A review by bluebirdost
The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson

challenging dark slow-paced
I do not think this book was my cup of tea. The story is very political and slow paced. I enjoyed the first half of the book more than the second, which seems to be a minority opinion. I think the pacing a bit weird, it would start to pick up and then go back to snail speed. The stuff about accounting was definitely a bit hard to follow but I got it eventually. However, the rebellion part was confusing especially during combat scenes. I had a hard time remembering all the dukes and duchesse's names which made reading the latter half hard. I was not particularly attached to Baru by the end of the book. I know protagonists don't have to be likable but I don't enjoy books unless I like the protagonist. I understand her motivation but that wasn't enough for me. It was upsetting to see her lose herself over the course of the story. I know this is the point, but I don't think I ever got attached enough to make me want to see her potential redemption arc. A lot of the characters seemed very detached which I suppose makes sense because Baru really saw most of them as pawns rather than people. The two characters I felt the most attached to were Murie Lo and Tain Hu. I don't think it's insignificant that they were also the two characters to whom Baru had the closest attachments.
Baru's double cross at the end wasn't entirely surprising but I was upset I had to read all the dull combat just for it to be undone in a few pages. I also hated that Tain Hu was killed by Baru's orders. I understand the reasoning but the book already had so much homophobia. I don't think it's exactly 'bury your gays' but it's something in that ballpark.
Ultimately I think this book was much too dark and political for my tastes. I like a story where I can root for the protagonist and have things wrapped up with a bow. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings