Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh was excellent, and very subtle in a few ways. Our POV character, Kyr, is a young woman from a defeated humanity, raised to gain glory for her fallen people. The society that’s she’s raised in has added some blinders – as has Kyr’s self image. As the book continues, and the way the universe expands, Kyr finds herself reevaluating what she has always known… it’s a rough road.
The book features quite alien societies – definitely more than humans in funny suits – and weird universe changing technologies that are hard to understand for everyone. There’s interesting simulations and temporal variations… Kyr doesn’t get a smooth path, but it’s a fascinating read, and the Kyr who emerges is so different but still grounded in the girl we first encountered.
Spear by Nicola Griffith is a powerfully Welsh retelling around the edges of the round table. Celtic myth and gods patrol the edges, but it’s a very human scale. Some of it was familiar, or familiar at a slant from Hawk of May, but Peretur comes from a very different, not nobly raised background that renders the political largely invisible to her.
The world isn’t particularly rough or cruel, though it’s a lot closer to the bone, and the nobility’s share is a sizable bite. The story as a whole feels very concise – it doesn’t mess about with multiple viewpoints, or try to handle multiple big events. It’s not the end of Caer Leon – it still feels like summer, and Medraut isn’t in the picture yet. This tale comes to a firm ending about Pereteur’s storyline – if not that of the companions that Peretur is joining.