Science fiction and fantasy, all at once. As a cover blurb from a prominent genre author puts it, “Lesbian necromancers explore a haunted gothic palace in space!” Which on the one hand neatly captures some of the book’s key elements, but on the other hand doesn’t really capture its essence. I of course went into it expecting to like it (otherwise why read it?), but I ended up liking it rather more than I anticipated – it is cleverer and has more heart than I thought it would. It manages to combine the sort of ornate, one might even suggest over-the-top, world building common in hard core sf/f with rich and engaging attention to character, as well as a sort of irreverent tone and an ability to slyly nod towards contemporary pop culture and sensibilities in a way that completely works. There were moments where I had trouble keeping track of who was who among the large cast of supporting characters, and in my over-eager push to find out what was going to happen I didn’t register all of the details for a couple of plot transitions, but those were pretty minor distractions. Enthusiastic thumbs up!
Originally posted by Scott on Goodreads.