|
I finished up K.J. Parker's Colours in the Steel. I enjoyed the book. All the spin and "wagging the dog" that goes on in today's conflicts/wars/politics in a fantasy setting where lawsuits are settled by a fencing bout between lawyers (advocates). There's also a war nobody really wants to fight, but gets fought regardless. Sarcastic, darkly funny and tragic all at the same time. I have the next two books in the series ready to go, but I'm not inspired enough to continue at the moment... maybe later. Not because the writing and the story wasn't good enough, but because of the format, mostly. This is the first book of Parker's I've read that wasn't a stand-alone, and as such, it left a slightly unpleasant taste in my mouth.
It was a tad longer than it needed to be, and I frankly can't appreciate exposition and setup taking place at the end of a book (even with the next two sitting on the "shelf"; ready to go). It just feels weird. The last chunk of Colours in the Steel devolved into the messy exposition of characters and plot-lines that were being elevated from minor roles to more prominent ones—presumably in preparation for the next book in the Trilogy. Not nearly enough resolution for the time investment. Another potentially great story that stumbled because it just had to be part of a Series. Oh well.
I'm starting Rising Tides, book 5 in Taylor Anderson's alternate universe/military scifi "Destroyermen" series.
|