lottpoet's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
coffeeandink's review
Book 2 of the Song of Naga Teot. Definitely post-apocalyptic sf rather than fantasy. Two-thirds of a trilogy that has never been completed. Generations ago, the land of the Teot peoples was invaded and conquered by the Tansmen; "peoples" because this encompasses multiple ethnicities and kingdoms, as does Tansmen. The Teot now live in desert lands, although this may be due to being driven from the more fertile coasts by the Tansmen -- it's not clear. Currently the land is being threatened by the Osa, who clearly have access to better tech than the Tansmen and Teot do, and who are basically burning the land and everything in it alive. For clearance? It's not clear why this is a good policy.
Anyway. Naga survived the destruction of his people by the Osa, then became a warrior and a bard, and has sworn allegiance to the ruler of the Tansmen, Caludrunan, who was once fostered by Naga's family and became very close to Naga's older brother. This book is focused more or less on Tansmen internal politics, to the detriment of preparing to fight the Osa. I liked the books a lot less than I expected to because:
* There's way too much fighting to hold my interest.
* While the politics aren't particularly complicated, I can't follow the oblique way they're discussed.
* Naga is such a Mary Sue. He's a super-accomplished warrior of a particularly kind of rare training that is famed across the continent! He's a bard of extraordinary learning and skill! He was the leader of a famous Osa-marauding band before he was twenty! (He is now about twenty.) He was accidentally semi-brain-fried by an influx of ancient lost technological knowledge when he was a child escaping the Osa and now he has prophetic visions!
* The main emotional bond that powers the narrative is the friendship between Naga and Caludrunan, or rather the emotional dependency of Naga on Caludrunan. This has never made sense to me. It happens in their first meeting, and you have to accept it as a condition of the narrative. And I can accept it as a condition of the plot, but it never makes emotional sense to me.
* The book is incredibly homoerotic, but denies it in a way that reads as homophobic. There's the intense bond between Naga and Caludrunan. Naga can only sleep free of nightmares when he's in Caludrunan's bed. Both Naga and Caludrunan agree that Naga's sanity depends on Caludrunan's existence. Caludrunan says his wife is jealous of his closeness to Naga. Enemies start rumors that they're lovers. But they're not lovers! Naga responds to the rumors by getting married. Boy prostitutes show up to show specifically that homosexuality exists, and that Naga and Caludrunan aren't homosexual.
* Caludrunan is a truly terribly political strategist, and Naga thinks he's great. Granted, this may be an unreliable perspective, but I think we're actually supposed to buy it.
Anyway. Naga survived the destruction of his people by the Osa, then became a warrior and a bard, and has sworn allegiance to the ruler of the Tansmen, Caludrunan, who was once fostered by Naga's family and became very close to Naga's older brother. This book is focused more or less on Tansmen internal politics, to the detriment of preparing to fight the Osa. I liked the books a lot less than I expected to because:
* There's way too much fighting to hold my interest.
* While the politics aren't particularly complicated, I can't follow the oblique way they're discussed.
* Naga is such a Mary Sue. He's a super-accomplished warrior of a particularly kind of rare training that is famed across the continent! He's a bard of extraordinary learning and skill! He was the leader of a famous Osa-marauding band before he was twenty! (He is now about twenty.) He was accidentally semi-brain-fried by an influx of ancient lost technological knowledge when he was a child escaping the Osa and now he has prophetic visions!
* The main emotional bond that powers the narrative is the friendship between Naga and Caludrunan, or rather the emotional dependency of Naga on Caludrunan. This has never made sense to me. It happens in their first meeting, and you have to accept it as a condition of the narrative. And I can accept it as a condition of the plot, but it never makes emotional sense to me.
* The book is incredibly homoerotic, but denies it in a way that reads as homophobic. There's the intense bond between Naga and Caludrunan. Naga can only sleep free of nightmares when he's in Caludrunan's bed. Both Naga and Caludrunan agree that Naga's sanity depends on Caludrunan's existence. Caludrunan says his wife is jealous of his closeness to Naga. Enemies start rumors that they're lovers. But they're not lovers! Naga responds to the rumors by getting married. Boy prostitutes show up to show specifically that homosexuality exists, and that Naga and Caludrunan aren't homosexual.
* Caludrunan is a truly terribly political strategist, and Naga thinks he's great. Granted, this may be an unreliable perspective, but I think we're actually supposed to buy it.
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