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Promethean Age #1
Blood and Iron
Spellbound by the Faerie Queen, the woman known as Seeker has abducted human children for her mistress's pleasure for nearly an eternity, unable to free herself from her servitude and reclaim her own humanity.
Seeker's latest prey is a Merlin. Named after the legendary wizard of Camelot, Merlins are not simply those who wield magic, they are magic. Now, with rival mages also vying for the favor of this being of limitless magic to tip the balance of power, Seeker must persuade the Merlin to join her cause-or else risk losing something even more precious to her than the fate of humankind.
Seeker's latest prey is a Merlin. Named after the legendary wizard of Camelot, Merlins are not simply those who wield magic, they are magic. Now, with rival mages also vying for the favor of this being of limitless magic to tip the balance of power, Seeker must persuade the Merlin to join her cause-or else risk losing something even more precious to her than the fate of humankind.
430 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 27, 2006
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Elizabeth Bear
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 174 reviews
April 13, 2009
I couldn't get involved. Too much backstory. Too many competing mythologies. Fae, werewolves, Arthurian legend, talking trees, oblique references to events and people I couldn't keep straight.
The problem might be in me.
The problem might be in me.
October 7, 2008
The one where Seeker is a half-fae compelled by some sort of blackmail to serve the Queen of Faerie, who takes her off the task of kidnapping mortals and sends her to bind this generation's Merlin.
I did not like this book.
The author has packed into it every bit of British Isles mythology she can think of plus some she just made up. (Werewolves who change whenever they like, except at the new moon?) Two hundred and fifty pages in, she was still introducing new rules, so that I was forever having to reconsider the conditions I thought the characters were working under.
I found Seeker a desperately unsympathetic character. I don't, to begin with, understand what compels her to work for the queen. We don't ever actually see her do anything appalling (the only mortal she kidnaps is one who seems to be very happy to go to Faerie), but we're given to understand that she does steal infants and that she finds it morally repellent, so why keep doing it? I thought at first that the queen bound her there by a threat to her son, but there's her son, a youth and quite ready to take care of himself; also, I'm not so moved by the condition of motherhood that I have a lot of sympathy for someone who protects her own child by stealing the children of others.
And Keith -- she says she still loves him, so what's the great tragedy about marrying him? I got terribly tired of her poignant, poignant pain. I can accept somebody becoming ruthless, but don't whine so much.
The Promethean mages are interesting, but we don't see very much of them. The Merlin is hot but likewise underutilized. Keith is really seriously boring.
I kept reading for two reasons: Morgan le Fey and the kelpie. Well, and because I really want to read Ink and Steel and I didn't want to lack background information.
I did not like this book.
The author has packed into it every bit of British Isles mythology she can think of plus some she just made up. (Werewolves who change whenever they like, except at the new moon?) Two hundred and fifty pages in, she was still introducing new rules, so that I was forever having to reconsider the conditions I thought the characters were working under.
I found Seeker a desperately unsympathetic character. I don't, to begin with, understand what compels her to work for the queen. We don't ever actually see her do anything appalling (the only mortal she kidnaps is one who seems to be very happy to go to Faerie), but we're given to understand that she does steal infants and that she finds it morally repellent, so why keep doing it? I thought at first that the queen bound her there by a threat to her son, but there's her son, a youth and quite ready to take care of himself; also, I'm not so moved by the condition of motherhood that I have a lot of sympathy for someone who protects her own child by stealing the children of others.
And Keith -- she says she still loves him, so what's the great tragedy about marrying him? I got terribly tired of her poignant, poignant pain. I can accept somebody becoming ruthless, but don't whine so much.
The Promethean mages are interesting, but we don't see very much of them. The Merlin is hot but likewise underutilized. Keith is really seriously boring.
I kept reading for two reasons: Morgan le Fey and the kelpie. Well, and because I really want to read Ink and Steel and I didn't want to lack background information.
March 1, 2010
A frustrating book which could've been better than it was, I think.
The overall story is the type of thing I enjoy - magic vs. science, ancient vs. modern, with a sort of complex morality where both sides are right, and both sides are wrong, and you sort of like them and hate them equally. Well, not quite equally as, despite everything, I did side with Faerie because, as the Merlin said, a greenhouse is not a garden, and a garden is not a jungle, and I like a bit of wildness, me.
But the characters were distant and hard to follow. Their motivations were oftentimes confusing and I couldn't quite figure out why they were doing what they were doing. Of course, sometimes, I don't think they did, either. There are some books which fail to get you to relate to the character because there is too little information given on how the person is feeling, and what they are thinking. There are other books which seem to give you too much. This is one of the latter. It got quite repetitive and tedious, actually.
But, really, the main problem is that Bear seemed to try to cram in every version of Celtic and British mythology that ever existed, starting with the Tuatha de Danaan (an Irish notion), including the Seelie and Unseelie courts (Scottish), growing straight through Arthurian legend, co-mingling Shakespeare (both British), and then modernizing everything into this huge hodge podge of every damn thing under the sun, throwing in some 'werewolves', a bit of the old battle between Heaven and Hell (related to faerie through the seven-year tithe to Hell, though that was changed a lot since I always read that the tithe was a blood tithe and that, usually, they sent a mortal to fulfill it, not one of their own - but a necessary change for plot reasons), and then throwing in different magical systems to keep track of on top of it. (Maybe I'm just biased because I'm not a fan of the Arthurian stuff, or the teind tho I did like how Morgan was depicted, even if I was annoyed at the conflation with Morgan le Fay and the Morrighan. I had to keep telling myself this was a fictional story and not a treatise on the myths.) And, like someone else said, why should Celtic mythology rule the whole world? Except there were also Russian faeries in Faerie, but how come no, say, First Nation spirits, since the modern part of the story is in New York?)
Oh, and I know you can't blame Bear for the names, but when using names in Gaelic which are unpronounceable to English-speakers who don't know the rules of Gaelic, it might help to have some sort of table or something.
Not that that's entirely relevant, but, anyway...
As for characters, Whiskey was, by far, the best character and I truly felt for him. I sort of liked reading about Keith and the pack, though I grew tired of his constant vascillation. I liked the Merlin, too, though she was so important in the first third of the book, and then sort of just got shunted to the sidelines one she chose her side.
But I think the biggest thing that kept me distanced from the book was just the writing. At times it was hard to follow and jumpy. Something would happen sort of out of the blue, and I would flip back to see if I skipped a page or skimmed a paragraph by mistake. This seemed to happen a lot where I would sort of just start the skim. I didn't mean to - I'm not really a skimming type of reader. But the language was just laid on so thick in places. I mean, some of the metaphors were so overwrought. To paraphrase one example (since I don't have my book in front of me): 'His voice was like velvet brushing up her arm, but also cut like a razors edge of cold rain.' Or some such nonsense. At the start of the book I found the metaphors truly distracting. They did become less so as I progressed, but I don't know if that's because there were less of them, they got better, or just because I didn't pay as close attention.
**ETA - another thing that was a bit odd - we mostly follow three perspectives - Seeker/Elaine's, Keith's and Matthew's, and these are told in third person. That's fine. But then, at one point, Elaine's perspective switches from third person to first person for no real reason whatsoever. I mean, even in third person, we're told her inner thoughts and workings, so it's not like we get a more personal perspective by switching to first. It just sort of happens and for a second I was like "wait, was her part always in first person? *flip back* No, no it wasn't... it just changed. Ok - why? Wtf?"
Anyway...
Back to the jumpiness - at first I assumed this was a plot device. The characters didn't really know what was going on, so I figured it was a way to draw out the suspence. But then things started coming together, and people would be sitting around talking, sort of being expositiony, and they would have an eureka moment, and I would be left sitting there go "what the hell just happened?" I mean, I know that Faerie is all about riddles and puzzles and things, but this book seemed far too ponderous and hard to follow at times, for what amounted to, really, much ado about not that much because, at the end of the day, it wasn't really all that difficult. Sort of like she wrote it in a way to be befuddling because she knew that it was really rather straight-forward, but she wanted it to seem more layered than it was.
Then again, I suppose that, too, is very fey - all smoke and mirrors, tricks and illusions...
I haven't decided if I'll continue with the series. I am curious as to what happens. Does Keith return? Does Whiskey get released? I wasn't really satisfied with how this book ended, and I would like a more complete and, dare I say, happy-ish resolution, but being that none of these things are guaranteed, I'm not sure I want to get through the overly dense writing without knowing if the pay-out will be worth it. Decisions, decisions... *le sigh*
The overall story is the type of thing I enjoy - magic vs. science, ancient vs. modern, with a sort of complex morality where both sides are right, and both sides are wrong, and you sort of like them and hate them equally. Well, not quite equally as, despite everything, I did side with Faerie because, as the Merlin said, a greenhouse is not a garden, and a garden is not a jungle, and I like a bit of wildness, me.
But the characters were distant and hard to follow. Their motivations were oftentimes confusing and I couldn't quite figure out why they were doing what they were doing. Of course, sometimes, I don't think they did, either. There are some books which fail to get you to relate to the character because there is too little information given on how the person is feeling, and what they are thinking. There are other books which seem to give you too much. This is one of the latter. It got quite repetitive and tedious, actually.
But, really, the main problem is that Bear seemed to try to cram in every version of Celtic and British mythology that ever existed, starting with the Tuatha de Danaan (an Irish notion), including the Seelie and Unseelie courts (Scottish), growing straight through Arthurian legend, co-mingling Shakespeare (both British), and then modernizing everything into this huge hodge podge of every damn thing under the sun, throwing in some 'werewolves', a bit of the old battle between Heaven and Hell (related to faerie through the seven-year tithe to Hell, though that was changed a lot since I always read that the tithe was a blood tithe and that, usually, they sent a mortal to fulfill it, not one of their own - but a necessary change for plot reasons), and then throwing in different magical systems to keep track of on top of it. (Maybe I'm just biased because I'm not a fan of the Arthurian stuff, or the teind tho I did like how Morgan was depicted, even if I was annoyed at the conflation with Morgan le Fay and the Morrighan. I had to keep telling myself this was a fictional story and not a treatise on the myths.) And, like someone else said, why should Celtic mythology rule the whole world? Except there were also Russian faeries in Faerie, but how come no, say, First Nation spirits, since the modern part of the story is in New York?)
Oh, and I know you can't blame Bear for the names, but when using names in Gaelic which are unpronounceable to English-speakers who don't know the rules of Gaelic, it might help to have some sort of table or something.
Not that that's entirely relevant, but, anyway...
As for characters, Whiskey was, by far, the best character and I truly felt for him. I sort of liked reading about Keith and the pack, though I grew tired of his constant vascillation. I liked the Merlin, too, though she was so important in the first third of the book, and then sort of just got shunted to the sidelines one she chose her side.
But I think the biggest thing that kept me distanced from the book was just the writing. At times it was hard to follow and jumpy. Something would happen sort of out of the blue, and I would flip back to see if I skipped a page or skimmed a paragraph by mistake. This seemed to happen a lot where I would sort of just start the skim. I didn't mean to - I'm not really a skimming type of reader. But the language was just laid on so thick in places. I mean, some of the metaphors were so overwrought. To paraphrase one example (since I don't have my book in front of me): 'His voice was like velvet brushing up her arm, but also cut like a razors edge of cold rain.' Or some such nonsense. At the start of the book I found the metaphors truly distracting. They did become less so as I progressed, but I don't know if that's because there were less of them, they got better, or just because I didn't pay as close attention.
**ETA - another thing that was a bit odd - we mostly follow three perspectives - Seeker/Elaine's, Keith's and Matthew's, and these are told in third person. That's fine. But then, at one point, Elaine's perspective switches from third person to first person for no real reason whatsoever. I mean, even in third person, we're told her inner thoughts and workings, so it's not like we get a more personal perspective by switching to first. It just sort of happens and for a second I was like "wait, was her part always in first person? *flip back* No, no it wasn't... it just changed. Ok - why? Wtf?"
Anyway...
Back to the jumpiness - at first I assumed this was a plot device. The characters didn't really know what was going on, so I figured it was a way to draw out the suspence. But then things started coming together, and people would be sitting around talking, sort of being expositiony, and they would have an eureka moment, and I would be left sitting there go "what the hell just happened?" I mean, I know that Faerie is all about riddles and puzzles and things, but this book seemed far too ponderous and hard to follow at times, for what amounted to, really, much ado about not that much because, at the end of the day, it wasn't really all that difficult. Sort of like she wrote it in a way to be befuddling because she knew that it was really rather straight-forward, but she wanted it to seem more layered than it was.
Then again, I suppose that, too, is very fey - all smoke and mirrors, tricks and illusions...
I haven't decided if I'll continue with the series. I am curious as to what happens. Does Keith return? Does Whiskey get released? I wasn't really satisfied with how this book ended, and I would like a more complete and, dare I say, happy-ish resolution, but being that none of these things are guaranteed, I'm not sure I want to get through the overly dense writing without knowing if the pay-out will be worth it. Decisions, decisions... *le sigh*
January 8, 2009
It's always delightful discovering another author in one's favourite genre whose entire oeuvre you want to read after finishing just one book.
Blood and Iron begins in media res, with an agent of Faerie--the Seeker of the Daoine Sidhe--and an agent of humanity--the Promethean Club's Matthew Szczegielniak--chasing the same quarry: a faerie changeling. After introducing us to these two main characters, the book pulls back in scope and reveals the centuries-old conflict between Faerie and the Promethean Club over the fate of the mortal world.
I say "main characters" because it's hard to tell who the "good guys" are in this book. There are times when I hated Matthew and times when I hated the Seeker. I praise Elizabeth Bear for her ability to establish such moral ambiguity. Although she addresses rather tired motifs for fantasy, such as the decline of "old gods" and their replacement with a "new era" (i.e., the death of Faerie and the rise of the mortal world), Bear employs the motif effectively and turns it into a compelling theme.
In addition to her ability to create complex characters, Bear's got a nice ear for dialogue. None of it feels stilted, even the formal tones of the faeries. Unfortunately, much of the dialogue feels like filler, and there are times when I don't entirely understand what's going on. And that brings me to...
...the mythology of Blood and Iron. Bear draws from a global coffer of sources, notably Arthurian legend and faerie tales. She integrates them well, for the most part, but it can become a cacophony of mythology at times. It isn't the synthesis of these myths that irks me so much as how Bear uses it, however.
Just when I thought I had the rules of Blood and Iron figured out, Bear would introduce another element that caused my understanding to vanish. This was not a pleasant feeling. For example, take the antagonist, the Dragon. The Dragon is shrouded in mysticism, and the main characters bow to a complex set of rules and requirements involving her. Any time a character speaks about these rules, the reasoning is cryptic and never straightforward. Even with some human (or at least part human) characters sharing their thoughts with me, I never achieved the same level of comfort I felt with, say, the rules of the Faerie Court in Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files series.
The ending of the story was anticlimactic. I won't reveal too much, other than that the climax occurs during an epic battle, but this doesn't affect the main characters all that much. The Merlin, who is an important figure in the middle third of the book, is marginalized and shunted off to the side.
While I'm very critical of the book in this review, I did enjoy its premise, if not the execution. That's why I'll read more of Bear's work, particularly this series. Bear's a talented writer with extremely creative ideas--I'm intrigued by what I've read about subsequent books in this series (such as Ink and Steel), but I want to read them in order. Hopefully her use of mythology (or at least my comprehension of that use) will improve, allowing me fully immerse myself in the world of her Promethean Age rather than simply being a spectator.
Blood and Iron begins in media res, with an agent of Faerie--the Seeker of the Daoine Sidhe--and an agent of humanity--the Promethean Club's Matthew Szczegielniak--chasing the same quarry: a faerie changeling. After introducing us to these two main characters, the book pulls back in scope and reveals the centuries-old conflict between Faerie and the Promethean Club over the fate of the mortal world.
I say "main characters" because it's hard to tell who the "good guys" are in this book. There are times when I hated Matthew and times when I hated the Seeker. I praise Elizabeth Bear for her ability to establish such moral ambiguity. Although she addresses rather tired motifs for fantasy, such as the decline of "old gods" and their replacement with a "new era" (i.e., the death of Faerie and the rise of the mortal world), Bear employs the motif effectively and turns it into a compelling theme.
In addition to her ability to create complex characters, Bear's got a nice ear for dialogue. None of it feels stilted, even the formal tones of the faeries. Unfortunately, much of the dialogue feels like filler, and there are times when I don't entirely understand what's going on. And that brings me to...
...the mythology of Blood and Iron. Bear draws from a global coffer of sources, notably Arthurian legend and faerie tales. She integrates them well, for the most part, but it can become a cacophony of mythology at times. It isn't the synthesis of these myths that irks me so much as how Bear uses it, however.
Just when I thought I had the rules of Blood and Iron figured out, Bear would introduce another element that caused my understanding to vanish. This was not a pleasant feeling. For example, take the antagonist, the Dragon. The Dragon is shrouded in mysticism, and the main characters bow to a complex set of rules and requirements involving her. Any time a character speaks about these rules, the reasoning is cryptic and never straightforward. Even with some human (or at least part human) characters sharing their thoughts with me, I never achieved the same level of comfort I felt with, say, the rules of the Faerie Court in Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files series.
The ending of the story was anticlimactic. I won't reveal too much, other than that the climax occurs during an epic battle, but this doesn't affect the main characters all that much. The Merlin, who is an important figure in the middle third of the book, is marginalized and shunted off to the side.
While I'm very critical of the book in this review, I did enjoy its premise, if not the execution. That's why I'll read more of Bear's work, particularly this series. Bear's a talented writer with extremely creative ideas--I'm intrigued by what I've read about subsequent books in this series (such as Ink and Steel), but I want to read them in order. Hopefully her use of mythology (or at least my comprehension of that use) will improve, allowing me fully immerse myself in the world of her Promethean Age rather than simply being a spectator.
October 29, 2008
Genre: fantasy, possibly epic fantasy and arguably urban fantasy, but mostly it's fantisy with fairies.
Half-way though the novel I was still unsure what the book is gonna do plot-wise... however, the characters and their evolving interactions are fascinating. It was described to me as "magic and fairie in modern New York" but it's rather more like Fairie with a dash of modern for relief. It really catches the feel of a court of immortals - the interpersonal histories go back a long, long time and only slowly get revealed/mentioned. It was a bit hard to get into 'cause the cast of characters is huge, and point-of-view is shifting all the time, and the motivations/possible motivations are constantly evolving - or more accurately more information is revealed that makes you re-interpret past events. The main character is the Seeker for the Seelie court. She's a half-human/half-fae who is owned by Queen Mabd, and her job is to steal children with fairie blood. She's not very fond of her job, but she has a geas and therefore has no choice.
Other pivotal characters: Whisky, a Kelpie who the Seeker binds to serve her (by knowing his true name) at the beginning of the book - he's a bit like Spike from the Buffy series - a witty, dark-edged seducer. Kevin, a werewolf who's also the father of the Seeker's son, and who betrayed her to the fairies in the first place. Michael, a human mage who opposes the Fae and whose job is to protect human children from the Seeker. Carel, the first female Merlin to appear, and who all factions want on their side. And lots more...
I wish I could give this book 6 stars instead of just 5. Wow. I have no idea where Bear is going to take the series after this book, but I'm longing to find out!
Half-way though the novel I was still unsure what the book is gonna do plot-wise... however, the characters and their evolving interactions are fascinating. It was described to me as "magic and fairie in modern New York" but it's rather more like Fairie with a dash of modern for relief. It really catches the feel of a court of immortals - the interpersonal histories go back a long, long time and only slowly get revealed/mentioned. It was a bit hard to get into 'cause the cast of characters is huge, and point-of-view is shifting all the time, and the motivations/possible motivations are constantly evolving - or more accurately more information is revealed that makes you re-interpret past events. The main character is the Seeker for the Seelie court. She's a half-human/half-fae who is owned by Queen Mabd, and her job is to steal children with fairie blood. She's not very fond of her job, but she has a geas and therefore has no choice.
Other pivotal characters: Whisky, a Kelpie who the Seeker binds to serve her (by knowing his true name) at the beginning of the book - he's a bit like Spike from the Buffy series - a witty, dark-edged seducer. Kevin, a werewolf who's also the father of the Seeker's son, and who betrayed her to the fairies in the first place. Michael, a human mage who opposes the Fae and whose job is to protect human children from the Seeker. Carel, the first female Merlin to appear, and who all factions want on their side. And lots more...
I wish I could give this book 6 stars instead of just 5. Wow. I have no idea where Bear is going to take the series after this book, but I'm longing to find out!
February 12, 2010
I might go back to this book; I don't know. I reached page 196 and realized I didn't care about any of the characters. I wasn't even curious about them. Bear's idea is good, but it seems, as several other reviews have pointed out, that she is throwing every single myth or legend motif into the mix, and it doesn't quite work. In some ways, it feels like she is going down a list. Okay, I mentioned a kelpie, now I need to mention Arthur, and so on. Her twist on Merlin was cool, but even that character feel a little flat. Additionally, strangely enough, there was no real sense of place. There was no real difference in feel from Scotland, New York, and the realm of Faerie. Whether or not this was intentional, I don't know, but it didn't work. In short, Faerie seems like nothing more than abstract castle. There is no real sense of setting.
She uses werewolves and pack structure, but it feels more like a bad plot device than anything else. There is no clear sense of magical rules, and while she explains, to a degree, why Seeker serves (she is bound), there is not enough there to explain Seeker's behavior. Additionally, the love Keith has for the Seeker doesn't seem real.
She uses werewolves and pack structure, but it feels more like a bad plot device than anything else. There is no clear sense of magical rules, and while she explains, to a degree, why Seeker serves (she is bound), there is not enough there to explain Seeker's behavior. Additionally, the love Keith has for the Seeker doesn't seem real.
May 22, 2009
Artifice=high. Heart=low. Too many impossible things before breakfast.
December 28, 2008
The powers of faerie are fighting a losing war with the iron powers of humans. This generation’s Merlin has been found, and both the faerie Seeker and mage Matthew of the human Prometheus Club must try to win her loyalty for their side. But this time it’s more than just the Merlin – a dragon prince is coming, a man in the mold of Arthur and Vlad Dracula, who will pay the mother dragon in blood as he is destined to do.
This is a really excellent book. It divides its time between the eerie realms of faerie and the sometimes eerier glitter of New York, and manages to underpin them both with the same old old stories. The writing is a pleasure in and of itself – poised and precise, but also rich and simultaneously quirky.
“We’re fucked,” Seeker confirmed. “Welcome to fairy tales. Have a nice day. Canapé?”
And it is soothing to this chafed and tired reader to see the variously queer and colored characters going about their business (though really, it all seems much smaller when you’re dealing with different species, which I suppose is part of the point). And it’s all wrapped around a core of those same old stories, so that Arthur and Morgan and many of the rest are both legends and breathing people, and so that the misty present is layered cross-wise over the bloody past. Because all the really good stories are just retelling themselves off the old pattern, you know, and the really interesting thing is to see how this particular set of poor bastards protagonists rework it in their own image.
I have complaints (I wouldn’t be me, otherwise) and they’re of the particularly plaintive sort when you really like the book and wish it hadn’t made you flinch and twitch here and there. Firstly, some of the layering was irritatingly obscure, and I say that as someone who is very comfortable and conversant in the relevant myths. The . . . top story, I suppose you could call it, does operate well on its own, but I was distracted and frustrated by chasing down allusions sometimes. The book could have been way more accessible without sacrificing an iota of grace or atmosphere.
Second, though I enjoyed the writing, it slipped occasionally into painful self-consciousness. See the line quoted above in context, actually. Not frequently, and not agonizingly, but it sort of shouts at you from prose otherwise so smooth and effortless.
And lastly, this idea of faerie as the reality arising from stories constantly retold could have been far more developed, for my sensibilities. I kept looking for it in the major seams of the story, and then catching a glimpse of it as a bit of edge trimming. There were other themes that I appreciated, but this one kept tugging at me and telling me that it was important, and then not being important.
Perhaps in another book. Which apparently there will be. The prospect delights me, I’m happy to say.
Complex, thoughtful, well-peopled, strange. Oh, and happily recommended.
This is a really excellent book. It divides its time between the eerie realms of faerie and the sometimes eerier glitter of New York, and manages to underpin them both with the same old old stories. The writing is a pleasure in and of itself – poised and precise, but also rich and simultaneously quirky.
“We’re fucked,” Seeker confirmed. “Welcome to fairy tales. Have a nice day. Canapé?”
And it is soothing to this chafed and tired reader to see the variously queer and colored characters going about their business (though really, it all seems much smaller when you’re dealing with different species, which I suppose is part of the point). And it’s all wrapped around a core of those same old stories, so that Arthur and Morgan and many of the rest are both legends and breathing people, and so that the misty present is layered cross-wise over the bloody past. Because all the really good stories are just retelling themselves off the old pattern, you know, and the really interesting thing is to see how this particular set of poor bastards protagonists rework it in their own image.
I have complaints (I wouldn’t be me, otherwise) and they’re of the particularly plaintive sort when you really like the book and wish it hadn’t made you flinch and twitch here and there. Firstly, some of the layering was irritatingly obscure, and I say that as someone who is very comfortable and conversant in the relevant myths. The . . . top story, I suppose you could call it, does operate well on its own, but I was distracted and frustrated by chasing down allusions sometimes. The book could have been way more accessible without sacrificing an iota of grace or atmosphere.
Second, though I enjoyed the writing, it slipped occasionally into painful self-consciousness. See the line quoted above in context, actually. Not frequently, and not agonizingly, but it sort of shouts at you from prose otherwise so smooth and effortless.
And lastly, this idea of faerie as the reality arising from stories constantly retold could have been far more developed, for my sensibilities. I kept looking for it in the major seams of the story, and then catching a glimpse of it as a bit of edge trimming. There were other themes that I appreciated, but this one kept tugging at me and telling me that it was important, and then not being important.
Perhaps in another book. Which apparently there will be. The prospect delights me, I’m happy to say.
Complex, thoughtful, well-peopled, strange. Oh, and happily recommended.
June 9, 2010
This was my first book by Elizabeth Bear. It is intended to be the first book in (I quote from Bear's website) "a sprawling same-world fantasy cycle beginning in Summer 2006 with Blood & Iron, followed in 2007 by Whiskey & Water. These books deal with the five-century-old silent war between Faerie and the iron world, and the lives altered and destroyed on either side."
I really wanted to like this book a lot, but I found it hard to get into. It was very similar, I thought, to many other books that deal with the interaction of Faerie with modern-day American life. I was reminded at many points, strongly, of Charles DeLint, and at a few points of Laurell Hamilton (no explicit sex, though, just soap-opera-esque choosing between lovers).
Basically, our protagonist, Elaine, is the Seeker of the Seelie court. It's her job to track down part-Fae in the human world, and to bring them back to Annwyn. She's got a complicated thing going on with her ex- (and father of her child), who happens to be a werewolf. She's also got a Sidhe water-horse called Whiskey bound to her, who keeps trying to seduce her. Meanwhile, a coven of human mages is trying to cut the human world off from Faerie permantly, possibly destroying it completely in the process. But there're also alliances and conflicts to consider with Hell, Heaven, the Unseelie Court, the Merlin (not who you'd expect), Arthur (who you'd expect), the Dragon of Britain, Medb (the Faerie Queen), the werewolf pack, Morgan le Fay, talking trees (a sly homage to Tolkien in there), and lots more.
Possibly too much more. I felt that the book lost focus, because it started out seeming like it was going to mostly be about the Merlin and her loyalites/decisions, but she wound up being only a small part of what eventually happened. There were too many complex characters and relationships jammed in, without time to really get to know many of the characters - althought I have to say that I did really like both Whiskey and the Merlin.
I also really liked Bear's take on the veracity of mythology... "yes, it was true, now.
I really wanted to like this book a lot, but I found it hard to get into. It was very similar, I thought, to many other books that deal with the interaction of Faerie with modern-day American life. I was reminded at many points, strongly, of Charles DeLint, and at a few points of Laurell Hamilton (no explicit sex, though, just soap-opera-esque choosing between lovers).
Basically, our protagonist, Elaine, is the Seeker of the Seelie court. It's her job to track down part-Fae in the human world, and to bring them back to Annwyn. She's got a complicated thing going on with her ex- (and father of her child), who happens to be a werewolf. She's also got a Sidhe water-horse called Whiskey bound to her, who keeps trying to seduce her. Meanwhile, a coven of human mages is trying to cut the human world off from Faerie permantly, possibly destroying it completely in the process. But there're also alliances and conflicts to consider with Hell, Heaven, the Unseelie Court, the Merlin (not who you'd expect), Arthur (who you'd expect), the Dragon of Britain, Medb (the Faerie Queen), the werewolf pack, Morgan le Fay, talking trees (a sly homage to Tolkien in there), and lots more.
Possibly too much more. I felt that the book lost focus, because it started out seeming like it was going to mostly be about the Merlin and her loyalites/decisions, but she wound up being only a small part of what eventually happened. There were too many complex characters and relationships jammed in, without time to really get to know many of the characters - althought I have to say that I did really like both Whiskey and the Merlin.
I also really liked Bear's take on the veracity of mythology... "yes, it was true, now.
January 12, 2011
If you are expecting a simple urban fantasy story with mages and faeries, then you are in for quite a shock here. Blood an Iron is a novel to be read slowly, to be savored, and to be reread. As such, I have to admit that I didn't understand some of the references. The characters speak in riddles and do not spell everything out for you. It is as if we are looking through a window into their lives, not as if they were telling us a story. All of the characters understand the mythology and what is going on, so it makes perfect sense that they wouldn't be explaining it to each other. Not understanding what a character mentions is a little frustrating, but it just spurred me on. I felt compelled to continue in case some little detail is hinted at or is explained in more depth later. Nothing is ever clearly spelled out for you though, you have to think, make inferences, and pay attention. In addition to the complexity of the plot, there are the characters. The characters here are multidimensional, and stronger than anyone should ever have to be. Their tale is touching and heartfelt, and you will experience the ups and the downs with them. Blood and Iron also has the unique distinction of presenting the story from both sides, the fae and the mages. The faeries kidnap children from their beds, leaving dead replicas in place of real children. They ensnare humans and turn them into a mere shell of what they used to be. A cult of humans, the Prometheus Club, aims to rescue the kidnapped children and the kill fae as punishment. One would think that the reader would be siding with the humans against the fae, but the compelling story of the fae mixed with the vengeful nature of the human mages makes it a tough decision. In fact, my least favorite parts of the novel were spent with the mage Matthew. His story was boring and paled in comparison with the complex story of the fae. We do get to understand his motivation though, and he certainly is more direct and clear than the fae, but the author leaves it up to you to decide who to cheer for. I really feel that Blood and Iron is a masterfully crafted novel that is much more complex than any urban fantasy I have ever read. I really felt like I was there with the characters, and I can't wait to read the next installment.
October 17, 2012
Wow. I loved this book.
Bear has created a complicated and compelling world and tale in Blood and Iron. It builds on many well-known tales, particularly using Tam Lin, the Celtic faeries and the Arthurian legends, but with her own, personal and I think brilliant spin.
The writing is beautiful; evocative, complex, metaphorical and lyrical. She paints pictures with words that touch the emotions and drag the reader in.
There are layers upon layers here and I'm sure I didn't get all of them on this first reading. That's all right though, as I'm sure I'll be reading it again.
This is not a simple tale and there are places I'm sure I missed all the nuances. It's epic and passionate and tragic all at once and the reader is drawn in to care about the characters even when they are struggling to feel and care themselves.
There is no clear cut right and wrong, not obvious heroes and villians - one of Bear's themes seems to be that we are what we are and must take responsibility for what we do, whatever our motivations and reasons. I don't know if the "good guys" won, heck I'm not even sure if anyone "won" by the end of the book, but that too is part of the complexity and depth of the tale.
There is no simple story and happy ending, indeed it has a feeling of high tragedy about it at times and that is what makes this such a great book. No easy roads are taken, not by the author or her characters and as a result, not by the reader either. It's a journey well worth the taking.
I finished this just before going to sleep last night and, as I rather expected, the fae invaded my dreams. This book and its characters dig their hooks deep and don't easily let go.
Go. Buy. Read. Recommend.
[Copied across from Library Thing; 17 October 2012]
Bear has created a complicated and compelling world and tale in Blood and Iron. It builds on many well-known tales, particularly using Tam Lin, the Celtic faeries and the Arthurian legends, but with her own, personal and I think brilliant spin.
The writing is beautiful; evocative, complex, metaphorical and lyrical. She paints pictures with words that touch the emotions and drag the reader in.
There are layers upon layers here and I'm sure I didn't get all of them on this first reading. That's all right though, as I'm sure I'll be reading it again.
This is not a simple tale and there are places I'm sure I missed all the nuances. It's epic and passionate and tragic all at once and the reader is drawn in to care about the characters even when they are struggling to feel and care themselves.
There is no clear cut right and wrong, not obvious heroes and villians - one of Bear's themes seems to be that we are what we are and must take responsibility for what we do, whatever our motivations and reasons. I don't know if the "good guys" won, heck I'm not even sure if anyone "won" by the end of the book, but that too is part of the complexity and depth of the tale.
There is no simple story and happy ending, indeed it has a feeling of high tragedy about it at times and that is what makes this such a great book. No easy roads are taken, not by the author or her characters and as a result, not by the reader either. It's a journey well worth the taking.
I finished this just before going to sleep last night and, as I rather expected, the fae invaded my dreams. This book and its characters dig their hooks deep and don't easily let go.
Go. Buy. Read. Recommend.
[Copied across from Library Thing; 17 October 2012]
April 11, 2012
I found this book... frustrating. I think Elizabeth Bear is a fine writer, and I absolutely love her short fiction, but her novel didn't work for me. It had a lot of great ideas--a fascinating combination of myths with urban fantasy. In fact, the problem was that there were FAR too many of these ideas, so much so that it felt cramped and bloated. In one novel you have a band of wizards, warring Shakespearean and Celtic fairy courts, something like a dozen fairy queens, werewolves tribes, dukes of hell, Tam Lin, Dracula, Merlin, King Arthur, a dragon, the Wild Hunt, a Pooka, and Old Man Willow.
I wanted to scream, "Jesus woman, space it out!" Jim Butcher's books have a wide variety of mythos's similarly portrayed, but at least he's spread them out over 13 books.
The result is that the quality of the characters suffer. They're meant to be seen as complex and morally ambiguous (dear God, how one is hit over the head with that hammer throughout the book) but instead they're bland, flat personalities. One of them literally gives up her soul, an action that should have really fascinating consequences, but instead comes across as a cheap device to not invest her with real emotional choices.
Its one of those books that irritates the hell out of me, because I can sense a really ripping story in there that failed in its execution, lost amongst the over brambles of far too many thorny ideas and "mythy" concepts.
Still, Bear is a decent enough writer that it manages to entertain despite its problems.
I wanted to scream, "Jesus woman, space it out!" Jim Butcher's books have a wide variety of mythos's similarly portrayed, but at least he's spread them out over 13 books.
The result is that the quality of the characters suffer. They're meant to be seen as complex and morally ambiguous (dear God, how one is hit over the head with that hammer throughout the book) but instead they're bland, flat personalities. One of them literally gives up her soul, an action that should have really fascinating consequences, but instead comes across as a cheap device to not invest her with real emotional choices.
Its one of those books that irritates the hell out of me, because I can sense a really ripping story in there that failed in its execution, lost amongst the over brambles of far too many thorny ideas and "mythy" concepts.
Still, Bear is a decent enough writer that it manages to entertain despite its problems.
April 10, 2012
The last two books have been absolute stinkers, so I desperately needed something to break that pattern. I've been wanting to read some of Elizabeth Bear's novels for a few months now because I enjoy her LJ.[return][return]My first impression of the book: Wow. Bear's voice and weaving descriptions bring the story to life. I felt dropped into a world like my own, but different, and it mesmerized me. Her style of writing adds suspense because she doesn't state everything outright - characters abruptly go places, talk to people we don't know, and then understanding dawns. For this reason alone, I want to read more of her books and study her eloquent voice and pacing.[return][return]There was a downside, though. About halfway through, the book began to lose its grip on me, and I'm still not fully sure why. The characters were still compelling, and the plot was propelling forward. The only problem, I think, was my own expectation. I thought it would involve more time on Earth, where I was very curious to see how the Prometheans used magic and how the world of Faerie interacted with Man. Instead, the story dwelled more and more in Faerie, where magic and political intrigue are endless and at times overwhelming.[return][return]Even though I was not as captivated as I was initially, it was still a strong and enjoyable story. I will seek out more books in this series, and I also have Bear's book Hammered to read in the coming months.
March 6, 2009
I found this to be a remarkably frustrating read. The first third or so is a terrific fantasy novel dealing with the Fae and a post-Arthurian mythos that I found fascinating. The rest of the book seemed as if it was written by a different author. The protagonist, a woman warrior caught up in Fae politics and developing into the next defacto ruler, suddenly becomes wildly unsympathetic. She enslaves one of the Unseelie Fae, breaks him and engages in what can only be viewed as nonconsensual sex (it's hard to consent when your partner literally owns every aspect of your world). And just to make sure the full squick factor is there, the author opts to depict him as black while the warrior is white. The attendent issues around slavery and racism felt unexamined to me, nor did there seem to be any good reason for writing the characters this way.
From there, we shamble on to an ending put on with duct tape, mostly there to scream 'sequel.' A mess of interesting ideas that failed on full execution.
From there, we shamble on to an ending put on with duct tape, mostly there to scream 'sequel.' A mess of interesting ideas that failed on full execution.
February 19, 2010
A good book will educate you - show you what you don't know in a gentle fashion, increasing your knowledge. It will make you want to learn more once you're done reading it.
By comparison, a bad book will just whap you about the head with what you don't know without telling you anything. This book just seemed to delight in frustrating me with what I didn't know about Celtic mythology and Arthurian legend, and reading it was like pulling out my teeth via the soles of my feet.
I guess that's my way of saying this book isn't for everyone. Maybe if I knew more to start with, it would have been a better read.
By comparison, a bad book will just whap you about the head with what you don't know without telling you anything. This book just seemed to delight in frustrating me with what I didn't know about Celtic mythology and Arthurian legend, and reading it was like pulling out my teeth via the soles of my feet.
I guess that's my way of saying this book isn't for everyone. Maybe if I knew more to start with, it would have been a better read.
August 16, 2019
From the second page of ch. 17 in my edition:
I'm sure it could have been even more so if I'd been willing to think more deeply, but I was plowing on toward the lure of all good stories, viz., "What happens next?"
And no, unlike more than one well-Liked reviewers here, I wasn't in the least frustrated by the blending of various traditions of fantasy. It worked well for me.
"No," she said. "I'd never assume anything Fae confused itself too much with morality."That's not the case with Bear's story. We get to think along with the characters making their choices. It's always interesting, sometimes fascinating.
I'm sure it could have been even more so if I'd been willing to think more deeply, but I was plowing on toward the lure of all good stories, viz., "What happens next?"
And no, unlike more than one well-Liked reviewers here, I wasn't in the least frustrated by the blending of various traditions of fantasy. It worked well for me.
August 25, 2012
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
Werewolves. Fae. Magic. A rich, detailed world with marvelous, multilayered characters.
And the Kelpie? OMG, the Kelpie.
SECOND READING:
The Kelpie is twice a scary, thrice as hot, and ten times as heartbreaking the second time around. And rereading this after having read the other 3 books, I can see where Bear was already laying the foundations for the other stories, weaving in references to characters we don't meet until later.
This book is probably my fourth-favorite book ever. Right behind the other three Promethean books. I expect to reread it regularly.
Werewolves. Fae. Magic. A rich, detailed world with marvelous, multilayered characters.
And the Kelpie? OMG, the Kelpie.
SECOND READING:
The Kelpie is twice a scary, thrice as hot, and ten times as heartbreaking the second time around. And rereading this after having read the other 3 books, I can see where Bear was already laying the foundations for the other stories, weaving in references to characters we don't meet until later.
This book is probably my fourth-favorite book ever. Right behind the other three Promethean books. I expect to reread it regularly.
February 17, 2011
I impulsively picked up Blood and Iron from the library, and it's more readable than I expected from the excerpt on the author's web site. I'm honestly bored of Arthurian/Celtic stuff, but this one is moderately interesting, at least in terms of suitable bedtime reading. Yes, I damn with faint praise.
March 15, 2012
A complex and fascinating fantasy set partly in modern NYC and partly in the faerie realm, where power, politics and the make-up of the world is shifting and all are in danger. Difficult to summarize or describe but I greatly enjoyed this first book in the Promethean Age series.
June 21, 2008
4 1/2 stars
Full review:
http://fantasycafe.blogspot.com/2008/...
Full review:
http://fantasycafe.blogspot.com/2008/...
July 30, 2009
Racefail 2009. Will not read books by Bear.
January 16, 2025
ok objectively this is not a well-written book; major plot points and characters are shunted to the side almost as soon as they are introduced given the scale of the cast and the sprawling breadth of the plot (only the prophecied battle between the entire magical world and the human mages) but honestly? WHATEVER.
the character and plot work went in REALLY interesting directions; actually having the Fae world revealed to humankind, major changes in characters that I hadn’t seen coming but really propelled the plot forward, casually diverse in terms of race/gender/sexuality which is even more shocking for a book published in 2006, etc.
i really loved the formalized/casual dynamic sex + romantic connections plays in the world of the novel; Elaine’s three semi-competing love interests as well as her shifting alliances with each of them in turn made for really compelling interpersonal drama (my favorite is Whiskey tho idgaf i love a King and Lionheart dynamic. and especially poignant given what they started from).
the prose also had some moments of startling brilliance, but my eyes did skip over some of the more flowery metaphors (how many ways can you describe one person’s scent?).
worldbuilding and magical rules was a hot mess i won’t lie, i dont think this book is for anyone who isnt already familiar with Scottish (Tam-Lin), Irish (Seelie + Unseelie Fairie Courts), Arthurian, and other mythology from the British Isles, as they are CRITICAL to understanding the story. There is a TON of quotations of these ballads, of parallels being drawn to characters on page, and theres honestly no way to understand the import of the plot without this mythological background. on TOP of this, there’s even a war between Heaven and Hell in the Christian tradition in tandem with the war between the Old World (the fae) and the New (man). it makes for very interesting political maneuvering given all of the competing interests, but i do think the world of man is painted with a far lighter, more disinterested brush (ik bear expands on this in the sequel but girl cmon).
all in all, i think bear crafted a compelling tale of the moral ambiguities and cost of magic, war, and violence, even as some of her technical abilities failed against the sprawling nature of the story she was trying to tell.
the character and plot work went in REALLY interesting directions; actually having the Fae world revealed to humankind, major changes in characters that I hadn’t seen coming but really propelled the plot forward, casually diverse in terms of race/gender/sexuality which is even more shocking for a book published in 2006, etc.
i really loved the formalized/casual dynamic sex + romantic connections plays in the world of the novel; Elaine’s three semi-competing love interests as well as her shifting alliances with each of them in turn made for really compelling interpersonal drama (my favorite is Whiskey tho idgaf i love a King and Lionheart dynamic. and especially poignant given what they started from).
the prose also had some moments of startling brilliance, but my eyes did skip over some of the more flowery metaphors (how many ways can you describe one person’s scent?).
worldbuilding and magical rules was a hot mess i won’t lie, i dont think this book is for anyone who isnt already familiar with Scottish (Tam-Lin), Irish (Seelie + Unseelie Fairie Courts), Arthurian, and other mythology from the British Isles, as they are CRITICAL to understanding the story. There is a TON of quotations of these ballads, of parallels being drawn to characters on page, and theres honestly no way to understand the import of the plot without this mythological background. on TOP of this, there’s even a war between Heaven and Hell in the Christian tradition in tandem with the war between the Old World (the fae) and the New (man). it makes for very interesting political maneuvering given all of the competing interests, but i do think the world of man is painted with a far lighter, more disinterested brush (ik bear expands on this in the sequel but girl cmon).
all in all, i think bear crafted a compelling tale of the moral ambiguities and cost of magic, war, and violence, even as some of her technical abilities failed against the sprawling nature of the story she was trying to tell.
June 29, 2020
I think the first thing to understand when talking about an Elizabeth Bear book is that it will not be a quick, easy read. Bear's work is complex and layered, and she doesn't do hand holding - as a reader, you take the plunge and spend a good deal of time trying to keep your head above water until you get your bearings in her world. Additionally, she doesn't really do the sympathetic protagonist, so feeling connected to her characters is often a challenge.
Blood and Iron tackles a wide range of fantasy tropes - faerie, and Arthurian legend, and werewolves, and Celtic folklore, and dragons, and....it's a lot. There are so many interesting ideas explored, but I'm not sure any of them is given the focus they deserve. There is also a power imbalance in the relationship between Seeker, our main character, and Whiskey, the kelpie she binds, that feels....somehow problematically racial, particularly in today's specific climate.
All that said, Elizabeth Bear is an excellent writer, and I was engaged and excited to read throughout the novel. There were just too many times I felt lost to be able to give this a fully ringing endorsement. Reading Bear's work always makes me feel like I should just be a little bit smarter, and maybe it would work out better for me. I do think I will read the sequel, however, so that's something.
Blood and Iron tackles a wide range of fantasy tropes - faerie, and Arthurian legend, and werewolves, and Celtic folklore, and dragons, and....it's a lot. There are so many interesting ideas explored, but I'm not sure any of them is given the focus they deserve. There is also a power imbalance in the relationship between Seeker, our main character, and Whiskey, the kelpie she binds, that feels....somehow problematically racial, particularly in today's specific climate.
All that said, Elizabeth Bear is an excellent writer, and I was engaged and excited to read throughout the novel. There were just too many times I felt lost to be able to give this a fully ringing endorsement. Reading Bear's work always makes me feel like I should just be a little bit smarter, and maybe it would work out better for me. I do think I will read the sequel, however, so that's something.
January 25, 2020
Actual Rating: 3.5/5
I really wanted to like this book. It has so many Tam Lin references, for one! And it's a much more complicated vision of Faerie than most, and I like that. I like complicating the tropes and being thoughtful. But I don't like when I can't really follow what's going on, and I felt like that a good portion of the book. This specific set of rules within Faerie are not the typical ones, and that's good, but that also makes them hard to understand without lots of explanation. I definitely understood what was going on at the beginning, but as the story kept evolving, people would be sort of mysterious about what they were talking about, and people would have realizations about things that I did not also have realizations about. And it's kind of frustrating to be in the head of someone who has all the info you do (less than you, even, because of the multiple POVs), and not understand what's going on still. Also, it took me a while to adjust to the multiple POVs. But regardless, it made it hard to enjoy it because I didn't really understand it. I'll probably read Ink and Steel anyways, because I'm curious what the next step in this story is, but if it doesn't get a fair bit better I'll probably stop there.
I really wanted to like this book. It has so many Tam Lin references, for one! And it's a much more complicated vision of Faerie than most, and I like that. I like complicating the tropes and being thoughtful. But I don't like when I can't really follow what's going on, and I felt like that a good portion of the book. This specific set of rules within Faerie are not the typical ones, and that's good, but that also makes them hard to understand without lots of explanation. I definitely understood what was going on at the beginning, but as the story kept evolving, people would be sort of mysterious about what they were talking about, and people would have realizations about things that I did not also have realizations about. And it's kind of frustrating to be in the head of someone who has all the info you do (less than you, even, because of the multiple POVs), and not understand what's going on still. Also, it took me a while to adjust to the multiple POVs. But regardless, it made it hard to enjoy it because I didn't really understand it. I'll probably read Ink and Steel anyways, because I'm curious what the next step in this story is, but if it doesn't get a fair bit better I'll probably stop there.
April 1, 2020
What an unsatisfactory ending...
There was a lot of promise in this book, but the execution was somewhat shaky. I actually don't mind the mixing of mythologies and concepts, I find it kind of cool, but it was all kind of crammed into this one story. I also don't think the transitions between first and third person narration was very effective either. I found myself sometimes confused as to which character we were following.
My main criticism is too many characters and too much going on. I felt like we were being held at arm's length throughout the story. Whiskey was really the only character who I ever felt much for. (He was super interesting, though!)
I was given the whole series by my friend, so I think I'll try the next book. If I still feel the same during the sequel, I may pass these books along.
I started this book as part of a Queer Readathon and I WILL say, lots of LGBT rep. At least half the characters are here and queer and I'm an A+ big fan of them being gay and just existing.
Two LGBT women eating pie late a night in a Denny's was honestly the most relatable thing I've ever read in my life.
There was a lot of promise in this book, but the execution was somewhat shaky. I actually don't mind the mixing of mythologies and concepts, I find it kind of cool, but it was all kind of crammed into this one story. I also don't think the transitions between first and third person narration was very effective either. I found myself sometimes confused as to which character we were following.
My main criticism is too many characters and too much going on. I felt like we were being held at arm's length throughout the story. Whiskey was really the only character who I ever felt much for. (He was super interesting, though!)
I was given the whole series by my friend, so I think I'll try the next book. If I still feel the same during the sequel, I may pass these books along.
I started this book as part of a Queer Readathon and I WILL say, lots of LGBT rep. At least half the characters are here and queer and I'm an A+ big fan of them being gay and just existing.
Two LGBT women eating pie late a night in a Denny's was honestly the most relatable thing I've ever read in my life.
May 12, 2019
In a modern world with no idea it is happening, the faerie realm and human magi prepare for a savage war that will break a stalemate going back to the time of King Arthur. Elizabeth Bear mostly takes the side of the fae through Seeker, a once-human bound to the Elf Queen who must steal humans at her command. Bear uses so many lush metaphors to describe the physical world experienced by magical beings that it was tough to consciously take them all in, but the cumulative effect was mesmerizing. Most of the novel consists of powerful otherworldly creatures readying for war and engaging in diplomacy with allies, enemies and undecideds, which reminded me favorably of Roger Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber. This builds to a harrowing and dramatic conclusion. The star of the book is a kelpie (water horse) nicknamed Whiskey. Seeker controls him by knowledge of his true name and they develop a deep relationship despite the fact he's allowed three chances to kill her, which he reminds her of often.
September 5, 2018
I'll give this 1.5 stars, but I can't quite bring myself to rate it any higher. Despite starting out with a lot of promise - I love Elizabeth Bear's descriptive prose - I couldn't get past more than about 150 pages. I was just too confused. As someone else has pointed out, it often feels like you're skipping whole sections of action from paragraph to paragraph. Responses to dialogue don't make sense. And the plot just wasn't moving fast enough for me to stay interested. Not to mention the fact that the main characters are pretty boring. 150 pages in, I still didn't understand Seeker's motivations enough to get why she was working for the fae, and why she had given her son up to them. The same goes for her wolfman lover, whose name I honestly can't be bothered to remember. He was particularly boring. Sigh. Very disappointing, because I thought I was going to like this book a lot.
September 16, 2017
Hate to say this, because I really like Bear's more recent work a whole ton (esp. her collaboration with Sarah Monette), but this just didn't click for me. Made myself finish. It was gorgeously written and at the same time a little too deeply involved with itself so that it didn't communicate with me sufficiently as a reader. I've got a doctorate in folklore (for reals) and I still couldn't catch all the allusions that felt essential to getting the narrative turns. It was just too much like hard work. And the characters felt like cyphers, so I just didn't care enough about them. There was a whole lot of ALMOST here. Alas.
October 18, 2020
This is an ambitious book that didn't quite land with me. I appreciated the vivid writing in many places, but I felt I was always missing meaning by not being a celtic mythology geek. Another review here mentions that Seeker is not likeable. I somewhat agree; perhaps more than that, sometimes it felt like her strong emotional reactions were out of the blue... I was not feeling those things along with her. Several of the other characters (to which there were too many to do justice) were promisingly likeable but were kept on the sidelines. Lots of heroic sacrifice! But for what?
January 15, 2024
Wonderfully vivid, complicated and subtle.
An Arthurian legend book, even with Arthur.
In the end, I think I will not read more in this series, as it sounds like the characters from this book play somewhat less of a role in future novels.
But oh, the descriptions of Faerie, just lush, perfect for the gamer side of me, matching the random tables I have seen of Faerie terrain, time shifting, a creature appearance, just absolutely lush description.
Not the easiest of a read.
An Arthurian legend book, even with Arthur.
In the end, I think I will not read more in this series, as it sounds like the characters from this book play somewhat less of a role in future novels.
But oh, the descriptions of Faerie, just lush, perfect for the gamer side of me, matching the random tables I have seen of Faerie terrain, time shifting, a creature appearance, just absolutely lush description.
Not the easiest of a read.
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