The Tyrant Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After the first two books in the Masquerade, the third would have to pull off a miracle to outdo what has already been done.

I mean, seriously, I've never read a more grimdark tale of friendship and betrayal in the name of a cause. The second one already blew my mind with a certain bloody scene, so I was frankly a little worried that this one would be yet another huge build-up and betrayal.

Strangely, I got the feeling that the author was worried about the same thing. And, indeed, he went out of the way to surprise and delight me with the kinds of twists and turns in this book.

What other books would have me sit on the edge of my seat with SEVERAL lobotomies?

What? The book lobotomized me? ;) Perhaps, but I feel all the smarter for it. Tons of economic theories, lots of time on the sea, and even more time building alliances. And I was amazed almost the entire time.

Few books go all out to worldbuild the way this one has, and few do it with genetics, gene warfare, unique mutations, economic warfare, and naval battles.

This read is not for the faint of heart, but it is a very worthy sequel. If you've come this far, don't miss out on this one. :)



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