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Ann Leckie: The Raven Tower (Hardcover, Orbit) 4 stars

Listen. A god is speaking. My voice echoes through the stone of your master's castle. …

Review of 'The Raven Tower' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Ann Leckie is back! I loved [b:Ancillary Justice|17333324|Ancillary Justice (Imperial Radch #1)|Ann Leckie|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1397215917l/17333324.SY75.jpg|24064628] for its unique perspective (an AI on a spaceship that controls a company of brain-implanted soldiers) and quietly unfolding politics.

The Raven Tower is exactly the same thing! The narrator is a billion-years-old god. We have politics with several human and godly factions. It's all made up of personal connections. And it's all laid out in quiet conversation.

These conversations are fantastic. Everyone is quite reluctant to give anything away. But as they probe each other, you see what they are interested in, what they know and what they do not know. Eolo, the main human character, is especially good at polite conversation where he conceals everything he knows.

The political plot is quite tricky. I understand most of it, but still have some questions. (Why did the Strength and Patience of the Hill promise to fulfill petitions at all?) As it should be!

But one more word about the writing. Just the prose is somehow so calming. The two main characters are both extremely patient. It seems that even the words are somehow made more patient by their presence. There are some action scenes, but even that is somehow made stoic. I read it while I was sick and found this especially resting.