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After finishing The Priory of the Orange Tree and A Day of Fallen Night, I was on the hunt for something similar, something just as rich in lore and emotion, preferably still rooted in fantasy.
That’s how I stumbled across The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson.
This one came highly recommended for fans of high fantasy with political depth and morally complex characters, and it definitely delivered on that front.
The Premise
Baru Cormorant is born into a small island nation, free, loved, and unbroken.
That changes when the Empire of Masks arrives, conquering her home through control, not war, and indoctrinating the people through imperial schools that disguise assimilation as opportunity.
Baru, a prodigy, learns quickly.
She learns how the empire operates. She learns what it values.
And she decides to take it down, from the inside.
But the path she chooses to do that is… brutal.
Let me just say: this book does not pull punches.
The Characters
Baru is one of the most complicated protagonists I’ve read in a while.
You won’t always like her.
You won’t always agree with her.
But you’ll always feel the weight of what she carries, and what she’s willing to become for the sake of her goal.
It’s painful, honestly.
Watching someone become a villain in order to defeat a larger evil, and not knowing whether she’ll lose herself in the process.
My two favorite characters were:
- Baru, for how unapologetically cold she becomes
- Tain Hu, for her strength, loyalty, and complexity
Their dynamic alone is reason to read the book.
A Difficult Read (But a Worthwhile One)
I’m going to be honest, this book isn’t for everyone.
There were moments where the politics and financial strategy confused me, and I had to re-read sections to fully understand what was going on.
It doesn’t always hold your hand, but it never treats you like you’re not smart enough to get it.
Emotionally, it’s devastating.
It chews you up and spits you out in the final chapters.
And even though I wasn’t obsessed with every detail, I felt something, and that counts for a lot.
Final Thoughts
6.5/10
Would I read it again? Probably not.
Would I read the sequel? Surprisingly… yes.
The ending shook me enough that I’m curious to see what happens next, because even though I didn’t love the writing style, I can’t deny the intensity of the story.
If you’re someone who values emotional weight and political intrigue over traditional fantasy adventure, The Traitor Baru Cormorant might be exactly your thing.
And even if it’s not, it’s worth a try.
Sometimes, books stretch us.
And this one did that for me.