The Monster Baru Cormorant

The Masquerade, Book 2

By: Seth Dickinson

Narrated by: Christine Marshall

A breathtaking geopolitical epic fantasy, The Monster Baru Cormorant is the sequel to Seth Dickinson's "fascinating tale" (The Washington Post) The Traitor Baru Cormorant.

Her world was shattered by the Empire of Masks. For the power to shatter the Masquerade, she betrayed everyone she loved.

The traitor Baru Cormorant is now the cryptarch Agonist - a secret lord of the empire she's vowed to destroy.

Hunted by a mutinous admiral, haunted by the wound which has split her mind in two, Baru leads her dearest foes on an expedition for the secret of immortality. It's her chance to trigger a war that will consume the Masquerade.

But Baru's heart is broken, and she fears she can no longer tell justice from revenge...or her own desires from the will of the man who remade her.

©2018 Seth Dickinson (P)2018 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

2019, Locus Awards - Nominee, Short-listed

The Rabbit Hole Goes Waaay Down

Rides the line between lyric brilliance and bat-sh** crazy gibberish. Its universe is carefully realized but sometimes obsessive in its minor details. Frequently compelling however.

Beautifully written but a bit lackluster

The first book was a climb with Baru making calculated moves in life or death situations. With each victory she moved closer to her goals. It was satisfying and exciting. This sequel however lacks much of that and leaves our main character going through the motions as she tries to reconcile with the events of the first book. While the plot is merely good, the writing and the characters are amazingly fleshed out and a joy to listen to. Overall, a good book but doesn't quite live up to the promise of the last one.

Confusing, but partly my fault.

Unfortunately, I listened to this sequel before the first book. I blame Audible Auto Play that started it while I was driving. I didn’t realize it was the second book in a trilogy until more then half way through and by then I was invested. That fact may have contributed to my confusion as the names, places, characters, and consequences from the first book were introduced to me in rapid succession.

That being said, the recording itself is rather confusing. The narrator jumps between perspectives and times without announcement, voice change, or pause. As one section flows into another you just have to figure it out with context. Apparently this isn’t an issue in the book, but definitely is in this recording.

Nonetheless, I was able to follow enough to be captivated by this confusing world I found myself in. While the characters aren’t likable, they are at least relatable and I find myself interested enough to listen to the first book. Hopefully I’ll be less confused this time around.

Brilliant

I somehow adore the second installment more than the first. The plot thickens so very much, and the world-building just layers onto itself like layers of flavor in a curry. Delicious.

Dickinson does it again

For fans of the first book, there's a lot to love here. There's also some growing pains as it's a second book in a series and spends a fair amount of time building for the rest of the series.

Baru is brought down to earth somewhat as she becomes more reactive than proactive and her schemes don't seem to succeed quite like they did in book one. But, overall, this is a great book and I'm super excited to see the next one very soon.