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Terra Ignota #3
The Will to Battle
A political SF epic of extraordinary audacity.
The long years of near-utopia have come to an abrupt end.
Peace and order are now figments of the past. Corruption, deception, and insurgency hum within the once steadfast leadership of the Hives, nations without fixed location.
The heartbreaking truth is that for decades, even centuries, the leaders of the great Hives bought the world’s stability with a trickle of secret murders, mathematically planned. So that no faction could ever dominate. So that the balance held.
The Hives’ façade of solidity is the only hope they have for maintaining a semblance of order, for preventing the public from succumbing to the savagery and bloodlust of wars past. But as the great secret becomes more and more widely known, that façade is slipping away.
Just days earlier, the world was a pinnacle of human civilization. Now everyone—Hives and hiveless, Utopians and sensayers, emperors and the downtrodden, warriors and saints—scrambles to prepare for the seemingly inevitable war.
The long years of near-utopia have come to an abrupt end.
Peace and order are now figments of the past. Corruption, deception, and insurgency hum within the once steadfast leadership of the Hives, nations without fixed location.
The heartbreaking truth is that for decades, even centuries, the leaders of the great Hives bought the world’s stability with a trickle of secret murders, mathematically planned. So that no faction could ever dominate. So that the balance held.
The Hives’ façade of solidity is the only hope they have for maintaining a semblance of order, for preventing the public from succumbing to the savagery and bloodlust of wars past. But as the great secret becomes more and more widely known, that façade is slipping away.
Just days earlier, the world was a pinnacle of human civilization. Now everyone—Hives and hiveless, Utopians and sensayers, emperors and the downtrodden, warriors and saints—scrambles to prepare for the seemingly inevitable war.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published December 19, 2017
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December 5, 2017
Update, later the same day:
I think I'm gonna nominate this one for Hugo. It keeps getting better on reflection. :)
Original Review:
I took my time and savored this one. It deserves it. And more.
Ada Palmer has made a world worth luxuriating in, and far from resting on the Greek laurels she and her work deserve, she's delved deep into new philosophical questions while all the time fascinating us with complicated and rich characters. Never even mind the glorious world-building. The amount of thought and forethought in all of this is astounding.
The title gives the main action away. It is not Battle. But the Will to Battle. This is a philosophical conundrum. A wrenching up. A decision to kill or be killed. What's most fascinating about this is the fact we began these books in a de-facto utopia.
The first book throws all our perceptions and assumptions for a loop, especially when the great murderer is, in fact, a hero, but a hero for what? The second book dives deeper into the mysterious mass-assassinations and the purpose behind them, right down to the rights of kings and the greater ideological good of society. It also explores godhood as an observer and as a limited player and does it in such a way as to frame the rest of the book in a brilliant argument for and against the destruction of a whole society.
This book is both a surprising and sophisticated exploration of nobility, goodness and idealistic (broad sense) response to the calling of war and perhaps a complete destruction of humanity. I'm talking eyes-wide-open exhaustive discussion of turning their utopias (and there are essentially eleven different kinds of utopias in this world) into mass death, destruction, and eventual barbarism. Everyone's aware of the pitfalls and only the truly war-like among us (including the original, actual Achilles) has the most wisdom to impart. Prepare well. Keep lines of communication open. Stock up. Draw battlefield lines. Prepare for the absolute worst. Go about all your days, preparing to die.
What's most shocking about this book is the fact that it never feels contrived or absurd. At all. It's like being in reality, keeping a clear head, and carefully choosing to murder for the sake of your most deeply held beliefs... even while you live in heaven.
Disturbing? Hell, yeah. Understandable? Yeah. In this case, all the events, all the subjects, all the people in it are treated with respect and honor even when it's about assassination, betrayal, grief, or the realization that everything is not only going to change, but nobody will win. And yet the Will to Battle persists. Remains. It is inevitable, but heroism now consists in postponing the tragedy or mitigating the worst effects.
This is, after all, a highly advanced scientific and cultural utopia we have on Earth. Means to destroy are vast, and people's ire and mob mentalities are still very real. It's sick and fascinating.
And I'm absolutely hooked.
I should be perfectly candid about where I would place these books in my mind. These aren't simple tales full of action and pathos and they don't have clear-cut plotlines for easy public consumption. They are Considered. They are very thoughtful, very mindful, and rife with classics of both literature and philosophical thought. The latest one is a modern delving and interpretation of some of the best pre-game-theory classics. And it's also heart-wrenching, but mainly for the actual effects of these Big Ideas on all the characters I've grown to love and admire. And I mean all of them.
I would place these books in my mind in the Classics category. Classic as in "This needs to be a cult favorite that gets pulled out fifty years from now with just much love and respect as I'm giving it now" kind of book.
If there's any justice in this world, Big Ideas books that are written this well should ALWAYS have staying power. And that's what I wish for it. It needs to be known and savored. We need this discussion for all our thinking selves. Seriously and honestly.
That's how this book affects me. How all of the books have affected me. Am I putting them on a very precise pedestal? Perhaps. But any winner of the Olympics ought to be respected for all the reasons behind the competition.
I think I'm gonna nominate this one for Hugo. It keeps getting better on reflection. :)
Original Review:
I took my time and savored this one. It deserves it. And more.
Ada Palmer has made a world worth luxuriating in, and far from resting on the Greek laurels she and her work deserve, she's delved deep into new philosophical questions while all the time fascinating us with complicated and rich characters. Never even mind the glorious world-building. The amount of thought and forethought in all of this is astounding.
The title gives the main action away. It is not Battle. But the Will to Battle. This is a philosophical conundrum. A wrenching up. A decision to kill or be killed. What's most fascinating about this is the fact we began these books in a de-facto utopia.
The first book throws all our perceptions and assumptions for a loop, especially when the great murderer is, in fact, a hero, but a hero for what? The second book dives deeper into the mysterious mass-assassinations and the purpose behind them, right down to the rights of kings and the greater ideological good of society. It also explores godhood as an observer and as a limited player and does it in such a way as to frame the rest of the book in a brilliant argument for and against the destruction of a whole society.
This book is both a surprising and sophisticated exploration of nobility, goodness and idealistic (broad sense) response to the calling of war and perhaps a complete destruction of humanity. I'm talking eyes-wide-open exhaustive discussion of turning their utopias (and there are essentially eleven different kinds of utopias in this world) into mass death, destruction, and eventual barbarism. Everyone's aware of the pitfalls and only the truly war-like among us (including the original, actual Achilles) has the most wisdom to impart. Prepare well. Keep lines of communication open. Stock up. Draw battlefield lines. Prepare for the absolute worst. Go about all your days, preparing to die.
What's most shocking about this book is the fact that it never feels contrived or absurd. At all. It's like being in reality, keeping a clear head, and carefully choosing to murder for the sake of your most deeply held beliefs... even while you live in heaven.
Disturbing? Hell, yeah. Understandable? Yeah. In this case, all the events, all the subjects, all the people in it are treated with respect and honor even when it's about assassination, betrayal, grief, or the realization that everything is not only going to change, but nobody will win. And yet the Will to Battle persists. Remains. It is inevitable, but heroism now consists in postponing the tragedy or mitigating the worst effects.
This is, after all, a highly advanced scientific and cultural utopia we have on Earth. Means to destroy are vast, and people's ire and mob mentalities are still very real. It's sick and fascinating.
And I'm absolutely hooked.
I should be perfectly candid about where I would place these books in my mind. These aren't simple tales full of action and pathos and they don't have clear-cut plotlines for easy public consumption. They are Considered. They are very thoughtful, very mindful, and rife with classics of both literature and philosophical thought. The latest one is a modern delving and interpretation of some of the best pre-game-theory classics. And it's also heart-wrenching, but mainly for the actual effects of these Big Ideas on all the characters I've grown to love and admire. And I mean all of them.
I would place these books in my mind in the Classics category. Classic as in "This needs to be a cult favorite that gets pulled out fifty years from now with just much love and respect as I'm giving it now" kind of book.
If there's any justice in this world, Big Ideas books that are written this well should ALWAYS have staying power. And that's what I wish for it. It needs to be known and savored. We need this discussion for all our thinking selves. Seriously and honestly.
That's how this book affects me. How all of the books have affected me. Am I putting them on a very precise pedestal? Perhaps. But any winner of the Olympics ought to be respected for all the reasons behind the competition.
December 21, 2016
It made me hyperventilate on a train. This series just gets better and better.
December 21, 2022
So many twists, turns and reveals that I feel slightly confused and very curious if one book really lets the author satisfyingly conclude the series
See? You taught Him to step on insects long ago, your Visitor. And now that statecraft makes Him such a vast thing, He will step on men, and soon forget the little splots of color left behind.
Still a thrilling and compulsive read, but with the cast kind of hardened out and the relationships between them established, I felt The Will to Battle was less convincing than the previous two instalments. While the world Ada Palmer envisions teeters on the brink (in a kind of sci-fi version of the frantic months before the First World War) our narrator Mycroft keeps on ferrying between the players. The cast by now is as large as that of The Iliad and Achilles himself makes an appearance as well. So many actors, and a hesitancy to kill of characters for clarity sake, give this book a distinctly soap annex Hollywood space opera kind of feel (being kind of recognised by a head nod of Palmer: Love and murder are not so antithetical.)
Thomas Hobbes even pops up as narrator and we finally learn what white, grey and black laws mean. There are senate hearings and debates about the nature of liberty and reform.
The settings are still delightful and imaginative, with the reader finally figuring out that Romanova is on Sardinia for instance, and deep sea cities, a glimpse of the Martian settlement, Olympic Games on the Antarctic and space elevators being convincingly woven into the plot.
There are stunning scenes (Utopia finally taking a more active role, MASON at the heart of things) and a fascinating conflict at the center of the book. Namely: can humanity govern itself (if with some state mandated murder to keep extremes at bay) or should we rather choose submission to a morally perfect entity (which would have worked better for me if it were an omniscient AI to unburden the story a bit of its theological dimensions)?
How many lives can be lost acceptable in pursuit to either of these lofty goals, and how does a world prepare for war without nations and borders?
Terra Ignota remains a fascinating tale and I am very curious for Perhaps the Stars
See? You taught Him to step on insects long ago, your Visitor. And now that statecraft makes Him such a vast thing, He will step on men, and soon forget the little splots of color left behind.
Still a thrilling and compulsive read, but with the cast kind of hardened out and the relationships between them established, I felt The Will to Battle was less convincing than the previous two instalments. While the world Ada Palmer envisions teeters on the brink (in a kind of sci-fi version of the frantic months before the First World War) our narrator Mycroft keeps on ferrying between the players. The cast by now is as large as that of The Iliad and Achilles himself makes an appearance as well. So many actors, and a hesitancy to kill of characters for clarity sake, give this book a distinctly soap annex Hollywood space opera kind of feel (being kind of recognised by a head nod of Palmer: Love and murder are not so antithetical.)
Thomas Hobbes even pops up as narrator and we finally learn what white, grey and black laws mean. There are senate hearings and debates about the nature of liberty and reform.
The settings are still delightful and imaginative, with the reader finally figuring out that Romanova is on Sardinia for instance, and deep sea cities, a glimpse of the Martian settlement, Olympic Games on the Antarctic and space elevators being convincingly woven into the plot.
There are stunning scenes (Utopia finally taking a more active role, MASON at the heart of things) and a fascinating conflict at the center of the book. Namely: can humanity govern itself (if with some state mandated murder to keep extremes at bay) or should we rather choose submission to a morally perfect entity (which would have worked better for me if it were an omniscient AI to unburden the story a bit of its theological dimensions)?
How many lives can be lost acceptable in pursuit to either of these lofty goals, and how does a world prepare for war without nations and borders?
Terra Ignota remains a fascinating tale and I am very curious for Perhaps the Stars
Read
January 4, 2018I’ve been thinking about how to review this book for a couple of days, and have come to the conclusion that I can’t review its events without massive spoilers, and even then, those won’t convey the impact to someone who hasn’t read the two previous books.
So I’m going to talk about it by talking around it.
In the last few days, it so happens that I’ve been either watching or reading stories that focus on the problems of power and human nature. The fuzziest of these stories was my viewing of The Last Jedi in which the conflicted history of the Jedi is touched on.
I find these issues handled much more effectively in a Chinese drama I’ve been rewatching (Nirvana in Fire, and to a lesser extent, so far, its sequel), but the most detailed scrutiny is Ada Palmer’s The Will to Battle, the third of the Terra Ignota series.
In this one, we find out what ‘terra ignota’ means in the context of this fascinating, highly stylized, deeply complex and rapidly fracturing future Utopia as secrets emerge to devastating effect.
A story this layered is going to read differently to different readers. In talking it over with various people, I’ve been fascinated by the diverging reactions, so far with a meetpoint of awe at the sheer scope, the enthusiasm (and the familiarity with) ancient as well as modern thinkers.
One reader finds the future Utopia, with its Hive and bash’ (stemming from the Japanese i-basho, what I understand to be a term for a made family), implausible in the sense of how we got there from here; another reader looks askance at the mix of science fiction and fantasy; a third is ravished by the unreliable narrator, who, admitting freely to disintegrating sanity, claims to be telling the absolute truth, which puts a spin on perceptions of miracles and madness.
As I was reading this third book in the series, during which the Utopians deal with the fact that they are on the brink of total war for the first time in three centuries, I kept reflecting on our own phenomenally uneasy times.
No matter how Byzantine Palmer’s future world is, how incomprehensible or even unbelievable this or that element seems, I can’t help but wonder how we—right now, January 2018—ended up with a handful of oligarchs doing their best to divide the world between them. And how we, here, in our two hundred year old republic, managed to saddle ourselves with so venal, ignorant, narcissistic, and incompetent a dictator-wannabe as President, something I never would have believed possible in the half-century I’ve been reading history as well as current events.
If today’s situation had been posited in a science fiction book, say, in 1984, I would have stuck it back on the bookrack, my eyes rolling out of my head.
Tying that to The Will to Battle, I am beginning to think that those very elements that seem so far-fetched to many readers make it possible to—in the guise of a highly entertaining story—pose some searching questions about human nature on the personal and global levels. Questions such as why we always seem to opt for war, and how we manage to surrender insane amounts of power to kings. (Whatever they call themselves.)
“Tully, while it’s true I’ll never rest in peace until I kill you, you’re low on the list of reasons I’ll never rest in peace.”
Reflect on the title for a moment. The will to battle. This is not a story about an Evil Sith Lord coming to attack our doughty underdog heroes who must then band together to fight back. This is a story about people who have the freedom to move anywhere in the world, even up to the city on the moon, who can be or do pretty much anything, who are permitted to believe anything, who first in hidden groups then more and more flagrantly, as their numbers grow, effectively lick their lips in anticipation of destruction and annihilation. Some out of anger, some out of conviction, and some—the most chilling of all—consider themselves motivated by benevolence.
And, creatures of contradiction that we are, we watch in fascination.
Terra Ignota
In this book, as in the previous, we’re largely in the gods-eye view as intelligent and powerful people discuss ideas of war, and humanitarians think about supplies and hospitals, and those who are lethally trained . . . do what they do best, sometimes with minds brilliant at calculating the statistical balance-point of action and consequence behind them. This book does not overlook the potency of statistics.
An imagined world, however byzantine, only works if there is resonance with the reader in the now. The glimpses of crowd movement—what sparks individuals to form into crowd, then follow the flashpoint emotion into action—strike with chilling verisimilitude. Palmer’s familiarity with history echoes through all three books.
There’s also an insightful, thoughtful, benevolently adamantine examination of the conflicts in human nature, reflected in the action and accelerating tension in this book. Characters (and readers) are fascinated by the darker impulses in humans—mirrored in our longest-lasting literature and philosophy, drama and social patterns—even when yearning toward the light. (However one defines that.)
I love these books, beginning with the beguiling narrative pyrotechnics. What resonates strongest for me is the love for humanity, even in its most profound folly, that breathes through the pages, beckoning toward human excellence, however rocky a path to get there.
So I’m going to talk about it by talking around it.
In the last few days, it so happens that I’ve been either watching or reading stories that focus on the problems of power and human nature. The fuzziest of these stories was my viewing of The Last Jedi in which the conflicted history of the Jedi is touched on.
I find these issues handled much more effectively in a Chinese drama I’ve been rewatching (Nirvana in Fire, and to a lesser extent, so far, its sequel), but the most detailed scrutiny is Ada Palmer’s The Will to Battle, the third of the Terra Ignota series.
In this one, we find out what ‘terra ignota’ means in the context of this fascinating, highly stylized, deeply complex and rapidly fracturing future Utopia as secrets emerge to devastating effect.
A story this layered is going to read differently to different readers. In talking it over with various people, I’ve been fascinated by the diverging reactions, so far with a meetpoint of awe at the sheer scope, the enthusiasm (and the familiarity with) ancient as well as modern thinkers.
One reader finds the future Utopia, with its Hive and bash’ (stemming from the Japanese i-basho, what I understand to be a term for a made family), implausible in the sense of how we got there from here; another reader looks askance at the mix of science fiction and fantasy; a third is ravished by the unreliable narrator, who, admitting freely to disintegrating sanity, claims to be telling the absolute truth, which puts a spin on perceptions of miracles and madness.
As I was reading this third book in the series, during which the Utopians deal with the fact that they are on the brink of total war for the first time in three centuries, I kept reflecting on our own phenomenally uneasy times.
No matter how Byzantine Palmer’s future world is, how incomprehensible or even unbelievable this or that element seems, I can’t help but wonder how we—right now, January 2018—ended up with a handful of oligarchs doing their best to divide the world between them. And how we, here, in our two hundred year old republic, managed to saddle ourselves with so venal, ignorant, narcissistic, and incompetent a dictator-wannabe as President, something I never would have believed possible in the half-century I’ve been reading history as well as current events.
If today’s situation had been posited in a science fiction book, say, in 1984, I would have stuck it back on the bookrack, my eyes rolling out of my head.
Tying that to The Will to Battle, I am beginning to think that those very elements that seem so far-fetched to many readers make it possible to—in the guise of a highly entertaining story—pose some searching questions about human nature on the personal and global levels. Questions such as why we always seem to opt for war, and how we manage to surrender insane amounts of power to kings. (Whatever they call themselves.)
“Tully, while it’s true I’ll never rest in peace until I kill you, you’re low on the list of reasons I’ll never rest in peace.”
Reflect on the title for a moment. The will to battle. This is not a story about an Evil Sith Lord coming to attack our doughty underdog heroes who must then band together to fight back. This is a story about people who have the freedom to move anywhere in the world, even up to the city on the moon, who can be or do pretty much anything, who are permitted to believe anything, who first in hidden groups then more and more flagrantly, as their numbers grow, effectively lick their lips in anticipation of destruction and annihilation. Some out of anger, some out of conviction, and some—the most chilling of all—consider themselves motivated by benevolence.
And, creatures of contradiction that we are, we watch in fascination.
Terra Ignota
In this book, as in the previous, we’re largely in the gods-eye view as intelligent and powerful people discuss ideas of war, and humanitarians think about supplies and hospitals, and those who are lethally trained . . . do what they do best, sometimes with minds brilliant at calculating the statistical balance-point of action and consequence behind them. This book does not overlook the potency of statistics.
An imagined world, however byzantine, only works if there is resonance with the reader in the now. The glimpses of crowd movement—what sparks individuals to form into crowd, then follow the flashpoint emotion into action—strike with chilling verisimilitude. Palmer’s familiarity with history echoes through all three books.
There’s also an insightful, thoughtful, benevolently adamantine examination of the conflicts in human nature, reflected in the action and accelerating tension in this book. Characters (and readers) are fascinated by the darker impulses in humans—mirrored in our longest-lasting literature and philosophy, drama and social patterns—even when yearning toward the light. (However one defines that.)
I love these books, beginning with the beguiling narrative pyrotechnics. What resonates strongest for me is the love for humanity, even in its most profound folly, that breathes through the pages, beckoning toward human excellence, however rocky a path to get there.
December 5, 2023
Almost war.
I think I have waited too long between the second book and this one to now read the final two tomes. Which isn’t my fault entirely, the publishing interval between the second and third book was so long that I am completely thrown out of the story and I now feel only a glimpse of the crazy joy I had reading especially the second book. I think this whole story should be read in one breath, but for me it’s too late for that now and the story just doesn’t feel as vivid anymore. Plus, to be fair to myself, this one was a lot more philosophical than the previous ones. Nevertheless, I will of course read the last book to learn how this all ends.
I’m still very impressed by Palmer’s brilliant mind.🤯
I think I have waited too long between the second book and this one to now read the final two tomes. Which isn’t my fault entirely, the publishing interval between the second and third book was so long that I am completely thrown out of the story and I now feel only a glimpse of the crazy joy I had reading especially the second book. I think this whole story should be read in one breath, but for me it’s too late for that now and the story just doesn’t feel as vivid anymore. Plus, to be fair to myself, this one was a lot more philosophical than the previous ones. Nevertheless, I will of course read the last book to learn how this all ends.
I’m still very impressed by Palmer’s brilliant mind.🤯
November 21, 2021
Updated: In retrospect The Will to Battle is not as strong a book as the first two, but I still do love it and hold it dear so the 5 stars stay: “Mycroft is Mycroft.”
(Mild spoilers ahead)
Ockham Prospero Saneer pleads Terra Ignota, I did the deed, but I do not myself know whether it was a crime. This sets the tone for the entire book.
I know there are at least a few of you interested in this book and whether or not the end feels like we've only been given half a book. I'm happy to report that this does not feel like half a book. The wait for Perhaps the Stars will still be long and torturous, but I intend to fill that time with back to back re-reads prior to release.
These books are, in their own special way, an art form. These pages are filled with quirky stylistic choices, narrative breaks taken to address the reader (you) who carries an ongoing dialogue both with the narrator, and ghosts of the narrators past and upbringing (primarily, philosopher Thomas Hobbes). Dual columns of text side by side are meant to tell you that multiple conversations are happening at the same time within the text. While MASON speaks, people around him object and these texts are given to you in tandem. Different sets of parenthetical are meant to indicate different languages. I'm sure this has been obvious to some of my fellow readers, but yes, I can be dense, and yes, it has taken me three books to crack the code.
We continue our philosophical search for meaning through the eyes of the Alien, God of Another Universe, filtered through the eyes of a serial killer and a genius, Mycroft Canner. This was an interesting examination of Mycroft. We see a glimpse of Mycroft before this chronicle started. We spy him for a brief moment in that time between his capture and his judgement. His own story, a mirror image of the larger story at hand.
We move away now from examinations of gender and utopia, to the meaning and purpose of war. Perhaps to the purpose of god and religion and its purpose within society. How does a peaceful society take those first few steps to war? Is war necessary to progress? How does society balance the rights of an individual against the greater good? What right does a government have to defend itself or its people against other governments and people? Is this a right we as citizens consent to? Or do we happily ignore it and pretend that peace and the right to live are god granted things that no government can take away regardless of that governments cause?
This may be the last book I have time to read and review this year and with everything happening within my own government I suppose it couldn't have been more timely. It is highly relevant and highly recommended, and one of the few books I am already looking forward to re-reading because I know just how many things I must have missed.
(Mild spoilers ahead)
Ockham Prospero Saneer pleads Terra Ignota, I did the deed, but I do not myself know whether it was a crime. This sets the tone for the entire book.
I know there are at least a few of you interested in this book and whether or not the end feels like we've only been given half a book. I'm happy to report that this does not feel like half a book. The wait for Perhaps the Stars will still be long and torturous, but I intend to fill that time with back to back re-reads prior to release.
These books are, in their own special way, an art form. These pages are filled with quirky stylistic choices, narrative breaks taken to address the reader (you) who carries an ongoing dialogue both with the narrator, and ghosts of the narrators past and upbringing (primarily, philosopher Thomas Hobbes). Dual columns of text side by side are meant to tell you that multiple conversations are happening at the same time within the text. While MASON speaks, people around him object and these texts are given to you in tandem. Different sets of parenthetical are meant to indicate different languages. I'm sure this has been obvious to some of my fellow readers, but yes, I can be dense, and yes, it has taken me three books to crack the code.
We continue our philosophical search for meaning through the eyes of the Alien, God of Another Universe, filtered through the eyes of a serial killer and a genius, Mycroft Canner. This was an interesting examination of Mycroft. We see a glimpse of Mycroft before this chronicle started. We spy him for a brief moment in that time between his capture and his judgement. His own story, a mirror image of the larger story at hand.
We move away now from examinations of gender and utopia, to the meaning and purpose of war. Perhaps to the purpose of god and religion and its purpose within society. How does a peaceful society take those first few steps to war? Is war necessary to progress? How does society balance the rights of an individual against the greater good? What right does a government have to defend itself or its people against other governments and people? Is this a right we as citizens consent to? Or do we happily ignore it and pretend that peace and the right to live are god granted things that no government can take away regardless of that governments cause?
This may be the last book I have time to read and review this year and with everything happening within my own government I suppose it couldn't have been more timely. It is highly relevant and highly recommended, and one of the few books I am already looking forward to re-reading because I know just how many things I must have missed.
November 18, 2021
This book is I think simulataneously the most creative structurally, and the least interesting in terms of plot and thought experiment so far in the series.
CONTENT WARNING:
Please do not read more if you do not want spoilers on the previous books. Given that it is the third in a series, and also the first half of a subseries, I am not going to follow my good/bad review structure. The good is the same as the previous two books, with more confidence in writing, and a very clever shift in things that allows us to contextualize our narrator and his contemporaries even more.
What doesn't work for me here is the whole concept of the will to battle. I don't think this would be enough, and I think the assumption is heavily flawed. But I can accept it as a thought experiment on the nature of human violence. Unfortunately, this book, for the first time, feels like a middle book. A lot more musing on ideas, a lot less implementation, so the thought experiment is sidetracked to the point we have to accept it as plot rather than philosophy. The marriage, why still frustratingly intriguing, is also frustratingly insufficient compared to the brilliance of the first two books.
I look forward to eating my words come the fourth book!
CONTENT WARNING:
Please do not read more if you do not want spoilers on the previous books. Given that it is the third in a series, and also the first half of a subseries, I am not going to follow my good/bad review structure. The good is the same as the previous two books, with more confidence in writing, and a very clever shift in things that allows us to contextualize our narrator and his contemporaries even more.
What doesn't work for me here is the whole concept of the will to battle. I don't think this would be enough, and I think the assumption is heavily flawed. But I can accept it as a thought experiment on the nature of human violence. Unfortunately, this book, for the first time, feels like a middle book. A lot more musing on ideas, a lot less implementation, so the thought experiment is sidetracked to the point we have to accept it as plot rather than philosophy. The marriage, why still frustratingly intriguing, is also frustratingly insufficient compared to the brilliance of the first two books.
I look forward to eating my words come the fourth book!
February 4, 2018
This is a magnificent series! It has glorious prose, spectacular world-building, amazing intrigue and ... It's so good that I feel bad for not liking it. But fact is just don't. Yes, it's glorious and intricate and imaginative, to me this book was still a slog.
I'm not even sure what kept me going. Pure stubbornness and five-nines record of finishing books? (Not actually true, it's two nines and a smidgen.) A hope that it would eventually be worth it?
It definitely wasn't a desire to know what would happen to the characters from the first two books. They never seemed real to me, and I never cared for them. When they popped back into the story in this book, for shorter or longer, I never thought "Ah, I was wondering what happened to them." and at the end of the book I'm not thinking "I wonder what will happen in the next." Perhaps with one exception, but they barely appear in the book.
Only one thing, I think, could get me to read the next one, and that's a faint hope some or, highly unlikely, all of the mystery will be exposed.
If you really enjoyed the first two books, I wouldn't be surprised if you enjoy this one as well, but if you never truly related to the characters, found those to go on for too long about ... well, everything, and/or got annoyed with the sheer ornateness of it all, you should get out now.
When I'm giving it an "OK" instead of "didn't like it", it's based on it feeling less of a slog for the last 25% of the book, but there's a non-zero chance that this, at least in part, was induced by the end being in sight.
I'm not even sure what kept me going. Pure stubbornness and five-nines record of finishing books? (Not actually true, it's two nines and a smidgen.) A hope that it would eventually be worth it?
It definitely wasn't a desire to know what would happen to the characters from the first two books. They never seemed real to me, and I never cared for them. When they popped back into the story in this book, for shorter or longer, I never thought "Ah, I was wondering what happened to them." and at the end of the book I'm not thinking "I wonder what will happen in the next." Perhaps with one exception, but they barely appear in the book.
Only one thing, I think, could get me to read the next one, and that's a faint hope some or, highly unlikely, all of the mystery will be exposed.
If you really enjoyed the first two books, I wouldn't be surprised if you enjoy this one as well, but if you never truly related to the characters, found those to go on for too long about ... well, everything, and/or got annoyed with the sheer ornateness of it all, you should get out now.
When I'm giving it an "OK" instead of "didn't like it", it's based on it feeling less of a slog for the last 25% of the book, but there's a non-zero chance that this, at least in part, was induced by the end being in sight.
January 19, 2024
The Will to Battle is the direct aftermath of the Seven Surrenders. Writing a spoiler-free review at this point is somewhat redundant, as one of the most intriguing elements of the book is a spoiler. However, I will discuss some spoiler-free elements before diving into the meat of the book. Firstly, this book is wonderful and cements this series as one of my favourite works of fiction. It’s significantly slower-paced and much more philosophical. The title is a giveaway of the central subject matter it explores, the Will to Battle. A decision to kill or be killed, based on the events introduced in Books 1 and 2.
Palmer delves deeply into so many subject matters and even new philosophical questions (due to the specific circumstances of the series), but never with a surface-level interpretation. The big decisions made in the book are never done with a Black & White mentality but with extreme care. The amount of forethought in all of this is astounding. From the worldbuilding, the characters, the writing style, and so many small nuances that escape the reader (it probably escaped me).
Spoilers:
In conclusion, I think I’ve already stated that I believe this will be a future classic. It’s a space opera with one of the most unique and lively worlds in science fiction, deep into theology and metaphysics, one of the most ambitious books of this decade, and rich characters. There is legitimate criticism, it doesn’t work as an entertaining novel due to its ambition, focusing quite heavily on philosophy. I just happen to love its writing style, the dense language, and a book that makes you think and work. It’s influenced by many greats, yet it never falls into the pitfalls of feeling derivative, it feels wholly unique. Like the Gene Wolfe influence, which isn’t just the unreliability but goes deeper, taking some of the core ideas and exploring them with each nuance and depth, I actually appreciate both Book of the New Sun and Terra Ignota even more after finishing this book. That is Palmer in a nutshell, you just happen to appreciate so much beyond what Terra Igonta genuinely makes you think. Anyway, this is getting a tad long-winded. All I can say is that I’m excited for Book 4.
9/10
Palmer delves deeply into so many subject matters and even new philosophical questions (due to the specific circumstances of the series), but never with a surface-level interpretation. The big decisions made in the book are never done with a Black & White mentality but with extreme care. The amount of forethought in all of this is astounding. From the worldbuilding, the characters, the writing style, and so many small nuances that escape the reader (it probably escaped me).
Spoilers:
In conclusion, I think I’ve already stated that I believe this will be a future classic. It’s a space opera with one of the most unique and lively worlds in science fiction, deep into theology and metaphysics, one of the most ambitious books of this decade, and rich characters. There is legitimate criticism, it doesn’t work as an entertaining novel due to its ambition, focusing quite heavily on philosophy. I just happen to love its writing style, the dense language, and a book that makes you think and work. It’s influenced by many greats, yet it never falls into the pitfalls of feeling derivative, it feels wholly unique. Like the Gene Wolfe influence, which isn’t just the unreliability but goes deeper, taking some of the core ideas and exploring them with each nuance and depth, I actually appreciate both Book of the New Sun and Terra Ignota even more after finishing this book. That is Palmer in a nutshell, you just happen to appreciate so much beyond what Terra Igonta genuinely makes you think. Anyway, this is getting a tad long-winded. All I can say is that I’m excited for Book 4.
9/10
January 25, 2018
Author: Welcome back, dear reader! Did you return for the consistent brilliance that my cast has been putting out in their every performance?
Me: Not necessarily…I’ve got a nagging question that won’t let me quit this play.
Author (asks with keenness and curiosity): What is it?
Me: How is Mycroft Canner not severely dehydrated by now? I mean…the guy has been sobbing non-stop for the previous acts and I doubt he’s getting enough water on his Servicer’s diet. It’s…it’s been bothering me for months!
Author: Umm..ok…I reckoned you’d have more pressing questions about the philosophy and theology of this world but…yeah…I don’t know what to tell you right now
Mycroft Canner: *WEEPING AND SOBBING INTENSIFIES IN THE BACKGROUND*
If you’ve made it this far into the 3rd act of this production, then I welcome you with open arms, my comrade.
You’ll like what you find here:
• The oddness and over-the-top emotions of all the characters? Still here! Yay! You’ll love it, I know I did.
• There’s plenty of weeping and sobbing in here (even several classic Mycroft weeping and sobbing senselessly WHILE on the ground instances. Dominic kind of tried to steal the limelight in this regard though, watch out Mycroft, my dear). It’s all quite lovely indeed. That’s what proper theatre should be like. That good ol’ feeling of slight unease and ridiculousness that you get while watching it. Good stuff!
• Let me not forget the pulpit-like speechifying from characters on various topics like philosophy, theology and all sorts of ideology. It was mostly centered around the question of whether to go to war or not. We got to see the reasoning from different perspectives, interesting none-the-less.
• We get more exposure to a more derailed Mycroft, our beloved unreliable narrator. I think, atleast to me, he felt more manic and it was gripping. I couldn’t look away sometimes
This time around, it all feels more comfortable to me, the world in which the characters live in, it all makes better sense; the actions and decisions some characters make, their beliefs (some questionable and irksome) but I don’t feel so on the outside watching in with the overly dramatic tone (a character of its own) with these characters.
It’s quite natural to me that Saladin will be licking away at Mycroft’s wounds and tears while some important shit is going down. It isn’t as shocking to me when Emperor Cornel Mason decides to savagely kick Mycroft in the ribs instead of the actual person who has made him enraged. This is all totally natural, I’ve had two whole acts to get used to these characters’ sociopathic tendencies and contradictions. They’re all still weird but everything about them is all so riveting.
I got some of my desires sated from this act and will be here waiting for the 4th and final act!
June 3, 2018
I feel conflicted about this book. I really wanted to like it but I just didn't. There were some amazing moments that gave me hope that eventually, things would turn around but they never did. And those moments were just not enough to redeem the novel as a whole.
Palmer writes what she knows. History and Philosophy are her thing. In the previous novels, TLTL and SS, Palmer managed to find a balance between her love of writing about these subjects and her desire to tell a good story. In TWTB she completely abandons the art of storytelling and spends the entire novel philosophizing. This book felt Rand-like with bloated dialogue that read like a manifesto to validate an ideal rather than a meaningful exchange of ideas.
It felt dense and unfocused. The long blocks of text that tempted me to skim, the interruptions of Hobbes and Dear Reader, the circling of an idea but no forward progress of thought made this a tough book to get through.
There is a moment where JEDD holds the world's leaders captivated as he philosophizes. They are literally at war and everyone is held in stasis as they listen to his words. This moment sums up all I felt was wrong with this book. Palmer holds the plot in stasis in order to philosophize when the moment desperately needed movement.
Palmer writes what she knows. History and Philosophy are her thing. In the previous novels, TLTL and SS, Palmer managed to find a balance between her love of writing about these subjects and her desire to tell a good story. In TWTB she completely abandons the art of storytelling and spends the entire novel philosophizing. This book felt Rand-like with bloated dialogue that read like a manifesto to validate an ideal rather than a meaningful exchange of ideas.
It felt dense and unfocused. The long blocks of text that tempted me to skim, the interruptions of Hobbes and Dear Reader, the circling of an idea but no forward progress of thought made this a tough book to get through.
There is a moment where JEDD holds the world's leaders captivated as he philosophizes. They are literally at war and everyone is held in stasis as they listen to his words. This moment sums up all I felt was wrong with this book. Palmer holds the plot in stasis in order to philosophize when the moment desperately needed movement.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 9, 2019
It’s fair to say that the Terra Ignota series continues to be demanding and rewarding. Mycroft the narrator, a convicted murderer, is writing a chronicle of events in 2454 in the style of the Enlightenment, while holding down eight jobs and suffering a psychological breakdown. The narrative is punctuated by commentary from Thomas Hobbes and a personification of the book’s readership. At times Hobbes can be tiresome, but Palmer otherwise pulls off an astonishingly complex, intellectually challenging, and original tale. ‘The Will to Battle’ is concerned with the run up to Earth’s first war in many hundreds of years. In the previous book, Seven Surrenders, the machinations of Madame were revealed. She takes a less significant role in this instalment, which instead considers how prior events impact upon global governance and create the conditions for violent conflict. The reader finally learns the meaning of the term Terra Ignota: it refers to the ambiguous space between legal codes, where the potential criminality of an act is uncertain and therefore subject to careful examination. An elegant concept. The Black Laws and conventions of Hobbestown are equally ingenious.
Political debates form a large part of the book and proved to be absolutely fascinating. Although I couldn’t find any unambiguous allegories for current schisms, the analysis of fundamental political questions is brilliantly done and undoubtedly sheds light on the present. Do governments have the right to kill for the collective good? Is government power better vested in a single figurehead or collectively shared? Should a monarch or emperor be entitled to choose their successor? How do populist demagogues exploit atavistic fears? Is it more destructive for society to split into two opposed sides or fragment into many? Wider philosophical queries are also addressed: are the Olympics a channel for nationalistic aggression that would otherwise turn violent? Is war justifiable because it spurs on technological progress and human ambition? What constitutes neutrality during a global war? First and foremost, the book grapples with whether there is such a thing as a just, even good, war. An important figure throughout is the reborn Achilles, acting in the capacity of War Consultant. He is definitely depicted as calmer and wiser for having died.
While I recommend the Terra Ignota series and have read nothing quite like it, I also suspect that many references (not least to Hobbes) went over my head. If you’re unfamiliar with Enlightenment thought and the Iliad, this may irk you somewhat. The mannered writing style, unreliable narrator, polylingual interjections, and multitude of names given to most characters also pose challenges. Ada Palmer writes science fiction that reads quite convincingly as if it was written hundreds of years ago. ‘The Will to Battle’ contains some spectacular scenes and magnificent dialogue, continuing the plot seamlessly where Seven Surrenders left off. I was delighted to learn more about the Utopians, thrilled by the hunt in the penultimate chapter, and amused by the common sense of Kosala in the face of proposed global dictatorship:
Although it took me 600 pages of two novels to become comfortable in the world of Terra Ignota and work out who is who, I’m now wholly invested in it. I’ve never read a future history that anchors itself so firmly in the language and literature of the past, yet somehow manages to be exciting and progressive rather than conservative. Palmer has seemingly constructed a convincing utopia in order to stress-test it while playing complicated linguistic and literary games. I’m getting a great deal from series and, even if it isn’t to your taste, the audacious ambition of the endeavour definitely deserves recognition and respect.
Political debates form a large part of the book and proved to be absolutely fascinating. Although I couldn’t find any unambiguous allegories for current schisms, the analysis of fundamental political questions is brilliantly done and undoubtedly sheds light on the present. Do governments have the right to kill for the collective good? Is government power better vested in a single figurehead or collectively shared? Should a monarch or emperor be entitled to choose their successor? How do populist demagogues exploit atavistic fears? Is it more destructive for society to split into two opposed sides or fragment into many? Wider philosophical queries are also addressed: are the Olympics a channel for nationalistic aggression that would otherwise turn violent? Is war justifiable because it spurs on technological progress and human ambition? What constitutes neutrality during a global war? First and foremost, the book grapples with whether there is such a thing as a just, even good, war. An important figure throughout is the reborn Achilles, acting in the capacity of War Consultant. He is definitely depicted as calmer and wiser for having died.
While I recommend the Terra Ignota series and have read nothing quite like it, I also suspect that many references (not least to Hobbes) went over my head. If you’re unfamiliar with Enlightenment thought and the Iliad, this may irk you somewhat. The mannered writing style, unreliable narrator, polylingual interjections, and multitude of names given to most characters also pose challenges. Ada Palmer writes science fiction that reads quite convincingly as if it was written hundreds of years ago. ‘The Will to Battle’ contains some spectacular scenes and magnificent dialogue, continuing the plot seamlessly where Seven Surrenders left off. I was delighted to learn more about the Utopians, thrilled by the hunt in the penultimate chapter, and amused by the common sense of Kosala in the face of proposed global dictatorship:
Kosala’s patience for fawning and French is limited. “Jed, you can’t have a war between yourself and every single other person in the world. I mean, I know you have some…” - she hesitated, surveying wretched Dominic and me - “...friends… but if you reject us all, all seven Hives, and alienate the Hiveless, which your world empire plan has definitely done, then you’re alone.”
Although it took me 600 pages of two novels to become comfortable in the world of Terra Ignota and work out who is who, I’m now wholly invested in it. I’ve never read a future history that anchors itself so firmly in the language and literature of the past, yet somehow manages to be exciting and progressive rather than conservative. Palmer has seemingly constructed a convincing utopia in order to stress-test it while playing complicated linguistic and literary games. I’m getting a great deal from series and, even if it isn’t to your taste, the audacious ambition of the endeavour definitely deserves recognition and respect.
March 1, 2018
Ada Palmer has the skills to pay the bills, and with her new book she's packing a full clip, has a 455 under the hood and a full tank of high-octane racing fuel.
This is the third book in the Terra Ignota trilogy, and damn, it’s good! Palmer keeps the tension running at eye-watering pace, the politics, bad blood and crimes of the previous two novels coming together in a story that has the intricacy of a Swiss watch.
Mycroft Canner, Servicer, one-time sadistic multiple murderer and now servant to the most powerful people on Earth. returns as our narrator, showing us Jehovah Mason - visitor from another reality, Cornel MASON - Masonic emperor, Ojiro Sniper- Humanist olympian turned war leader and others as they deal with the revelations of murder and betrayal that arose in Palmer's two earlier novels.
War is now inevitable. Centuries of peace are over. Shots haven’t been fired, but guns are loaded, arrows aimed, and fingers tremble with the effort of holding their position against triggers while we, readers get a ringside seat to the fascinating dance of power, fear and anger that is circling the world ever closer to the plughole.
Like her previous novels action is not the heart of Palmer's timepiece (although there is action here- big action, bigger than in her prior books), rather the tiny gears of many conversations drive this machine, and what conversations they are! I found myself hanging on every sentence in conversations between the lords of Palmer’s world as they try to stop the war they all know is coming, while at the same time they begin building war machines that will tear their society down to rubble.
There's some damn smart stuff in here. Palmer's books are refreshingly different, finding their tension in interesting places and exploring ancient ideas against the background of an advanced, generally harmonious future society. Palmer's background as an historian comes through, with Thomas Hobbes' theories (and even the man himself) blended into the narrative along with the enlightenment thought of Voltaire and others.
Ancient Greek thought and culture is also projected onto the canvas of the future, with Achilles (yes, fleet-footed, Myrmidon-leading, Patroclus-loving Achilles himself) resurrected and trying to fit into the future. As the only man alive who has ever experienced war he must choose a side to take when conflict breaks out and his rare skills become indispensable.
This dance of ideas, and the way they clash with each other and with the values of a futuristic society are is fascinating to watch, and skilfully done.
I was initially a little unsure of her decision to resurrect Achilles as so many authors have revisited the Trojan War (see Dan Simmons’ Olympos for a particularly entertaining example) and I wondered if a classics academic such as Palmer simply couldn’t resist the urge to play with one of literature’s greatest characters, regardless of the wisdom of doing so.
I need not have worried. Palmer doesn’t shoe-horn Achilles into a story where he doesn’t belong - rather she makes him an important and natural part of what happens, and his presence fits with the menage of bright future and classical philosophy that underpins her scenario.
There is genuine pleasure to be taken here in Palmer's lavishly constructed world, and I found myself soaking up the detail, almost sightseeing as she takes her readers on a tour of her imagination.
My only reservation is that I thought The Will to Battle was going to round the story off (instead of setting things up for a fourth novel) so I was a little disappointed that no resolution is reached. I’m veeeery careful about committing to reading such long series, but this one is pure reading pleasure so no regrets so far.
Overall I loved this book, and I sucked up its pages like a nineties Britpop band roaring through an ounce of blow.
To continue my drug analogy, if I was hooked by Too Like the Lightning and Seven Surrenders then The Will to Battle has made me a slavering addict, greedily eyeing up publishers' lists for my next hit of Palmer's Terra Ignota. I very very rarely order books on spec, but I'll be dropping my hard-earned on Palmer's next book the moment pre-orders open.
4.5 stars.
This is the third book in the Terra Ignota trilogy, and damn, it’s good! Palmer keeps the tension running at eye-watering pace, the politics, bad blood and crimes of the previous two novels coming together in a story that has the intricacy of a Swiss watch.
Mycroft Canner, Servicer, one-time sadistic multiple murderer and now servant to the most powerful people on Earth. returns as our narrator, showing us Jehovah Mason - visitor from another reality, Cornel MASON - Masonic emperor, Ojiro Sniper- Humanist olympian turned war leader and others as they deal with the revelations of murder and betrayal that arose in Palmer's two earlier novels.
War is now inevitable. Centuries of peace are over. Shots haven’t been fired, but guns are loaded, arrows aimed, and fingers tremble with the effort of holding their position against triggers while we, readers get a ringside seat to the fascinating dance of power, fear and anger that is circling the world ever closer to the plughole.
Like her previous novels action is not the heart of Palmer's timepiece (although there is action here- big action, bigger than in her prior books), rather the tiny gears of many conversations drive this machine, and what conversations they are! I found myself hanging on every sentence in conversations between the lords of Palmer’s world as they try to stop the war they all know is coming, while at the same time they begin building war machines that will tear their society down to rubble.
There's some damn smart stuff in here. Palmer's books are refreshingly different, finding their tension in interesting places and exploring ancient ideas against the background of an advanced, generally harmonious future society. Palmer's background as an historian comes through, with Thomas Hobbes' theories (and even the man himself) blended into the narrative along with the enlightenment thought of Voltaire and others.
Ancient Greek thought and culture is also projected onto the canvas of the future, with Achilles (yes, fleet-footed, Myrmidon-leading, Patroclus-loving Achilles himself) resurrected and trying to fit into the future. As the only man alive who has ever experienced war he must choose a side to take when conflict breaks out and his rare skills become indispensable.
This dance of ideas, and the way they clash with each other and with the values of a futuristic society are is fascinating to watch, and skilfully done.
I was initially a little unsure of her decision to resurrect Achilles as so many authors have revisited the Trojan War (see Dan Simmons’ Olympos for a particularly entertaining example) and I wondered if a classics academic such as Palmer simply couldn’t resist the urge to play with one of literature’s greatest characters, regardless of the wisdom of doing so.
I need not have worried. Palmer doesn’t shoe-horn Achilles into a story where he doesn’t belong - rather she makes him an important and natural part of what happens, and his presence fits with the menage of bright future and classical philosophy that underpins her scenario.
There is genuine pleasure to be taken here in Palmer's lavishly constructed world, and I found myself soaking up the detail, almost sightseeing as she takes her readers on a tour of her imagination.
My only reservation is that I thought The Will to Battle was going to round the story off (instead of setting things up for a fourth novel) so I was a little disappointed that no resolution is reached. I’m veeeery careful about committing to reading such long series, but this one is pure reading pleasure so no regrets so far.
Overall I loved this book, and I sucked up its pages like a nineties Britpop band roaring through an ounce of blow.
To continue my drug analogy, if I was hooked by Too Like the Lightning and Seven Surrenders then The Will to Battle has made me a slavering addict, greedily eyeing up publishers' lists for my next hit of Palmer's Terra Ignota. I very very rarely order books on spec, but I'll be dropping my hard-earned on Palmer's next book the moment pre-orders open.
4.5 stars.
October 28, 2020
This one was a trial. I read the first book in this series back in August of 2017. It overwhelmed me, and I waited over six months before I read the second one, which added trauma on top of the whelming. At this point, book three was out, and I knew I'd had a hard time remembering details because of the wait I'd created for myself in between books one and two, so the smart thing was to go straight into three. I had it already out from the library when I finished book two, but then as discussed previously, book two traumatized me. I'm not even joking. Just thinking about picking up the third book clanged my anxiety bells all to hell. So I renewed the library book as many times as I could before finally giving up and returning it.
I tried again last February, riiiight before the pandemic started. I read books one and two back to back and had a grand old time, re-traumatizing myself, but also getting a lot more out of the experience than I had the first time through. And again, I already had book three out from the library. I was going to do it.
Reader, I did not do it.
And because of the pandemic, my library closed and all the books patrons had out were theirs indefinitely, at least until libraries reopened, which didn't happen until early June. At which point they also got rid of late fees, so I just kept the book for a while, thinking, I'm going to do it! Any day now! I had this book for over six months and I could not bring myself to read it. Finally, I returned it in August.
At which point I decided I was going to do it for real! I was going to use this for my White Whale square on CBR BINGO, and it was really going to happen. So I ended up just buying a copy and reading it, and it was good, and stressful, and I had to put it down for weeks at a time and come back to it, because it is a fucking stressful book about a society on the brink of war, and the characters are always discussing these urgent philosophical ideas about governance, and identity, and morality and it's going to give me a fucking existential crisis.
I have once again written a review for this series where I say almost nothing at all about the book itself.
I'm giving this four stars, because like my experiences with books one and two, it doesn't feel complete yet. When I read one and two back to back, I bumped up my rating to five stars, because they just worked better together than they did apart. I feel like that might be the case with three and four as well. This book is just non-stop ratcheting up the tension. It's brilliant in places; like, Palmer made a fifty page senate session, a large portion of which is just one character reading out a constitution, into one of the most gripping things I have ever read. But I also continue to be perplexed by characters like Dominic and Madame and Julia Doria-Pamphili, all of whom I hate. But that's a tangent. What I'm meaning to say is this book is the build up, and we don't get the release, or any kind of resolution at all.
Perhaps the Stars finally has a release date: next June. I'm hoping I can dive right into it on release day, but who even knows at this point. Fuck, this series is honestly genius and it stresses me out, and I feel like I'm losing it, but I also love it. And how is it going to end???? I don't want to know.
I tried again last February, riiiight before the pandemic started. I read books one and two back to back and had a grand old time, re-traumatizing myself, but also getting a lot more out of the experience than I had the first time through. And again, I already had book three out from the library. I was going to do it.
Reader, I did not do it.
And because of the pandemic, my library closed and all the books patrons had out were theirs indefinitely, at least until libraries reopened, which didn't happen until early June. At which point they also got rid of late fees, so I just kept the book for a while, thinking, I'm going to do it! Any day now! I had this book for over six months and I could not bring myself to read it. Finally, I returned it in August.
At which point I decided I was going to do it for real! I was going to use this for my White Whale square on CBR BINGO, and it was really going to happen. So I ended up just buying a copy and reading it, and it was good, and stressful, and I had to put it down for weeks at a time and come back to it, because it is a fucking stressful book about a society on the brink of war, and the characters are always discussing these urgent philosophical ideas about governance, and identity, and morality and it's going to give me a fucking existential crisis.
I have once again written a review for this series where I say almost nothing at all about the book itself.
I'm giving this four stars, because like my experiences with books one and two, it doesn't feel complete yet. When I read one and two back to back, I bumped up my rating to five stars, because they just worked better together than they did apart. I feel like that might be the case with three and four as well. This book is just non-stop ratcheting up the tension. It's brilliant in places; like, Palmer made a fifty page senate session, a large portion of which is just one character reading out a constitution, into one of the most gripping things I have ever read. But I also continue to be perplexed by characters like Dominic and Madame and Julia Doria-Pamphili, all of whom I hate. But that's a tangent. What I'm meaning to say is this book is the build up, and we don't get the release, or any kind of resolution at all.
Perhaps the Stars finally has a release date: next June. I'm hoping I can dive right into it on release day, but who even knows at this point. Fuck, this series is honestly genius and it stresses me out, and I feel like I'm losing it, but I also love it. And how is it going to end???? I don't want to know.
April 19, 2021
I haven't been able to shut up about these books to literally everyone who knows me.
And now they're over.... for now.
HMB while I go start Too Like the Lightning again.
And now they're over.... for now.
HMB while I go start Too Like the Lightning again.
February 26, 2021
i don't think this one is as good as the first two but it still has some incredible moments. Aesop quarriman will always be the best name ever
February 5, 2024
This was a very solid book in the series. There was a lot of weirdness present to keep me guessing as a reader and the many mysteries caused me to theorize a lot. It fully succeeded in making me very hyped for the final book of the series !
April 28, 2022
The third instalment of Palmer's Terra Ignota series continues to be just as wonderful - dense, clever, humane and gripping. I can't wait for book four.
Edit: this time around, I've listened to the audio, with Perhaps the Stars ready to go!
Edit: this time around, I've listened to the audio, with Perhaps the Stars ready to go!
May 25, 2018
After the constitutive excellent of the first two of the series, I felt this novel falls a little flat. While in the previous iterations, the plot has felt honed and in a momentous direction, here the story seems to meander around, with only occasional larger events stitching it all together. While Lightning had the Ockham-Saneer bash, and Surrenders had Madame's, the global scope of this book overwhelms when it is thrust upon the reader every chapter, instead of breaking up otherwise familiar locations as in the other two books.
Introducing the Arctic and Atlantis, both seemingly for major plot points, was a little odd seeing as neither has been mentioned before, unlike the Blacklaw capital which was a rewarding treat. Sniper disappears, then reappears? Granted there is mystery here, but for what stakes?
Overall this is a solid book, and respect continuing for Palmer for its creation. The Vatican chapter was a delight, as was the thrilling Prison chapter towards the end. Achilles also was an enjoyable addition, excising the admittedly somewhat duller chapters of Bridger from the other books. But other than this, I can't help but feel the fourth instalment will have to pickup the slack of the series left by Battle, or else run the risk of petering out what was an incredibly strong start.
Introducing the Arctic and Atlantis, both seemingly for major plot points, was a little odd seeing as neither has been mentioned before, unlike the Blacklaw capital which was a rewarding treat. Sniper disappears, then reappears? Granted there is mystery here, but for what stakes?
Overall this is a solid book, and respect continuing for Palmer for its creation. The Vatican chapter was a delight, as was the thrilling Prison chapter towards the end. Achilles also was an enjoyable addition, excising the admittedly somewhat duller chapters of Bridger from the other books. But other than this, I can't help but feel the fourth instalment will have to pickup the slack of the series left by Battle, or else run the risk of petering out what was an incredibly strong start.
December 14, 2018
3.5 stars this time, but rounded up per usual for Ada Palmer’s sheer ambition.
So, it turns out that waiting over a year between these books is a terrible idea! I’d forgotten who did what, why (BLANKITY BLANK) was in prison, and what were the latest double-triple-crossings, etc. I’d lost my momentum a bit, so with its usual dense politics and philosophy, it took me so long to read despite being only ~350 pages. I think this could have been shorter and tightened up; I’m putting it under ‘second book in a trilogy’ struggles despite being the third book in a quadrilogy, because not too-too much happens, most of the exciting stuff is jammed right in at the very end, and it feels like it’s all just lining up its pieces for the final climax in the next one. ‘Penultimate book’ struggles, I suppose.
I mentioned this in status updates, but I’ve tired of Mycroft a bit, so getting the occasional cameo narrator like Martin Guildbreaker or the mysterious editor 9A (my new favourite character tbh) was a breath of fresh air. Mycroft’s histrionics and eternal weeping and dramatics are A Lot, three books in, particularly considering his steadily-deteriorating mental state, which is come fully to bear now that the in-universe editor is no longer obscuring it from us (unreliable narration!!).
But: I’m so here for JEDD, for Achilles (<3<3<3), for Cornel; and even for Faust whenever he crops up, because while he’s not a huge player, he is still so funny and delightful; and for this war generally. It’s fascinating watching this society untangle its own history and re-learn instincts it’s forgotten, navigating being in a futuristic society with potentially-devastating technology, and thus how to wage war without outright destroying the human race. The Utopians’ long view, focusing on the forest rather than the trees, is wonderful. I love ‘em. They’re the best.
This paltry review might seem pretty down on the book as a whole, but I actually liked it and I’m genuinely looking forward to the last book. There is just so much going on in this world. I’m not filing it under ‘war stories’ just yet, as this is the Will to Battle, not the Battle itself… yet.
Sidenote: I borrowed the physical copy for once, to see if there was any typographical wizardry going on that wouldn’t be reproduced in an e-copy (since I’d heard the previous books had this) — but apart from two-column formatting in one section, I don’t think there actually was all that much. So, you could absolutely just read the ebook of this one.
A couple favourite quotes:
So, it turns out that waiting over a year between these books is a terrible idea! I’d forgotten who did what, why (BLANKITY BLANK) was in prison, and what were the latest double-triple-crossings, etc. I’d lost my momentum a bit, so with its usual dense politics and philosophy, it took me so long to read despite being only ~350 pages. I think this could have been shorter and tightened up; I’m putting it under ‘second book in a trilogy’ struggles despite being the third book in a quadrilogy, because not too-too much happens, most of the exciting stuff is jammed right in at the very end, and it feels like it’s all just lining up its pieces for the final climax in the next one. ‘Penultimate book’ struggles, I suppose.
I mentioned this in status updates, but I’ve tired of Mycroft a bit, so getting the occasional cameo narrator like Martin Guildbreaker or the mysterious editor 9A (my new favourite character tbh) was a breath of fresh air. Mycroft’s histrionics and eternal weeping and dramatics are A Lot, three books in, particularly considering his steadily-deteriorating mental state, which is come fully to bear now that the in-universe editor is no longer obscuring it from us (unreliable narration!!).
But: I’m so here for JEDD, for Achilles (<3<3<3), for Cornel; and even for Faust whenever he crops up, because while he’s not a huge player, he is still so funny and delightful; and for this war generally. It’s fascinating watching this society untangle its own history and re-learn instincts it’s forgotten, navigating being in a futuristic society with potentially-devastating technology, and thus how to wage war without outright destroying the human race. The Utopians’ long view, focusing on the forest rather than the trees, is wonderful. I love ‘em. They’re the best.
This paltry review might seem pretty down on the book as a whole, but I actually liked it and I’m genuinely looking forward to the last book. There is just so much going on in this world. I’m not filing it under ‘war stories’ just yet, as this is the Will to Battle, not the Battle itself… yet.
Sidenote: I borrowed the physical copy for once, to see if there was any typographical wizardry going on that wouldn’t be reproduced in an e-copy (since I’d heard the previous books had this) — but apart from two-column formatting in one section, I don’t think there actually was all that much. So, you could absolutely just read the ebook of this one.
A couple favourite quotes:
On the Acropolis at least the tears we shed are still tears of connection: where I stand Socrates stood. [...] That is what we all want, to touch what someone touched, a special someone, different for each of us, whose story reached forward through history and touched us. We want to reciprocate that touch as friends do. Who touches you, reader? Whose touch do you want to reciprocate, thwarting the walls of time? Raphael? Socrates? Machiavelli? Caesar? Homer? Hobbes?
***
The only other interruption worth mentioning was that Madame’s confessor, two hours into her recital, attempted to bludgeon her to death with a censer. It was inevitable, in retrospect, particularly since he was a Spaniard. The lady escaped with minor burns, but the priest was not so fortunate, since Madame learned self-defense from prostitutes, and is no stranger to clawing eyes. I heard recently that all his physical injuries have been repaired; his mortal sin may take longer.
February 7, 2022
This is God Emperor of Dune, a book that might be profound, but is definitely a turgid mass. Where the prior books in the series delighted in a striptease of revelation, The Will to Battle has a single message, and that is "HAVE YOU READ HOBBES!"
In the wake of the assassination and resurrection of J.E.D.D. MASON, the world is heading towards war. Bridger is gone (how? I really don't remember Seven Surrenders very well), and replaced with Achilles. You know, that Achilles, wine-dark seas, bronze spears, walls of Troy; the Achilles. A war is coming, but the long peace leading to the 25th century means that no one knows how to fight it.
There's rich pathos. How do we distinguish between communities, mobs, armies? What does a person experience as they move from between memberships in these states, and how is their precious individual subjectivity changed. War demands a mechanization of murder, that the apparatus of politics and economy be directed towards lethal force. And when a supreme commander can so obviously decide the fate of millions, war forces us to ask if our leaders are truly making history, or if they are merely in the front ranks of the mob.
There's an interesting book in the premise, the chance for more revelation of character as we move from peace to war. But instead, the alliances and characterization are conventional, static rather than radical. The main plot is concerned with a sideshow of a trial and an Olympic Games, a pause before the actual fighting. And then when it does happen, the Utopian Hive reveals what any student of war in the 21st century knows, rapid kinetic action is very very powerful.
The divine nature of J.E.D.D. MASON, fully acknowledged by the book (he's a God, visiting from another universe), is another wasted opportunity, a rehash of theodicy rather than an exploration of what it means to face the Ultimate. What a shame. I'm probably going to give the whole series a reread when the last book drops, but this book is a stinker with few redeeming qualities. Even Palmer's renaissance erudition has changed from charming quirk to cloying affectation.
***
On a re-read, I like this book a little better, though I still don't like it much. There's a lot going on in this book, to wit the declining political situation as the world of the Hives slides towards open warfare, various intrigues between parties to shape that war, our narrator Mycroft's mental implosion, as he pleads with himself, other characters, Hobbes, and you the reader, and finally the Outside Context Problem of J.E.D.D MASON walking around in his divine flesh, pronouncing his desire to remake the world without limits and damn anything in his path.
What gets squeezed out is any warm characterization, and much of the sense of mystery. We know who all these people are, how the major components of the setting work. The new elements are at the fringes, the precise workings of the various legal machineries present, a new editorial voice in the Ninth Anonymous who takes over from Mycroft at various moments. But much of this book feels like vamping before we actually get to the fireworks factory, and what I hope will be a satisfying conclusion in book 4.
In the wake of the assassination and resurrection of J.E.D.D. MASON, the world is heading towards war. Bridger is gone (how? I really don't remember Seven Surrenders very well), and replaced with Achilles. You know, that Achilles, wine-dark seas, bronze spears, walls of Troy; the Achilles. A war is coming, but the long peace leading to the 25th century means that no one knows how to fight it.
There's rich pathos. How do we distinguish between communities, mobs, armies? What does a person experience as they move from between memberships in these states, and how is their precious individual subjectivity changed. War demands a mechanization of murder, that the apparatus of politics and economy be directed towards lethal force. And when a supreme commander can so obviously decide the fate of millions, war forces us to ask if our leaders are truly making history, or if they are merely in the front ranks of the mob.
There's an interesting book in the premise, the chance for more revelation of character as we move from peace to war. But instead, the alliances and characterization are conventional, static rather than radical. The main plot is concerned with a sideshow of a trial and an Olympic Games, a pause before the actual fighting. And then when it does happen, the Utopian Hive reveals what any student of war in the 21st century knows, rapid kinetic action is very very powerful.
The divine nature of J.E.D.D. MASON, fully acknowledged by the book (he's a God, visiting from another universe), is another wasted opportunity, a rehash of theodicy rather than an exploration of what it means to face the Ultimate. What a shame. I'm probably going to give the whole series a reread when the last book drops, but this book is a stinker with few redeeming qualities. Even Palmer's renaissance erudition has changed from charming quirk to cloying affectation.
***
On a re-read, I like this book a little better, though I still don't like it much. There's a lot going on in this book, to wit the declining political situation as the world of the Hives slides towards open warfare, various intrigues between parties to shape that war, our narrator Mycroft's mental implosion, as he pleads with himself, other characters, Hobbes, and you the reader, and finally the Outside Context Problem of J.E.D.D MASON walking around in his divine flesh, pronouncing his desire to remake the world without limits and damn anything in his path.
What gets squeezed out is any warm characterization, and much of the sense of mystery. We know who all these people are, how the major components of the setting work. The new elements are at the fringes, the precise workings of the various legal machineries present, a new editorial voice in the Ninth Anonymous who takes over from Mycroft at various moments. But much of this book feels like vamping before we actually get to the fireworks factory, and what I hope will be a satisfying conclusion in book 4.
May 19, 2023
While the first book is more gripping simply because it’s more plot driven and has an intensely good hook, coupled to an intriguing narrator—the subsequent instalments have much more heady and slow moving. Very much a book of ideologues, made necessary because of the events of the first books, where society essentially collapses and factions must now, well, battle.
But there isn’t actually to many battles, which I doubt anybody would expect, anyway. These books have never focused on that aspect. Much more about the political intrigue and revelations based on context, than anything actually decided by a physical kind of conflict.
So, be warned then: This is slow moving, but just as methodical and just as big on twists and turns you probably won’t see coming. I have to be in a specific mood to engage with something like this. In the previous book I compared it to Dune, and I think that’s apt, though minus the battle sequences and add in confronting more social constructs than (primarily) religion. Though just as interested in questing for morality through a figure that literally embodies godhood (head).
3.5 rounded up
But there isn’t actually to many battles, which I doubt anybody would expect, anyway. These books have never focused on that aspect. Much more about the political intrigue and revelations based on context, than anything actually decided by a physical kind of conflict.
So, be warned then: This is slow moving, but just as methodical and just as big on twists and turns you probably won’t see coming. I have to be in a specific mood to engage with something like this. In the previous book I compared it to Dune, and I think that’s apt, though minus the battle sequences and add in confronting more social constructs than (primarily) religion. Though just as interested in questing for morality through a figure that literally embodies godhood (head).
3.5 rounded up
November 28, 2017
4.5/5.0
March 12, 2022
Another good installment in the Terra Ignota series, with plenty of twists and politics and an ending to make you scream - but if you came that far, you know what to expect by now. There's not much to say about a third book in a series that does its job. One star off because I felt the plot as a whole still didn't move all that much, but as a whole, the series very much ranks among my favourites.
Enjoyment: 4/5
Execution: 4/5
More reviews on my blog, To Other Worlds.
Enjoyment: 4/5
Execution: 4/5
More reviews on my blog, To Other Worlds.
January 24, 2020
The author draws on every ounce of her academic background in the history of ideas (primarily western) to create the world of Terra Ignota. Earth is divided into political entities called Hives that are based on culture rather than geography. The Hives pattern themselves on the philosophies and theologies of civilizations past, present, and future - the Roman Empire, the European Union, Japanese corporate culture, and 18th century European Enlightenment, to name a few. Plus there are anarchic 'Hiveless' states, and one ultra techologically-advanced Hive devoted to leaving earth for the stars. Add to this complex political scenario far future technologies, gender nonconformism, and possible tantilizing hints of godhead. This version of earth has lived in peace for over 300 years, but in this third volume of the series, it is poised for world war.
All this might sound like a pedantic mess but it's not, thanks in large part to fascinating characters, especially our narrator and guide, Mycroft Canner, a self-loathing mass-murderer/cannibal/genius/madman/empath. This is a lush, dense, emotional and intrigue-filled world that the reader can't travel through quickly, but it's worth the work.
All this might sound like a pedantic mess but it's not, thanks in large part to fascinating characters, especially our narrator and guide, Mycroft Canner, a self-loathing mass-murderer/cannibal/genius/madman/empath. This is a lush, dense, emotional and intrigue-filled world that the reader can't travel through quickly, but it's worth the work.
January 15, 2018
Something keeps me reading this series despite the absolutely annoying writing style. the world that is created in this series is intriguing, and I am interested in it. However, the way it is presented through an egotistical narrator, or "chronicler", is annoying as hell and makes it very painful at times to read.
January 1, 2022
Terra Ignota is such a glorious sprawl of a story that I have a tough time knowing what on earth I can say about it. It's bewildering - made more so by narrator Mycroft Canner's descend into madness. If he wasn't unreliable enough as a narrator, now we can't even be sure who he's speaking to! Bring on 9A!
September 4, 2019
More like a 2.5 but really, I'm not adding a full star on for 10% of a book
How long ago Too Like the Lightning seems. How much I loved that book, how much I wanted to get stuck right into the story. How little I trusted Mycroft Canner to tell an impartial story, how much I trusted Ada Palmer to stick a landing. How completely caught up I was into the world-building, how diverse and interesting everything felt. How much The Will to Battle disappointed me.
After the explosive events and reveals of Seven Surrenders , I was absolutely ready to jump straight into the next book. I spoke in my last review that I wasn't sure how the final book would fit in, but it transpires that The Will to Battle and Perhaps the Stars are a duology, to mirror the first two books. In a way, this definitely explains the absolute cliffhanger of an ending (even if ) but it doesn't excuse the massive bloat that comes before. I almost feel like Palmer is going to excruciatingly great lengths to make sure we hate all the characters that she spent two books bigging up for us: Mycroft is now nearly unbearable on the page, Dominic's every scene is basically a cringefest of slavish devotion, Madame should have never made it out of Seven Surrenders alive, JEDD is now basically so insufferable that it's a miracle I didn't throw my Kindle across the room and this is without even touching on the Hive leaders.
It's clear that Palmer knows her Philosophy and History, that they're her strong points and she enjoys displaying that knowledge. But where the fourth wall between the reader and Mycroft was broken rarely and to great effect in the first two books, now the interruptions are just that: interruptions. Having the Reader, Mycroft and Thomas Hobbes debate the events of the book not only takes you straight out of the narrative, but it also completely turns into another opportunity to Palmer to flex her knowledge, often to deleterious effects (look, I get it, you're genuinely clever, you know what you're doing, but we knew this beforehand! We're on book 3, we don't need you to continue flexing your extensive knowledge). This also happens in large set pieces, where one character (usually, but not always JEDD), bloviates on a given topic for several pages: the Senate for example feels like it could have been cut by a good editor and not much would have been lost.
And this is the main detraction: for a book about Hives preparing for war, it doesn't feel like much actually happens. Instead we have scenes that don't really connect to each other, all suffused with opportunities for characters to give rousing speeches but... without any actual connection to the plot. The impressive world Palmer spent time building up throughout Too Like the Lightning, the interesting connections and ethical quandaries of Seven Surrenders, all fall to the wayside so instead we have cardboard cutouts recite their lines and then disappear off stage until they're next needed. We should also talk about JEDD:
Which leads me neatly to Bridger. The events at the end of Seven Surrenders were almost magical in appearance and the existence of in The Will to Battle does lend credence to it. Unlike others, I'm not really convinced as to whether Bridger's 'powers' were real or not. There is a part of me that seriously feels that the existence of actual magic or even a real God will cheapen the entire experience and I have a feeling that there won't really be any explanation for this. I hope I am wrong, because it feels like Palmer doesn't want to provide all the answers, but equally I don't feel that she's really dropping hints here and there and if Mycroft is the only person to actually provide the narrative, then really I'm not expected to actually believe him, am I? I really hope Perhaps the Stars actually ties up all the narrative threads and gives a satisfying conclusion, but the way this book played out doesn't give me much hope.
We should also talk about the women of Palmer's world. For something that wants to subvert gender so much (and okay, the use of pronouns does help with a bit of that, especially when they clearly don't match physical representations of the characters), the three women who embrace, for lack of a better world, their femininity, are all pretty much one-dimensional and evil: Julia, Thisbe and Madame all rely on "female wiles" to get their way, in a way that cheapens what Palmer comes across as wanting to portray. It's boring. It's unoriginal. It's not even trying to subvert a "femme fatale" archetype, it's leaning into it to the point where most of them become interchangeable. It feels like there was some intent here, but it hasn't really played out quite the way that Palmer intended. It should also be said that in all the scenes where one character or another spends page upon page expounding on some philosophical dilemma, it's the male (or male coded) characters who speak. Madame flounces about or faints, Thisbe is all but absent except for two scenes and Julia is a non-entity.
Finally, for how much it gets hyped up and how much hinges on it, is a complete and utter disappointment. Over in practically a chapter, with basically not much said about it. Which I feel quintessentially sums up The Will to Battle. There is a part of me that isn't sure about whether I'll continue with the series. On the one hand, there is just the final book left but on the other hand if it's anything like this one, I will probably DNF it well before the end. I'm sorry Ada Palmer, but a good 10% doesn't make up for the rest of the 90% being that... pointless.
Many thanks to Macmillan, Tor and NetGalley for the copy of this book.
How long ago Too Like the Lightning seems. How much I loved that book, how much I wanted to get stuck right into the story. How little I trusted Mycroft Canner to tell an impartial story, how much I trusted Ada Palmer to stick a landing. How completely caught up I was into the world-building, how diverse and interesting everything felt. How much The Will to Battle disappointed me.
After the explosive events and reveals of Seven Surrenders , I was absolutely ready to jump straight into the next book. I spoke in my last review that I wasn't sure how the final book would fit in, but it transpires that The Will to Battle and Perhaps the Stars are a duology, to mirror the first two books. In a way, this definitely explains the absolute cliffhanger of an ending (even if ) but it doesn't excuse the massive bloat that comes before. I almost feel like Palmer is going to excruciatingly great lengths to make sure we hate all the characters that she spent two books bigging up for us: Mycroft is now nearly unbearable on the page, Dominic's every scene is basically a cringefest of slavish devotion, Madame should have never made it out of Seven Surrenders alive, JEDD is now basically so insufferable that it's a miracle I didn't throw my Kindle across the room and this is without even touching on the Hive leaders.
It's clear that Palmer knows her Philosophy and History, that they're her strong points and she enjoys displaying that knowledge. But where the fourth wall between the reader and Mycroft was broken rarely and to great effect in the first two books, now the interruptions are just that: interruptions. Having the Reader, Mycroft and Thomas Hobbes debate the events of the book not only takes you straight out of the narrative, but it also completely turns into another opportunity to Palmer to flex her knowledge, often to deleterious effects (look, I get it, you're genuinely clever, you know what you're doing, but we knew this beforehand! We're on book 3, we don't need you to continue flexing your extensive knowledge). This also happens in large set pieces, where one character (usually, but not always JEDD), bloviates on a given topic for several pages: the Senate for example feels like it could have been cut by a good editor and not much would have been lost.
And this is the main detraction: for a book about Hives preparing for war, it doesn't feel like much actually happens. Instead we have scenes that don't really connect to each other, all suffused with opportunities for characters to give rousing speeches but... without any actual connection to the plot. The impressive world Palmer spent time building up throughout Too Like the Lightning, the interesting connections and ethical quandaries of Seven Surrenders, all fall to the wayside so instead we have cardboard cutouts recite their lines and then disappear off stage until they're next needed. We should also talk about JEDD:
Which leads me neatly to Bridger. The events at the end of Seven Surrenders were almost magical in appearance and the existence of in The Will to Battle does lend credence to it. Unlike others, I'm not really convinced as to whether Bridger's 'powers' were real or not. There is a part of me that seriously feels that the existence of actual magic or even a real God will cheapen the entire experience and I have a feeling that there won't really be any explanation for this. I hope I am wrong, because it feels like Palmer doesn't want to provide all the answers, but equally I don't feel that she's really dropping hints here and there and if Mycroft is the only person to actually provide the narrative, then really I'm not expected to actually believe him, am I? I really hope Perhaps the Stars actually ties up all the narrative threads and gives a satisfying conclusion, but the way this book played out doesn't give me much hope.
We should also talk about the women of Palmer's world. For something that wants to subvert gender so much (and okay, the use of pronouns does help with a bit of that, especially when they clearly don't match physical representations of the characters), the three women who embrace, for lack of a better world, their femininity, are all pretty much one-dimensional and evil: Julia, Thisbe and Madame all rely on "female wiles" to get their way, in a way that cheapens what Palmer comes across as wanting to portray. It's boring. It's unoriginal. It's not even trying to subvert a "femme fatale" archetype, it's leaning into it to the point where most of them become interchangeable. It feels like there was some intent here, but it hasn't really played out quite the way that Palmer intended. It should also be said that in all the scenes where one character or another spends page upon page expounding on some philosophical dilemma, it's the male (or male coded) characters who speak. Madame flounces about or faints, Thisbe is all but absent except for two scenes and Julia is a non-entity.
Finally, for how much it gets hyped up and how much hinges on it, is a complete and utter disappointment. Over in practically a chapter, with basically not much said about it. Which I feel quintessentially sums up The Will to Battle. There is a part of me that isn't sure about whether I'll continue with the series. On the one hand, there is just the final book left but on the other hand if it's anything like this one, I will probably DNF it well before the end. I'm sorry Ada Palmer, but a good 10% doesn't make up for the rest of the 90% being that... pointless.
Many thanks to Macmillan, Tor and NetGalley for the copy of this book.
September 7, 2021
How can I say this book has the best characterization, the best plot, the best intrigue, dialogue, the best anything, when the categories themselves are too narrow to accommodate something so divine as is the Terra Ignota series.
The characters act not just logically, but with the utmost attention being given to their background—religion, politics, childhood, parents. The decisions they make are a product of such careful considerations, it would be a crime to call it mere 'characterization', when it's life! These people are alive.
Can I call the plot a plot when it's a culmination of imagination, philosophy, history, politics, detailed examination and pondering of both humanity's future and old ideas of what our future might be, then combining it all with not just Palmer's ideas, but counter-ideas of philosophers as well as voices representing us, the readers.
The writing itself is praise worthy, employing the arts of rhetoric pleasing to the ear.
These books are everything and I cannot wait to lay eyes upon the final book of the series, Perhaps the Stars.
The characters act not just logically, but with the utmost attention being given to their background—religion, politics, childhood, parents. The decisions they make are a product of such careful considerations, it would be a crime to call it mere 'characterization', when it's life! These people are alive.
Can I call the plot a plot when it's a culmination of imagination, philosophy, history, politics, detailed examination and pondering of both humanity's future and old ideas of what our future might be, then combining it all with not just Palmer's ideas, but counter-ideas of philosophers as well as voices representing us, the readers.
The writing itself is praise worthy, employing the arts of rhetoric pleasing to the ear.
These books are everything and I cannot wait to lay eyes upon the final book of the series, Perhaps the Stars.
September 6, 2017
The first book in the Terra Ignota series, Too Like the Lightning, was magnificent. It left me deliciously bewildered at every turn, with revelation after revelation illuminating new aspects of the world to me, turning my assumptions on their heads with no warning. This being the third installment in the series, the world is now mostly laid out before the reader, but there are still shattering revelations to be had. Before beginning, I was concerned that my expectations for The Will to Battle were too high, that I was bound to be disappointed. I should have known better, because Ada Palmer has delivered yet another exquisite and intricately crafted tale. The characters remain complex and fascinating, the action riveting, and the twists never cheap. I eagerly await the publication of both this book, so I can share it with customers, and the final installment, Perhaps the Stars, so I can find out how this brilliant series concludes!
(I read this book as an eARC through edelweiss)
(I read this book as an eARC through edelweiss)
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