A review by theciz
The Tyrant Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

A welcome return to form after the snoozefest that was book two. I can see how this and the previous one were originally one book, but I still think they could have been split and balanced better. 

That aside, we’ve moved away from sulking, moping Baru back to scheming Baru (with a little more emotional intelligence than book one Baru). Characters I felt were a little one note in the previous book (Tain Shir, Tau-indi, etc.) have greatly improved and been fleshed out - there’s also a bit more variety, so we don’t get stuck on a ship for 200 pages like last time. The Cancrioth are less cartoonishly villianous but still a little silly, as are the trim references, but it’s all much more bearable when things are actually allowed to happen! 

The story seemed to be tied up a little too easily, with too many overly didactic inner monologues about colonialism to boot, but there’s enough left unfinished to keep the story going - whenever that might be…