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A review by sisteray
Physiognomy by Jeffrey Ford
4.0
CW Coercive Sex, Drug Addiction
On the surface this is a bizarre redemption story, set in a dark fantasy steampunk world. Our main character is a despicable stooge for a narcissistic psychopathic tyrant. The MC exercises his power with extreme overconfidence, and uses the evidence of his power as validation of his worth.
Ford isn’t afraid to present this story expecting the reader to take a ride with some pretty unlikable characters. But, he was able to pull it off for me through some remarkable acerbic humor, and remarkable horrors.
The fantasy world has a Gene Wolfe or Jack Vance adjacent quality, where the unreality is just a vehicle for limitless possibilities rather than classic high fantasy world building. The mood of the book felt for me far more along the lines of existential postmodernism (ala Kōbō Abe).
While it is a journey through the growth of a wretched character, for me the story felt more about systemic oppression and how people shape themselves to be cruel to survive in an environment that commodifies cruelty. As the system reveals itself, I became far more sympathetic to the people trapped in it trying to get by.
I really enjoyed it.
On the surface this is a bizarre redemption story, set in a dark fantasy steampunk world. Our main character is a despicable stooge for a narcissistic psychopathic tyrant. The MC exercises his power with extreme overconfidence, and uses the evidence of his power as validation of his worth.
Ford isn’t afraid to present this story expecting the reader to take a ride with some pretty unlikable characters. But, he was able to pull it off for me through some remarkable acerbic humor, and remarkable horrors.
The fantasy world has a Gene Wolfe or Jack Vance adjacent quality, where the unreality is just a vehicle for limitless possibilities rather than classic high fantasy world building. The mood of the book felt for me far more along the lines of existential postmodernism (ala Kōbō Abe).
While it is a journey through the growth of a wretched character, for me the story felt more about systemic oppression and how people shape themselves to be cruel to survive in an environment that commodifies cruelty. As the system reveals itself, I became far more sympathetic to the people trapped in it trying to get by.
I really enjoyed it.