knots and masks
Dec. 27th, 2021 03:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ursulaM.A. Carrick, The Liar's Knot.
The Liar's Knot is the second in a twisty, plotty trilogy filled with class and cultural contrasts. The setting feels a bit like seventeenth- or eighteenth-century Venice. It's refreshing to read a long fantasy series that's unapologetically urban, with magic woven into the fabric of the world rather than tacked on for flashy special effects.
At the end of the last book, our heroine Ren saved the city and was inscribed in the Traementis family register. But questions still remain. Chief among them: why was Ren struck by the Traementis curse, when her claim to be a long-lost cousin was part of an elaborate con?
At the beginning of the story, Ren, the uneasy officer of the watch Grey Serrado, and the jumped-up river rat Vargo are at odds. Some of the conflict is caused by misunderstandings, a plot device I always find stressful. If you're like me, rest assured that in the course of the story, many masks are removed. Ren, Serrado, and Vargo team up to investigate the greater mysteries behind a secret society of spoiled aristocrats, expanding the kinds of magic and magical threats that we know about.
Liar's Knot provides answers to some ongoing puzzles, such as what's going on with Vargo's pet spider, and some fun authorial triple crosses. For example, I thought I'd guessed the identity of the mysterious Rook early in the first book, later concluded I was wrong, and learned in the course of the story that I'd been half-right all along. Since this is a middle book, it also offers larger mysteries--and leaves some puzzles, such as the identity of Ren's father, yet to solve. If you'd like a series to sink into at the turning of the year, this is an excellent choice!
(This review is based on a Netgalley ARC.)
The Liar's Knot is the second in a twisty, plotty trilogy filled with class and cultural contrasts. The setting feels a bit like seventeenth- or eighteenth-century Venice. It's refreshing to read a long fantasy series that's unapologetically urban, with magic woven into the fabric of the world rather than tacked on for flashy special effects.
At the end of the last book, our heroine Ren saved the city and was inscribed in the Traementis family register. But questions still remain. Chief among them: why was Ren struck by the Traementis curse, when her claim to be a long-lost cousin was part of an elaborate con?
At the beginning of the story, Ren, the uneasy officer of the watch Grey Serrado, and the jumped-up river rat Vargo are at odds. Some of the conflict is caused by misunderstandings, a plot device I always find stressful. If you're like me, rest assured that in the course of the story, many masks are removed. Ren, Serrado, and Vargo team up to investigate the greater mysteries behind a secret society of spoiled aristocrats, expanding the kinds of magic and magical threats that we know about.
Liar's Knot provides answers to some ongoing puzzles, such as what's going on with Vargo's pet spider, and some fun authorial triple crosses. For example, I thought I'd guessed the identity of the mysterious Rook early in the first book, later concluded I was wrong, and learned in the course of the story that I'd been half-right all along. Since this is a middle book, it also offers larger mysteries--and leaves some puzzles, such as the identity of Ren's father, yet to solve. If you'd like a series to sink into at the turning of the year, this is an excellent choice!
(This review is based on a Netgalley ARC.)
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Date: 2021-12-27 09:29 pm (UTC)