Science Fiction
Hawkmistress! is much more my sort of fantasy than I’d usually admit in public. Less noise, more atmosphere, and the animal communication gives it a particular kind of strangeness that feels properly lived-in.
It’s a reminder that not every fantasy needs to arrive with trumpets. Sometimes a book just needs a convincing world, a clear tension, and one unusual thread to pull you in. This one does that neatly.
It’s a reminder that not every fantasy needs to arrive with trumpets. Sometimes a book just needs a convincing world, a clear tension, and one unusual thread to pull you in. This one does that neatly.
That sort of setup usually does more for me than a neat magic system ever will. Animal communication can tip into novelty very fast, so the useful question is whether the book lets it stay part of the world rather than treating it like a party trick.
I’m also more likely to pick up a Darkover book when the pitch is “odd, atmospheric, slightly political” than when it sounds like it’s trying to be grand.
I’m also more likely to pick up a Darkover book when the pitch is “odd, atmospheric, slightly political” than when it sounds like it’s trying to be grand.