Donald Maass Literary Agency

Locus: Five years ago, I was privileged to review, in the online wing of this fine publication, Seth Dickinson’s debut novel, The Traitor Baru Cormorant. I praised his prose as “deft and forceful,” while deeming his characters “all built to clever and deep dimensions, with fully human qualities and motives.” Finding his novel to be a tasty blend of C.J. Cherryh’s early planetary romances and Samuel Delany’s revisionist Nevèrÿon fantasies, I concluded by saying that Dickinson had succeeded “in building and exploring a morally treacherous world populated with exotic characters whose hearts nonetheless align with ours.”

Of course, I had no way at the time of foreseeing what refinements or surprises or critical illuminations subsequent volumes would bring. But now that I’ve caught up with book two, The Monster Baru Cormorant, and now that book three has arrived, I discover that while I stand by all my earlier assessments, I have to add a few fresh notes, and, of course, evaluate the newest entry and the series as a whole.

First, I want to observe that while Traitor struck me as somewhat mannerpunk in its elaboration of ceremonies and politesse, the series has definitely gone grimdark.

Also, I did not give enough weight to Dickinson’s rich and exotic worldbuilding and culture-minting. This universe hangs together organically, and the distinct societies are multiplex and deep.

Thirdly, we could entertain some useful comparisons with elements of Robert E. Howard’s landscapes and figures, or those of Fritz Leiber’s more sophisticated sword and sorcery tales. Although utterly postmodern, this series revels in pulp tropes and vigor.

And finally, with the huge scope of the tale now revealed, we can evaluate Dickinson’s skills at plotting and managing a huge narrative arc.

[…]

Dickinson can construct a five-page fight scene that never falters, and then turn around and describe that emotionally charged parental reunion with some tenderness. He tops himself with a vision that Baru has towards the end of the book, after all the dust has settled and she’s achieved a mixed victory: she sees the future she’s ensured as a kind of glittering utopian reward for all the suffering people of the Empire. But will it come to pass, given the mystery embedded in a small coda that posits more challenges just ahead?

Booklist: This mind-bending sequel focuses on Harrow, the leader and last child of the Ninth House, who became a Lyctor at great cost in Gideon the Ninth (2019). But the course of Lyctorhood does not run smoothly for Harrow, who often hallucinates and remembers the events of Gideon much differently than the reader will; also, she may be haunted. Meanwhile, learning to use her new, almost unlimited necromantic power proves difficult given her mental instability, the unwillingness of her near-immortal tutors to impart their wisdom, and the imminent destruction of the Empire by vengeful, ghostly forces. Secreted on an isolated space station waiting for their doom to arrive, Harrow’s frenemy and fellow new Lyctor Ianthe offers precious little in the way of support, while the Emperor cuts a disturbingly paternal figure. Muir presents a series of enigmas and revels in gory detail before bringing everything to a riveting, no-holds-barred conclusion that will leave readers both satisfied and gnashing their teeth for the finale. Fans of a blend of horror, mystery, dark humor, and the uncanny found in books like Daniel O’Malley’s The Rook (2012) will want to start with the first Ninth House book, then devour this one.

Library Journal: Harry Dresden is not a popular wizard in the eyes of the White Council, but he has been tasked with providing security to the senior council members as they join several other coalitions to discuss peace with the signers of the Unseelie Accord. As the Winter Knight, Harry must also liaison for Mab, Queen of Air and Darkness, which has placed him further in the crosshairs of the council, his grandfather, Ebenezar McCoy, comes to warn him. As the allies he was living with face an assassin who’s well-known to him, Harry must find a way to keep the talks going while he tries to discover the truth behind the attack, satisfy the players he serves, including the vampire Lara Raith, and make sure that his loved ones survive. Harry has protected his hometown of Chicago from the paranormal for years, but this summit may end up revealing far more than the powers at hand.

VERDICT With many familiar faces returning and lots of magical action, this latest from Butcher will have fans rejoicing at the return of Chicago’s only professional wizard.

NPR: If the first books were episodes in a four-part TV miniseries, then Network Effect is the feature-length movie with the bigger budget and scope, and it is no less enjoyable….with a little more room to breathe, Wells draws out all of those elements in a way that extends the enjoyable experience of the novellas, yet doesn’t drag.

One of the consistent strengths and joys of the series is Murderbot’s internal dialogue. It catalogues the world with files and backups and keyword tagging that are both technical and humorous. It also has a childlike way of narrating through problems, of chiding itself for its failures and cheering on its own successes in a way that is hard not to find endearing.

Wells is also adept at taking action that occurs in seconds, or even fractions of seconds because that is the speed of a computer, and slowing it all down for us simple humans to understand. And when Murderbot needs to live up to the name and get its hands dirty, Wells can also ratchet things up to John Wick-ian levels of visceral action.

And that’s the hallmark of any good series — it leaves you wanting more. Murderbot and the world it inhabits constantly leave you wanting more, in the best possible way.