The Traitor Baru Cormorant

"Among the Europeans opinion was divided. The older men said I was right, the younger men said it was a damn shame to shoot an elephant for killing a coolie, because an elephant was worth more than any damn Coringhee coolie. And afterwards I was very glad that the coolie had been killed; it put me legally in the right and it gave me a sufficient pretext for shooting the elephant. I often wondered whether any of the others grasped that I had done it solely to avoid looking a fool."

• Shooting An Elephant, George Orwell

I get a lot of reading done when I'm visiting family. It's not that I don't want to spend time with them exactly, sometimes I get a little tired though. So I pick a book to take with me and read during the downtime, and that was "The Traitor Baru Cormorant". Unfortunately, it was a bad choice because it was entertaining enough that I read the entire thing in two days, and had to find something new after. I'm looking forward to getting the two sequels.

The weakest part of the book was definitely the beginning. It should have been really interesting, as it's an account of the protagonist growing up as her homeland gets colonized by the fantasy-British Empire (the Masquerade). Also, it's supposed to serve the function of setting up the motive for the epic revenge story, but I didn't really feel it.

Luckily, things pick up as soon as Baru leaves her home. There rest of the plot has two different parts. The first part involves Baru getting used to her role as Masquerade accountant and introducing her new home, a sort of fantasy-medieval Eastern Europe place. The second part is an epic Game of Thrones-ish account of war and politics.

These were both pretty good. The accountant stuff was unique, without getting too technical. As long as you can understand the concept of inflation, you can follow it. The politics stuff was really good as well. There's a ton of different characters at this point in the story, all of whom have unpronounceable fantasy names, but they were written well enough that I could keep track of them all. Some were very memorable.

There's two interesting aspects of the story to write about. The first is the Masquerade. Lots of fantasy stories have evil empires or malicious tyrants, but they usually don't focus 19th century colonialism. The Masquerade is literally just the British empire with some colorful fantasy details. A particular aspect of their evil is that they forcibly introduce their social morality onto colonized peoples. This morality has a lot in common with real British race "science", but also an overwhelming obsession with preventing homosexuality and polyamory. It's a little over the top, but works well to add drama in a story with a lesbian protagonist. In spite of the homopgobia, the empire have an interesting take on gender: they're essentialists in that they believe in biologically defined gender roles, but those roles include a lot more stuff for the women to do. For instance, they think women are naturally better sailors, so the navy is mostly female.

My biggest problem with The Masquerade is that they just aren't mean and stupid enough. Every real world empire has times where the clever plans are too much work, and they fall back on ugly violence for no good reason (the point of my Orwell quote above). On the other hand, The Masquerade is incredibly efficient and strategic at all times. Where are the corrupt officials who torture the local populace just because they don't know any better? When does the Masquerade fight a pointless war just because those in charge can't admit they were wrong?

The other thing about this book is that it's very gay. That's good, too much modern speculative fiction includes queer characters just because the author thinks it's a good vibe. (how would you know it's a cyberpunk dystopia if there weren't a few trans people hanging around?). I though the way in which Baru is slowly more and more honest with herself about her sexuality as she gets older was pretty realistic. Also her relationship with Tain Hu was very cute... for the most part.

Hard fantasy que não envolve dragões, elfos, magias e provavelmente nada do que você esperava de típico do gênero. A protagonista Baru Cormorant bola estratégias políticas para chegar ao seu objetivo utilizando a moeda e economia, coisas que ela entende muito bem por ter crescido se destacando em matemática e eventualmente virando contadora de Ardwynn. Aqui também tem muito assassinato e, pro final, batalhas sangrentas, mas o que mais me chamou atenção foia profissão da protagonista mesmo.

Se for pra resumir muito basicamente o livro, ele trata muito de colonização e o apagamento da cultura local para estabelecer a cultura e ideologias de quem está colonizando. Vemos isso logo no primeiro capítulo onde Taranoke, a ilha onde Baru nasceu, é tomada aos poucos pela República Imperial de Falcrest.

A protagonista decide que vai se infiltrar nos Masquerade para destruí-los de dentro para fora e libertar Taranoke... porém no desenrolar da história aprendemos que isso tem um custo muito grande. Baru não quer saber de tomar a ilha de volta apenas por meios "bons" - ela está disposta a se tornar uma vilã.

Um pouco fraco no meio, porém com um inicio que te prende fácil e um final que te faz gritar, The Traitor Baru Cormorant é um baita livro que vale muito a pena enfrentar mesmo em inglês. Infelizmente por ser hard fantasy e ainda por cima um hard fantasy sem magia, eu não tenho esperanças que seja publicado no Brasil tão cedo.

Hard fantasy que não envolve dragões, elfos, magias e provavelmente nada do que você esperava de típico do gênero. A protagonista Baru Cormorant bola estratégias políticas para chegar ao seu objetivo utilizando a moeda e economia, coisas que ela entende muito bem por ter crescido se destacando em matemática e eventualmente virando contadora de Ardwynn. Aqui também tem muito assassinato e, pro final, batalhas sangrentas, mas o que mais me chamou atenção foia profissão da protagonista mesmo.returnreturnSe for pra resumir muito basicamente o livro, ele trata muito de colonização e o apagamento da cultura local para estabelecer a cultura e ideologias de quem está colonizando. Vemos isso logo no primeiro capítulo onde Taranoke, a ilha onde Baru nasceu, é tomada aos poucos pela República Imperial de Falcrest.returnreturnA protagonista decide que vai se infiltrar nos Masquerade para destruí-los de dentro para fora e libertar Taranoke... porém no desenrolar da história aprendemos que isso tem um custo muito grande. Baru não quer saber de tomar a ilha de volta apenas por meios "bons" - ela está disposta a se tornar uma vilã.returnreturnUm pouco fraco no meio, porém com um inicio que te prende fácil e um final que te faz gritar, The Traitor Baru Cormorant é um baita livro que vale muito a pena enfrentar mesmo em inglês. Infelizmente por ser hard fantasy e ainda por cima um hard fantasy sem magia, eu não tenho esperanças que seja publicado no Brasil tão cedo.

I am officially in a rut. My last month of reading has resulted in not completing any series to the end. After failing to complete The Broken Empire and The Dragon Songs Saga I had hoped to complete both instalments for The Masquerade but I'm stopping here.

I truly enjoyed the Dagger and Coin series and felt that Baru was similar to Cithrin bel Sarcour as they used money to create power and force change. Baru was a more ruthless master of coin but I enjoyed the similarities and excited to continue reading the series.

And just like the last few books I come in to the home stretch of the book and realize I am not as interested as I expected. Then doubt enters my mind if I want to keep reading the book and by the time I reach the end, no matter how enjoyable the ending, I am ready to move on.

4.5 / 5, rounded up

So good! Amazing that it's a first book from Dickinson - very excited to see what he'll produce in the future. It's not 100% perfect: some of the plot developments are a little too convenient, and I think the book could have been fleshed out a little to make it more believable. At just under 400 pages, it could have used maybe 100-150 pages in the early parts to set the stage more. I've seen conversation arguing that the later parts read as too top-down, but I enjoyed the feeling that I was reading almost a blow by blow for a strategy game since that's essentially what Baru is doing.

The setting was fresh, and I particularly enjoyed the Asian influences. It reminded me a lot of James Clavell's Shogun.

Even suspecting the ending I couldn't stop for the last 50 pages or so. What a punch in the gut!

Wow. This book is a tragedy. You know it's a tragedy going in -- I mean, the title says she's a traitor, it's not going to be a happy outcome. But still, even though you know it's coming, it manages to kick you in the stomach and then rip your heart out.

The biggest complaint I've heard about this book is that the character is supposed to be intelligent, but her intelligence is never shown. I would argue that since the book is told from her point of view, we're being told that she's smart because she's been led to believe that. She's not as intelligent as she thinks she is. Her successes and her failures come from her willingness to do whatever is necessary to get more power.

The story explores themes of race, gender, and sexual identity. For socially conservative readers some of the viewpoints might be annoying, especially early in the book when the views are set up to be pretty black and white. Later in the book, things get more nuanced. But the story is much bigger than this, and it's definitely worth the read.

It's hard to discuss why I ended up disliking this novel without giving away at least some level of spoilers, so consider yourself warned:

POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD!

I was ready to give this one a much higher rating right up until the ending.

The master manipulator is a trope of fiction that needs to die. People aren't capable of running complex plans with multiple levels of deception at a level where everything ends up working out just the way they planned. Yes, there are people like Richelieu in real history, but their most complex plans are incredibly simple in comparison to those we find in fiction. Yes, there have been many double-agents throughout history, but they don't pull off the kind of bullshit we see in this novel.

I'm pissed because this book looked like it realized this. Both the protagonist and her antagonists, despite being very competent people, seem to make many mistakes throughout the story. Just like even very competent people in real life do. Instead, we find out at the end that everyone was just playing along to the great script written by the master manipulators behind the scene. Blech.

I might come back to this after further reflection and give it another star for the originality of some of the themes, namely that of colonization and economics. It's those factors that attracted me to the book in the first place, but I honestly dislike the book right now, so one star it is.

TL;DR A genre-defying, epic story of a genius accountant who proves that money is a true power. A story full of blood, treason and insidious manipulation, of a culture that has refined brain-washing to an art they apply to whole countries. I have a love/hate relationship with this story of anti-heroes. Read it for yourself and decide if it also reminds you just a little of Game of Thrones.

I guess most of the rest of this could be considered spoiling the book.
So here follow the minor spoilers.


The best thing about this book is the title. It's a huge spoiler and it should be a reminder. But then this epic tale makes you forget this warning, as it tells the story of a young woman ripped from her own culture and thrown into the machinations of an empire that conquers with trade instead of soldiers.

"It's all for Taranoke." Baru keeps saying this, reminding herself - and the reader - and still I wasn't prepared.

This book begins by showing the insidious ways in which the Masquerade empire and its values infiltrate the countries they trade with. How they force their incrastic thought on others, criminalizing whole lifestyles that have defined those countries. Baru goes to the Masquerade school and clings to that idea that she will only be able to change the Masquerade from within. But has she really resisted the empire's brain-washing? I kept wondering this all throughout the book, whenever I was sure I had understood, the story took an unexpected turn.

Soon Baru is brought to yet another country: Aurdwynn - "It cannot be ruled" - a rich land with a dozen duchies continuously at odds with each other. Baru becomes the Imperial Accountant - really an accountant for a protagonist? For a while the story's premise becomes all "money is power". A power of numbers, money and recognition of patterns. I love this concept, because it is so unexpected to have the hero be something so mundane as an accountant. Even a genius accountant, a savant as Baru is, is not a very likely protagonist and yet: it works.

And then comes the heart of the story. A meaty sequence of intrigues, counter-intrigues, treason, and never forget the treason! Through it all Baru becomes a cold, calculating, often-callous, alcoholic master of manipulation through money. An anti-hero I did not want to like. But somehow there were always glimpses hinting at something hidden, something more, that she suffered under that mask, and I liked her.

I hate that I loved the end or do I love that I hated the ending? I am not quite sure.


And here the major ones:
The final third of the story reads like one long Red Wedding, it's bloody, becomes bloodier and before the end nearly all named characters have died. That last turn-about where Baru delivers the rebellion she herself created into the hands of the Masquerade came out of the blue, I didn't see it coming, and I should have. I should have. It's heart-breaking to watch her and Tain Hu celebrate their single night. And always as Baru tries to save someone she condemns them to an even worse fate. And yet Tain Hu remains loyal to her death. The other really tragic story in this was Muire-Lo her secretary. Their friendship is always on the verge of coming into existence. And when Baru acts to save him, he has to die for it.

I love how she stayed true to her goal and reached into the heart of the Masquerade. The letters she writes in the end show her true loyalties. I do hope there will be no sequel. The end does provide very little closure but closure all the same. And I want to keep imagining that her new position enables Baru to free Taranoke and all the others from the incrastic yoke of the Masquerade. Another book will only spoil this hope of mine. After reading this book, I am sure of that. And I couldn't bear more treason and blood-shed.


I cannot quite determine the genre of this book. I can't tell whether this is a fantasy or a science fiction book. The medieval ways of one country clash with the steampunk science of the empire. There is no magic as far as I can see, and certainly no elves. The science of the Masquerade and it's strange outgrowths in particular the "incrastic thought" and the "social hygiene" are an uncomfortable reminder of the Nazis in Germany.