Inverted tree magic, friendships, messiness: what else does a book need?

Uprooted
Naomi Novik
435 pages
Copy: ARC
Read: 4 April 2015
Spoilers: Some
Recommend to: Fans of Robin McKinley, early Neil Gaiman, and Diana Wynne Jones.

I've been trying to think of how to review this book for a while (see read date) and I can't seem to come up with a really great way to communicate my enthusiasm for this book without spoiling some of the best lines or the best parts of the plot. I'm not even going to try to sum it up: go read this wonderful book, and come back to hear what I think of it.

It was the exploration of the Deep Dark Woods idea and the Beautiful Maid in Tower thing that got me hooked in. Novik handles these over-played tropes very well, adding a unique layer of Polish-type fairy tales to it. Her bumbling heroine--who is more often dirty than not--adds a great deal of realism and charm to what could have been a two-dimensional replaying of fairy tale tropes. The differing types of magic--ones that could clash or combine into something greater--was an inspired concept. The whole arc of the story had environmental overtones, making that "evil" forest about the complexities of good and evil in the context of past atrocities. I also appreciated the female friendship that was central to the plot: Agnieszka will do anything for her best friends Kasia, including going into the Deep Dark Woods and hauling her friend back.

So good plot, interesting subtexts, great stories. One objection: the love story, especially the three sexual encounters, felt forced. They were well written, competently erotic, but dumped into the plot without grace or even a great deal of foreshadowing. Perhaps it is the trope of the story--half "instructor and student" and "beast/magician and abductee"--but I have the suspicion that someone read this, noticed it was an adult Fantasy novel, and demanded Novik add in some sex scenes. "Can't have a good fantasy without sex scenes!" I imagine someone saying. "Women don't watch porn! THIS is their sexual outlet!"

Maybe I'm just being judgmental or jaded from years of being a Fantasy reader; probably the conversation didn't go like this. But the sex scenes do feel forced to me. As the sole complaint for a high fantasy, this is comparatively minor. I will be looking forward to finding and reading more by this author.

The New Metal Man

The Mechanical
Ian Tregillis
440pgs
Copy: ARC
Read: 27 April 2015
Spoilers: as few as I could
Recommend to: People who like to think and like sci-fi; fans of Asimov; fans of Susanna Clarke; maybe fans of George R.R. Martin; if you liked "The Dark Tower" series

So Susanna Clarke readers and Asimov readers actually tend to be pretty different. So are "Song of Fire and Ice" and "The Dark Tower". You've got alternate history vs. robotic future and two epic fantasy series (complete with loads of sex) written in completely different styles and settings. What makes The Mechanical so interesting is that it pays homage to all of these disparate themes and styles while still remaining completely individual and distinctive.

Tregillis has created a world that differs from ours in that the Dutch became the great world power, not on the power of trade or sail, but due to their mystic creation of mechanical slaves. Created by the inclusive and terrifying Alchemist Guild, these Clakkers are controlled by the Guild and the royal family and rented out to wealthy families or for production needs. These Clakkers, despite independent thought and an underground language, are unable to rebel against the orders of their owners--indeed, any order creates an imperative pain until that order is carried out. They live hundreds of years, trapped within their own bodies.

Despite these geases, some Clakkers speak to one another of Free Will and others mysteriously develop it. The Alchemists destroy them as soon as they are discovered, throwing them into the great Forge. 

Against this background, the Dutch are increasing their territory in the New World, fighting against the last stronghold of the French court. In New France, the female spymaster (the Tallyrand) Bernice, Vimcomtess is desperate to maintain their foothold in the world and to fight back against the insatiable power of the Clakker backed Dutch, while also fighting against her own court politics. On the other side, the female head of the Clakker police force and head torturer (cleverly called Tuinier--chief gardener), Anastasia Bell begins to wield a terrifying new technology that questions the very existence of any kind of Free Will at all. Jax, a lowly servitor mechanical, is thrown into this complex tangle with about the same effect as throwing in a grenade. 

While the basic premise of the novel is impressive in and of itself, Tregillis handles questions of religion and freedom with ease and grace. He is thought provoking without being distracting from the excitement of the story. Tregillis also creates powerful, yet dissimilar female characters: Bernice and Anastasia are both powerful women without having their femininity stripped away. Bernice, with her mind in the gutter and mouth like sailor, understands and uses sex as a means to an end; she also makes believable mistakes that aren't "punishments" for her sexual behavior. Although Anastasia Bell is harder to read, since we are never granted a 3rd person limited view into her thoughts, she clearly uses her delicate femininity as a kind of intimidating opposition to her job. She looks like a lady: she authorizes acts that devils would find a bit much. Tregillis has joined a unique club among sci-fi/fantasy writers: authors (male and female) that are able to create believable and human characters of both genders. Lets cross our fingers he can keep it up for the sequels.

Crossposted: Life Piled on Life, Librarything