Member Reviews

Another delightful tale! The first Saevus book was my introduction to this author, and after seeing the lengthy list of books Parker has written, I'm in awe that the two I've read so far are this good. He is truly a gifted storyteller. Saevus continues to be a completely endearing arsehole, equally irreverent and sincere, though a bit murderous. In this story it turns out he had a wife, and his mother-in-law Praeclara kidnaps his department heads in order to extort him to do a job for her. Saevus contends that Praeclara isn't evil, and that the worst things humans do to one another are in the interest of greater good. He allows for isolated incidences of pure malice though, typically due to mental illness, perpetrated against a small number of victims. In this case, he's the victim. In spite of the whole Sirupat thing and the continued, though reduced, bounty on his head by his family, Saevus is still leading his company of war profiteers. He quickly gets back into conflict with Stauracia, who claims her son has been kidnapped. A whole lot of really lucky guesses, clever trickery, and risk taking ensue. Along the way we learn about how Saevus ended up married, see how conflicted Stauracia is about it, and understand better why Saevus keeps her at arms length. Just enough wraps up perfectly by the end of this book to make it extremely satisfying, with some questions leftover to keep us coming back. Can't wait to read the next book!

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4.5

I enjoyed this one a lot more than the previous one because the main thing I didn't enjoy about book one (the 'run to this place, get caught, run again, get caught, run again' thing) was not really part of the plot this time. Instead, it's two distinct plots that are loosely related, split almost perfectly down the middle of the book. I must admit that I am a Parker geopolitical/sociological/anthropological junkie, in that I enjoy his ecphrases where he goes into the history or geography of a foreign local way more than anyone has a right to, something that is unsurprising based on how much I love Parker's 3 nonfiction essays from his ACADEMIC EXERCISES collection.

Here again we have some familiar Parker elements but this one flies along at a rip-roaring pace with Parker's wonderful wonderful prose. All in all a very fun book that's worth a read for any fan of Parker and I also think it's a good choice for an entry point, easily read prior to DEALS WITH THE DEAD as there is almost no connection besides characters to the previous plot other than a passing mention of "Hey, weren't you involved in the affair with that thing recently?"

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The writing style is accessible, although a bit boring. This book is heavy on the monologue and exposition, and I wasn't sucked in. I stopped after 8%.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for the ARC.

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