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A review by siavahda
The Pyramid Waltz by Barbara Ann Wright
4.0
Pyramid is not hugely original as a fantasy novel - there are princesses, demons, and spies, all things that most fantasy readers are pretty familiar with by now - except for the fact that the story features two women who love each other romantically.
I have one word for this:
AWESOME.
Good LORD, it is RIDICULOUSLY DIFFICULT to find fantasy with LGBT characters! By which I don't mean lgbt-fantasy, like Without Reservations and its ilk; I mean well-written, well-thought-out fantasy novels that just HAPPEN to have girls who love girls, or boys who love boys, or people who love both/neither, or people born into the wrong gender - whichever! One or all of the above! I love books where these things are worked naturally into the plot, where the story is not All About Teh Gay but doesn't exclude Teh Gay, either.
And Pyramid is wonderful. So what if it's not super original? It is EXTREMELY well-written and readable - I read the entire book in a single day, and would have done it in a single sitting if people hadn't kept interrupting! The worldbuilding is excellent: both societies featured in the book (the Farradains and the Allusians) have a history, religion, and general culture of their own, all of which is integrated smoothly into the story without the requirements of the dreaded info-dump. One of my favourite things about this book were the Allusian idioms, and Starbride's difficulty with the Farradain ones (which are common idioms that will probably be familiar to the reader, like 'now her goose is cooked', etc).
The characters, too, are fantastic, very well developed and three-dimensional. Katya and Starbride, the two main characters (who take turns to narrate the story, via third-person alternate chapters) are both strong and intelligent, but still very different. I loved their romance (and the fact that this was not an Issues story - same-gender romances don't bat an eye in Pyramid's world), especially the realism of it; there were difficulties and compromises, just as there are in a real relationship but which so many authors idealise away. I also REALLY loved pretty much every one of the minor characters: the whole cast is beautifully fleshed-out, with their own stories, histories, and mysteries, not all of which are told, explained or answered by the end of this book (which, again, is fantastic - yay for not spoon-feeding your readers!)
The story itself is, on the surface, relatively simple: there are traitors plotting Bad Things, and since the crown prince will be arriving in two weeks Katya (who also happens to be second in line to the throne) is charged with making sure their plots don't come to fruition. Starbride, meanwhile, arrives at the Farrandain palace in order to learn as much Farrandain law as possible, so she can help her people back home (who are being cheated by Farrandain merchants and lawyers). But things are much more complicated than that: not just because there are hidden mysteries, but because Wright doesn't gloss over the politics of living at court or the difficulty of hunting down spies. Nor does she ever forget that a monarch is ultimately answerable to their people, something which curbs the actions of several characters over the course of the story. What I mean is: even though Katya is a princess, and most of the characters are various kinds of Noble and/or Important, they can't do anything they want. Very few fantasy books remember that there are legal limitations on these kinds of characters, but Wright never forgets any of it.
What I'm trying to say is that, although another author's attempt at Pyramid Waltz would have resulted in a very bland, boring story of the kind we've all read a million times, Wright actually looks at things, and considers them realistically. With the result that what should have been just another fantasy knock-off is wonderful, hilarious, emotional, well-thought-out and just generally fantastic. Even without having a lesbian couple, Pyramid would have been an excellent book, but with them Pyramid is going straight to my favourites list.
I suggest you go out and buy a copy right now.
I have one word for this:
AWESOME.
Good LORD, it is RIDICULOUSLY DIFFICULT to find fantasy with LGBT characters! By which I don't mean lgbt-fantasy, like Without Reservations and its ilk; I mean well-written, well-thought-out fantasy novels that just HAPPEN to have girls who love girls, or boys who love boys, or people who love both/neither, or people born into the wrong gender - whichever! One or all of the above! I love books where these things are worked naturally into the plot, where the story is not All About Teh Gay but doesn't exclude Teh Gay, either.
And Pyramid is wonderful. So what if it's not super original? It is EXTREMELY well-written and readable - I read the entire book in a single day, and would have done it in a single sitting if people hadn't kept interrupting! The worldbuilding is excellent: both societies featured in the book (the Farradains and the Allusians) have a history, religion, and general culture of their own, all of which is integrated smoothly into the story without the requirements of the dreaded info-dump. One of my favourite things about this book were the Allusian idioms, and Starbride's difficulty with the Farradain ones (which are common idioms that will probably be familiar to the reader, like 'now her goose is cooked', etc).
The characters, too, are fantastic, very well developed and three-dimensional. Katya and Starbride, the two main characters (who take turns to narrate the story, via third-person alternate chapters) are both strong and intelligent, but still very different. I loved their romance (and the fact that this was not an Issues story - same-gender romances don't bat an eye in Pyramid's world), especially the realism of it; there were difficulties and compromises, just as there are in a real relationship but which so many authors idealise away. I also REALLY loved pretty much every one of the minor characters: the whole cast is beautifully fleshed-out, with their own stories, histories, and mysteries, not all of which are told, explained or answered by the end of this book (which, again, is fantastic - yay for not spoon-feeding your readers!)
The story itself is, on the surface, relatively simple: there are traitors plotting Bad Things, and since the crown prince will be arriving in two weeks Katya (who also happens to be second in line to the throne) is charged with making sure their plots don't come to fruition. Starbride, meanwhile, arrives at the Farrandain palace in order to learn as much Farrandain law as possible, so she can help her people back home (who are being cheated by Farrandain merchants and lawyers). But things are much more complicated than that: not just because there are hidden mysteries, but because Wright doesn't gloss over the politics of living at court or the difficulty of hunting down spies. Nor does she ever forget that a monarch is ultimately answerable to their people, something which curbs the actions of several characters over the course of the story. What I mean is: even though Katya is a princess, and most of the characters are various kinds of Noble and/or Important, they can't do anything they want. Very few fantasy books remember that there are legal limitations on these kinds of characters, but Wright never forgets any of it.
What I'm trying to say is that, although another author's attempt at Pyramid Waltz would have resulted in a very bland, boring story of the kind we've all read a million times, Wright actually looks at things, and considers them realistically. With the result that what should have been just another fantasy knock-off is wonderful, hilarious, emotional, well-thought-out and just generally fantastic. Even without having a lesbian couple, Pyramid would have been an excellent book, but with them Pyramid is going straight to my favourites list.
I suggest you go out and buy a copy right now.