Lowachee, Karin: Cagebird
Cagebird
Writer: Karin Lowachee
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 429
Ah, now that I'm done with her third book, there's nothing left of Lowachee's to dive into, yet. :) I have to say, this third installment surprised me in a lot of ways, but was also, like the other two, very enjoyable.
There's a beautiful thing about the progression of these novels. None of them feature the same protagonist, and yet, a reader would miss out on so much if they read these books out of publication order. Warchild establishes the world and the conflict. Burndive establishes the politics and dives into the real workings of Azarcon's ship. And Cagebird reveals the inner circle of pirates, which is also very, very important in this world.
How Lowachee does this is genius. While each book can stand on its own equally, you learn so much from reading them in order. Cagebird paints so many what-ifs and revelations it's almost not funny. Yuri is what Jos could've been in other circumstances. Yuri is was Azarcon was. And Azarcon is the key to show how Yuri can change and get out. And Yuri and Estienne are what Jos and Niko could've been (or could be) under different circumstances. Either way, there's so much to love it's ridiculous in a good way.
The parallels made this book (and world) amazingly richer. I was terrified in many ways that because we were getting a book from yet another point of view that the characters I was already invested in might bite the dust. But contrary to my expectations, this story's not over. Oh, in terms of books and characters, this is very complete, but there's many, many unanswered questions in the world at large, and so much conflict I can't even begin to imagine how Lowachee might tie it all up, even if she wants to.
But I do hope there's a fourth book: while I can't fathom where the plot might be going (something so difficult to deal with, I think, when dealing with character-driven fiction), I can easily imagine the structure. Now that the three main players are ALL on the same ship, Lowachee could feasibly write the fourth book from all three points of view and wrap it up. Or, if she has more stories envisioned, we could get second books from each of these peoples' points of view. Or, perhaps there's another story I'm supposed to see, but I just don't realize it yet. I would've never imagined that book two would have been about Azarcon's son, nor would I have imagined book three would've been about Yuri the pirate.
And can I just talk about Lowachee's pure GIFT of voice? Cagebird is first person through and through, alternating between past and present tense as it alters between the past and present, respectively. So more fun in that regard, but, BUT!!!!! There is never a single moment where I would confuse Yuri's voice with Jos', or Jos' with Ryan's, or Ryan's with Yuri's, etc. You get the picture. This, my friends, takes some serious talent to pull off well. As much as I love the first person point of view, it can become painfully obvious when an author always uses first with different characters but the voice is still the author's voice. Lowachee doesn't do this, and she is officially on my list of people who DO POINT OF VIEW WELL. And voice! Damn, if I could pull this off in my own work, I'd be one very happy devil.
If I have any complaint in this book (and trust me, it's so minor I'm not even going to sneeze at it), it's that in terms of external conflict, we don't have a real resolution. But that's okay. There's certainly a progression of horror from book to book (oh, and I wanted to cry at the end of this one), and there's certainly some kind of resolution for the character himself. And Lowachee has a gift for last lines. Seriously, she is genius with final lines. I'm always amazed.
I think this is my second favorite of the three. Warchild is still my fave, and Burndive is very good, and this is in the middle in terms of faves. I do hope we see a fourth book set in this universe one day. What Lowachee will do in it and how is beyond me, and I look forward to seeing how all of this plays out, however it plays out, and whenever I get it. But I do know this: Lowachee is on my LIST of writers I will buy anything and everything from. There is so much about her work that I would love to emulate in my own fiction, but not only that, she writes about what counts: the depth of the human soul, the darkness and light that plays there, and the relationships that pull us out of ourselves. The fact that it's science fiction is simply icing on the cake. And I love me some icing. :)
This is not an author you want to miss.