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A review by elusivity
Ruin of Angels by Max Gladstone
4.0
This one started off somewhat slowly. I puzzled over what the vignette about a young Kai and her sister Ley meant. Apparently, the loss of their father to the sea kicked off a slow dissolution to the family, with Kai staying in Kavekanvana and Ley heading off for her fortunes in Agdel Lex, the city that is three cities in one space.
This story seemed keyed to Ley, a secretive person who also harbor a great drive to ...something. I wasn't sure how much having lost a father can contribute to her closed-off personality (mentioned and emphasized throughout), nor why the family would drift apart so drastically. Not that the situation cannot arise, but I wish the family dynamic is a LOT more fleshed out. As it stood, Kai rarely if ever sees Ley, they don't understand or disclose anything true of intimate to one another Yet Kai will drag herself and a bunch of people to try and first extricate Ley from law, then from the world altering plan Ley created with the dastardly Alethia Vane (who is so evil, like Cruella de Ville evil, casually shoving pedestrians off the sidewalk as she passed, for no reason except she wanted to. What is the reason for her being so evil?!). They just have that inexplicable and wondrous sibling bond I guess.
This is a women's story; or rather, a story peopled by women. No important character is male, apart from a secondary character who is transgender male yet had sufficient experience with of being a woman that he bore children, and another who modded himself as a giant crocodile or something. The delver crew of Zeddig, Rayment, Gal, and Ley back in the days when she was dating Zeddig, ended up being 2 homosexual pairs. The ponderingly slow but brutal police/villain was a woman who punch and break necks and fed people to be tortured by her Lord the giant star Squid.
Inventive as always. Despite all my tiny nits, recommended highly!
This story seemed keyed to Ley, a secretive person who also harbor a great drive to ...something. I wasn't sure how much having lost a father can contribute to her closed-off personality (mentioned and emphasized throughout), nor why the family would drift apart so drastically. Not that the situation cannot arise, but I wish the family dynamic is a LOT more fleshed out. As it stood, Kai rarely if ever sees Ley, they don't understand or disclose anything true of intimate to one another Yet Kai will drag herself and a bunch of people to try and first extricate Ley from law, then from the world altering plan Ley created with the dastardly Alethia Vane (who is so evil, like Cruella de Ville evil, casually shoving pedestrians off the sidewalk as she passed, for no reason except she wanted to. What is the reason for her being so evil?!). They just have that inexplicable and wondrous sibling bond I guess.
This is a women's story; or rather, a story peopled by women. No important character is male, apart from a secondary character who is transgender male yet had sufficient experience with of being a woman that he bore children, and another who modded himself as a giant crocodile or something. The delver crew of Zeddig, Rayment, Gal, and Ley back in the days when she was dating Zeddig, ended up being 2 homosexual pairs. The ponderingly slow but brutal police/villain was a woman who punch and break necks and fed people to be tortured by her Lord the giant star Squid.
Inventive as always. Despite all my tiny nits, recommended highly!