The Traitor Baru Cormorant

Seth Dickinson

Sep 2015 · The Masquerade Book 1 · Sold by Tor Books

About this ebook

In Seth Dickinson's highly-anticipated debut The Traitor Baru Cormorant, a young woman from a conquered people tries to transform an empire in this richly imagined geopolitical fantasy.

Baru Cormorant believes any price is worth paying to liberate her people-even her soul.

When the Empire of Masks conquers her island home, overwrites her culture, criminalizes her customs, and murders one of her fathers, Baru vows to swallow her hate, join the Empire's civil service, and claw her way high enough to set her people free.

Sent as an Imperial agent to distant Aurdwynn, another conquered country, Baru discovers it's on the brink of rebellion. Drawn by the intriguing duchess Tain Hu into a circle of seditious dukes, Baru may be able to use her position to help. As she pursues a precarious balance between the rebels and a shadowy cabal within the Empire, she orchestrates a do-or-die gambit with freedom as the prize.

But the cost of winning the long game of saving her people may be far greater than Baru imagines.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Ratings and reviews

Terrible, obviously a lesbian character written by a man just to make her suffer. Her motivations and inner dialogue read hollow, a few random feminist monologues are thrust in at odd intervals seemingly to make up for the nightmare world he has dreamt for women and gays, and to add insult to injury he makes Baru willingly complicit in the torture of the oppressed. To top it off, the writing is clunky and the story is un-believable. If you're a queer woman looking for a good fantasy novel, skip this and read Malinda Lo instead.

Some reviewers have called the wiring clunky. That couldn't be further from the truth. Dickenson has a fascination with good sentences that is on fill display here. Enthralling from beat to beat.

An incredible read, unlike anything I've ever read before. And that ending! Like a punch to the heart. I've never been as scared as I am eager to read a sequel as I am to read The Monster…

About the author

SETH DICKINSON is the author of the Baru Cormorant novels and many short stories, as well as much of the lore and backstory of Bungie Studios’ Destiny. Seth lives in New York City.