[LMB] Snake Agent

[Jennifer Sessions]

Inspector Chen is lovely. A sweet and quiet man who is also a great lead 
role. Neat trick that. And Zhu-Urzh is a total kick, a slice of 
toe-curling awesome. For some reason I feel like the series is still... 
young, or practicing, like the first few books are a rehearsal for 
Williams as an author, so that the potential that feels like greatness 
is there without necessarily completely manifesting itself in the text. 
Time will tell I suppose on whether

That said, I love that the stories and characters and world, while 
western-mind accessible, are still not western at all. Chen and Inari 
aren't 'dressed up' as Asian characters, their world-view and morals are 
different.  The magic is nifty, and its rules are fascinating (hurrah 
badger kettle!). The racism, and conception of hell, and deity are 
captivating (to the point that I agree with the demon, that hell would 
be the nicer, if awful place to live- if only so that your life is 
exciting). A definite thumbs up, but I hope that the next few come more 
naturally to Williams.

The sequels up the scale a bit and introduce more of the world(s) and 
some pretty compelling characters, as a series it is worthy to continue

And yes the cover art is astoundingly beautiful

Jenny Sessions


Lois McMaster Bujold wrote:
> *  Have you run across Liz Williams' _Snake Agent_ yet?  And sequels.  I
> think it might be just the ticket for your tastes.  (Anyone else care to
> comment on this one?)  To me, it reads like anime on paper; I was
> especially fond of the Chinese mythology stuff.  I didn't race right out
> to get more, but I won't turn it down when it drifts by in the
> bookstream.  Booktorrent.  Whatever.
>
> Ta, L.
>