THE TRAITOR BARU CORMORANT - Seth Dickinson
The brutalities of empire are inextricable from its economics, and no one knows this better than Baru Cormorant. When the Empire of Masks colonizes her homeland Taranoke, she is declared a savant of the machinations of power, and is quickly swept up into its service. Determined to survive, whatever the cost, she decides that the best cover for her fierce resolve to destroy the Empire is to be a perfect student of its methods.
It works, in a way – she locks away the memory of her mother and fathers, as well as the secret of her own sexuality, and wins an assignment as an Imperial Accountant at an unusually young age. Now in charge of the finances of Aurdwynn, another imperial colony with its own, much longer history of oppression and rebellion, she quickly enmeshes herself in a game of politics, power, and money that will test every allegiance she has: to Taranoke, to the fragile and dangerous possibility of allies within Aurdwynn, and to what may yet remain of her own, true self.
Dickinson apparently pitched this book as Game of Thrones meets Guns, Germs, and Steel, and it delivers; it’s a brilliant mix of compelling court intrigue, heart-in-your-throat battles, and unflinching exploration of how money and power intersect in an extractive, capitalist economy. One of its greatest, uneasiest joys is just how satisfying it is to ride along in Baru’s head as she considers and reconsiders unsolvable puzzles of loyalty, truth, and freedom. Even as he wins her our sympathy, Dickinson never stops asking if victory for Baru, whether in the moment as she gathers power or the overarching triumph she hopes for in the end, is actually anything worth winning at all.
This book isn’t perfect – in some places I think how close Dickinson sticks to Baru’s perspective and her (necessarily) incomplete understanding of the world actually undermines some of the questions he’s asking. I’m also not sure I totally buy his attempt to mix historically accurate cultural & economic structures with fictional societies & languages intended to be completely unrooted from our reality.
That said, it is also just thrillingly written. I was consumed by this book, even when it edged a little closer to grimdark than I’m usually up for, and I both can’t wait and am slightly terrified to read whatever happens next.
P.S. One small note! After reading, I learned that when it was first published, there was a bunch of Discourse around some of the generally queerphobic elements in the book, specifically something about the ending that is so extremely a spoiler that I’m not going to go into more detail here (but am happy to chat about in comments if you’re curious). Just a note to say that if you’re trying to avoid fantasy homophobia in your reading, this is probably not the book for you (and I get it!) – however, for what it’s worth, I just want to say that I personally think Dickinson handles these elements with care, and that I found the impact of his narrative choices justified by the story he’s telling.