Armistice
Ratings3
Average rating4.3
15
Ratings3
Average rating4.3
Armistice returns to Donnelly’s ravishing 1930s Art Deco-tinged fantasy world of the Nebula and Lambda Award-nominated Amberlough with a decadent, tumultuous mixture of sex, politics, and spies “A hefty novel full of fascinating characters exploring oversized topics such as sexuality, music, culture, fascism, nationalism, class wars, revolution and love.” —Shelf Awareness 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: Lillian, a reluctant diplomat serving a fascist nation, Aristide, an expatriate film director running from lost love and a criminal past, —and Cordelia, a former cabaret stripper turned legendary revolutionary. Each one harbors dangerous knowledge that can upturn a nation. When their fates collide, machinations are put into play, unexpected alliances are built, and long-held secrets are exposed. Everything is barreling towards an international revolt...and only the wiliest ones will be prepared for what comes next. For Amberlough: “James Bond by way of Oscar Wilde.”—Holly Black “Astonishing!” —World Fantasy Award-winning author Ellen Kushner “Beautiful, all too real, and full of pain. Read it. It will change you.” —Hugo Award-winning author Mary Robinette Kowal At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Series
3 primary booksThe Amberlough Dossier is a 3-book series with 3 primary works first released in 2017 with contributions by Lara Elena Donnelly.
Reviews with the most likes.
DNF at 42 pages. This is one of my harder DNFs because I absolutely loved the first book. War-time intrigue with a sexually ambiguous male lead! This one... it's from the POV of different characters, takes place at a different time and different place, and it's just... maybe too ambitious. The author threw in a bunch more characters, nationalities, countries, etc. that made the plot hard to keep a hold of. Maybe if I re-read the first one and then went straight into this one I'd have an easier go of it but this one is going back in the stack.
This felt so different from Amberlough that it was jarring. The first book was whimsical and breezy, and Armistice is never that, trading the jazz of the first book for angsty punk dirges.
This is, of course, the point: that when facism infests an area, it affects everything around it. People can try to hide from it, or lash out in anger, or react in 100 other different ways, but they're still fundamentally changed by that experience.
On top of the political allegory that Armistice leans into, there's a truly engaging spy tale here, full of double crosses, lost love, and betrayal. That plot, and the characters that live it, help the book avoid ever becoming didactic or patronizing, and helps the story remain truly engaging.
