Kalina

I have mixed feelings about this book and series.

The magical system that gets revealed over the course of the book is among my favorites, along with those from_His Dark Materials_ and The Kingkiller Chronicle. The magic system reflects real aspects of human minds and human interaction, with additional details and descriptions that made me feel like the magic made sense, was a reflection of something real. Instead of waggling a magic wand to get what you want, you learn about human minds and human behavior. There are also consequences that feel real and resonate with my own life experiences.

The fantasy world is full of fun surprises, with creatures and cultures and objects that don't just riff on existing ideas but operate in a unique way that makes the world enthralling to discover.

That said, there are aspects of the writing that I have to skim past and try to ignore.

The author revels in describing abuse of power, with detailed views into how the (fat, bald, scarred) villains enjoy manipulating, raping, and murdering children, and yet still get rewarded with power, while the (attractive, tall, muscular) good guys do a lot of grinning and rescuing children and suffering from the intensity of their own morality. This aspect of the characters is poured on too thick. I don't need my fantasy to involve so much twisting of the knife. I can see that making the reader writhe against injustice is worth something, but there's just too much of it.

There's also a touch of homophobia. In this first book, the only character we meet that prefers same-sex encounters is a sexual predator, and the focus of his villainy is that he prefers boys. There's a sadomasochist woman villain that is a “man hater” that is hinted at as a lesbian. Beyond these villains, the world appears completely hetero.

As in many fantasy novels, there are moments when it feels like the author accidentally starts retelling Tolkien stories and then has to shake out of it.

I've read this series at least twice and just re-read the first book, so obviously I have found the fantasy worth having to trudge through the physical and mental torture of most of the characters... but I wouldn't recommend the series to everyone and am not sure I'll read it again.

In traditional KSR style, this book is full of grand sci-fi visions, experienced through the senses of a variety of characters with starkly contrasting personalities and modes of thinking. The world building is gorgeous and, just as Red Mars did, left me feeling like I had traveled to these remarkable places.