Sally Strange reviewed Two Serpents Rise by Max Gladstone
Fathers and sons, gods and capitalism
4 stars
Caleb's dad is the last priest of the old Quechal gods, who were (mostly) killed decades ago by Caleb's boss, who is a formerly human sorcerer-lawyer-CEO type. Caleb hates his father's traditions because they're so bloodsoaked, but is forced to confront the hidden human costs of the system he works for over the course of events. The setting is fantastic, a blend of Vegas, Mexico City, and LA with Indigenous mythology and culture alongside urban grit and colorful nightlife.
The writing is quite poetically descriptive, which is one of Gladstone's strengths. The action is vivid and thrilling. The only point deducted was for the ending, which I thought was a bit pat. Like many fantasy or scifi allegories for our contemporary problems with capitalism, it relies on an authoritarian leader making concessions to a lone protagonist with a good argument for not destroying the world to resolve the tensions. …
Caleb's dad is the last priest of the old Quechal gods, who were (mostly) killed decades ago by Caleb's boss, who is a formerly human sorcerer-lawyer-CEO type. Caleb hates his father's traditions because they're so bloodsoaked, but is forced to confront the hidden human costs of the system he works for over the course of events. The setting is fantastic, a blend of Vegas, Mexico City, and LA with Indigenous mythology and culture alongside urban grit and colorful nightlife.
The writing is quite poetically descriptive, which is one of Gladstone's strengths. The action is vivid and thrilling. The only point deducted was for the ending, which I thought was a bit pat. Like many fantasy or scifi allegories for our contemporary problems with capitalism, it relies on an authoritarian leader making concessions to a lone protagonist with a good argument for not destroying the world to resolve the tensions. Perhaps necessary to resolve a fictional story in a satisfying way, but for me, someone who's thought through these exact contradictions many times with no easy resolution in sight, it was not entirely satisfying.