I read Anne Leckie’s “The Raven Tower” this weekend. It was GRIPPING and DELIGHTFUL and I resented every time I had to put it down, and oh HEY look at that trans man main character!
I love this world, I love how well it’s realized. I love Eolo, the main character, and how sensible he is. He’s so practical and reasonable and he’s just a guy who gets stuff done when it needs to get done. Not everyone in this book is the kind of person who does that. The author is not afraid of characters with bigass flaws, which is also a damn delight. The range of humanity visible in here just feels so REAL.
The storytelling conceit is also fascinating: a 1st person narrator talking TO the MC. DO NOT let this throw you off at the start. It’s awesome once you get the swing of it, and it all makes sense at the end. Once you get the hang of it, the narrator’s voice drives the story like a lowkey drumbeat and makes everything so UTTERLY compelling and engaging, like you’re not so much reading the story as having it told to you.
I love this book. I love it. I love the characters. I want more.