John M. Ford’s unfinished masterpiece, Aspects, is first and foremost a tribute to a brilliant writer, but even in its unfinished state, it is a beautiful, immersive story about deeply human people.
I’d never read a John M. Ford book before this one, and now I’d like to go back and read more of them. He was clearly an incredibly intelligent person and an excellent writer. What’s so interesting about this book is that…not much actually happens. It’s not clear if it was intended to remain that way. It mostly tells the story of Varic, a city noble, Longlight, a noble from the edge of the nation, and Silvern, a mage. In theory, they’re being threatened by a faction that wants to stop Varic’s attempts, through Parliament, to move their nation forward into a more modern and just society (it’s basically an alternate world of 19th-century England).
But there’s so much more. The magic is tremendous and yet…distant. The politics are fraught and intelligent and full of strife and yet…distant. What’s more, what fills the book, is the intensity of the characters, especially Varic and Longlight’s struggle with the reality of their feelings for each other in spite of their difficult situation.
I can’t sum up this book or do it justice. It’s incomplete. It’s slow (read: glacial). I can’t even tell you why I loved it so much except that it’s a beautiful world that I didn’t want to leave, and it reminded me why I used to read so much fantasy.
Recommended for readers who enjoy fantasy for character and worldbuilding instead of action and plot.