Tor's editors have made a HASH of Avoliot's Course of Honour. Yes, have been reading Winter's Orbit.
I've now read Winter's Orbit, the published version of Avoliot's wonderful The Course of Honour - and I hate it. Well, not exactly hate, since there's enough of the original material left in it to make you aware of what horrors were perpetrated on the text. I LOATHE what Tor's editors did to it. CoH was a quirky atmospheric whodunit with plenty of small details that added depth and complexity, underlaid by a sharp intelligence. WO is a formulaic political thriller in which you care little about the outcome and nothing about any of the supporting cast. Even Jainan, Kiem, Bel, Aren, Vaile, and more, have been sandpapered to frustrating characterlessness. The editor added clichés, a stale political-plot-for-dummies, erased all the subtle nuances of character and class, introduced stupid woke labelling (yes, in the original we got that genders were fluid, we didn't need to have people wear wood or metal accessories to signal it loudly) and erased some brilliant characters. The original intrigue was a very believable tale of ordinary corruption, with motivations and background; the political plot is a McGuffin with no hinterland or explanations. The resolution, in which massive political change and transfer of resources is suddenly approved with nary a word by the Emperor, has the political depth of a Meghan Markle Instagram post.
Characters like Chief Agent Rakal, an engagingly complex personality, are reduced to a couple of short scenes; their deputy disappears completely. We see next to nothing of Press Officer Hren Halesar who was a brilliant take on the Blair cabinet's Alastair Campbell. General Fenrik becomes a stock character villain instead of an old-style martinet with complex influence and power. Professor Audel, who was such a recognisable academic type, is changed to become a cliché secondary character only tasked to further the plot, losing her personality and realism. Nelen has been edited out completely. We lose dozens of small world building details, from the ski trip to the disgruntled aide, the corridors of the university, the press pack, prince Kiem's personality quirks and examples of his personal charm. (What kind of a rewrite kills off scenes that make the protagonist come alive???) The language has been SIMPLIFIED, dear lord. The ski expedition has been cut. I could go on and on, because this is infuriating. All of this has been brutally hacked by an obviously American editor, let loose on a clever and imaginative work, to produce a kind of Marvel comic from an Evelyn Waugh novel.
There's an acknowledgement and thanks page from the author at the end of the book. It says nice things about Avoliot's supports and fan readers, and goes on to praise Tor, but it would be difficult not to for one's first book, wouldn't it?
Characters like Chief Agent Rakal, an engagingly complex personality, are reduced to a couple of short scenes; their deputy disappears completely. We see next to nothing of Press Officer Hren Halesar who was a brilliant take on the Blair cabinet's Alastair Campbell. General Fenrik becomes a stock character villain instead of an old-style martinet with complex influence and power. Professor Audel, who was such a recognisable academic type, is changed to become a cliché secondary character only tasked to further the plot, losing her personality and realism. Nelen has been edited out completely. We lose dozens of small world building details, from the ski trip to the disgruntled aide, the corridors of the university, the press pack, prince Kiem's personality quirks and examples of his personal charm. (What kind of a rewrite kills off scenes that make the protagonist come alive???) The language has been SIMPLIFIED, dear lord. The ski expedition has been cut. I could go on and on, because this is infuriating. All of this has been brutally hacked by an obviously American editor, let loose on a clever and imaginative work, to produce a kind of Marvel comic from an Evelyn Waugh novel.
There's an acknowledgement and thanks page from the author at the end of the book. It says nice things about Avoliot's supports and fan readers, and goes on to praise Tor, but it would be difficult not to for one's first book, wouldn't it?