The Iron Council review

Back to China Mieville - hurrah!

The Iron Council is good, but it's not as good as the previous two in the sequence.  The scope felt smaller, some of the plot points seemed rather familiar, and some of the sections dragged a bit.  In terms of plot arc, there really isn't that much to it, either, and like The Scar, it turns out to be about something *not* happening, which is a bold move, flirting with anticlimax.  The ending does work, though, and it's still Mieville, which makes it better than a lot of books I've read recently!  It does pick up in the last third, building to an exciting and intriguing climax, which is all about the importance of symbols and the power of hope.

I'm definitely still going to work my way through the rest of Mieville's back catalogue, but perhaps won't be approaching the books with quite such anticipation as before, which is probably a good thing.

White Crow review

White Crow by Mary Gentle gathers together all the White Crow stories into quite a hefty book.  I read the first three.

They're quite odd, with very little in the way of explanation of anything.  The characters have esoteric skills and knowledge, and there is obviously a deeply ingrained magic system, but nothing is ever spelled out clearly.  You just have to tag along for the ride and see what happens - and even by the end of the story, it's often still not clear what's going on.

A bit too vague for my tastes, though I liked the dynamic between the two main characters, but not enough to forge my way through several hundred more pages.