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A review by annamickreads
The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson
4.0
4.5
this book really hits you like a mac truck and keeps going. someone else has described it as "subtly brutal" and that's so accurate when i saw that phrase i knew i needed to share it (thank you, user Nataliya). this book actively refuses to shy away from the horrors of colonialism, imperialism, and everything that goes along with that - eugenics, homophobia, all of it. i had to keep taking breaks to read because you want to absorb all the political machinations while also processing everything Baru is going through, because Seth Dickinson doesn't coddle his protagonist in the slightest. major content warnings for things like homophobia, sexism, racism, implied sexual assault, torture, murder, death, genital mutilation, conditioning, forced reproduction...all of the things you'd associate with colonialism and more.
in brief summary: our protagonist, Baru Cormorant, has her island country colonized by an empire known as the Masquerade when she is young. almost immediately, the Masquerade begins creating schools, monopolizing the trade, conditioning the children that live on the island to think and learn like them. Baru is personally stewarded by a colonizer disguised as a merchant in the village, who sees her potential (Baru is an exceptionally bright student especially at math) and propels her into a high position of accountant in a different country when she graduates school. the country, Aurdwynn, is one the Masquerade has attempted to fully colonize for many years, but due to infighting and rebellion within the various duchies, they have been unsuccessful. thus, it's up to Baru to help regain order for the Empire .... or fan the flames of her personal agenda.
there is so much to love about this book and i was frankly impressed with Dickinson's thoughtful and nuanced crafting of the world. Baru is an accountant, so on a political field we see exactly how an economy shapes an empire's power (and also, its downfall), as opposed to brute force like many fantasies tend to focus on with knights and warriors. Baru is constantly striving to break a system that arguably cannot be broken by one person, and her ruthlessness/ambition has put other readers off, but personally she reminded me of Fang Runin from "The Poppy War" in some ways, so if you liked that book, you'll probably enjoy this one!
the empire in this book is also shaped specifically by anti-queer eugenics, so a lot of this book was also exploring the way queerness is policed and regulated. the Masquerade weaponizes things like shape and structure of one's family to grind down other cultures and countries. people who do not conform are "conditioned" in horrible, inhumane ways.
this is a book about power and the horrible ways people will bend themselves to get it. Baru learns from an early age that in order to gain power she'd need to rise through the ranks of the enemy to gain what she wants, so there's never any doubts as to where the book is going - Baru is always meant to be the villain. however, the question remains; do the ends really justify the means?
this book really hits you like a mac truck and keeps going. someone else has described it as "subtly brutal" and that's so accurate when i saw that phrase i knew i needed to share it (thank you, user Nataliya). this book actively refuses to shy away from the horrors of colonialism, imperialism, and everything that goes along with that - eugenics, homophobia, all of it. i had to keep taking breaks to read because you want to absorb all the political machinations while also processing everything Baru is going through, because Seth Dickinson doesn't coddle his protagonist in the slightest. major content warnings for things like homophobia, sexism, racism, implied sexual assault, torture, murder, death, genital mutilation, conditioning, forced reproduction...all of the things you'd associate with colonialism and more.
in brief summary: our protagonist, Baru Cormorant, has her island country colonized by an empire known as the Masquerade when she is young. almost immediately, the Masquerade begins creating schools, monopolizing the trade, conditioning the children that live on the island to think and learn like them. Baru is personally stewarded by a colonizer disguised as a merchant in the village, who sees her potential (Baru is an exceptionally bright student especially at math) and propels her into a high position of accountant in a different country when she graduates school. the country, Aurdwynn, is one the Masquerade has attempted to fully colonize for many years, but due to infighting and rebellion within the various duchies, they have been unsuccessful. thus, it's up to Baru to help regain order for the Empire .... or fan the flames of her personal agenda.
there is so much to love about this book and i was frankly impressed with Dickinson's thoughtful and nuanced crafting of the world. Baru is an accountant, so on a political field we see exactly how an economy shapes an empire's power (and also, its downfall), as opposed to brute force like many fantasies tend to focus on with knights and warriors. Baru is constantly striving to break a system that arguably cannot be broken by one person, and her ruthlessness/ambition has put other readers off, but personally she reminded me of Fang Runin from "The Poppy War" in some ways, so if you liked that book, you'll probably enjoy this one!
the empire in this book is also shaped specifically by anti-queer eugenics, so a lot of this book was also exploring the way queerness is policed and regulated. the Masquerade weaponizes things like shape and structure of one's family to grind down other cultures and countries. people who do not conform are "conditioned" in horrible, inhumane ways.
this is a book about power and the horrible ways people will bend themselves to get it. Baru learns from an early age that in order to gain power she'd need to rise through the ranks of the enemy to gain what she wants, so there's never any doubts as to where the book is going - Baru is always meant to be the villain. however, the question remains; do the ends really justify the means?