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A review by wealhtheow
The Executioness by Tobias S. Buckell, J.K. Drummond
3.0
After Tana's father and husband are killed and her children taken by raiders, she goes on a one-woman mission to regain the remnants of her family. Her courage and will inspire others, and soon she comes to the attention of an army commander. He tells her that they have to wait the raiders out, but Tana is impatient. She raises an army of women, armed with peasant weapons (and the occasional arquebus), and they march on the raiders' city.
I really wish this had been twice as long, because there's so much material here that I wish could have been expanded upon, or presented with more subtlety. Even in a bare-bones style like this, it's a good, engaging story, especially with Buckell's trademark of excellent action scenes.
My one quibble with this book is actually with the illustration. The original inspiration for this book was Maureen McHugh's mention of the lack of middle-aged female protagonists, and Buckell spends a good number of pages emphasizing that she's older and has more than her fair share of scars and muscle. She spends the entire book chopping soldiers apart with her axe. And yet. All of the illustrations portray a woman with slender, unmarked twigs for arms and an unlined face. Art fail.
I really wish this had been twice as long, because there's so much material here that I wish could have been expanded upon, or presented with more subtlety. Even in a bare-bones style like this, it's a good, engaging story, especially with Buckell's trademark of excellent action scenes.
My one quibble with this book is actually with the illustration. The original inspiration for this book was Maureen McHugh's mention of the lack of middle-aged female protagonists, and Buckell spends a good number of pages emphasizing that she's older and has more than her fair share of scars and muscle. She spends the entire book chopping soldiers apart with her axe. And yet. All of the illustrations portray a woman with slender, unmarked twigs for arms and an unlined face. Art fail.