/r/Fantasy Discussion Group discussion

This is where you can talk about the complete book, spoilers and all

Just finished the book. Loved it, even though the end gets me close to crying out in despair. What a ride.

☆☆☆☆☆ (5/5)

BEWARE, THERE BE SPOILERS BELOW

I enjoyed every second of the building intrigue, and when plans came to fruition... Let's just say I kept reading long after I'd planned to turn off the lights.

What pains me most is the betrayal (even though we knew it was coming). Baru burned every bridge behind her, ending with Tain Hu, which makes her utterly alone now. Losing half of her world is more than a physical malady, it's a very apt metaphor for her emotional state at the end of the book.

It's really a brilliant book.

*posting filler text so that followers who see I posted this hopefully won't see the spoilers below as long as they don't click to read the rest*

I was so hoping Tain Hu wouldn't die. Of course, it is realistic that an empire like the Masks would be able to find her, but after the trauma of everyone else dying cruelly I was holding out hope.

It was interesting that the Masks didn't want Tain Hu to die at all. In a way I suppose killing her was a mercy: 1) there was no telling what they'd do to her if they used her as a pawn to control Baru 2) Tain Hu was ready to die, probably in part because of everything she had lost at Baru's and the Mask's hands 3) she would have rather died than be the reason the Masks live on.

Either way, Tain Hu's honor and loyalty regardless of Baru's cold betrayal killed me. Plus the cruelty of Baru during the execution. It made me want to slap her. It's just such a bleak ending. Even if Baru does succeed in the end she'd have nowhere left to go to: her home island is completely changed, none of her connections/friends in Aurdwynn are alive anymore, and her life is pretty much a lie. She's pretending to take in the enemy's beliefs instead of truthfully fighting for her own like the Aurdwynn dukes and duchesses.

Thanks Sami!

I just finished this book and I'm not sure what I think of it yet. I think I need to let it sit in my head for a few days.

**spoilers** I read the UK version, The Traitor. 5 stars.

I just finished it and I was impressed. The author didn't go for complexity, but what he wrote was very good, I loved the details, the characters and the setting. He chose a flowing and straightforward style, and he wasn't shy about sharing Baru's thoughts, a particular choice for a tale hinged on intrigue but it truly panned out. I thought I knew it all but not quite ;)
I also liked the metaphor of Baru's malady as Simon pointed out, I think it's also a reference to the half masks worn by the Empire of Masks's officials.

I don't morally agree with Baru's choice (and I'm speaking more about the betrayal of a whole country that the single, personal betrayal of Tain Hu) of course, but if her objective is destroying the empire machine, I understand why she hasn't turned at the last moment, also detachment has become part of her. Bureaucrats and accountants can also be very dispassionate, not unlike people of violence.

I liked the many references to the real world, Baru's thoughts, the dialogues and the final battle.

What do you think about Purity Cartone? That's the piece of the puzzle which made me wonder the most, could it be that Baru is allowed to manoeuvre him without the cadre's knowledge? Mh!

@Alissa:
You're right, the situation with Purity is an odd one. It wouldn't surprise me if Baru never had complete control over him (even in the end). But then who would be most likely to be manoeuvring/monitoring Baru? Apparitor or Itinerant? By proxy of Xate Yawa, perhaps?

@Maryann:
Oh, there are more books incoming? For a second there I thought this was going to be a standalone book (with a semi-open ending). Glad to hear! Really excited to see what's going to become of Baru in the followup.

Simon wrote: "@Alissa:
You're right, the situation with Purity is an odd one. It wouldn't surprise me if Baru never had complete control over him (even in the end). But then who would be most likely to be manoeu..."

I would so love to find out! Cartone's subplot was the only one that jarred me, not because I disliked the character, far from it, but because of the apparent ease with which Baru could move him on the chessboard. Anyway, in the meantime, I've thought often about this book&story, I truly liked it!

That ending - good god! Holy cow! A lot of things. I thought this book was a bit flat through the middle, but the ending pulled things together so well that I couldn't help but bump this up in the ratings. My review is below:

https://totalinabilitytoconnect.wordp...

Just got around to picking this up and finished it very quickly. Wow. What a great book.

I'm not ashamed to admit that the twist completely got me, I didn't see it coming at all which in hindsight seems kind of dumb of me.

One of the better books I've read this year.

Josh wrote: "Just got around to picking this up and finished it very quickly. Wow. What a great book.

I'm not ashamed to admit that the twist completely got me, I didn't see it coming at all which in hindsight..."

Absolutely. It's my write-in vote for the 2015 awards :D

I finished this yesterday - very late. At first, I didn't like the book much and thought I was going to DNF it at 15%, as bored as I was. Then I took a break, came back to give it a chance and low and behold, I was hooked. I thought it was fantastic - one of my favourite fantasies of the year, for sure. Plus one of the bleakest I've read.

I found the twist confusing, if only because it seemed obvious from the beginning it was one (so I couldn't tell if it were a twist or not), although even then, during the main battle and such I completely forgot about it. Clever Dickinson, played a sleight of hand that pulled me away from Baru's true goals, and I ended up just as shocked the day after the battle and she betrays them all.

I got a little misty at the end there, I'm not ashamed to admit. It was just truly tragic, to see what Baru would do - what she thought she must do. I wonder how her family would have felt about it all. Although, on that note, the chant of the marines seemed so...cruel, I guess.

I think this might be my favourite use of swearing in a fantasy book. It was used sparingly, but in great effect, I felt.

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to the next book, to wrap this up.

I think that Baru's family would have been very upset about what she did. Before she left for Aurdwynn, they already weren't happy about her choices and her mother seemed to condemn the fact that she chose to join the Masks (according to Dickinson, her mother was part of an external rebellion on Taranoke much like Tain Hu was). Even worse for them would be the fact that she ordered the deaths of a family like hers (Nahauru and her two male lovers) and let her own lover Tain Hu die, which was practically the same thing that the Masks did to Father Salm. I hope that in a sequel we do get to see her parents again and how they would handle her actions.

Lulu wrote: "...one of my favourite fantasies of the year, for sure. Plus one of the bleakest I've read".

I quote you :) I liked it and it got me thinking. I still think about it, and considering it's the author's first full novel, it's truly impressive. I hope he'll write more about this world and that he'll go for a less linear narrative.

Joel wrote: "I thought this book was a bit flat through the middle, but the ending pulled things together so well that I couldn't help but bump this up in the ..."

Agreed. But I still can't help but feel like I didn't love it quite as much as everyone else. Still, very good. :)

I read this really late, but thought I'm going to comment anyway.

I was confused the entire time when Baru was doing her Traitor's Qualm joining the rebels spiel because I was like.. wait, I thought this was her test and then when I got to the end I was like oh. I did like some parts of this book, but a lot of it did strongly remind me of Deeds of Pak (can't spell) all that marching slog/military slog. Not that interesting. The inflation trick was interesting but that's the only genius part of her plotting.

I want to rate it a 2 (per goodreads it's ok) but it's ok in my book is a 3 so I did that. I didn't think Baru was that good of a character, didn't feel quite real other than a prop/figurehead. The only part that I felt for her was during Murie Lo death, even Tain Hu I was like.. you're not sorry.

It was written pretty well, but again I had problem with names, I even forgot what Taranoke was 3/4 into the book and the fact it got renamed souward (I figured out a couple pages later but yeah a lot of names).