A man's transformation from troll to total monster. This is an old-fashioned macho man epic revenge adventure that maybe would have been seen as progressive twenty years ago, but now, well, it's uncomfortable. It's a book about a slave trader. I guess the question is "why is it at all." I can't imagine this book existing without its built-in audience.
The good: The writing. Smith draws you in, gets you completely inside the character's minds, makes you feel for them. The historical setting and all the little details, from the fashion to the technology. Well-drawn side characters. This is part of a series but I never felt like I was missing anything.
The awkward: The author does go out of the way to point out the brutality of slavery and to show that, while Mungo does justify a lot of horrible things in his head, these things are still unjustifiable. But the asides are a little awkward. But on the other hand kind of necessary.
The bad: Camilla was a great character, but was sometimes used as a prop to show the villainy of Chester. But was Mungo any better? The slaveowner/slave power imbalance makes their "romance" not exactly a romance - again, maybe twenty years ago we the audience would have said "look, he isn't racist, he loves her," but now we can recognize it as rape-y. Camilla does ponder on the subject, at least, it doesn't go completely unaddressed. I don't feel like we're supposed to be rooting for their love, only that we're supposed to be rooting for her in general.
The annoying: Sometimes Mungo comes across as some wish-fulfillment nonsense. He's the best at everything - swordfighting, shooting, poker, sailing, on and on - and women throw themselves at him. Ugh. At least most of his plans go to hell, like he deserves.
In conclusion, I liked it more than I thought I would. But I wouldn't have ever picked up something like this if I hadn't won it.
The good: The writing. Smith draws you in, gets you completely inside the character's minds, makes you feel for them. The historical setting and all the little details, from the fashion to the technology. Well-drawn side characters. This is part of a series but I never felt like I was missing anything.
The awkward: The author does go out of the way to point out the brutality of slavery and to show that, while Mungo does justify a lot of horrible things in his head, these things are still unjustifiable. But the asides are a little awkward. But on the other hand kind of necessary.
The bad: Camilla was a great character, but was sometimes used as a prop to show the villainy of Chester. But was Mungo any better? The slaveowner/slave power imbalance makes their "romance" not exactly a romance - again, maybe twenty years ago we the audience would have said "look, he isn't racist, he loves her," but now we can recognize it as rape-y. Camilla does ponder on the subject, at least, it doesn't go completely unaddressed. I don't feel like we're supposed to be rooting for their love, only that we're supposed to be rooting for her in general.
The annoying: Sometimes Mungo comes across as some wish-fulfillment nonsense. He's the best at everything - swordfighting, shooting, poker, sailing, on and on - and women throw themselves at him. Ugh. At least most of his plans go to hell, like he deserves.
In conclusion, I liked it more than I thought I would. But I wouldn't have ever picked up something like this if I hadn't won it.