Never seen you before but I saw Malazan in the background and instantly subbed lol. Great taste in fantasy. There's nothing else like it. Id read the series 10 times now cause its so good. I also see Fifth Season too! Hell yeah. 🎉 Also can I make a recommendation? I'm scrolling through your vids, we have similar taste and see you've read A Memory Called Empire. Not to be conspiratorial but I genuinely wonder if that duology is a Baru Cormorant fanfic that the author genrebent, because soo much of the initial concept is exactly the same. Anyway, you should pick the The Traitor/Monster/Tyrant Baru Cormorant books by Seth Dickinson. Theyre incredible. They're extremely thematic books that dive into themes of imperialism, settler colonialism, politics, power, human nature, psychology, hierarchy, and conquest via economics. The story is about a young girl named Baru who comes from a small "backwards" island nation caller Taranoke. In the first few chapters of the book she lives with her mom and both dads, and one day ships from Falcrest (aka The Masquerade/Empire of Masks) arrive. They conquer the island without firing a single shot. All they have to do is introduce fiat currency to these "uncivilized locals" and the dominoes fall. The Empire sets up schools to "civilize" and assimilate the islands children, and there Baru discovers her love of learning, and that she is a savant. She meets a man named Cairdine Ferrier and she becomes his prodigy as she grows up. Then something happens that opens her eyes to the Empire and makes her want to tear it down. The real story starts where Baru is sent to a province called Aurdwynn to take on the role of imperial accountant after the last 2 were murdered. There she has to stay safe, investigate the deaths of the previous accountants, manage the fractious dukes and duchesses, and follow the money to investigate a growing rebellion against the Empire she now hates so much. Also, whatever you do, don't read the authors short story (just in case you wanted get a taste of his writing) because it's literally the last chapter of book one. The story is an incredible antihero story with such great characterization and truly fantastically explored themes. Baru is one of my fav characters in all of fiction. The series has the themes of Midnight Tides, the characterization of The Fifth Season, and the plot of Memory Called Empire, and its just absolutely brilliant and heartbreaking. And shit gets WILD in book 2 and 3. Traitor is basically no magic from what I remember, but Monster and Tyrant introduce the Oriati Mbo and you learn about their feared enemies from legend, and the scary organization Baru has been tasked with hunting down. Really hope you pick it up and enjoy it. It deserves so much more love online.
Malazan is indeed my favourite series! Thanks for the recommendation, I'll definitely add it to my (increasingly too long) list! I hadn't heard of Seth Dickinson before this, so thanks again!
Just happened to be reading the Book of Daniel, as I’m reading the Bible all the way through as literature, so this was interesting to learn about.
Very cool. I should have read that in conjunction with this!
Never seen you before but I saw Malazan in the background and instantly subbed lol. Great taste in fantasy. There's nothing else like it. Id read the series 10 times now cause its so good.
I also see Fifth Season too! Hell yeah. 🎉
Also can I make a recommendation? I'm scrolling through your vids, we have similar taste and see you've read A Memory Called Empire.
Not to be conspiratorial but I genuinely wonder if that duology is a Baru Cormorant fanfic that the author genrebent, because soo much of the initial concept is exactly the same.
Anyway, you should pick the The Traitor/Monster/Tyrant Baru Cormorant books by Seth Dickinson. Theyre incredible. They're extremely thematic books that dive into themes of imperialism, settler colonialism, politics, power, human nature, psychology, hierarchy, and conquest via economics.
The story is about a young girl named Baru who comes from a small "backwards" island nation caller Taranoke. In the first few chapters of the book she lives with her mom and both dads, and one day ships from Falcrest (aka The Masquerade/Empire of Masks) arrive. They conquer the island without firing a single shot. All they have to do is introduce fiat currency to these "uncivilized locals" and the dominoes fall. The Empire sets up schools to "civilize" and assimilate the islands children, and there Baru discovers her love of learning, and that she is a savant. She meets a man named Cairdine Ferrier and she becomes his prodigy as she grows up. Then something happens that opens her eyes to the Empire and makes her want to tear it down.
The real story starts where Baru is sent to a province called Aurdwynn to take on the role of imperial accountant after the last 2 were murdered. There she has to stay safe, investigate the deaths of the previous accountants, manage the fractious dukes and duchesses, and follow the money to investigate a growing rebellion against the Empire she now hates so much.
Also, whatever you do, don't read the authors short story (just in case you wanted get a taste of his writing) because it's literally the last chapter of book one.
The story is an incredible antihero story with such great characterization and truly fantastically explored themes. Baru is one of my fav characters in all of fiction.
The series has the themes of Midnight Tides, the characterization of The Fifth Season, and the plot of Memory Called Empire, and its just absolutely brilliant and heartbreaking.
And shit gets WILD in book 2 and 3. Traitor is basically no magic from what I remember, but Monster and Tyrant introduce the Oriati Mbo and you learn about their feared enemies from legend, and the scary organization Baru has been tasked with hunting down.
Really hope you pick it up and enjoy it. It deserves so much more love online.
Malazan is indeed my favourite series! Thanks for the recommendation, I'll definitely add it to my (increasingly too long) list! I hadn't heard of Seth Dickinson before this, so thanks again!
6:45 Oddly reminiscent of Sumerian mythology
I don't know anything about Sumerian myth, but cool connection!