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The Amberlough Dossier #1-3
The Amberlough Dossier: Amberlough, Armistice, Amnesty
By turns ravishing and riveting, Lara Elena Donnelly’s trilogy The Amberlough Dossier contains three glam vintage spy thrillers set in a tumultuous, Art Deco-inspired secondary fantasy world, where sex, spies, and scandals define the geopolitical fate of nations.This discounted ebundle Amberlough, Armistice, and Amnesty.“Exploring the roots of hatred, nationalism, and fascism, while at the same time celebrating the diversity, love, romance, fashion, and joy the world is capable of producing.”— In Lara Elena Donnelly’s glam spy thriller debut, a Nebula finalist for Best Novel, a double-agent sacrifices all his ideals in order to save his smuggler lover before a government coup takes over their decadent city. In a tropical country where shadowy political affairs lurk behind the scenes of its glamorous film industry, three people maneuver inside a high stakes game of statecraft and espionage. Each one harbors dangerous knowledge that can upturn a nation. Everything is barreling towards an international revolt...and only the wiliest ones will be prepared for what comes In Amberlough City, out of the ashes of revolution, a traitor returns, a political campaign comes to a roaring head, and the people demand justice for crimes past. As a nation struggles to rebuild, who can escape retribution?At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
1043 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 14, 2020
88 people are currently reading
274 people want to read
About the author
Lara Elena Donnelly
12 books410 followersLara Elena Donnelly is the author of the Nebula, Lambda, and Locus-nominated trilogy The Amberlough Dossier, as well as short fiction and poetry appearing in venues including Strange Horizons, Escape Pod, Nightmare, and Uncanny.
Lara has taught in the MFA program at Sarah Lawrence College, as well as the Catapult Workshop in New York. She is a graduate of the Clarion and Alpha writers’ workshops, and has served as on-site staff at the latter, mentoring amazing teens who will someday take over the world of SFF.
Lara has taught in the MFA program at Sarah Lawrence College, as well as the Catapult Workshop in New York. She is a graduate of the Clarion and Alpha writers’ workshops, and has served as on-site staff at the latter, mentoring amazing teens who will someday take over the world of SFF.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
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July 25, 20207/25/20
The delightful @Alison describes book 1 as: "intense queer spy thriller meets Cabaret."
Three books for $2.99!!! (Thanks so much, @Teal, for sharing this amazing deal)!
(If purchased individually, the 3 ebooks would cost $34) via Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B08BKLTKC3
The delightful @Alison describes book 1 as: "intense queer spy thriller meets Cabaret."
Three books for $2.99!!! (Thanks so much, @Teal, for sharing this amazing deal)!
(If purchased individually, the 3 ebooks would cost $34) via Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B08BKLTKC3
partial-read
July 25, 2020I've only read the first of these so far, Amberlough, and I own the first two separately, but apparently Tor would rather sell me all three in one for $2.99, than have sane prices on the individual volumes.
December 2, 2020
Almost perfect, not what you expect.
Ms. Donnelly created a thrilling 1920's spy / political drama, full of interesting characters, and difficult situations. Her writing is exquisite and her stories wonderful. However, she didn't want to do her research, so she created an alternate Roaring Twenties world, which would have been fine, if she didn't throw a ton of details that we had no context for. Or if she included a map that had any place outside of the basics. But once you learn to glaze over those details, it's a worthwhile read!
Ms. Donnelly created a thrilling 1920's spy / political drama, full of interesting characters, and difficult situations. Her writing is exquisite and her stories wonderful. However, she didn't want to do her research, so she created an alternate Roaring Twenties world, which would have been fine, if she didn't throw a ton of details that we had no context for. Or if she included a map that had any place outside of the basics. But once you learn to glaze over those details, it's a worthwhile read!
September 17, 2020
I devoured this and was very sad when it ended. I read this all together but here are mini-thoughts on each.
Amberlough: I appreciated this book more after reading Books 2 and 3. It was the hardest for me to get into (and I still don't have a great grasp on the politics / some of the slang) but I realized after reading the other books that this part was so important to emphasize what all the characters had lost and made everything that followed extra poignant and heartbreaking.
Armistice: Probably my favorite. Definitely the most machinations that I thought would all go horribly awry and so it was tense, but also the most emotionally resonant.
Amnesty: Mm. My least favorite because of spoilery reasons but I absolutely had to know what happened. I have feelings about how everything resolved.
This is not usually the type of book I read but I really REALLY loved it. And! It encouraged me to branch out into other areas that are outside my comfort zone! All around great.
Amberlough: I appreciated this book more after reading Books 2 and 3. It was the hardest for me to get into (and I still don't have a great grasp on the politics / some of the slang) but I realized after reading the other books that this part was so important to emphasize what all the characters had lost and made everything that followed extra poignant and heartbreaking.
Armistice: Probably my favorite. Definitely the most machinations that I thought would all go horribly awry and so it was tense, but also the most emotionally resonant.
Amnesty: Mm. My least favorite because of spoilery reasons but I absolutely had to know what happened. I have feelings about how everything resolved.
This is not usually the type of book I read but I really REALLY loved it. And! It encouraged me to branch out into other areas that are outside my comfort zone! All around great.
February 27, 2023
Oh, goodness! Starting on a vaguely European continent, in a vaguely pre-Nazi Berlin circ. 1930something, the entire Amberlough Dossier is one heck of a tale. Sweeping across continents, politics, divisions, reunifications, explosions and explosive chemistry, this is three hefty books compiled into one massive undertaking. Twisty, complex, utterly fascinating in its execution, I find it difficult to really describe this one other than it's good. Very, very good, once you get past the dozens of names and the numerous layers of back and forth, cat and mouse, cloak and dagger shenanigans.
Relatively light at the beginning, with burlesque and absinth and lovers on opposite sides of the law, and absolutely wrenching by the end, with warzones, tribunals, and family secrets come to light, this is a fun one for anyone who loved Cabaret but wishes it were far more complex, with just a little (a lot) more action.
Relatively light at the beginning, with burlesque and absinth and lovers on opposite sides of the law, and absolutely wrenching by the end, with warzones, tribunals, and family secrets come to light, this is a fun one for anyone who loved Cabaret but wishes it were far more complex, with just a little (a lot) more action.
July 26, 2020
1. This bundle was an incredible deal for three full-on novels.
2. This series is incredibly topical in ways that added to the sense of unease. There's a feel in the first book of "alternate history where fascists are riding" like Man in the High Castle or the Jo Walton series....only these fascists aren't the Nazis we saw before. They are the Nazis we have right this second.
3. Parts were agonizing because of item 2, but at the end I felt a sense of hope. It may not be pretty, but there can be life after this horror if we are able to be in a position where we can choose to survive.
2. This series is incredibly topical in ways that added to the sense of unease. There's a feel in the first book of "alternate history where fascists are riding" like Man in the High Castle or the Jo Walton series....only these fascists aren't the Nazis we saw before. They are the Nazis we have right this second.
3. Parts were agonizing because of item 2, but at the end I felt a sense of hope. It may not be pretty, but there can be life after this horror if we are able to be in a position where we can choose to survive.
September 2, 2020
The first book was not the romance I was expecting, and that was disconcerting, but I was still very interested in the story. Then the character I was most concerned about didn't figure into the second book for most of its length. The third book upended all the situations and relationships, which was certainly exciting/nerve-wracking. The third book also ultimately delivered the emotional moment I'd been wanting all along, so I have no complaints and would recommend this trilogy wholeheartedly.
I adore Aristide.
I adore Aristide.
July 28, 2025
The trilogy of the Amberlough Dossier paints a complicated picture of what some are willing to do to survive, and what some are willing to do to _live_. It's about freedom and resistance, love, betrayal, wearing masks and dropping them, individuality, trauma, oppression, and so much more beyond. The characters are incredibly well rounded and the world building is intricate and solid. I truly recommend.
August 15, 2020
Weird and exquisite
It was written in a bizarre language describing excess, profiteering from crimes, decadence of daring cabaret mixed with espionage, betrayals and menacing presence of oppressive regime. However, more then anything it was a love story - deep, aching, full of sacrifice and secrets. Loved every moment of it.
It was written in a bizarre language describing excess, profiteering from crimes, decadence of daring cabaret mixed with espionage, betrayals and menacing presence of oppressive regime. However, more then anything it was a love story - deep, aching, full of sacrifice and secrets. Loved every moment of it.
February 21, 2024
Engaging
Very character driven political and espionage story.
The maps need to include Porachis and Liso. Understanding where all these fictional countries are in relation to each other is important and very difficult without a map.
Very character driven political and espionage story.
The maps need to include Porachis and Liso. Understanding where all these fictional countries are in relation to each other is important and very difficult without a map.
October 7, 2020
Well, this omnibus is excellent value. The story is enjoyable. Will I read another by the author probably if I see it .
January 1, 2021
I just didn't care about any of the characters or what happened to them
January 27, 2021
Flawless.
September 12, 2021
ebook on kobo (1545 pages) - kindle cover image
Amberlough September 2 - 5
Armistice September 5 - 8
Amnesty September 9 - 11
An engaging story, set in a world eerily similar to the 1930s - Amberlough is reminiscent of the Berlin of that period, complete with political unrest. Aristide Makricosta is the MC and a star draw at a top nightclub - and a smuggler on the side. His lover is a spy, currently holding down a desk job in the city but events are about to take a turn for the worse, both for them and for their associates.
Impossible to summarise - an astonishing debut that creates a different yet familiar world, with characters one comes to care for, immersive in the sense that slang is taken for granted and not explained. This elegant collection of the three novels together is complemented by the Art Deco decorative cover designs (you'll have to look elsewhere for them as this listing didn't include them). In a nice touch each book has an epigraph from John le Carré (plus a second from a different yet apt source).
Amberlough September 2 - 5
Armistice September 5 - 8
Amnesty September 9 - 11
An engaging story, set in a world eerily similar to the 1930s - Amberlough is reminiscent of the Berlin of that period, complete with political unrest. Aristide Makricosta is the MC and a star draw at a top nightclub - and a smuggler on the side. His lover is a spy, currently holding down a desk job in the city but events are about to take a turn for the worse, both for them and for their associates.
Impossible to summarise - an astonishing debut that creates a different yet familiar world, with characters one comes to care for, immersive in the sense that slang is taken for granted and not explained. This elegant collection of the three novels together is complemented by the Art Deco decorative cover designs (you'll have to look elsewhere for them as this listing didn't include them). In a nice touch each book has an epigraph from John le Carré (plus a second from a different yet apt source).
March 25, 2021
Probably the most realistic fantasy I've ever read. Very absorbing, and oddly relevant to our times.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews