Cold Forged Flame

Marie Brennan has quietly become one of my favorite authors. The worlds she creates are vivid and complex. She tends to focus on complicated female characters in complicated situations. And there's something cozy or safe about her work. A bit of what I like so much about Lois McMaster Bujold. I feel like she cares deeply about both her characters and her reader and that she won't let me down.

This novella was actually a bit frustrating because it was so short and I wanted so much more. It offers a bare glimpse of an incredible world and religion. The protagonist begins the book with no memory and is just starting to figure out who she is when the story ends. There are hints at a bunch of interesting stories all along the margins of the main one. I wanted more.

Good thing there's a sequel. But I think even that won't be quite enough to sate me.

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