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theaurochs 's review for:
Seven Surrenders
by Ada Palmer
How to even begin reviewing a series like Terra Ignota? A series that started so well with the first book, that had that hint of slightly unhinged genius, throwing way too many brilliant ideas at you that they couldn't possibly coalesce into anything meaningful? Except you read the second book and discover that not only do the themes and concepts set up in the first book all tie together into a magnificently cohesive world and philosophical treatise, but new ideas are peppered in with absolutely no regard for a pause. I struggle to recall the last time that I read a series so amazingly visualised, planned, and executed. I did read this book and book 3 The Will To Battle one right after the other, so apologies in advance if parts of the review blend into the wrong book. But this is very clearly a single story spread across the four novels, with events weaving and interweaving, and more context being provided (or gradually realised by the reader) as you get into further books. And in several cases, we get explanations for things in future books in earlier books in a way that doesn't diminish your enjoyment if you miss it, but will absolutely reward close attention and will definitely make these books a joy to re-read.
Ok big intro paragraph has been and gone and I haven't really said anything other than "it's really good". Let's start with what is this book about then? Beware spoilers for the first in the series Too Like The Lightning, but if you haven't read that yet then go pick it up post haste. We find ourselves in the year 2454. The seven Utopian societies ('Hives'), separated by ideology, which divide between themselves the vast majority of the Earth's population, find themselves in an uneasy state of balance. For centuries, this system of opt-in govenments have ruled over/served their respective citizens in mostly harmony, and citizens are free to join any of the Hives they wish. Despite having very different government styles and ideals (from a neo-Roman Masonic Empire with totalitarian but benevolent rule to a council of volunteers run by suggestions from their populace to a fringe group of engineers and others who sacrifice current happiness in order to drive humanity to Mars and beyond), they have co-existed in peace and worked together, in large part due to an overarching council which maintains several universal laws, and mediates any disputes between different Hives. Within this neutral council, each Hive is represented by a number of members based on their current population, their physical property and several other factors. The office of Censor at the council is tasked with tracking these population statistics, as well as predicting future changes and what that may entail. This really is a brilliantly conceived world and government; allowing different "perfect worlds" to co-exist and allowing for the exploration of interactions between them. Love it.
Now we come to some of the juice. The high-speed transportation system which has served 6 of the 7 hives for several hundred years is run by a semi-hereditary 'Bash (family-group restructuring in Palmer's envisioned future), who use massive computational resources to predict the need for these automated flying cars, send them where they have to go at the right time and most importantly, arrive there safely. It's a great system, but nothing is perfect; and there are accidents. Occasional accidents. But, as it turns out, some of these accidents have been a little too close to influential moments. A controversial bill is being proposed by a senator of the European Hive; perhaps said senator's cousin dies in an accident, causing them to take compassionate leave and abandon the bill. Perhaps a hostile takeover is being resisted occurring within one of the minor corporations that comprise the Mitsubishi Hive when the CEO is involved in an accident, speeding up the process. The truth revealed at the end of the last book is this: the new world has been kept in its balance by systematic murders over the past centuries.
As this news becomes public, we follow the events and chaos that follows from the comfortable vantage point of high-up in each of these societies. I say comfortable, but our viewpoint character, one Mycroft Canner, is still distinctly discomforting; remaining as he is a mass-murderer, a rapist and generally a self-important psychopath. As a result of his crimes though, he is sentenced to a lifetime of servitude, at the beck and call of any call upon him. As a result of his skills and intelligence, he is routinely made use of by several of the world's leading figures, which allows us to visit their world. Their inner world, however, is far from what they present. Almost all of the world's current generation of leaders have been ensnared by the plots of one Madame, who runs an 18th-century cosplay brothel, and has in one way or another enticed people to join and become addicted. An additional consequence of this is that the mysterious youth, one J.E.D.D. Mason, was born of this brother with slightly disputable parentage, and is now poised to inherit several of these Hives; consolodating power in a way that has not been seen or considered in centuries. But Madame may not know exactly what she has wrought here; J.E.D.D. is a unique person, who seems to have deep insights into personalities; and indeed claims to be a God (just not our God). If he wasn't so clearly brilliant and gifted yet genuinely humble this claim would be clearly insane; but he has enough for there to maybe be something to this.
Juxtapose this against another mystery child, Bridger. Bridger is an orphan, semi-adopted by Mycroft, who has the seeming power to create actual miracles. A large part of the thematic drive of the book comes from the meeting of these two possibly-divine individuals; how they can interact and influence each other.
So far I realise I've made this sound quite dry, and maybe like a philosophical text book, and I really want to stress how untrue that is; on top of everything else (or maybe underlying everything else) this book is a genuine thriller. There are fistfights on rooftops, swordfights, flying car chases, political assassinations. But there are also deep explorations on the nature of divinity, the nature of mankind and mortality, political philosophy, the necessity of conflict, gender, sexuality, and an amazing sci-fi future that is thoroughly fleshed out and shapes its inhabits; becoming far more than just set dressing.
We follow these world leaders then as they slowly come to accept the only possible conclusion; the current status quo can no longer stand. The question now becomes; what happens next? And what can be done about it? Tensions are rising across the world; is war inevitable? What would war even look like when the borders of nations are not physical but ideological?
You will want to find out the answers to these questions, just as much as you will want to spend time with all the many characters that fill out these exquisite pages; all of them brilliant in their own ways, even the hideous ones. The pacing will grab you and hold you captive, the world will breathe you in.
I've spent far too long talking and it's all still quite general- if I get into too many specifics I'm really not sure I'd ever stop talking about it. Suffice it to say that Terra Ignota is genuinely one of the most exciting series I've read in many years, and if you have any interest in fiction whatsoever then you should absolutely read these books.
Ok big intro paragraph has been and gone and I haven't really said anything other than "it's really good". Let's start with what is this book about then? Beware spoilers for the first in the series Too Like The Lightning, but if you haven't read that yet then go pick it up post haste. We find ourselves in the year 2454. The seven Utopian societies ('Hives'), separated by ideology, which divide between themselves the vast majority of the Earth's population, find themselves in an uneasy state of balance. For centuries, this system of opt-in govenments have ruled over/served their respective citizens in mostly harmony, and citizens are free to join any of the Hives they wish. Despite having very different government styles and ideals (from a neo-Roman Masonic Empire with totalitarian but benevolent rule to a council of volunteers run by suggestions from their populace to a fringe group of engineers and others who sacrifice current happiness in order to drive humanity to Mars and beyond), they have co-existed in peace and worked together, in large part due to an overarching council which maintains several universal laws, and mediates any disputes between different Hives. Within this neutral council, each Hive is represented by a number of members based on their current population, their physical property and several other factors. The office of Censor at the council is tasked with tracking these population statistics, as well as predicting future changes and what that may entail. This really is a brilliantly conceived world and government; allowing different "perfect worlds" to co-exist and allowing for the exploration of interactions between them. Love it.
Now we come to some of the juice. The high-speed transportation system which has served 6 of the 7 hives for several hundred years is run by a semi-hereditary 'Bash (family-group restructuring in Palmer's envisioned future), who use massive computational resources to predict the need for these automated flying cars, send them where they have to go at the right time and most importantly, arrive there safely. It's a great system, but nothing is perfect; and there are accidents. Occasional accidents. But, as it turns out, some of these accidents have been a little too close to influential moments. A controversial bill is being proposed by a senator of the European Hive; perhaps said senator's cousin dies in an accident, causing them to take compassionate leave and abandon the bill. Perhaps a hostile takeover is being resisted occurring within one of the minor corporations that comprise the Mitsubishi Hive when the CEO is involved in an accident, speeding up the process. The truth revealed at the end of the last book is this: the new world has been kept in its balance by systematic murders over the past centuries.
As this news becomes public, we follow the events and chaos that follows from the comfortable vantage point of high-up in each of these societies. I say comfortable, but our viewpoint character, one Mycroft Canner, is still distinctly discomforting; remaining as he is a mass-murderer, a rapist and generally a self-important psychopath. As a result of his crimes though, he is sentenced to a lifetime of servitude, at the beck and call of any call upon him. As a result of his skills and intelligence, he is routinely made use of by several of the world's leading figures, which allows us to visit their world. Their inner world, however, is far from what they present. Almost all of the world's current generation of leaders have been ensnared by the plots of one Madame, who runs an 18th-century cosplay brothel, and has in one way or another enticed people to join and become addicted. An additional consequence of this is that the mysterious youth, one J.E.D.D. Mason, was born of this brother with slightly disputable parentage, and is now poised to inherit several of these Hives; consolodating power in a way that has not been seen or considered in centuries. But Madame may not know exactly what she has wrought here; J.E.D.D. is a unique person, who seems to have deep insights into personalities; and indeed claims to be a God (just not our God). If he wasn't so clearly brilliant and gifted yet genuinely humble this claim would be clearly insane; but he has enough for there to maybe be something to this.
Juxtapose this against another mystery child, Bridger. Bridger is an orphan, semi-adopted by Mycroft, who has the seeming power to create actual miracles. A large part of the thematic drive of the book comes from the meeting of these two possibly-divine individuals; how they can interact and influence each other.
So far I realise I've made this sound quite dry, and maybe like a philosophical text book, and I really want to stress how untrue that is; on top of everything else (or maybe underlying everything else) this book is a genuine thriller. There are fistfights on rooftops, swordfights, flying car chases, political assassinations. But there are also deep explorations on the nature of divinity, the nature of mankind and mortality, political philosophy, the necessity of conflict, gender, sexuality, and an amazing sci-fi future that is thoroughly fleshed out and shapes its inhabits; becoming far more than just set dressing.
We follow these world leaders then as they slowly come to accept the only possible conclusion; the current status quo can no longer stand. The question now becomes; what happens next? And what can be done about it? Tensions are rising across the world; is war inevitable? What would war even look like when the borders of nations are not physical but ideological?
You will want to find out the answers to these questions, just as much as you will want to spend time with all the many characters that fill out these exquisite pages; all of them brilliant in their own ways, even the hideous ones. The pacing will grab you and hold you captive, the world will breathe you in.
I've spent far too long talking and it's all still quite general- if I get into too many specifics I'm really not sure I'd ever stop talking about it. Suffice it to say that Terra Ignota is genuinely one of the most exciting series I've read in many years, and if you have any interest in fiction whatsoever then you should absolutely read these books.