secretlygrandr's review
5.0
This is the queer spy fiction I needed for all these years. There are no words to encapsulate how much this world has captured my heart. It’s not just the incredible worldbuilding, but the characters who are so painfully real and beautiful. It’s been nearly a full 10 months since I first read this book, and I still can’t place the complete and utter way I have been destroyed by it. Remember the days of crying over the end of pride and prejudice when Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy are so in love with each other but they’re unsure of the other’s feelings? The pining? Imagine that but more. You have all of that plus the representation I wish I could have seen in media growing up, and possibly the most beautiful style of prose I’ve encountered in published fiction.
mimosaeyes's review
3.0
This book is full of alcohol/cigarettes/sex(ual tension) and things going on under the surface. That sort of atmosphere needs better worldbuilding to support it than Donnelly provided. The political backstory (oh so important, I gleaned eventually) was too murky, left opaque and obscured by the hollow parade of scene after scene. I wanted to like this novel more, given its premise about intrigues and spies and such, plus its LGBT representation. Oh well...
I did appreciate the slang inventions and different accents, because I love me some attention to linguistic detail. And over time I was won over by how Cyril and Aristide were willing to do anything to keep each other safe, even betray their larger loyalties and use other people as pawns. And at the end, made me catch my breath.
But that's about all that saved the book from a 2-star rating from me. I went ahead and borrowed the second book from the library, but I don’t feel like reading it...
I did appreciate the slang inventions and different accents, because I love me some attention to linguistic detail. And over time I was won over by how Cyril and Aristide were willing to do anything to keep each other safe, even betray their larger loyalties and use other people as pawns. And at the end,
Spoiler
Aristide's letter to CyrilBut that's about all that saved the book from a 2-star rating from me. I went ahead and borrowed the second book from the library, but I don’t feel like reading it...
ohummer's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
pyanfarrrr's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
eliojae's review against another edition
4.0
the barnes and noble bookseller who marketed this as “james bond but if he was gay and bad at his job” really knocked it out of the park with that one
this was a really good read, filled with lots of emotion. cyril+aristide forever<3
will def read the sequels
this was a really good read, filled with lots of emotion. cyril+aristide forever<3
will def read the sequels
sarsev's review against another edition
5.0
This absolutely blew my mind. It is both a well-researched portrayal of the rise of fascism in the 1930s, and a purely original application of that research onto a brand-new alternate world. The end result is something like watching the fall of progressive, pre-war Berlin in real-time without any of the comfort of being able to recognize historical events, because they're different here.
It keeps you on your toes. It also breaks your heart.
Basically, Amberlough follows three core characters through whom we see the fall of the city and the rise of the One State Party (who are this world's equivalent of Nazis, when they first got started).
Cyril is a reluctant spy who, after a brutal brush with death in which his government very nearly left him to die, is constantly on edge and never telling anyone the truth or the whole story. In any other world, his complete devotion to the people he loves would make him a good man - but in this one, it makes him a coward easily manipulated by the wrong people. Also, he's my favorite, because he's an emotional wreck who is trying very hard to pretend that he is not an emotional wreck, and I'm a sucker for those kinds of characters. (No other review I've read liked him at all, but I love him dearly. He's an objectively bad person, but he's trying to do right by the people he loves).
Aristide is a smuggler, a criminal mastermind, and a performer at a cabaret who is everything the One State Party hates. He's also been carrying on a secret affair with Cyril for about a year, despite the fact that they're on opposite sides of the law. They're in love with each other but constantly lying about it and saying cruel things instead, because admitting it would mean putting each other in danger and upsetting the delicate balance that allows them to see each other at all.
Cordelia is a mostly innocent party, pulled into the conflict of the One State Party's takeover in Amberlough not by force (as in Cyril's case, where the OSP is threatening to kill him and everyone he loves, or in Ari's, where they're a danger to his very existence and also his career), but because she knows the wrong people. She's Ari's coworker and party to his smuggling business, and eventually Cyril's fake girlfriend in an effort to protect him from the OSP's violent homophobia. But despite being the only person pulled into this mess almost by accident, Cordelia is also the only one of the three really cut out to be a revolutionary. She's braver than the others, more cunning, and less willing to compromise her convictions under fire.
The three put together provide a crystal-clear picture of Amberlough from all angles. They're also all deeply un-heroic, constantly lying and cheating and stealing and even blowing things up to try to keep themselves alive. Because, let's be honest, sometimes the people who live through the worst parts of history aren't the good ones - they're just the ones who were willing to do anything to survive. Amberlough is about those people.
And while I acknowledge that this book probably isn't to everyone's taste, and is probably a lot less fascinating if you are not a history nerd digging for every overlap it has with the real world - this is a really impressive work. It completely ate my brain for the entire duration of the time I was reading it, and when I had to do other stuff I kept thinking about going back and finishing it. It's all-consuming.
Though do beware that there is a cliffhanger. There are two more books in the series, and the next comes out pretty soon (May of 2018).
It keeps you on your toes. It also breaks your heart.
Basically, Amberlough follows three core characters through whom we see the fall of the city and the rise of the One State Party (who are this world's equivalent of Nazis, when they first got started).
Cyril is a reluctant spy who, after a brutal brush with death in which his government very nearly left him to die, is constantly on edge and never telling anyone the truth or the whole story. In any other world, his complete devotion to the people he loves would make him a good man - but in this one, it makes him a coward easily manipulated by the wrong people. Also, he's my favorite, because he's an emotional wreck who is trying very hard to pretend that he is not an emotional wreck, and I'm a sucker for those kinds of characters. (No other review I've read liked him at all, but I love him dearly. He's an objectively bad person, but he's trying to do right by the people he loves).
Aristide is a smuggler, a criminal mastermind, and a performer at a cabaret who is everything the One State Party hates. He's also been carrying on a secret affair with Cyril for about a year, despite the fact that they're on opposite sides of the law. They're in love with each other but constantly lying about it and saying cruel things instead, because admitting it would mean putting each other in danger and upsetting the delicate balance that allows them to see each other at all.
Cordelia is a mostly innocent party, pulled into the conflict of the One State Party's takeover in Amberlough not by force (as in Cyril's case, where the OSP is threatening to kill him and everyone he loves, or in Ari's, where they're a danger to his very existence and also his career), but because she knows the wrong people. She's Ari's coworker and party to his smuggling business, and eventually Cyril's fake girlfriend in an effort to protect him from the OSP's violent homophobia. But despite being the only person pulled into this mess almost by accident, Cordelia is also the only one of the three really cut out to be a revolutionary. She's braver than the others, more cunning, and less willing to compromise her convictions under fire.
The three put together provide a crystal-clear picture of Amberlough from all angles. They're also all deeply un-heroic, constantly lying and cheating and stealing and even blowing things up to try to keep themselves alive. Because, let's be honest, sometimes the people who live through the worst parts of history aren't the good ones - they're just the ones who were willing to do anything to survive. Amberlough is about those people.
And while I acknowledge that this book probably isn't to everyone's taste, and is probably a lot less fascinating if you are not a history nerd digging for every overlap it has with the real world - this is a really impressive work. It completely ate my brain for the entire duration of the time I was reading it, and when I had to do other stuff I kept thinking about going back and finishing it. It's all-consuming.
Though do beware that there is a cliffhanger. There are two more books in the series, and the next comes out pretty soon (May of 2018).
kiiouex's review against another edition
3.0
ahh I'm quite sad about this one; I loved the opening, I thought it was gonna be a five-star book, I was really vibing with this beautiful smuggler/spy m/m romance.
and then... it just dragged out miserably forever.......
I read two other books in the middle of this one because I didn't want to pick it up ;( there's a lot to love! The worldbuilding is great. The characters are well done. The chemistry between Cyril and Ari is fantastic, and I liked it so much that when I finally clawed my way to the end of this one I still considered getting the next, for more of them? And then I saw the blurb for book 2 doesn't even mention Cyril so haha no
On reflection I think what dragged it down for me is that I was reading it for the romance, and the romance is actually very scarcely on page. It's in the master plan, for sure. But it's only the tiniest little droplets to keep me on with. I'd certainly recommend it to someone who enjoys slower reads, or wants more seditionist books and doesn't mind a more minimal romance but really, I'm just heartbroken it didn't work for me.
and then... it just dragged out miserably forever.......
I read two other books in the middle of this one because I didn't want to pick it up ;( there's a lot to love! The worldbuilding is great. The characters are well done. The chemistry between Cyril and Ari is fantastic, and I liked it so much that when I finally clawed my way to the end of this one I still considered getting the next, for more of them? And then I saw the blurb for book 2 doesn't even mention Cyril so haha no
On reflection I think what dragged it down for me is that I was reading it for the romance, and the romance is actually very scarcely on page. It's in the master plan, for sure. But it's only the tiniest little droplets to keep me on with. I'd certainly recommend it to someone who enjoys slower reads, or wants more seditionist books and doesn't mind a more minimal romance but really, I'm just heartbroken it didn't work for me.
lgiegerich's review against another edition
5.0
I like the whole world, the spy aspect, and the (mostly) matter-of-fact acceptance of fluid sexuality. Fascinating! Also already regretting starting an unfinished series!
jazzgregory's review
3.0
Honest probably a 3.5/3.75 - I felt the beginning had such an information dump and so many characters and political situations were introduced that I didn't get time to understand before they became important..if that makes sense. However the setting in this noir art-deco world is captivating and the romance fueled by angst (there for completely valid reasons) was impossible not to devour.
garbutch's review
5.0
This one needs a lot of trigger warnings. Most of the torture happens offscreen but it happens. There's a suicide by gunshot that's walked in on and one that is nearly attempted through the same means. There's murder (including of friends) and stuff like that.
This book is 3rd person, following Cordelia, Cecil and Ari. I like Cordelia the best. She's done an array of sex work & is very tough stuff. Cecil was mostly likeable and Ari was... both likeable and unlikeable. The characters are motivated by things that seem human and real. Cecil is surviving by doing things you do not want to do, but it becomes doing things you do not have to do either.
There's a bit of a cliffhanger but it's kind of got hope in it.
-
**EDIT: After reading the whole trilogy, updated a season after finishing it.**
Honestly this trilogy was one of the most casually thought-provoking things I've ever read. I hate how short it was and that it skipped over major time intervals between books, but I understand why that happened and why these particular time periods in these characters' lives were chosen.
There's clear character movement; growth is not accurate - not all of them grow, but they are changed by their circumstances for better and worse. This trilogy made me think about things like justice, forgiveness, and what fascism is at its core, and why a figurehead cannot be a movement. It made me think about what it is to prevail and what a future can be when you endure, and when to forgive yourself, and what to do in the absence of justice. Or when justice cannot be seen to in any real way.
What really makes this trilogy hit, to me, is that it gets right who the sort of characters are who do the good things and the bad things. There are people like Cordelia who truly come to be something to reckon with. But that's just not who everyone is who makes things move into being in the world. Sometimes there are people who are in it for shitty reasons, but they are still in it for some reason. It's complicated. But people do things or don't do things in this story because of some kind of investment, emotionally, or otherwise. And it all makes sense to me. It's a real picture of how people behave and how they weigh things in those circumstances. Everything in this is so complicated, and that made it hard to understand sometimes tbh. But it was clearly all things which were thought through by the author in immense detail.
It just. It made me think. It made me re-think some things that I've been mulling over in my head for most of my life because of my own circumstances.
And there are just, so, so many good and poignant passages.
This book is 3rd person, following Cordelia, Cecil and Ari. I like Cordelia the best. She's done an array of sex work & is very tough stuff. Cecil was mostly likeable and Ari was... both likeable and unlikeable. The characters are motivated by things that seem human and real. Cecil is surviving by doing things you do not want to do, but it becomes doing things you do not have to do either.
There's a bit of a cliffhanger but it's kind of got hope in it.
-
**EDIT: After reading the whole trilogy, updated a season after finishing it.**
Honestly this trilogy was one of the most casually thought-provoking things I've ever read. I hate how short it was and that it skipped over major time intervals between books, but I understand why that happened and why these particular time periods in these characters' lives were chosen.
There's clear character movement; growth is not accurate - not all of them grow, but they are changed by their circumstances for better and worse. This trilogy made me think about things like justice, forgiveness, and what fascism is at its core, and why a figurehead cannot be a movement. It made me think about what it is to prevail and what a future can be when you endure, and when to forgive yourself, and what to do in the absence of justice. Or when justice cannot be seen to in any real way.
What really makes this trilogy hit, to me, is that it gets right who the sort of characters are who do the good things and the bad things. There are people like Cordelia who truly come to be something to reckon with. But that's just not who everyone is who makes things move into being in the world. Sometimes there are people who are in it for shitty reasons, but they are still in it for some reason. It's complicated. But people do things or don't do things in this story because of some kind of investment, emotionally, or otherwise. And it all makes sense to me. It's a real picture of how people behave and how they weigh things in those circumstances. Everything in this is so complicated, and that made it hard to understand sometimes tbh. But it was clearly all things which were thought through by the author in immense detail.
It just. It made me think. It made me re-think some things that I've been mulling over in my head for most of my life because of my own circumstances.
And there are just, so, so many good and poignant passages.