Quote:
Originally Posted by pdurrant
Next up: Gilded Cage a recent purchase.
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Just too silly for me. Some people have real magical powers ('Skill'), but despite this British history was essentially the same up to Charles I, when he was deposed not by the common people lead by Oliver Cromwell, but by one of the 'Skilled', who then instituted rule by the Skilled or 'Equals'. (cf Peers).
Who then impose a mandatory 10-year servitude on the non-skilled, where they must work for the skilled for ten years of their lives as slaves.
But despite all this, British history essentially carries on as in our history, to the extent that the motorway network is similar, and even to such things as Gormley's "Angel of the North" statue.
And people have essentially 20th-Century British lives, with children at school, universities operating, everything essentially as at present, and you can choose when to undertake your ten years.
But the ten years are performed in hellish factory towns with no rights for the inhabitants, poor food, minimal health care, and brutality.
In short, it's complete rubbish. One or two of the characters were interesting, but not enough to outweigh the dreadful world-building and plotting.
It also ends on a cliff-hanger, but not even that can persuade me to get the rest in the series. Tosh.
Somehow it's a lot easier to write about something one doesn't like, than about books one's really liked!
Next up:
1635: The Wars for the Rhine. So far the usual flaws of the third-party books. Too many characters and viewpoints. The author may know exactly who all these people are and their relationships, but they need to make more of an effort to ensure that the reader does as well!