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A review by wmhenrymorris
The Winged Histories by Sofia Samatar
Astonishing. Heartbreaking. Ravishing. And it really is fantasy -- straight up secondary world fantasy. Just different from most fantasy. I'd also say better than most, but that's just my tastes and biases coming into play.
It's also a novel about women. Interesting women. Flawed women. In fact, it's rather ruthless about them, but in being ruthless about them it's even more ruthless about the structures (including the patriarchy -- but that word in a very historically-sound, very particular and precise sense; not some caricature of it) that amplify or prey upon those flaws. But also how these flawed women resist.
It's also a novel about women. Interesting women. Flawed women. In fact, it's rather ruthless about them, but in being ruthless about them it's even more ruthless about the structures (including the patriarchy -- but that word in a very historically-sound, very particular and precise sense; not some caricature of it) that amplify or prey upon those flaws. But also how these flawed women resist.