Review: Bitterblue

Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

February 18, 2013

Sometimes you can actually see an author getting better, from one book to the next. I enjoyed the previous Graceling books enormously, but neither of them had the incredible depth of this one. Here Cashore takes the time and effort to improve upon the elements that were good in her other books, and to correct those faults which have since been raised with them.

How do you lead a nation that has been through a horrific reign? Are truth and reconciliation possible? Advisable? These are the sorts of questions Bitterblue, a young queen, is feeling her way through. Because this series, and my other recent favorites The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, The Thief, and Finnikin of the Rock, are collectively devoted to finding not just a way to right obvious wrongs, but also to consider what justice is, they are as works of fantasy richer and more relevant. Obviously, a reader doesn't have to mull over the big questions, you can just read for the skullduggery, the back-stabbings, the derring-do, and the romance. But if you're so inclined these can launch you into not just thinking of ways to improve the world, but even on to practical plans for implementation.

I'm fascinated by this shift from fantasy that looks back at a supposed golden age to one that tries to create a golden age; one that is inclusive, progressive, and respectful. These are books that leave me hopeful, not because of a happy ending tacked on, but because the characters are actively striving to create one. That's cool. And there's an amazing library with a viciously independent cat and a librarian named after Lord Peter Wimsey, and magical talents, and unusually colored eyes, just so you know it's not all serious.

One of the best books I'll read this year, I expect. I dearly look forward to whatever Cashore writes next.

Library copy.

***

June 26, 2015

Yes, all that.

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