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theaurochs's review against another edition
4.0
Really fantastic fantasy. The Masquerade series continues extremely strongly, pushing in directions and tackling themes that you just don’t see in other contemporary fantasy. It’s exciting, it’s ambitious, it is deeply grotesque and absolutely full to the brim with tortured humanity. My only serious critique is that the prose in this third book is more straightforward. After the delightful fever dream of book two which was pushing not only genre boundaries but literary ones, returning back to something a little more straightforward, where you can actually figure out everything at face value, is a minor disappointment. What a strange criticism to have, but that’s how it feels.
In this book Baru is getting out of her funk that left her deeply demoralised and depressed after the ending of the first book. Having been buffeted around various locations seemingly bringing only disaster, here she begins to take the initiative again, and flex some of the powers granted to her by her imperial placement. Books two and three really seem to form a single overarching narrative, very closely linked, and Tyrant ties up a lot of the threads that were handing around from Monster. With that in mind, you could definitely argue that they could have been edited down into a single, sensibly sized volume. Plotwise, there is actually not a huge amount that takes place over those 1500-odd pages. But I do not regret a single moment I spent inhabiting Baru’s world, exploring the carefully constructed societies, getting to know the beautifully realised and well-rounded characters, and being tantalised by the hints of strange mystical forces that feel like they’re just slightly off the edge of the map. The perfect level of obfuscation to create some serious intrigue. Are these events genuinely magical? Or simply not understood by the inhabitants of the world? This can be a difficult balance to strike, but Dickinson creates characters that feel so grounded in their realities that it works perfectly.
The world is just so alive- as Baru in previous books had lamented, she often forgets to consider other players of the game, but Dickinson definitely does not. You have so many different factions, all with their own unique and believable agendas, all trying to achieve them at the same time. Each character believes in their own way that they’re doing the right or the necessary thing. It’s from this that such delicious conflict arises, and the world feels so much more real than a typical “hero on an adventure” story, where the world might exist as a setting for the hero to interact with.
We also get really interesting examinations of evolution and eugenics; the place of LGBT+ people within evolution and within societies, especially repressive societies; some great economic warfare; some grisly biological warfare; all of it wrapped up in gorgeous prose. With a few notable exceptions- sentences that feel so out of place it is jarring, but maybe these are intentional.
Overall, a magnificent if sometimes harrowing reading experience. Strong recommend. I will patiently await the next one.
In this book Baru is getting out of her funk that left her deeply demoralised and depressed after the ending of the first book. Having been buffeted around various locations seemingly bringing only disaster, here she begins to take the initiative again, and flex some of the powers granted to her by her imperial placement. Books two and three really seem to form a single overarching narrative, very closely linked, and Tyrant ties up a lot of the threads that were handing around from Monster. With that in mind, you could definitely argue that they could have been edited down into a single, sensibly sized volume. Plotwise, there is actually not a huge amount that takes place over those 1500-odd pages. But I do not regret a single moment I spent inhabiting Baru’s world, exploring the carefully constructed societies, getting to know the beautifully realised and well-rounded characters, and being tantalised by the hints of strange mystical forces that feel like they’re just slightly off the edge of the map. The perfect level of obfuscation to create some serious intrigue. Are these events genuinely magical? Or simply not understood by the inhabitants of the world? This can be a difficult balance to strike, but Dickinson creates characters that feel so grounded in their realities that it works perfectly.
The world is just so alive- as Baru in previous books had lamented, she often forgets to consider other players of the game, but Dickinson definitely does not. You have so many different factions, all with their own unique and believable agendas, all trying to achieve them at the same time. Each character believes in their own way that they’re doing the right or the necessary thing. It’s from this that such delicious conflict arises, and the world feels so much more real than a typical “hero on an adventure” story, where the world might exist as a setting for the hero to interact with.
We also get really interesting examinations of evolution and eugenics; the place of LGBT+ people within evolution and within societies, especially repressive societies; some great economic warfare; some grisly biological warfare; all of it wrapped up in gorgeous prose. With a few notable exceptions- sentences that feel so out of place it is jarring, but maybe these are intentional.
Overall, a magnificent if sometimes harrowing reading experience. Strong recommend. I will patiently await the next one.
bigpaw's review
5.0
The heartbreak of reading this book was that I thought the trilogy was completed, and didn't realize there was another book yet to be released. As I was nearing the end, things were wrapping up nicely, but there were so many things I wanted to see a bit <i>more</i> of or that felt unanswered...and then I got to the acknowledgement at the end. So it's a good and bad thing that there's another book to come! Same energy as when I watched Across the Spiderverse.
Anyway, Baru is back and she's killing it and I love her completely. This book really drove home the theme of trim, and the large reflected in the small, and what really matters above all is connections with other people. I love the further exploration into the race, gender, and sexuality politics of this world, even if some conversations did feel a bit too on-the-nose about it all. The ending felt very earned and made me want to hold everyone.
I think I'm gonna have a bit of a book hangover, and a Baru-sized hole in my heart for a little while.
calypsogoldfein's review
challenging
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
caristaw's review
The descriptions of seizures are realistic in a way I greatly appreciate as someone with epilepsy, but unfortunately they sometimes pulled me in to a pre-seizure anxiety state. I only put it down out of concern for my health. It's fantastic to have a protagonist like Baru share in my condition and I found that it was handled incredibly well.
hrgisahero's review
5.0
I think this is my favorite in the series so far? I think? Argh, but it’s so good, all of the machinations.
xor's review
5.0
Seth Dickinson has always been incredible at writing impeccably-plotted, brilliantly imaginative fantasy that tackles the social and political issues I'm most interested in. In addition to that, this particular book features characters and relationships that I am deeply invested in (and which retroactively invest me in the characters and relationships from earlier books). It is also extremely funny. IMO all gritty realistic fantasy should feature (high stakes, gut-wrenching) arguments where a character is accused of being a pineapple-eating slut and responds to this by claiming not to like pineapples (which is a lie), because that's what real life is like.
theblueforest's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
honestly one of the best books i’ve ever read
tonedevoured's review
5.0
so i finally found the courage to finish this one and no. i can't put into words how fascinated i am by these books. as a reader, as a lesbian and mostly, as a history major.
but i love you, tain hu. and i love you, tau-indi. this much i'm sure.
and seth dickinson, take your time. i would wait a thousand lives just to read another book written by you.
but i love you, tain hu. and i love you, tau-indi. this much i'm sure.
and seth dickinson, take your time. i would wait a thousand lives just to read another book written by you.