Book Review: Firebrand by A. J. Hartley

Pros: excellent world-building, interconnected plot, great characters

Cons: 

Grappoli is invading more native territory, sending refugees fleeing to the city of their enemy, Bar-Selehm. But Bar-Selehm’s politicians aren’t sympathetic to the refugees’ plight, and some believe the time to unite with their white brothers of Grappoli, at the expense of the black and brown lower classes of their own city, has arrived. When important military papers are stolen, a clue sends Anglet Sutonga to an exclusive club, where she investigates the connections of its members.

This is the second book set in this faux 19th Century South Africa. While you can read this without having read Steeplejack, characters are reintroduced without preamble, so you may find yourself confused by some of the relationships. The plot is self-contained and while the politics carry on from the previous book, it’s easy to figure out what’s happening in that respect. Some of the world-building assumes you’ve read Steeplejack, so there’s little explanation of the Drowning and the racial divisions of the city, though those come up a lot in the story.  

The world-building on the whole is excellent. Again, there’s very little of the book happening outside the city, but the city itself affords lots of conflict. I’m impressed by how detailed and realistic the interconnectedness of everything is in the book.

I really like Anglet. She’s young, passionate, and tries to do the right thing, even when knowing what the right thing to do is difficult. And with the racial and political tensions running through this book, she’s often left unsure of why she feels like she does and whether her work for Willinghouse is achieving any good. I especially liked her confusion over how to best help the refugees, and why she felt a connection to their sorrows despite their differing circumstances.

I appreciated the introduction of a deaf character and the chance to see more of Bar-Selehm’s society (high and otherwise). I liked the fact that characters had differing opinions on the political situation of the city. 

Unfortunately I read the book in a disjointed manner, which made it hard for me to recollect who some of the players were. There are certain scenes that require a careful reading, as the cast is fairly large and some seemingly minor details become important later on.

The plot went in several disjointed directions as Anglet slowly figured out what was going on, pulling together for the climax. 

I really enjoyed this book, and its discussion of racism, refugees, and colonialism is topical.

Book Review: Firebrand by Gillian Philip

Pros: characters feel real, interesting story, compelling, emotionally gripping

Cons: Kate's cruelty made her queenship hard to understand, worldbuilding had some gaps

Seth is an angry child, abandoned by his mother and ignored by his father.  Only his older half-brother, Conal, cared for him in his youth.  So when Conal is exiled to the mortal realms by Kate, the Sithe queen, Seth travels with him.  But life in the late 16th century is hard, especially when they're obvious targets for the witch craze.  This is the first part of Seth's tale.

I'm not a fan of character driven novels, but there are exceptions to every rule.  And boy, is this an exception.  Seth's angry youth and damaged pride grabbed my interest and never let it go.  This isn't an angsty story and Seth does grow up, but he only learns there are more things in the world that deserve his anger and that love brings its own kinds of pain.

As a narrator, Seth constantly alludes to future happenings, meaning that even when things are going well for him in the book - as rare as that is - it won't last.  Indeed, the tension caused by knowing things will get worse is partly why this book was so compelling.  It's also what makes the ending so forceful.

I was surprised that Kate, a queen who ruled by consent, was able to keep power considering as readers we only hear of the cruel things she does.  I found this a flaw in the worldbuiding, that we're so focused on Seth's family's dun (holding) that there's no sense of a larger world on their side of the veil.

It also took me longer than I'd care to admit to figure out that the Sithe switched terms with humans, calling themselves human beings, us the full-mortals and stories about us 'fairy stories'.  At first I thought the fairy story reference was an error.  This swapping of terms could have been made clearer, though Philip did do a great job of explaining other aspects of Sithe culture through realistic circumstances.  I loved the inclusion of truenames and water-horses, and the Lammyr were a creepy invention.  There was also a great conversation half way through the book between Seth and one of his lovers about some differences between Sithe and mortal customs with regards to women.  And I loved that the Sithe were an equal society, with no bias with regards to lovers, though also little love for offspring.

I don't always mention this but there are 2 rapes that occur in the book.  One is off stage and neither is described in any detail.  I appreciated the care given one of the characters with regards to healing and finding love despite the reality of the horrors of the world.

Ultimately it's a great book that's hard to put down, though it won't leave you feeling warm and fuzzy at the end.