The Raven Tower (édition 2019)

It takes a while to realize that this book is narrated by a god who has existed since the beginning of time, and even longer to realize what role the god plays in the events of the story. This is a world full of gods with varying degrees of power. Humans interact with the gods and make deals with them, offering sacrifices in exchange for protection and resources. The city of Iraden is under the protection of a Raven god, and in exchange for that protection, the ruler of the city must die at the raven's appointed time. The story starts when the heir to the throne returns home from war to find that has father has not sacrificed himself as required, but has disappeared, and his uncle has taken over. The story follows the heir's aide as they try to solve the mystery of why and how the ruler disappeared.

The story is narrated in the second person by a god, and alternates between this immediate story, and the much longer autobiographical story of the god's life. Second person narration can be weird, but once you realize that the god is talking to the main character, it makes sense in this book.

Leckie's world building, as always, is very good. It's confusing for a chapter or two, but comes together more and more completely. The politics seem a little dense at first, but are reasonably easy to understand. The god who narrates the book is interesting because of their long view of the world, their slow deliberation, and their understanding of how their own power is limited. The story is engaging and the main characters are likeable - it's an enjoyable read, especially if you like complex world-building. ( )

Good as it goes, but I prefer her SF. I did like the narration style, which included speculation about what various characters (mostly Eolo) thought and felt, and her take on gods and how they work was excellent (particularly the idea that asking a boon from a god could have consequences for the god if granted, and that fulfilling a request could be done by some minor nudging of reality rather than by an instant miracle). But, possibly due to the narrative style, I felt less invested in the characters than I might have been with a more direct connection to them. (For example, Eolo’s situation is particularly interesting (from our world’s view), but it’s largely unnoticed or ignored in-story. ( )

Loved her Ancillary Justice, but felt let down by the sequel. Thought I'd give this a try as I'm more of a fantasy guy anyway. Started, but found the tone off-putting (it's just so serious which is not really me, plus she used unconventional pronouns in her prior series (everyone's "she/her") and did something similar here "you did this, you did that" which reminds me of the Broken Kingdom, which reminds me I'm already reading one Very Serious work of fantasy and I'd probably rather just finish it.)

Checking reviews, and learning the narrator is a rock that I suppose is conveniently always in the right place, or omniscient, didn't turn the tide in the book's favour. So I've stopped.

3 stars for the first half of the book: I was getting bored and had to start speed reading. But the rest of the book was awesome, and I love how things turned out. Really cool concept and universe!! And I loved all the main characters! ( )

My overwhelming response to this novel is that it's interesting, and I'm not saying that because I'm being ironic, or I'm struggling for something positive to say. However, this is something of a deconstruction of certain fantasy tropes from the perspective of the gods, rendering the human characters somewhat stylized and distancing the emotional response of the reader; as these characters struggle to deal with forces that have their own agendas, and that they really don't comprehend. You probably have to be in the right mood to really get into this story but I'd say that it's worth giving it a shot. ( )