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Tolkien without the Maps
Aug. 1st, 2016 11:39 pmOct 2015
The Goblin Emperor - Katherine Addison - Tor, 2014 (Kindle edition)
* * *
This book has popped up on a number of award lists but has only won one of them. I can understand why. Its world-building is detailed and it features an unusually decent and therefore sympathetic protagonist (grimdark this is not). However, a number of the flaws of modern fantasies - an obsession with first-person viewpoint and vagueness about religion, history and geography - combine with some cloth-eared decisions about style to make this more of a chore to read than it should be.
( Read more... )
The Goblin Emperor - Katherine Addison - Tor, 2014 (Kindle edition)
* * *
This book has popped up on a number of award lists but has only won one of them. I can understand why. Its world-building is detailed and it features an unusually decent and therefore sympathetic protagonist (grimdark this is not). However, a number of the flaws of modern fantasies - an obsession with first-person viewpoint and vagueness about religion, history and geography - combine with some cloth-eared decisions about style to make this more of a chore to read than it should be.
( Read more... )