The Traitor Baru Cormorant
Ratings197
Average rating3.9
Pros: economic and political intrigue, utterly fascinating protagonist, interesting pov, keeps you guessing
Cons: not sure the rebel dukes gave their plans proper consideration
Daughter of a huntress, and a blacksmith, and a shield-bearer, Baru Cormorant grew up in Taranoke. Her world changes when the Empire of Masks uses its trade agreement with Taranoke to slowly conquer the land, educating her and other native children in their schools. Horrified by what has been done to her homeland but knowing that the Empire is too vast to fight, Baru resolves to destroy it from the inside. But first she must prove her loyalty and worth to the Empire by using her intelligence to uncover revolt in another conquered land, Aurdwynn.
Before you start reading the book you're greeted by a map. After a quick cursory glance I turned the page. Maps are common in fantasy books and this one wasn't that detailed or complex. But something had caught my eye so I turned back and examined the map in more detail. It's a map of Aurdwynn, showing the duchies and - more interestingly - Baru's comments on the various dukes and what each duchy is known for. There aren't many comments, but the sheer honesty they portray is refreshing and drew me into the story before it had even begun. Through the map we learn that the people of Oathsfire have awful beards, Radaszic is a complete moron, and Erebog is probably going to starve. It's a clever and fun map that peaked my interest.
The novel starts with Baru's childhood and education before heading to Aurdwynn where the rest of the book takes place. This is a book driven by Baru's character and her attempts to understand, control, and outmaneuver the dukes as she tries to organize the country's finances while rooting out rebellion. While there is some fighting, most of the book is concerned with political and economic intrigue.
Baru's a wiz at economics and seeing the big picture of cause and effect. Where she falters is in recognizing that individual people have the ability to cause change outside of the larger picture, meaning she sometimes gets blindsided by not taking individual passions and choices into consideration. It's a wonderfully tense book with a protagonist who's always thinking so many moves ahead you're struggling to understand her current plays. At one point I had to reread a conversation to figure out what she'd read between the lines during it, in order to understand why she was doing certain things. It's a book that will keep you on your toes, second guessing her and everyone else's motives.
I've never read a book that goes over, however briefly, the conquest of a country, so I really appreciated the point of view. It's both fascinating and horrifying, how - and how quickly - the Empire gained power in Taranoke.
After thinking about the book for a few days I find myself wondering how much the rebel dukes considered their plans. They end up making at least once decision that seems to go against their individual interests. A decision I'm not sure they'd be willing to make as it reduces their own power.
I'm not sure I agree with one aspect of the ending, but I really enjoyed the book. I had to read it quickly, but I'd advise taking time to really think about what's going on - to appreciate the decisions Baru makes and the circumstances she finds herself in. It's a fascinating read and I cannot wait to see what happens next.
Worst Narrator I've ever heard in my life.
She seriously pronounced “Duchy” as “Dookie.”
How this was published/sold like this is beyond me.
who is ceaser salsa u know? her lover chick a weenie tho u gotta be way madder than that bro u got hella played sry then u like ‘drown me mommy'? nah
This is it, folks. This is the book so bad it is the first book I am CHOOSING to DNF in four decades of reading.
(Recommend Betsy's review too: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1458339937 )
Choosing to DNF this book is self-care. Choosing to DNF this book is praxis. Choosing to DNF this book is a kindness to myself and to anyone else reading this review who deserves better than tedious, self-important, Randian politics written by a straight man who thinks that we need more queer tragedy in the world, who thinks that now is a good time to amplify narratives about people from diverse backgrounds taking power so that they can undermine the political system from the inside.
But I'd forgive it so much if it was at least fun or pleasant to read. It's not. It's a slog. It's all The Protagonist Is Smarter Than Everyone (until the narrative requires her not to be) and Exciting Accounting Drama (the details of which don't even make sense). Remember how John Grisham made legal battles riveting? This is not that.
This book gets zero stars from me. This book gets negative stars from me. This book is bad in every way.
Exhausting. Dull at first, then utterly vital from about 40% to the end. Baru's brilliance is at times overblown and the early part of the book feels like watching a board game unfold. Then it turns - around Radaszic's letter, iykyk - and, oh, oh. You know where it's going and you have to watch it go there, heart in throat, hoping against hope until you sink. The style is epic poetry but the spirit is historical materialism. Basically this book is like getting the shit beaten out of you. Respect, but not sure I recommend. The next book has mixed reviews and I am tired, so may or may not continue.
I was a little skeptical about this book because I keep seeing it recommended alongside other books I didn't like very much, and the ‘take an empire down from the inside' storyline can often be kind of cheesy. I'm glad I gave the book a chance (even though it hurt me severely) - this was a tragic story with fascinating characters that never lets you forget for a second the cost of empire.
CAWPILE SCORE
C-9
A-9
W-10
P-8
I-9
L-9
E-9
TOTAL-9/10
Wow an incredible book. The Worldbuilding is incredible and detailed to an extreme. Following Baru Cormorant and her dedication. The characters are never flat and are well written.
The writing was incredible and well thought out. I look forward to the sequels and where it can go next
I knew that Baru cormorant would betray the rebellion but the whole time i was still curious as to how it was going to happen or if it actually would. The bloodline work of the Empire of Masks was disturbing. trying to perfect people based only on their blood. The knowledge of the people behind the Empire was revealing and made sense to me.
This is something really special. Who would have known that a book starring an accountant could be this interesting?
That is a very simplified way to say it though, as there is way more to it than that. A woman rising up through the ranks of the enemy in order to use their own secrets against them - but at what cost? (This is not an accounting pun.)
Baru uses money in order to manipulate things, and uses people and situations just to her advantage. This makes her a very cold and calculating character. But there are cracks, so it's not as if she's completely robotic. She starts out with the best intentions, and her reasons for revenge are reasons you can get behind, so in spite of her not being very in tune with her emotions, you do want to root for her.
The writing is weird, because at times it reads like a retelling of historical events. It's distant, and at the same time not. There are certain events that happen that hit extra hard just because of the tragic way in which they are described. There's a certain moment in this book that I actively think of that is exactly this.
It is really rewarding to read slowly and read between the lines. Things aren't always explicitly explained to the reader, but you can kind of guess it from the context. Then there's also tons of foreshadowing (some I caught, some I absolutely didn't), which is cool as well. I also learned a ton of new words from this book as for once, a lot of what I didn't know wasn't made up! (This genre definitely likes making up words!)
The negative part of it is that at a certain point it all became a little bit too much. Suddenly you're keeping track of so many characters who each have their own alliances and morals and motivations and it would be easy to mix them up. The names I found difficult to remember as well. I'd recognize them while reading, but I wouldn't be able to spell them out afterwards. Even a name that's as simple as “Muire Lo” is an example I had to look up just to be sure, and then you have Pinjagata, Ihuake, Lyxaxu, Dziransi, Xate Olake and Xate Yawa, Unexekome.... You know? I have a sense of who they are when I see their names, but I easily forgot the names themselves. If you are able to really tell them apart and keep your attention 200%, this would definitely be a non-issue and even a plus, so that might just be me.
The further the book went, the more distant Baru becomes, and the more distant the writing becomes, and so I started caring a little less the further it went on. The ending is still great though, and I figure this story is going to stick with me for a while which is why I'm rating it more than four stars.
3.5 stars, Metaphorosis Reviews
Summary
The Empire of Masks has come, in its subtle way, to take over Baru Cormorant's home of Taranoke, and to constrain its broad social structure to the rigid confines of Imperial rules. But Baru, a savant, looks for a way to resist the Empire from within.
Review
For the first several chapters of The Traitor Baru Cormorant, I was excited. Clearly I was in the hands of a master storyteller that had previously snuck under my radar. The characters were strong, the approach was interesting, the prose flowed smoothly. Unfortunately, after a few dozen pages, the book begins to feel a bit vague and rushed, and after the first third the book falls apart. By the end, the themes were so muddled that I'd largely lost interest. I see now that there are other books in the series, but I don't see going on to read them.
In part, this is because the book I expected from that first third isn't the book Dickinson had in mind. While I was looking forward to a personal story about ambition and justice, this is instead a book mostly about politics and military tactics, with ambition and justice thrown in for leavening, and a little bit of personal gloss. I'm just not that interested in politics and tactics, and especially tactics presented without any clear strategy.
Dickinson elides many of the decisions Baru makes, and many of her goals. It makes the book hard to follow, and makes the politics even less interesting, just as the lack of a clear political or military strategy makes the lengthy discussions of tactics senseless because they're not moored to anything. Throughout the book, I never really felt that I understood why anyone was doing anything in particular, or what they hoped to gain from it. Similarly, Dickinson dips into and out of Baru's emotions without ever really exploring any of them. One particular thread – what happened to one of her fathers – is frequently mentioned, but never developed. Now that I know this is a series, there's at least the chance that the idea hasn't been abandoned entirely.
Overall, though, I found the book a severe disappointment – not because I expected anything at the start, but because the start of the book is very good, and the remainder isn't. There are a half-dozen interesting ideas scattered around, but very few are made use of, and the book soon forgets what it's about.
With so much gone wrong in this first book, I won't be reading the rest of the series. But perhaps, with those books of experience under his belt, Mr. Dickinson's next outing will fulfill the promise the start of this book offered.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
Super nuanced and complex exploration of the dilemma of trying to subvert power from within its institutions (and lots of other things too). Felt important and brilliant and I cared about the characters. I have a problem where my mind automatically tunes out war things like it does with sports, even when they're important, so it took me a while to get through. But so good!
CAUTION: SPOILERS
I have extremely mixed feelings about this one, for a few reasons.
The biggest is that Baru is a genius, a savant, a brilliant mind playing four-dimensional chess, except when for plot reasons it's necessary for her to do something dumb, which happens every time she turns around. She trusts someone for no good reason and is betrayed. She gets drunk and says something she shouldn't. Whatever the ostensible reason, the reaction is always the same: Why did I say that? Why did I do that? And the answer is, who knows, it doesn't fit. I do quite like the maneuvering, but the plot never quite aligns with what we're told of its protagonist.
The other big complaint is that you can divide the book into two halves, and most of the second half, the rebel war campaign, drags. Interminable stretches where little happens, Baru surrounded by dukes with minimal character development. They have their archetypes — the smart one, the hot-headed one, the sailor one — but they're pretty two-dimensional.
I saw the ending gambit of the last few pages coming, but by the end when it hadn't happened, I assumed I was wrong. So I was simultaneously surprised, and not. It did pique my flagging interest, so the next book is back to a maybe.
For most of the book, I thought I wanted Baru to be cleverer and do more political maneuvering. By the end, the plot has retconned itself so that she is and has, but the writing in between doesn't support it.
Might wind up revising my review score on this one. Strange book in a lot of ways.
The Traitor is the kind of book that's best if you know nothing going in. So I'll simply say: its character arcs, complex political intrigue, and scorching take on colonialism's corrupting power make it one of my books of the year. Don't read any spoilers below (and especially not the short story), go read it now.
SPOILERS:
The Traitor does a lot really well. First, it's rare to see a story progress and realize that its being told from the villain's perspective. Not a “conflicted hero” (Harry's struggles with his Voldemort impulses), or an “anti-hero” (Clint Eastwood), it's an unfiltered villain and you don't realize it until the end. It's like reading a book told from the perspective of Walder Frey and the finale is his victorious Red Wedding. It's the mark of a great plot twist that it feels completely surprising and brutal in the moment, but completely inevitable on a second read (Lyxaxu's attack feels so out-of-the-blue at first, but then later you think “ahhh of course he's the one who would have figured it out”). All the best twists feel in-character, and that, when you really stop to think about it, nothing else could have reasonably happened. This feels like that.
I really appreciated having no idea of what would happen; I respect Dickinson enough to think there's no “plot armor” and that Baru really could just get assassinated and die at any point, or that she could win the rebellion and rule with her lover, or take a political marriage, or still be an Imperial agent. Right up until the end I felt like it could have gone in any direction, and that's a great accomplishment as a storyteller.
It's also great to see thoughtful, complex political turmoil. Too often fantasy-inspired fiction has really bad politics, where the characters feel like paper cutouts and there's zero intrigue or depth in the political mechanisms (like Sanderson's writing in the Stormlight Archive, which I otherwise enjoy a good amount). This instead feels like real political turmoil, where each character has deep and well-understood motives that drive all their actions (closer to Game of Thrones). When characters scheme in The Traitor, you see what they're doing and why they act that way. The web of connections and rivalries between the dukes/duchesses feels like the inheritance of decades of squabbling, just as it should. Stephen King once said something like “I don't want the reader to feel like if they took a wrong turn, they'd come out a side door and be off set. I want them to feel like every nook and cranny has some unnamed character's whole world hidden behind it.” The Traitor feels like this.
Baru's character arc is great, just a trainwreck of watching someone slowly throw away everything they hold dear. This underlines a really thoughtful critique of empire and colonialism, and eugenics (reminds me of Fifth Season in that way).
I also thoroughly enjoyed the repeated tie-in of the examples of how the empire deals with its political prisoners: let them escape so thoroughly that they think “they'd never let me get this far” and THEN re-capture them. That's exactly what the empire did with the rebellion, and the connections with individual prisoners and the cult “honeypots” drives home the message well. When you're fighting the empire, they're all Fools Rebellions.
I liked the writing style, but the story was extremely hard to follow in audiobook form. So many names only referenced once or twice, so many locations changing names and hands. I'm going to give this another shot at some point in the future and update my rating accordingly, but for now I'll leave it solidly at 3 stars. When I re-read, I'm going to read it in print rather than listen to the audiobook, and maybe I'll be able to track things better.
This probably wasn't my type of book. BUT, that doesn't mean I don't think it is good.
It is such an interesting read with a very vast world and opinions. It is one I probably would have liked better if I read it all in one sitting because I found myself forgetting characters, places, names of random things, and intents of some characters. Therefore, I missed out on some of intricacies.
This book does start a little slow, but it is hard not to like it because it is just so interesting. There is action that comes later. It is also hard not to respect Baru... most of the time. She isn't my favorite type of character, but wow she is such a captivating and interesting character.
With all this said, I'm not sure if I'll read the sequel. Maybe when my mindset becomes more suited to more detailed books I need to take my time with I'll pick it up again.
This was a difficult book to read in more ways than one. First of course there is the subject matter, but also I found the writing very hard to get into. I was halfway through the book until I had to throw my hands up in defeat and reread it from the start. I can boil down the reason for this in two things, first of all during the middle part where I gave up there was a lot of talk about finance which made me zone out while listening to the audiobook, second and more importantly the book moves too fast. There are so many characters in such a short amount of time it is hard to keep track of them. Also the huge timeskips felt like a missed opportunity. At times it felt like a summary of a book than the book itself. This is a complaint I'm making a lot these days about fantasy books but I really think there was two books worth of material in this. I found it hard to connect to Baru and I think spending some more time in her childhood to see how she was shaped to be what she is would help (though she is keeping everyone including the reader at arms length, this might have been an intentional feeling).
The side characters suffer the most from that, I couldn't talk two sentences about any of the characters except Baru herself. Although Baru is such a great character that I didn't particularly mind this. The ending was brilliant and I'm glad Seth Dickinson didn't shy away from it - though my reaction might have been different if this didn't have a sequel. This a 3 bumped up to a 4 for the ending, I'm optimistic the sequel will manage to be a solid 4 throughout and not feel so rushed, because this reads almost like a origin story looking back to it.
I loved the start of this book. From Baru's childhood home, to the descriptions of the Masquerade's increasingly rigid and terrifying social structures, I was hooked.
Unfortunately, I found the rest of the book to be convoluted. Baru's character is assigned as the tax accountant to an unstable land called Aurdwynn, where we are very quickly introduced to dozens of dukes and duchesses who I read as being practically interchangeable with each other, and considering how most of them are slaughtered by Baru's plans or die in battle, there is little incentive to become invested in any of them. There seemed to be little to distinguish their voices from one another. Baru's take on rebellion through loans seemed weird to me - supposedly the population rises up for her, the Fairer Hand, because over a period of a few years she allowed them to take out loans of gold that had a note inscribed on them saying they were from her. I honestly don't think the common people would have noticed - when was the last time you looked at your money and thought about thanking the Treasurer of the United States, whose name and signature are on there. Since she is directly representing the Masquerade's interests, it seemed more likely that the local population would thank the Masquerade, instead of rebelling, if indeed these loans are to be believed to be some sort of driving force.
But most of all, I had a problem with the way the plot is handled. You find out at the end, that the entire time Baru has early on made a deal with the Masquerade's shady under government, so that while it appears from the outside she is leading a rebellion she is in fact neatly delivering the land, sans the ruling class, into the hands of the Masquerade. But since the narrative is largely told from Baru's perspective, it seemed like a weird shift to have a sudden reveal of something our character has been aware of the entire time, thus we as the readers should also have been aware. It seemed inconsistent. It was also hardly a twist - Baru says repeatedly that her entire goal is to get to Falcrest so she can change from within the leadership, which is exactly what she ends up doing.
I thought Baru was interesting, and overall the Masquerade society was chilling, and it left with a sense of oppression similar to 1984 or the Handmaid's Tale. I would be interested in a sequel, but the oppressive set up leads to feel any outcome would be just as bleak.
I should also say that this is one where the audiobook really fell flat - I read the first half and listened to the second, and the narrator was not a good choice for handling so many characters. They all sounded the same.
Well, that was awesome, though not without fault. Props to the writer for really complex and interesting female characters and unbelievable plot-twists that made me stay up at night reading.
The ending broke my heart but made perfect sense, which was almost worse. Impatiently waiting for the next book to find out Baru's next level story. It should be so much fun!
HOLY SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT
- That was one of the most !!!! endings to a book I've read in a long time
- If u like the sound of a morally ambiguous lesbian WoC protagonist this is the book 4 u
- Reaaaaally interesting and dynamic world building; I would've liked some things explained in more detail bc I found myself confused sometimes but that could've also been due to the really sporadic reading sessions I did with this book
- Lots of social commentary abt sexuality, gender expression, sexism, racism (ex: those WHITE porcelain masks of the Masquerade LMAO)
- A little too much specific finance/politics/battle talk for me which is really the only reason I didn't give this 5 stars–that's just my personal tastes but otherwise THIS BOOK WAS BOMB