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Content snapshot
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Violence
A lot
Political violence, executions, and war throughout
Language
Barely any
Mild language
Sexual Content
Some
Lesbian sexuality in a world where it is criminalized; romantic content
Substance Use
None
No substance use
Emotional Intensity
Very heavy
A protagonist who must do terrible things for the chance of future good; the moral corruption of means-to-an-end thinking; a devastating final act
What this book is about
Baru Cormorant watched the Imperial Republic of Falcrest conquer her island homeland and decided to become the empire's greatest accountant—in order to destroy it from within. As an imperial bureaucrat, she must advance the empire's interests while secretly plotting its downfall. Dickinson's remarkable debut is a brutal political fantasy about colonialism, complicity, and the devastating price of working within systems of oppression. The ending is one of the most painful in recent fantasy.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Graphic political violence
A devastatingly painful ending
Moral complexity around complicity and oppression
Reader Verification
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