Blood and Iron, redux
Jul. 16th, 2006 12:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hawkwing_lbMy day to spam LJ.
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matociquala’s Blood and Iron.
When I say this book is the most stunning novel I have read in a decade, I am, if anything, understating.
Elaine is the Seeker. An unwilling servant of a Faerie Queen, she longs for her lost humanity, but stronger ties than her Name hold her to the Faerie realm.
Matthew is a Mage, a member of the Prometheus Club. For centuries Faerie and Prometheus have been at odds, and Matthew has more reasons than most to hate Faerie and all its works.
Each of them is trying to woo the latest player in the game, the Merlin. But this latest Merlin is not eager to take sides.
And there are other complications in the ageless war between Faerie and Prometheus, self-appointed guardians of the iron world: the Dragon, a Dragon Prince, and the seven-year tiend to Hell.
I have said this before. I will say it again. This is a book to sip, slowly. To savour, nuances of language wrapped around a plot that races downhill like a sliding boulder, picking up speed and bouncing sparks as it goes. There is sorrow in it, and unbearable sweetness, and the tragedies of triumph and loss.
Faerie is terrible. And beautiful. There are no right sides, only hard choices. And sweet gods and little fishes, is it glorious.
I could say many things about this book. I could rave and warble rapturously. I won’t, though. But I will say that it reminded me entirely too much of the stories I grew up with, of Cuchulainn, of Fionn and the Fianna, of Clann Lir. Powerful legends, and painful ones, and there is always, always, a price.
Favourite book of the decade. Favourite book of my lifetime.
There’s a POV shift about halfway through. It’s momentarily jarring, but so utterly appropriate. My love for this book is great and defies description, but I think, even if you read it and end up hating it, you have to admire the craft and thought that went into its making.
And it’s only Bear’s fourth published novel. What else is to come?
matociquala’s Blood and Iron.When I say this book is the most stunning novel I have read in a decade, I am, if anything, understating.
Elaine is the Seeker. An unwilling servant of a Faerie Queen, she longs for her lost humanity, but stronger ties than her Name hold her to the Faerie realm.
Matthew is a Mage, a member of the Prometheus Club. For centuries Faerie and Prometheus have been at odds, and Matthew has more reasons than most to hate Faerie and all its works.
Each of them is trying to woo the latest player in the game, the Merlin. But this latest Merlin is not eager to take sides.
And there are other complications in the ageless war between Faerie and Prometheus, self-appointed guardians of the iron world: the Dragon, a Dragon Prince, and the seven-year tiend to Hell.
I have said this before. I will say it again. This is a book to sip, slowly. To savour, nuances of language wrapped around a plot that races downhill like a sliding boulder, picking up speed and bouncing sparks as it goes. There is sorrow in it, and unbearable sweetness, and the tragedies of triumph and loss.
Faerie is terrible. And beautiful. There are no right sides, only hard choices. And sweet gods and little fishes, is it glorious.
I could say many things about this book. I could rave and warble rapturously. I won’t, though. But I will say that it reminded me entirely too much of the stories I grew up with, of Cuchulainn, of Fionn and the Fianna, of Clann Lir. Powerful legends, and painful ones, and there is always, always, a price.
Favourite book of the decade. Favourite book of my lifetime.
There’s a POV shift about halfway through. It’s momentarily jarring, but so utterly appropriate. My love for this book is great and defies description, but I think, even if you read it and end up hating it, you have to admire the craft and thought that went into its making.
And it’s only Bear’s fourth published novel. What else is to come?
