Valour and Vanity by Mary Robinette Kowal
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Kowal's (by now characteristic) thorough research and attention to detail shines again to create a fascinating and immersive story. In particular, I loved the insights into different strata of life in this novel, the very poor, the working class, the well-off, the nuns, etc. They all felt like people, never caricatures, which takes careful work. As a fantasy fan, I also liked the furthering of glamour techniques and the Vincents' skills as a "development of magic" angle. I'm very curious to see where that goes in the final novel!
My only qualm with this book was the beginning. It's a heist novel and the end comeuppance is tight and excellent and clever, everything I could have asked for. (Kowal writes a little in the afterword about how the final action scene needed to be written and I'm awed at the flawless execution.) But the early groundwork felt a little too slow to develop, as Jane's trusting nature obscures the underlying plot. I debated whether this was my lack of insight or the way it was written and I suspect it's a little of both. Jane's point of view is written so engrossingly that it was difficult for me to step outside it and consider other angles. All-in-all, it's a characteristic of the character-based story and not a flaw; definitely an experience that makes me want to re-read to see what I get out of it a second time.
The highlight of this book, as always, were the characters of Jane & Vincent. I greatly enjoyed my time in their company, particularly as their situation strained & strengthened their relationship. Kowal deftly handles their reactions to events past and present, never glossing over the strain that these events can place on even the most loving relationships.
This is the 4th book of a projected 5 book series and is still highly recommended for fantasy fans, regency readers, and now fans of heist novels!
No comments:
Post a Comment