Finished two books in the last week, both of which I would recommend, though one more highly: The Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn by Tyler Whitesides, which I discovered through, I think the B&N blog having an article about fantasy heist novel recommendations. Obviously the books to beat on that front are Scott Lynch’s Gentlemen Bastards series, but this one is quite enjoyable (and not as dark as Lynch’s series, though it’s not all light-hearted by any means). The story takes place in an island archipelago where the economy is strongly driven by a set of fantasy alchemical compounds known as Grit and the dominant religion is Wayfarism, which espouses growing and changing over your life, answering the Urges of the Homeland, and perhaps eventually reaching it. Grit can do various extremely useful things when detonated (by lighting it on fire), and exerts its effects in spheres of smoke, which makes for a number of really clever challenges and devices in planning heist moves. It’s also produced by feeding various indigestible compounds to dragons and then, once they’ve pooped it back out again and baked with their fire (as is their habit with their droppings), getting it to a factory and processing it into a powder. And you’d better believe that makes for a challenging, if lucrative, career…
Ardor Benn himself is a famous and talented con artist and the book concerns him being hired for his biggest job ever, which entails an assortment of deadly challenges, colorful characters, and derring-do. It’s a very entertaining ride.
The other is The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton. I think someone may have brought it up earlier in the thread but my word, this is a special book. It’s a layered, time-looping puzzle box, told beautifully and meticulously constructed, culminating in a genuinely satisfying payoff that ties up pretty much every thread. (I do feel like the underlying premise is a bit implausible but it’s not the point of the book in the least so it doesn’t matter terrifically.) I’d recommend going in with as little info as possible. The protagonist starts from a blank slate and it’s more satisfying if you do as well, IMO.
Why yes, since you ask; I expect there will be a concluding volume to the Consciousnundrum series. I know how it begins: father and son (what’s left of them) finally reunite, decades after the fall of Icarus hit the world’s reset button. I know how it ends too, although I don’t want to spoil it for you. (I will admit that it won’t be quite as upbeat as my other endings.) I have only the vaguest idea what happens in between, but I can tell you that it involves whatever’s operating the undead carcass of Daniel Brüks, and the Bicamerals’ use of tweaked enzymes as a medium for prayer.
I’m calling it Omniscience . I don’t know exactly what the delivery platform might be: maybe traditional publishing, maybe crowdsourcing, maybe self-pubbing beyond the bounds of the pernicious Amazonian ecosystem and hoping for the best. I haven’t even bothered pitching it yet. But I do expect to write it, one way or another. There’s more to this story; elements of the first two books dovetail in a way that points towards a conclusion I never consciously planned—didn’t even see— until after Echopraxia was already out the door. It’s kind of meta if you think about it, which is at least one reason to go ahead with it.
Another reason is to try and get and get it right this time.
I liked it, but I don’t think I liked this as much as I should have. The story and background were really fascinating, and the time-hopping nature of the narrative was pretty great, especially in exposing the “twists” in the proper order. The journey into China’s troubled recent history was great. But in general, I found the characters to be almost completely uninteresting in a totally plot-driven story.
Exactly my thoughts on it. There are very interesting parts, but it’s ultimately plot driven and the characters fall flat and feel unrealistic, feeling little emotional connection to them myself. Plus the prose (or the translation?) is uninteresting.
For you guys that didn’t care for it, did you read the entire trilogy or just the first book? I haven’t read any but I’ve been meaning to, and most people who like it tell me that you need to read the whole thing for proper context, or something, and the last book is really good.
Just the first book. But I had zero desire to read any more and respectfully submit that if you need to read three books to appreciate it then maybe it’s not actually that good.
I had a feeling that someone was going to come back with that response. Obviously since I haven’t read any of the books I can’t comment, but no, I wouldn’t expect a second and third book to turn your opinion around if you disliked the first. But if your problem was that you thought the story felt incomplete or undeveloped, then possibly the rest of the trilogy would fill in the blanks for you.
