A review by cupiscent
The Adamantine Palace, by Stephen Deas
3.0
For a novel that seemed to be very straightforward, run-of-the-mill fantasy, this had some interesting stand-out points. It's peopled with magnificently unlikable characters - selfish, arrogant schemers all - who nevertheless are dynamic and driven enough to really grab and keep your attention. Still, I stand by my check-in musings: that this is a sort of fantasy version of Dangerous Liaisons, where you're supposed to be so bothered by the unchecked privilege and self-centredness of the royalty that you're amenable to the notion of revolution. The fact that in this case the revolution is dragons just adds to the fun, really.
But I couldn't really say I enjoyed it a lot. The writing skips along easily, but isn't beautiful. And none of the characters, because of their myriad and wallowed-in flaws, really demands I follow them onwards. I'm mildly interested in seeing Jehal get his come-uppance, but not enough to spend more time with his smug twerpery. And the big question of "Can mankind survive the uprising of the dragons?" isn't really compelling: I sort of don't care if they do.
But I couldn't really say I enjoyed it a lot. The writing skips along easily, but isn't beautiful. And none of the characters, because of their myriad and wallowed-in flaws, really demands I follow them onwards. I'm mildly interested in seeing Jehal get his come-uppance, but not enough to spend more time with his smug twerpery. And the big question of "Can mankind survive the uprising of the dragons?" isn't really compelling: I sort of don't care if they do.