Review: Servant Mage

Servant Mage by Kate Elliott
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm not sure why I don't love Kate Elliott's books. The prose is competent (to a degree that's rare in my experience) and the protagonists are typically determined, capable young women, my favourite kind of protagonist. But there's something in the feel of them that's darker than I prefer, and that isn't offset by a deft hand with theme, or overt insight into the human condition in general, or immersion in the viewpoint and emotions of the protagonist in particular. The tone of them feels somehow a bit chilly, and when that's set against political struggles between ruthless and cruel antagonists that, in this case, goes all the way up to dystopian (a genre I try to avoid)... I just don't love it.

I don't absolutely hate it either. I considered abandoning the book, but I cared enough to finish. I don't think I care enough to read the next one, though. Somehow, I never became that invested in the protagonist's struggle, even when, right at the end, she made a principled decision that provided another option besides the two unappealing ones she was presented with.

She did protagonize, though for a lot of the book she was being dragged along in the wake of someone else's plan, going along with it because either the alternative was worse or she thought the goal of saving a life or lives a worthy one. She took action that made a difference, and made decisions that were important and carried weight. But it did feel like I was stuck not very far into the viewpoint of one member of an ensemble cast, and not the most effectual one.

I think it's the dominance of politics that is responsible for a lot of my lukewarmness. I feel like the focus is set too wide for my taste, that the personal story of the protagonist gets skimped because of the wide sweep of events. I feel the same about other authors that I ought, on paper, to enjoy, like C.J. Cherryh or Trudi Canavan.

It's well done, if you like that sort of thing. But personally, I just don't enjoy it that much.

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