grobal are very much obsessed with the Failure of the Race and their Duty to the Race (aka, the low birthrate and the duty to procreate) and all in all, I suspect Wade deliberately gave the Grobal caste the only caste-name that sounds unpleasant (‘grobal’ is simply not a very pretty word) because there’s not much about the Grobal to like. They’re misogynistic, classist, insular, arrogant, queerphobic, and go all-in on demonising rape victims and sex work and marrying young women off to much older men. They’re a fairly clear stand-in for white supremacists in way too many ways.
Although there are definitely Grobal individuals who are pretty great, like Tagaret, a young Grobal man whose love of music is greater than his fear of Kinders fever, as we see when he risks attending a concert despite a potential outbreak, and his mother Tamelera, who takes refuge from her horrific marriage in designing exquisite clothing. Then there’s Nekantor, Tageret’s younger brother and Tamelera’s son, who is definitely not someone I’d want to be friends with – he’s manipulative, abusive, and doesn’t recognise most people as being actual people – but who is still incredibly interesting, and whom I felt real sympathy for even when he was transitioning into villain territory.
Read the rest at Every Book a Doorway!
~do not trust the pretty glowy floaty things
~the sky is a myth
~gloves will save your life
~“My heart is as deep as the heavens. No word uttered in confidence will escape it.”
~cavern-cities are safe from everything except other people
Reader, I have a new favourite series.
Like so many other books I’ve fallen in love with, I discovered Wade’s Broken Trust series via KA Doores’ annual list of queer SFF – 2021’s list included book two of the series, Transgressions of Power, and it sounded interesting, so I picked up book one to give it a try.
And was hooked pretty much instantly.
VARIN IS A PLACE WHERE HUMANS HAVE ALWAYS LIVED ON AN ALIEN WORLD.
IT IS ALSO YOUR HOME.
The world Wade has created is phenomenal – detailed, intricate, believable, and other – by which I mean, the society and culture (cultures, really) of Varin are not drawn from any real-world culture; the characters are very human, but the society they live in is just alien enough to make it really feel like we’re not in Kansas anymore. Too often, I see fictional worlds which really don’t capture that sense of being separate from ours; settings that don’t feel like they developed organically on another planet or in some other dimension, uninfluenced by our world’s history and religions and conflicts and everything else. But the world of Mazes absolutely feels like that – as though Wade isn’t writing fiction, but is instead giving us a look into a real place, populated by real people; a parallel universe, maybe, where humans evolved on some other planet entirely and thus turned out very differently.
Does that make sense?
Mazes is set in the capital city Pelismara – which exists entirely underground; of all the characters we meet in this book, only two have ever seen the open sky. The people of Pelismara – actually, all the people of Varin, the world in which Mazes is set – are divided into castes, with each caste having its own role in the function of society; Arissen are guards and police officers; Imbati serve; and the Grobal…well, the Grobal rule. Or the men do, at least; unlike the other castes we see, the Grobal are very patriarchal. Grobal women are meant to be decorative, good helpmeets, and, most of all, fertile – Grobal birthrates are very low, Grobal children tend to be pretty sickly, and Kinders fever, while occasionally dangerous to members of other castes, is pretty much a death-sentence for any Grobal who contracts it. Grobal are very much obsessed with the Failure of the Race and their Duty to the Race (aka, the low birthrate and the duty to procreate) and all in all, I suspect Wade deliberately gave the Grobal caste the only caste-name that sounds unpleasant (‘grobal’ is simply not a very pretty word) because there’s not much about the Grobal to like. They’re misogynistic, classist, insular, arrogant, queerphobic, and go all-in on demonising rape victims and sex work and marrying young women off to much older men. They’re a fairly clear stand-in for white supremacists in way too many ways.
Although there are definitely Grobal individuals who are pretty great, like Tagaret, a young Grobal man whose love of music is greater than his fear of Kinders fever, as we see when he risks attending a concert despite a potential outbreak, and his mother Tamelera, who takes refuge from her horrific marriage in designing exquisite clothing. Then there’s Nekantor, Tageret’s younger brother and Tamelera’s son, who is definitely not someone I’d want to be friends with – he’s manipulative, abusive, and doesn’t recognise most people as being actual people – but who is still incredibly interesting, and whom I felt real sympathy for even when he was transitioning into villain territory.
Read the rest at Every Book a Doorway!
megatsunami's review
3.0
Uneven but intriguing. The writing was sometimes emotionally overwrought (people are always gasping, blushing, shouting, rushing off, etc) and some of the relationships just didn't ring true. The world was a little overly complex to grasp, and it seemed the rules about what was socially allowed/ not allowed were not consistent (or at least I couldn't keep track). But I found myself thinking about the book a lot in between reading, and I'm intrigued by the ending which suggests some interesting things to come for the next book.
kayteebee's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
kittykornerlibrarian's review
5.0
Oh, my, this one was GOOD. It's a futuristic (I think, or an alternate universe) society that lives mostly in cave communities under the ground, and it's got an extremely rigid caste system. I have to say that the first chapter feels a lot less like fiction than it would have a year ago. This is a very political novel about power and relationships and it's just really terrific. It's told in the third person limited viewpoint from several different characters' points of view. The one that resonated most with me is Tagaret, the elder son of a highly-ranked family who is not interested in political machinations at all and is trying to navigate his way in a world he's not sure he wants to inhabit. Other points of view include an Imbati servant whose name I can't remember and Tagaret's younger brother, who has lots of OCD behaviors and has the ruthless ambition that his brother lacks. Anyway, this is so, so good. Can't wait for the next in this series.
Just a note that this was even better the second time because it was such a joy to be in this world with these characters again. Looking forward to the sequel.
Just a note that this was even better the second time because it was such a joy to be in this world with these characters again. Looking forward to the sequel.
jmckendry's review
1.0
I had really mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, it was absolutely fascinating. The world building was amazing. The characters felt as real and vivid as the setting. I am inspired by the work that must have gone into writing this.
However, I don’t really know how I felt about the storyline itself. There weren’t any plot holes, the writing was great, and there were a lot of interesting twists and turns, it just didn’t seem as interesting to me. I kind of lost interested about halfway through, and I kind of had to really focus on finishing it. If I’m rating how interesting the world was, I’d probably go with 4/5. But I just didn’t really enjoy the story that much.
However, I don’t really know how I felt about the storyline itself. There weren’t any plot holes, the writing was great, and there were a lot of interesting twists and turns, it just didn’t seem as interesting to me. I kind of lost interested about halfway through, and I kind of had to really focus on finishing it. If I’m rating how interesting the world was, I’d probably go with 4/5. But I just didn’t really enjoy the story that much.
jerseygrrrl's review
4.0
This is an absorbing, compelling, and intellectually challenging book. I'm a sucker for anthropological scifi in the vein of Janet Kagen's Hellspark. Mazes of Power is part of that lineage.
The story takes us into a severely stratified world, in which people are born into a caste that determines their privilege and role. As readers, we spend most of our time with the Grobal, the ruling class. It was hard to understand how they could maintain their supremacy given their insularity, immunological weaknesses, inbreeding, self-absorption, and tendency to try to assassinate each other. We also see the world through the eyes of an Imbati, one of the servant class that is extraordinarily selfless and dedicated to serving the Grobal. It was hard to understand how someone could so completely give over their self, their safety, and their well-being to a ruling class member.
Wade chides us at the beginning of the book: "This is your home." Clearly, we're meant to think about how, like the Grobal and Imbati, we conform to unspoken social rules and restrictions. Are we as self-absorbed and blind to others' realities as the Grobal? Are we as willing to subordinate ourselves to power as the Imbati? Are we governed by as ridiculous social rules as the members of Varin society? These are challenging questions that I'm still pondering.
I was glad that, at the end of the book, Wade began to
From an experience perspective: Mazes of Power was a fast read and a page-turner. I got so absorbed that I think I inadvertently agreed to do several unintended household chores. Oops.
Recommended.
The story takes us into a severely stratified world, in which people are born into a caste that determines their privilege and role. As readers, we spend most of our time with the Grobal, the ruling class. It was hard to understand how they could maintain their supremacy given their insularity, immunological weaknesses, inbreeding, self-absorption, and tendency to try to assassinate each other. We also see the world through the eyes of an Imbati, one of the servant class that is extraordinarily selfless and dedicated to serving the Grobal. It was hard to understand how someone could so completely give over their self, their safety, and their well-being to a ruling class member.
Wade chides us at the beginning of the book: "This is your home." Clearly, we're meant to think about how, like the Grobal and Imbati, we conform to unspoken social rules and restrictions. Are we as self-absorbed and blind to others' realities as the Grobal? Are we as willing to subordinate ourselves to power as the Imbati? Are we governed by as ridiculous social rules as the members of Varin society? These are challenging questions that I'm still pondering.
I was glad that, at the end of the book, Wade began to
Spoiler
show the cracks in Verin society and show signs that Book #2 in the series would disrupt power structures. I don't think I could keep reading if the assumption was that how the Grobal and Imbati operate is acceptable.From an experience perspective: Mazes of Power was a fast read and a page-turner. I got so absorbed that I think I inadvertently agreed to do several unintended household chores. Oops.
Recommended.
caresays's review
3.0
I found this to be an interesting read, with a few issues that cropped up as I went along. I imagine that most of these considerations have already occurred to the author, as it's otherwise such a thoughtful book with fairly comprehensive worldbuilding. I'd round up to 3.5 stars, except for a few things.
2. Wow, the main character was boring. Placid desires and wants, only sympathetic in the face of his sociopathic brother. All he wants is this girl!!!! Who he's seen like twice and never speaks to!!!!! And she inexplicably loves him too???? It's not an interesting drive!
3. I was pretty confused about the role of same-sex relationships in this world. Early on it's established that both the protagonist and the antagonist have sexual, if not romantic, relationships with same-sex partners. So I thought, okay, cool, this is an accepted norm in this world. Surprisingly, it's actually taboo??? Who knew??? It was a weird choice to me to make it SO pervasive and not socially accepted. Anyway, seemed like a weird setup.
4. If your plan is to dismantle a patriarchal/flawed system, maybe have one of your POV characters be a lady. Just saying that there was room in there for a female perspective. It wasn't like there weren't any powerful or interesting female characters, but I was disappointed to find all three POVs to be male-centered. (I guess I also don't necessarily understand the point of having a blank canvas to work with in sci-fi and then purposefully creating SUCH a patriarchal society, but like, I also get wanting to utilize storytelling to fight against these systems that exist in our real world.)
5. OMG, I totally forgot -- I think everyone was white??? At least in the upper caste society. Everyone was either blond or ginger and pale. I know they live underground, but like??? And the farmer caste that works up on the surface is described as sun-browned, but that doesn't give any indication to what their skin tone is when not tanned. How, in this day and age, would this be an appropriate thing? (Okay, I don't remember if/when Aloran's skin tone is mentioned, but usually when skin tone ISN'T mentioned, the default assumption is...white.)
I did overall enjoy my read and will likely read the next one. It's not to nitpick, but these things really were niggling at me throughout.
Spoiler
1. Was it the best choice to make your primary antagonist the only character who's not neurotypical? It seems bizarrely tone-deaf coming from a sociologist. I actually liked reading Nekantor's POV because his OCD made things interesting (when his brother was a bit of a dullard tbh) but to also make him a sociopath was ???? Like, the book itself seemed to equate the OCD with wrongness, which is obviously not the intended messaging.2. Wow, the main character was boring. Placid desires and wants, only sympathetic in the face of his sociopathic brother. All he wants is this girl!!!! Who he's seen like twice and never speaks to!!!!! And she inexplicably loves him too???? It's not an interesting drive!
3. I was pretty confused about the role of same-sex relationships in this world. Early on it's established that both the protagonist and the antagonist have sexual, if not romantic, relationships with same-sex partners. So I thought, okay, cool, this is an accepted norm in this world. Surprisingly, it's actually taboo??? Who knew??? It was a weird choice to me to make it SO pervasive and not socially accepted. Anyway, seemed like a weird setup.
4. If your plan is to dismantle a patriarchal/flawed system, maybe have one of your POV characters be a lady. Just saying that there was room in there for a female perspective. It wasn't like there weren't any powerful or interesting female characters, but I was disappointed to find all three POVs to be male-centered. (I guess I also don't necessarily understand the point of having a blank canvas to work with in sci-fi and then purposefully creating SUCH a patriarchal society, but like, I also get wanting to utilize storytelling to fight against these systems that exist in our real world.)
5. OMG, I totally forgot -- I think everyone was white??? At least in the upper caste society. Everyone was either blond or ginger and pale. I know they live underground, but like??? And the farmer caste that works up on the surface is described as sun-browned, but that doesn't give any indication to what their skin tone is when not tanned. How, in this day and age, would this be an appropriate thing? (Okay, I don't remember if/when Aloran's skin tone is mentioned, but usually when skin tone ISN'T mentioned, the default assumption is...white.)
I did overall enjoy my read and will likely read the next one. It's not to nitpick, but these things really were niggling at me throughout.