remarkably original ( )

I had to Work like Dark Souls But it was Worth it

What a ride!

I will be honest and say that that this is not easy listening. Actually, I did say to my partner at one point, "I have no idea what's going on, but the words are pretty and the narration is phenomenal!" So in a sense it is easy listening, but the purposeful stylistic choices, hyper focus on a short period of contemporary action, incredible, but dense worldbuilding, and the remembrances and stories of the god narrating the story did make the story hard to follow and engage with at first. The above quote was from about 30% in. Truthfully, I was still feeling very similar as well as having a good time at the 60% mark. But after that it felt like I broke through and everything I had heard had settled and I was able to follow for the most part (it's worth mentioning I have chronic conditions that affect my capacity and cognition, as well as severe ADHD). It was like the moment you get after a few episodes of The Wire or the many years I spent periodically trying to play Dark Souls and bouncing off it, until one day it clicked and I became completely obsessed.

The stylistic choices are that the bulk of the text, the contemporary, Hamlet-inspired events, are told in second person (you played Scrabble with the rock), which is unexpected and incongruous at first. I saw someone call it "yuck", which is a hilarious response. It absolutely makes sense as it is being told from the perspective of a god to the main character, Ealo. This contemporary story is interjected with the life and history of narrating god, as well as creation myths and stories the god has heard over their long life. These interjections initially feel rather dense as there's a lot to learn, but they are extremely rich and inspired -- seriously, the worldbuilding and theology are incredible. These combined with the hyperfocused present that doesn't exactly hold your hand or jangle keys can appear baffling at first. Looking at reviews some people bounce off this hard (the joys of subjectivity) and I was living in a confused 3/5 for a while, which became a subjectibe 3, but objective 4, before finally falling head over heels for this book, which is a fundamentally incredible undertaking and an uncompromising work of art. A lot of people (myself included) often forget that art doesn't have to be instantly inviting and accessible. Sometimes you have to put work in too (or not if you're not feeling it) and this book, like The Wire and the From Software games, is totally worth that effort.

The performance is truly out of this world! Anjoa Andoh has instantly joined my pantheon of narrations alongside Moira Quirk, Samuel Roukin, and Toby Longworth. The variety of accents and voices are outrageous. I am one who often errs on narrators doing accents (often because they are either just bad or actively offensive), but these are amazing (according to me, I'm no expert).

One thing I see coming up in reviews from both ignorant bigots and those meaning well, but not stopping to think about what they are saying or what they actually expect, is about the main character being a trans man. For the record, I'm a Genderqueer transfemme and I loved Ealo and how he was handled (obviously, I don't speak for all trans and Genderqueer folx). An authentically portrayed trans man given context of the setting, whose gender isn't his defining feature and doesn't have to experience tragedy and trauma because of it. There are moments in which it is discussed and a respectful question is asked, but he's never vilified or made one dimensional by who he is. I LOVE THAT! Don't get me wrong, people can and should write about their experience and pain, and highlight just how awful to and ignorant about us so many people are and that there is literally a trans genocide happening around the world. BUT not every story and character has to be reflect that. I've also seen people claim that this character is jarring in their inclusion or that their inclusion is some kind of stunt or unnatural (honestly, different semantic meaning depending on the person saying it). Again, I don't speak for anyone but myself, but I thought it was brilliant. I think some people don't think about what they are actually saying because it sometimes sounds a lot like they want characters to be stealth or only be revealed in BS ways after the fact like that old citrus sweet enjoying wizard from those books by that hate preacher. Assumptions are made about characters based on experience and other media, so it is generally assumed (by the average reader) that all characters are cishet, white, able bodied, average body, and neurotypical unless stated otherwise. Stating otherwise and having situations relevant to the setting and story that interact with this (not crowbaring things in) is not weird, jarring, or stuffing anything down anyones' throat, regardless of how you personally feel. I don't know if Leckie is Queer/ trans, but her books often appear in Queer lists and her work often includes discussion and transgression of gender norms (which is AMAZING), so she absolutely has form and experience with this and isn't 'inserting a trans character in for the sake of it', unless the sake of it is having trans characters because their are trans people.

My feelings on this have truly been wild. I remember reading reviews and wishing I felt this was a 5/5, before I finally got it and it really did remind me of that aha moment with Dark Souls. Listening to this while playing Elden Ring was rough though, but my conditions and ADHD mean reading is hard and I can't just do nothing and listen to an audiobook. I'm so glad I gave this the chances it dessvered and recognised the issues were with me because I came away absolutely loving it and wanted to devour the rest of Leckie's work!

If I have to say one negative thing, the repetition of "My father did not flee" felt like it was hammering into my brain. ( )

On the whole, I liked this book a lot—mostly for its central idea, gods who are domesticated metaphysical beings and form complex trading systems that essentially use performative language as currency. Awesome, right? It is awesome.

While the attention to politics reads more like anthropological SF, the setting belongs to the fantasy tradition and is skillfully rendered, a textured, bronze-age world that feels fresh and lived-in. I really enjoyed BEING in this novel.

As in the Ancillary series, Leckie experiments with form, with a narrator (the god Strength and Patience) who tells the story in second person. It was honestly a lot more readable than I expected, and I enjoyed the mental gymnastics of identifying with a "you," the young soldier Eolo, whom we honestly don't know that well.

Still, it's a weird book. The plot is essentially a retelling of Hamlet (I don't think that's a spoiler, the parallels are obvious early on), and Leckie has fun inverting aspects of the original story and drawing parallels between Mawat's slow-burn revenge plot and Strength and Patience's own arc.

The storytelling, and the conceit of a magical narrator who can only speak the truth but manages to withhold information, is all very clever. Still, I have to admit that I found the Shakespeare parallels distracting, and that paired with the narrative distancing effect meant that the last act lacked drama for me, despite some powerful moments.

An enjoyable read, and it's quite possible there were nuances that I missed due to inattention, but I didn't fall in love enough to warrant a reread. ( )

The Raven Tower is the first epic fantasy from SF author Ann Leckie known for her Imperial Radch trilogy (in which the first novel, Ancillary Justice received critical praise and won the Hugo Award,Nebula Award, BSFA Award, Arthur C. Clarke Award and Locus Award). In this complex and absorbing and surprisingly short fantasy novel the best-laid plans of gods and mortals collide, throwing a nation into turmoil and setting the stage for a divine conflict that’s been brewing for centuries. In a twist on Shakespeare's Hamlet, the tale spins out in past and present (which can be hard to follow at first), narrated by the rockbound god known as the Strength and Patience of the Hill. The god is speaking to Eolo, a warrior in service to Mawat - the heir to the bench and rightful ruler of Iraden, whose uncle has usurped his role. As the god recounts its ancient history (the narrative is told in second person, a technical challenge that takes a while to get use to I must admit), it also relates Eolo’s attempts to determine what happened to Mawat’s supposedly vanished father and how this connects to their patron god, the Raven, whose power is waning. With foreign gods taking an active interest in the kingdom, political intrigue brewing, and Mawat taking ever-bolder actions, Eolo must uncover Iraden’s greatest secret. And although it is a common fantasy trope to suggest gods gain strength through faith and worshipers and that they can employ that strength to bend reality Leckie makes this trope her own as she explores what happens when multiple beings of power collide. The climax of this revengeful political fantasy is absolutely riveting and becomes quite the page turner. Leckie’s tale is bold and masterful and as always, deeply intelligent examining the details of power, politics, and the nature of a divinity. I can't wait to reread this novel. ( )

Interesting, weird and deep. I want to know mooooore! ( )