The Traitor Baru Cormorant

by Seth Dickinson

paperback, 400 pages

Published Nov. 28, 2016 by Tor Books.

ISBN:: 978-0-7653-8073-9

(3 reviews)

Tomorrow, on the beach, Baru Cormorant will look up from the sand of her home and see red sails on the horizon.

The Empire of Masks is coming, armed with coin and ink, doctrine and compass, soap and lies. They'll conquer Baru’s island, rewrite her culture, criminalize her customs, and dispose of one of her fathers. But Baru is patient. She'll swallow her hate, prove her talent, and join the Masquerade. She will learn the secrets of empire. She’ll be exactly what they need. And she'll claw her way high enough up the rungs of power to set her people free.

In a final test of her loyalty, the Masquerade will send Baru to bring order to distant Aurdwynn, a snakepit of rebels, informants, and seditious dukes. Aurdwynn kills everyone who tries to rule it. To survive, Baru will need to untangle this land’s intricate web of treachery - and …

Tomorrow, on the beach, Baru Cormorant will look up from the sand of her home and see red sails on the horizon.

But Baru is a savant in games of power, as ruthless in her tactics as she is fixated on her goals. In the calculus of her schemes, all ledgers must be balanced, and the price of liberation paid in full.

2 editions

Abstract Reader reviewed The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson (The Masquerade, #1)

The ending makes it worth it

4 stars

The first ~50% of this book are rather trite: A typical oppressive empire and a clever, ambitious colonial subject that wants to change it. The second half, the organization of a revolution in a feudal state and the political maneuvering involved, is a lot more fun, but would've only been a 3/5. The ending, however, changes how you view much of the preceding story and expressions and elevates the whole book. No 5/5 because the reading experience of much of this book is still only mediocre.

Darius Kazemi reviewed The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson (The Masquerade, #1)

Didn't want to put it down

5 stars

Wow this was one of those "can't put it down" books for me. It's hard to review without spoiling but basically it is a fantasy novel with extremely interesting and incisive things to say about how imperialism works. Most of the action takes place in a federation of dukedoms that is currently being occupied by a big bad Empire. When I looked at the map at the beginning of the book I thought "there is no way I am ever going to remember who these dozen different dukes are and where they sit politically" but by the end of it I was like "oh my god I can't believe Duke So-and-so decided to ally with Duke Whats-her-face! That will have horrific ramifications for petit bourgeois craftspeople!"

Anyway this is one of the best books I've read in years. The human drama is really gripping and it also has left me …

Anyway this is one of the best books I've read in years. The human drama is really gripping and it also has left me chewing on all sorts of thoughts about human nature, politics, and economics.

cblgh@bookwyrm.social

rated it

Sept. 16, 2021