Thursday, March 15, 2018

Not what I expected, but I liked it, so that's good

Tremontaine: The Complete Season One (Tremontaine #1.1-1.13)Tremontaine: The Complete Season One by Ellen Kushner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It didn't end up being quite what I thought it would be, but I liked it.

I expected it to be almost entirely a novel of manners fantasy, something between Austen and Moorcock. Maybe a little Gormenghast. There was some of that, particularly whenever we were in Duchess Tremontaine's POV, but that happened much less than I expected, and the society aspect was muted outside of a single fancy dinner. Kaab and the traders, with their Mesoamerican-style culture, were interesting and refreshing, but the clash of cultures and POV characters from many different levels of society made it more like a traditional fantasy than I expected.

All good. I like traditional fantasy, too.

A key feature of this novel (multi-part, multi-author) is its inclusiveness. Its characters are LGBTQ-friendly and sex-positive, which works very well without becoming heavy-handed or overwhelming the rest of the plot. Also, my favorite character, Micah, is clearly autistic or somewhere near that on the spectrum, and the author(s) do a good job of making her realistic and sympathetic and an integral part of the plot.

This is an enjoyable read, and I am looking forward to finding the second in the series, and looking for other things by the main author.

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