powder_and_page's review against another edition
4.0
An Import of Intrigue is the second novel in Maresca’s Maradaine Constabulary series, which is amazing cop fantasy. Is there actually a sub-genre term for this? It was essential that I catch up on this series prior to starting his latest release, The Imposters of Aventil, as it is the first Maradaine book where the characters cross-over. Couldn’t have any accidental spoilers now, could I? Anyway, this was by no means a burden as Maresca’s books are some of the most entertaining I’ve ever read.
Once again, we’re back on an out of the ordinary case with Inspectors Third Class Satrine Rainey and Minox Welling. Both are admirably clever and unfortunately struggling with personal issues – Satrine’s dealing with the fallout of having her “qualifications” revealed in the previous book and an enemy from her past, while Minox has a magic related problem that only grows worse as time passes. On top of this, they’re investigating a murder that’s becoming a bit of an international mess and the powers above are breathing down their necks, AND there’s turmoil in the streets of Little East. All in all, things are a hot mess in Maradaine.
Satrine and Minox are an awesome duo whose strengths and weaknesses counterbalance well. Satrine is definitely more socially adept, though Minox has the deduction skills of Sherlock Holmes, and both are intensely capable combatants. Minox’s status as an Uncircled mage is both a benefit and a hinderance as has been demonstrated in both Maradaine Constabulary books – his additional skills are always a benefit to the case, though he often can’t be in proximity to those that could sense him, plus he has unique weaknesses only possessed by magic users. Satrine is a loving mother, main provider for her household, and former agent of Druth Intelligence. This provides her with an extensive background in secrecy, stealth, combat, and an unconventional education. I love that more of her background is revealed in this book – there are a few stunning pieces of information dropped here and there. The secondary characters – particularly Corrie Minox are also well-done. Corrie is present enough to have several of her own POV chapters, giving us additional insight to her goals, personality, and even relationship with her brother Minox.
Overall, this was another excellent building block in the world of Maradaine and I greatly look forward to the next installment. I was somewhat disappointed that the resolution of the murder felt somewhat convenient. There was no way that a reader could have surmised the true culprit, though suspicion is certainly thrown onto enough characters. If one of you did guess who it was, please tell me what clued you in! I like that MRM is able to slowly build up the details of the districts/regions of Maradaine by having all these different series. His skill at both character and world building do him tremendous credit as a writer, planner, and creative mind. I am yet again justified in saying he is one of my favorite authors and I think he’s grossly underappreciated (or unknown) by fantasy consumers.
Once again, we’re back on an out of the ordinary case with Inspectors Third Class Satrine Rainey and Minox Welling. Both are admirably clever and unfortunately struggling with personal issues – Satrine’s dealing with the fallout of having her “qualifications” revealed in the previous book and an enemy from her past, while Minox has a magic related problem that only grows worse as time passes. On top of this, they’re investigating a murder that’s becoming a bit of an international mess and the powers above are breathing down their necks, AND there’s turmoil in the streets of Little East. All in all, things are a hot mess in Maradaine.
Satrine and Minox are an awesome duo whose strengths and weaknesses counterbalance well. Satrine is definitely more socially adept, though Minox has the deduction skills of Sherlock Holmes, and both are intensely capable combatants. Minox’s status as an Uncircled mage is both a benefit and a hinderance as has been demonstrated in both Maradaine Constabulary books – his additional skills are always a benefit to the case, though he often can’t be in proximity to those that could sense him, plus he has unique weaknesses only possessed by magic users. Satrine is a loving mother, main provider for her household, and former agent of Druth Intelligence. This provides her with an extensive background in secrecy, stealth, combat, and an unconventional education. I love that more of her background is revealed in this book – there are a few stunning pieces of information dropped here and there. The secondary characters – particularly Corrie Minox are also well-done. Corrie is present enough to have several of her own POV chapters, giving us additional insight to her goals, personality, and even relationship with her brother Minox.
Overall, this was another excellent building block in the world of Maradaine and I greatly look forward to the next installment. I was somewhat disappointed that the resolution of the murder felt somewhat convenient. There was no way that a reader could have surmised the true culprit, though suspicion is certainly thrown onto enough characters. If one of you did guess who it was, please tell me what clued you in! I like that MRM is able to slowly build up the details of the districts/regions of Maradaine by having all these different series. His skill at both character and world building do him tremendous credit as a writer, planner, and creative mind. I am yet again justified in saying he is one of my favorite authors and I think he’s grossly underappreciated (or unknown) by fantasy consumers.
rachelini's review against another edition
2.0
Look, the author was clearly trying to say something about immigrants in a dominant culture and how they're treated, particularly how they're treated by the police, but I feel like he ended up perpetuating stereotypes in how he described his fantasy foreign peoples, and I also felt like there wasn't any consequence or reaction to how they were treated. The casual racism thrown around by his characters was painful to read, and didn't seem to lead to anything. A failed experiment kind of book.
This review said everything I want to say about the race and immigrant issues, and better than I can.
This review said everything I want to say about the race and immigrant issues, and better than I can.
lyndiane's review
5.0
Superb sequel to A Murder of Mages. As in Discworld, there are generous slices of our own cosmopolitan societies reflected in this story, with the inherent tensions and fears that are so typical of different cultures living in close proximity within the confines of a city.
I must confess that I found the multi syllable names a bit difficult to contend with, but that was a very minor issue that in no ways detracted from the satisfaction of this story. A clever not-do-little twist at the end has left me impatiently waiting for the next installment!
I must confess that I found the multi syllable names a bit difficult to contend with, but that was a very minor issue that in no ways detracted from the satisfaction of this story. A clever not-do-little twist at the end has left me impatiently waiting for the next installment!
molockard's review against another edition
5.0
This book is another great title from Maresca in the world of Maradaine, great mix of fantasy and murder mystery and loved getting to see these characters again. If you haven't read the first series set in Maradaine then you should definitely be looking to read those next. If you like the constabulary then get a look at the dark side.
r_loretta's review against another edition
4.0
The ending of this second book was extremely underwhelming. When Minox said this case was going in his unresolved pile I was like, "You damn well bet it is." Other than that, the book still gets 4 stars because I love what's going on with the 2 main charavters and their backgrounds. I'm sure its going to make for interesting future stories. Though I would love for a series about Satrine durning her days working for Druth Intelligence. I bet that would be interetsing.
rubenstein's review against another edition
2.0
While I really did enjoy the central mystery in the novel - powerful, titled man is viciously murdered! - I had an extremely hard time following the rest of the book. Someone already familiar with this world and the events of the first book would have a much easier, and probably far more enjoyable, time than I did.
For the full review and more, head over to The Pretty Good Gatsby!
For the full review and more, head over to The Pretty Good Gatsby!
krisrid's review against another edition
2.0
I loved the first book in this series, and had hoped to love the second. Unfortunately, that did not happen and I have to put this into DNF-land, sadly.
There were two issues for me with this second book:
1) The complexity and amount of unpronounceable names, titles, places, and objects that were part of the story this time around was just too much for me. There was some of that in the first book, but it was off the charts in the second and it was confusing and just too much work to keep things straight. I was so busy trying to remember who was who, and where they were supposed to fit that I was not enjoying the story.
2) There was very little about either Minox or Satrine and their stories in the almost half of the book I read before abandoning this. The lives and backstories of the two main characters was one of the main things I so loved about the first book and that was almost completely missing here.
A great read should make you feel as though you've stepped into the world the author is showing you, and feel natural and seamless. It should not make you feel confused and cranky and distracted, which, unfortunately is what this second book did to me. I obviously am not the right audience for this book, so I will be moving on with my TBR list.
There were two issues for me with this second book:
1) The complexity and amount of unpronounceable names, titles, places, and objects that were part of the story this time around was just too much for me. There was some of that in the first book, but it was off the charts in the second and it was confusing and just too much work to keep things straight. I was so busy trying to remember who was who, and where they were supposed to fit that I was not enjoying the story.
2) There was very little about either Minox or Satrine and their stories in the almost half of the book I read before abandoning this. The lives and backstories of the two main characters was one of the main things I so loved about the first book and that was almost completely missing here.
A great read should make you feel as though you've stepped into the world the author is showing you, and feel natural and seamless. It should not make you feel confused and cranky and distracted, which, unfortunately is what this second book did to me. I obviously am not the right audience for this book, so I will be moving on with my TBR list.
depizan's review against another edition
3.0
I can't say the author handles fantasy ethnicities (and thereby fantasy racism) all that well. Like, I think he means well, but it's still a pile of problematic tropes.
But this series has always been an odd mix of problematic and enjoyable tropes, so I'm not even sure if it's fair for me to complain more here. Then again, the problematic tropes were kind of more the focus, so... eh, I don't know. This series really falls in kind of the same place for me as James Bond movies: there's a hell of a lot wrong here, but I enjoy them anyway. For some reason.
But this series has always been an odd mix of problematic and enjoyable tropes, so I'm not even sure if it's fair for me to complain more here. Then again, the problematic tropes were kind of more the focus, so... eh, I don't know. This series really falls in kind of the same place for me as James Bond movies: there's a hell of a lot wrong here, but I enjoy them anyway. For some reason.
jonathanpalfrey's review
4.0
This second volume in the adventures of Welling and Rainey is well up to the standard of the first. It's fluently written, exciting, and I feel involved with the characters.
What's new is that it adds a variety of exotic cultures into the mix: foreigners with strange customs, languages, and ways of thought—reminding me of Jack Vance, who liked to play with exotic cultures. I think this is good, although perhaps throwing four different exotic cultures at us at once (all involved in the same case) is a bit too much to take in easily.
So far, both books in this series have described bizarre crimes that are not solved in a systematic manner, but by some flash of inspiration. I'm not a devotee of murder mysteries and my experience of them is somewhat limited, but for me this is not entirely satisfactory. Ideally, I'd prefer the crime merely to appear bizarre (but in fact to be relatively straightforward), while I'd prefer the solution to be reached by systematic investigation rather than by flash of inspiration or (in this case) sudden confession.
Also, there seems to be some unresolved doubt about whether the confession at the end of this case is genuine. If not, it's a considerable loose end to leave hanging at the end of the book.
The frequent injuries that our heroes endure make me rather uncomfortable, especially as they never seem to rest and recover, but go on driving themselves into action day after day. How much of this treatment can a body take?
Overall, this is a good book that I'm happy to have bought, but as with all or most good books it falls short of perfection in some respects.
What's new is that it adds a variety of exotic cultures into the mix: foreigners with strange customs, languages, and ways of thought—reminding me of Jack Vance, who liked to play with exotic cultures. I think this is good, although perhaps throwing four different exotic cultures at us at once (all involved in the same case) is a bit too much to take in easily.
So far, both books in this series have described bizarre crimes that are not solved in a systematic manner, but by some flash of inspiration. I'm not a devotee of murder mysteries and my experience of them is somewhat limited, but for me this is not entirely satisfactory. Ideally, I'd prefer the crime merely to appear bizarre (but in fact to be relatively straightforward), while I'd prefer the solution to be reached by systematic investigation rather than by flash of inspiration or (in this case) sudden confession.
Also, there seems to be some unresolved doubt about whether the confession at the end of this case is genuine. If not, it's a considerable loose end to leave hanging at the end of the book.
The frequent injuries that our heroes endure make me rather uncomfortable, especially as they never seem to rest and recover, but go on driving themselves into action day after day. How much of this treatment can a body take?
Overall, this is a good book that I'm happy to have bought, but as with all or most good books it falls short of perfection in some respects.