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tshepiso 's review for:
Petty Treasons
by Victoria Goddard
Petty Treasons is as lovely and frustrating as its predecessor The Hands of the Emperor. In it we follow Artorin Damara the god emperor of his world in the aftermath of the magical collapse of his Empire. Here the Emperor grapples with his self-perception as he fights for personhood under the heavy restrictive mantle of Emperor.
Tor was easily a standout favourite of the Hands of the Emperor so an entire novella in his POV was a treat. I loved the way that Goddard used a blend of second and first person to articulate Tor's depersonalization. I equally adored seeing Tor build his relationships with Cliopher and the rest of his found family. These connections are so meaningful and their centrality in Tor's life is beautifully articulated. This perspective added a delightful new layer to my understanding of the series of overall.
Unfortunately, Petty Treasons also illustrated Victoria Goddard's weakness in overall plot crafting. The political landscape of the Astandalas is treated as tertiary to the narrative and major upheavals in the political dynamics of the world are again are brushed over and quickly resolved in a way I found deeply unsatisfying. Here ending wars and restructuring devastated countries is as simple as setting your favourite secretary to the task.
Tor's POV also allowed us to get a deeper understanding of the ways magic works in this world. On the one hand I do think Goddard has a particularly artful approach to describing magic that was often beautiful. I also generally like stories about the conflict between wild and structured magic. However, her writing style often went past my brain's capacity to fully grasp what was happening. This 100 page novella took me 4 days to read because of my consistent struggle focus and track the action of the story especially in scenes heavily pertaining to Tor's relationship with magic.
In the end Petty Treasons solidifies for me Victoria Goddard's strengths and weaknesses as a writer. So far my love for her character writing can push me through parts of her work I struggle with and I hope that holds true further into the series.
Tor was easily a standout favourite of the Hands of the Emperor so an entire novella in his POV was a treat. I loved the way that Goddard used a blend of second and first person to articulate Tor's depersonalization. I equally adored seeing Tor build his relationships with Cliopher and the rest of his found family. These connections are so meaningful and their centrality in Tor's life is beautifully articulated. This perspective added a delightful new layer to my understanding of the series of overall.
Unfortunately, Petty Treasons also illustrated Victoria Goddard's weakness in overall plot crafting. The political landscape of the Astandalas is treated as tertiary to the narrative and major upheavals in the political dynamics of the world are again are brushed over and quickly resolved in a way I found deeply unsatisfying. Here ending wars and restructuring devastated countries is as simple as setting your favourite secretary to the task.
Tor's POV also allowed us to get a deeper understanding of the ways magic works in this world. On the one hand I do think Goddard has a particularly artful approach to describing magic that was often beautiful. I also generally like stories about the conflict between wild and structured magic. However, her writing style often went past my brain's capacity to fully grasp what was happening. This 100 page novella took me 4 days to read because of my consistent struggle focus and track the action of the story especially in scenes heavily pertaining to Tor's relationship with magic.
In the end Petty Treasons solidifies for me Victoria Goddard's strengths and weaknesses as a writer. So far my love for her character writing can push me through parts of her work I struggle with and I hope that holds true further into the series.