In this first volume of his Starbridge chronicles, Park introduces us to a world where seasons last a lifetime, privileged people have tattoos on their palms that compel others' obedience, and a bizarre religion attempts to preserve a rigid stratification of society. The initial narrative voice in the book is fascinating; it belongs to a member of an outcast society, meat-eaters who speak idiosynchratic languages and communicate largely through music and dance. Most of th rest of the book is told in third person and describes the activities and adventures of two of the ruling class, along with assorted secondary characters. Until the final quarter of the book, there was not a character that I found compelling, but the world (Park's city is called Charn, but we do not meet the Empress Jadis) is fascinatingly weird, and the style and language are both vivid and entirely appropriate to the weirdness of the world. I did not really see a structured story; the novel serves primarily to introduce us to the world and set up the sequel. I can't comment on the series yet, but I'm keeping an eye out for the next volume. ( )

A hard read to get started with, but utterly engrossing as it progresses. The worldbuilding is firstclass, and reminds me a bit of Gene Wolfes in the New Sun series.
On a world where a season lasts a lifetime, the experiences of one generation has little relevance for the next. And in order to keep some semblance of order in the spring - where there is little food, and the weather is destructive - a religion that controls all aspects of peoples lives based on their horoscopes, physical defects and the family they are born to has gained ascendance in a large part of the world. ( )

http://rivkat.livejournal.com/124026.html ( )