I love this book (actually a very long omnibus edition of several books, which does not include the last published one) and this is a fantastic review. My only caveat is the content warning -- to me, the part where a character describes the torture and death of her mother is FAR worse than the longer scene you refer to, and it's why I don't recommend this book I love so much to young teen boys, who otherwise ought to love it too. Far be it from me to edit The Master--and let me hasten to add that all the things referred to here are GOOD writing and do fit the plot--but if I'd been a beta reader I would have said that scene was absolutely too much for the audience and the part you refer to is almost and perhaps for some over the line.
Otherwise this is an amazing, fun romp with incredible world-building (HOW did he manage all the names in... what is that? Ancient Babylonian?) and depth, a really great main character and lots of great side characters, and a story you want to keep reading. It not only holds up to repeat readings, it demands them, because there's just so much to digest. Just ONE of the themes, for instance, is "what would the world be like if every action was known in advance?" Another is "If reality had been split into alternate dimensions like the peoples of the Earth were split into countries and cutures in the story of Babel, isnt' the right thing to put it back together again -- and isn't every oppression justified in order to do it?"
I love this book (actually a very long omnibus edition of several books, which does not include the last published one) and this is a fantastic review. My only caveat is the content warning -- to me, the part where a character describes the torture and death of her mother is FAR worse than the longer scene you refer to, and it's why I don't recommend this book I love so much to young teen boys, who otherwise ought to love it too. Far be it from me to edit The Master--and let me hasten to add that all the things referred to here are GOOD writing and do fit the plot--but if I'd been a beta reader I would have said that scene was absolutely too much for the audience and the part you refer to is almost and perhaps for some over the line.
Otherwise this is an amazing, fun romp with incredible world-building (HOW did he manage all the names in... what is that? Ancient Babylonian?) and depth, a really great main character and lots of great side characters, and a story you want to keep reading. It not only holds up to repeat readings, it demands them, because there's just so much to digest. Just ONE of the themes, for instance, is "what would the world be like if every action was known in advance?" Another is "If reality had been split into alternate dimensions like the peoples of the Earth were split into countries and cutures in the story of Babel, isnt' the right thing to put it back together again -- and isn't every oppression justified in order to do it?"