The Stone in the Skull by Elizabeth BearMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I'm only giving this book 3 stars, but it's a strong 3 stars. As others have said, this is pretty much stage setting for the next couple of books in the trilogy. The characters are all pretty thoroughly fascinating and have a lot of range. The Gage is a sort of classic "gentle giant" type, and it will be interesting to see where Bear takes him. The Dead Man is also a classic type, more the stolid samurai. Both have outlived their original purpose. Their search and their dialogues about it can get a bit self-conscious at times, but overall they are worth reading. We have two women rulers, very similar in their solid devotion to duty, but one is on the way to a drug addiction and the other is transgender. Lots of possibilities here.
I usually don't read books in a universe out of order, even if they are supposedly independent, and think I should have done so here as well. The characters are supposedly mostly new, but I think the setting would make more sense with the earlier trilogy behind it.
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