(no subject)

[skygiants]

I read a review of T. Kingfisher's Clocktaur Wars duology that said it was "strangely difficult to describe," which puzzles me because I find it really easy to describe: it's a quest fantasy in which a small group of quirky characters attempt to complete a dangerous mission, while the DM the author occasionally throws backstory complications at them! I mean, it's an extremely very enjoyable iteration of this kind of story but the structure is very classic RPG.

For our character classes we have:

THE ROGUE - Slate, party leader, a pragmatic forger with code-breaking, lockpicking, and false-accounting skills who has Made Enemies In Her Time!
THE ASSASSIN - Brenner, the rogue's Snarky, Amoral, and Deadly ex-boyfriend!
THE PALADIN - Caliban, who used to kill demons until he got possessed by a demon and murdered a lot of people, now haunted by his former possession and his crimes! (but still very paladin-y)
THE SCHOLAR - Learned Edmund, a brilliant idealistic-but-clueless (and misogynistic) nineteen-year-old nerd from a cloistered scholarly order who has to Learn About The Real World!

With eventual bonus companion
THE GNOLE - Grimehug, an adorable but amoral nonhuman critter from an enemy city!

The country is being attacked by mysterious and unstoppable living clockwork critters from Anuket City, so everyone except the scholar and the gnole have been recruited from out of the prisons to go on a quest to Anuket City and figure out how they're being made and how to stop them, with magic tattoos that will eat them if they diverge from their mission.

(Learned Edmund volunteered and also was never in prison, so he doesn't get a murder tattoo.)

The first book, The Clockwork Boys, features the Gathering of the Fellowship and Questing Adventures; the second, The Wonder Engine, is Investigation In Anuket City. The party bonds, Caliban and Slate progress from UST to dedicated pining, demons and weird magic and occasional plagues and Slate's old enemies all provide complication, and it all feeds a very specific kind of fun fantasy quest party itch.

As a sidenote, I would one hundred percent have known that this book was written as a response to playing lots of Dragon Age even if T. Kingfisher hadn't said so in one of the author's notes, because the entire ending sequence felt EXACTLY like a Bioware boss fight, complete with a final villain that's programmed to nyoom along a limited track and shriek insults at you as you attempt to complete a programmatic task without being killed by respawning minions. I kept expecting to see the progress bar for Slate's lockpicking.

Comments

[sovay]

the entire ending sequence felt EXACTLY like a Bioware boss fight, complete with a final villain that's programmed to nyoom along a limited track and shriek insults at you as you attempt to complete a programmatic task without being killed by respawning minions.

Does this work on the page?

[conuly]

Surprisingly well.

[tree_and_leaf]

It worked for me, although I've never played a Bioware game so didn't spot the similarities.

But I really enjoyed the books - creepy, compelling fun with characters who felt like real people (though I did spot their character classes straight off...)

[skygiants]

The nyooming villain was honestly a little distracting for me personally in that particular sequence, but I think it work fine if you weren't already thinking about other, pre-existing, deeply ridiculous nyooming villains.

[schneefink]

The murder tattoos were creepy.

[skygiants]

THAT WAS VERY CREEPY. I kept slapping my hand over my arm in sympathy every time a description of arm-gnawing happened.

[kate_nepveu]

I have no idea if these were good books because my brain kept going Doctrine of Labyrinths - Chalion - Pratchett, all of which were intensely important to me, and I couldn't see the forest for the trees! Totally my fault, not the books, they are entitled to draw on common trope pools all they like, just.

[thistleingrey]

Pratchett would be a particular hard reference point-set, I'd think, because there's so very much in his books.

(I'd like to read Kingfisher and not only Vernon, at some point, but this one may not be for me given probably unpopular opinions about the Dragon Age games.)

[lemon_badgeress]

It might not be the best starting point, but I think the characterization might carry you along over any bits of the plot you were irked at.

[skygiants]

Depending on your unpopular opinions, you might find it satisfying -- Kingfisher I think was also reacting to a certain degree against.

[thistleingrey]

Thanks--that's good to know!

[skygiants]

Of these three trope sets, I only know the Pratchett! It didn't feel overwhelmingly Pratchett-y to me, though the influence is certainly there.

[kate_nepveu]

The gnoles just felt very Pratchett, fairly or not, to me.

[genarti]

I super need to read the second one, because I found the first one a delightful and charming example of the genre. :D

[skygiants]

I now own both on my Kobo, so you can definitely borrow at some point!

[genarti]

Too late; I already have it on my own kobo too >.>

(I found a kindle gift card I was given ages ago and lost track of, which is a great present from past me to present me! So even though I usually don't buy from Amazon, I have now used it without shame to get Briarley and The Covert Captain and and Trail of Lightning and The Wonder Engine and could still probably get another book or two once I figure out which ones to get.)

[skygiants]

(oh well I guess I'm just gonna have to recommend you more books to purchase, it will be terrible >.>)

[agonistes]

..........a response to lots of Dragon Age, you say

[skygiants]

I would LOVE for you to read these books and tell me your Dragon Age Opinions.

[agonistes]

funny thing about that: I immediately read both of them yesterday on the strength of this rec and the entire time I was thinking "Varric wrote this"

which is, for the record, a high compliment

[skygiants]

omg I'm so happy *__*

okay but AM I RIGHT ABOUT THE FINAL FIGHT SEQUENCE THOUGH

[agonistes]

also I would compare it with high praise alongside Greatly Approved