While I was listening to this book on audio, I kept thinking "This is like beautiful poetry. This is like a 5 course dinner". I don't even LIKE poetry and am not sure that a formal cruise ship dinner rates as any 5-course, but it was the only way my brain could interpret and define how beautifully Ms Bear put her words and this story together.

This story is about as far from fast-paced as you can get, but it builds and builds and builds while you realize what it's all about. Women and (in)equality of power, prejudice, religion, gender identity, life, love....and magic.

All of that sounds like an exhausting list, but is done so subtly that you don't get hit over the head with anything. Much like the exquisite unwinding of her language, the plot slowly unwinds as well. Right up to the bang at the end.

I cannot express how eager I am to get my hands on the rest of the series. This book was VERY well done. Hm....re-reading my review. Perhaps I used the wrong analogy; some of you lucky souls will get what I mean. :)

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This is a very setting-heavy story. The world building is dense and rich, with several point-of-view characters that each have their own distinct cultures, politics, religions, and backstories. I found it hard to follow all the names and titles sometimes. For example, there are two separate POV rulers who have their own military captains, personal attendants, and wizards who I kept getting confused with each other.

The plot starts very slowly too - we only get whispers of the main conflict until after page 100. Honestly, this entire book is Act I in every way I can think of and there are a lot of threads that don't get any kind of closure by the end.

I enjoyed getting to know the world and I liked its characters, but without plot to keep me invested it was a bit exhausting to get through. I'm planning on giving the next book a try to see where it goes, because it has the foundation of a really good story. ( )

3 and a half stars. first book in a new trilogy called The Lotus Kingdoms that inhabits the same world as the earlier Eternal Sky trilogy which was set in a fantasy version of the steppes of central Asia. this one is set in more oriental locations. the world itself does not distinguish much between magic and science, resulting in an intriguing kind of hidden steampunk world without the industrialization. the first half of the book seems to plod along at little, concentrating on a trek to the Lotus Kingdoms, but once they arrive the book opens up, the characters come alive, the politics becomes compelling, and the reader hastens to order in the second book in the series. ( )

This seemed like a mashup of a standard fantasy novel and a post-apocalyptic novel, with some steampunk thrown in. It mainly follows two adventurers, a human soldier and a mechanical man, who are trying to find their purpose in the world, while on some very secret mission. They get involved in a conflict between multiple kingdoms, one ruled by a very young, very determined young woman. The conflict between the kingdoms and the challenges facing the rulers are the main plot. Mystery, intrigue, magic and and some trans elements. I read this a couple of years ago and still remember the essentials, so it was memorable. Good characters, but I never did get into the plot or the politics. ( )

By the end of this new fantasy of Elizabeth Bear, I was completely under its spell. Like, utterly.

But I really need to be honest here: most of the novel is really slow-paced and focused on slow reveals about the lands as the Gage (a fantasy cyborg) and the Dead Man, a highly-skilled bodyguard, travel in a caravan and we get to know and love them. We also get to know the ruler of their intended destination. And I got to love her, too. :)

The best part of this is not the action but the character development. And there's a LOT of character development. Very slow burn, but after a while, I was fully entranced and invested.

It hardly matters, by that point, that the full-blown action was blowing me away after they get to their destination. Once they are all together, everything gets really great. So great, in fact, that I had to drop all my other plans and start reading my ARC of the second book. Like, now.

And it is all action so far. :) Yay! Loving it. :) ( )