Here’s a Guest Review from one of our regular Forumites. Elias is a blogger and has been a Forumite at SFFWorld for over fifteen years. Here’s his thoughts about the third book in this very well-received series.
Saying that I was eagerly awaiting The Will to Battle, the third installment of Ada Palmer’s Terra Ignota series, would be a huge understatement. Despite having been published only in the past two years, Too Like the Lightning and Seven Surrenders are already in my all-time top five and, in fact, have redefined my criteria for judging science fiction novels to the point that I think I have not given five stars to any other genre book since reading them. The bar was set very high, as you can imagine, but I am glad to say that this new book has met almost all my expectations.
The Will to Battle starts just after the events described in Seven Surrenders and you will immediately recognize the distinct voice of Mycroft Canner, who is again the (unreliable) narrator of the story. As per usual, the reader is immersed in a fascinating universe of Hives, sensayers and bash’ houses, this time with an increasing political tension so that the world is on the verge of war. But don’t be afraid if you don’t remember of the details, characters and factions from the previous books. In fact, my memory is horrible, but, as she already did in Seven Surrenders, Palmer excels in making the reader recall almost every fact and protagonist with an incredible ease and without needing to resort to flashbacks or lengthy infodumps.
Probably the thing I like the most about The Will to Battle is that we get to know in much more depth the inner workings of the political aspects of the world that Palmer has imagined. We learn much more about things that we have only seen mentioned before (the set-set riots or the difference between Blacklaws, Greylaws and Whitelaws, for instance) and we even witness a trial, a meeting of the Senate and the Olympic Games. I really enjoyed discovering how the author had planned with incredible care every little aspect and finding out that little details that seemed to be arbitrary are, in fact, of crucial importance.
The Will to Battle is an even more political book than Too Like the Lightning and Seven Surrenders were. If in previous installments the focus was on examining the different manoeuvres to obtain and retain power, in this novel Palmer explores the very foundations of society and law, taking the reader into a philosophical journey based upon the theories of Hobbes and even back to the societies of the Greeks and Romans. In addition to that, as the title of the book clearly suggests, war is a prominent topic in the novel and we observe how the different Hives struggle to keep peace while, at the same time, prepare themselves should battle finally come. This makes for an intricate and complex plot in which there is room for the logistics of war preparation, the politics of law-making and even a detective investigation.
Palmer’s prose is as wonderful as ever. It requires some effort on the reader’s part, as you already know if you have read the previous novels, but it is unlike any other author I’ve ever encountered (in a good way) and the tone is just perfect. This time, the author adds some new wonderful tricks to make the reading experience even more original and delightful. The book is extremely meta-fictional, since we are told it is being written while Too Like the Lightning is going to be released in the world of the novel, and there are many new characters that interrupt Mycroft Canner’s narration to clarify, correct, or directly discuss with him. Also, in the first chapters there are some sudden scene changes that are masterfully done. I think I have already said this many times, but let me repeat that I find it incredible that this is Palmer’s debut series, for she is one of the most accomplished writers I have ever read.
Another, very positive aspect of The Will to Battle is the central role of one of the most intriguing and amazing characters of the saga: J.E.D.D. Mason. After the revelations of Seven Surrenders, it is not surprising that everybody is polarized around this figure and that the destiny of the world depends heavily on many of his decisions. In fact, the better part of the novel is devoted to exploring his motivations and his personality, something that is truly fascinating. The only downside is that the rest of the characters, including some of my favourites, have less time than they should deserve. Where Too Like the Lightning and Seven Surrenders were clearly novels with many characters of equal importance in the plot, The Will to Battle is more focused on a smaller cast of characters, probably one of the few things in which this novel is a bit inferior to the previous ones.
Another small problem is that the beginning of the book is a bit slow and the pacing is slightly uneven. Palmer takes her time to set up all the pieces on the board, but after the first third of the novel, the action starts in full earnest and the time spent in the preliminaries begins to pay off. There are some nice surprises and some unexpected twists and, what is even more important, everything gets ready for a fourth and final volume that promises to be incredibly interesting.
All in all, The Will to Battle is one of my favourite books this year, as I was expecting, and only a step below the almost perfect Seven Surrenders. This series is one the best things that has happened to science fiction in the 21st Century and I can’t hardly wait to see where Ada Palmer is going to take us with Perhaps the Stars.
Review Soundtrack: I suggest reading this review while listening to Prepare for War, composed by Justin R. Durban (Spotify)
The Will to Battle by Ada Palmer
Book 3 of Terra Ignota
Published by Head of Zeus, December 2017
352 pages
ISBN: 978-1786699565
Review by Elías F. Combarro, ‘Odo’.
Elias also writes reviews on his blog, Sense of Wonder, at: http://sentidodelamaravilla.blogspot.com
