The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth DickinsonMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is a plot-driven book. That can be a good thing, but the characters were just interesting enough that I wanted to know more, and the plot just wasn't quite there. I feel like this would have been better as a longer book with more of a look at the characters. I wanted more on Tain Hu and Muire Lo in particular.
The author made some missteps, which were mostly a problem because he wanted his plot to be so brilliant. Some things just didn't add up, and in general I was unconvinced of Baru's genius. She just seems of average intelligence at best. Intuitive, maybe, but bad at handling the information she receives.
I was not particularly shocked by the ending, and honestly it dragged on waaay too long. The epilogue was pretty terrible, and the letters were a bad mistake.
I did like the plot. It was a good idea, especially the world-building. I just wish that it had been more in the background, because I felt the book had so much more to offer than just meetings and tactical plans. This author seems not to have heard of "show don't tell".
The writing was generally good. Bit clumsy occasionally, and the POV got odd toward the end, but acceptable. The style isn't my favorite, but I can deal with it.
I liked this book. I enjoyed reading it for the most part, and at the beginning I had such hope for it. But it just wasn't quite there.
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