Smith, Sherwood - Inda

[oyceter]

Look! I have read an actual book that doesn't have pictures in it and isn't YA!

(not that there's anything wrong with manga, comics or YA, but it's really been a while since I've read anything outside of that)

I'm not quite sure how to summarize this, since the plot is very complex. Basically, Inda is the second son of a nobleman, and as such, he's expected to become the Shield Arm for his brother, which means his brother is supposed to train him and beat him into obedience. There's a very complicated system in which the older brother rules while the younger brother defends the land and the older brother's wife commands the forces that also defend the land while the older brother is away.

There's a sort of academy for training all the men and women, albeit separately, and there are wargames in which the boys and girls simulate war and attempt to defend or take over a castle, depending on which sex they are.

I really liked the world, which feels very complex and well-thought-out. There's a bit too much exposition in the beginning, to the point in which I was grumpy because I did not need to know that the servants were wearing a wool-cotton blend while I was attempting to figure out all the other important intricacies of the world. The separation of the sexes was intriguing, as was the entire system of brothers and wives defending. It was also neat to see that marriages were arranged very early on so that the to-be-wives could be fostered at their to-be-husbands' homes, probably so that their loyalties would lie in the right place. It's a really interesting look at two completely separate societies, one male and one female. The female world knows most of what is going on in the male world, but the male world usually doesn't much know what the female world is up to, which was very nifty.

One of the problems I had with the book was just that there was so much information to absorb. I think in and of itself, that would be ok, except a lot of the ranks in the book sound the same (ex. the title for the king, the king's brother and the king's heir all begin with "Sier-"). It makes perfect sense from a linguistics point of view, but from a trying-to-figure-out-who's-who point of view, I was incredibly confused. Also, when I had finally figured out exactly which title was which, the titles switched from the peacetime language to the wartime language, and I had to figure it all out again.

I wasn't that enamoured of Inda or Sponge, as they seemed to be too perfect for me, but I very much liked Inda's sisters, his betrothed, and his brother. And there are multiple Cool Bits involving intrigue and wargames and knife-throwing demonstrations.

It's also hard to say whether or not I like the book, given that it's the first in a trilogy. It does a very good job of setting up the world and the characters and putting them in interesting places, and I suspect that the next two books will have much more action and much less scene-setting. I'm definitely going to pick up the next book in the series when it comes out, just because there are interesting hints thrown in about how the society of this world will be changing, and I want to see what happens.

Links:
- jinian's review

Comments

[camomiletea.livejournal.com]

Hi! I followed your review link from Goodreads, and I pretty much agree with what you have said here. The titles were confusing, though after they switched to the wartime language, it was easier for me to distinguish who is who. I liked Inda, but not Sponge particularly. I also am not sure whether I like this book, but I think I'll try to read the next one as well.

LiveJournal Six Degrees tool (http://www.livejournal.com/tools/sixdegrees.bml?from=camomiletea&to=oyceter) indicates we are linked through ursamajor and coffeeandink... Want to be friends? If not on LJ, then on Goodreads?

[oyceter]

Hi! Cool! I'm currently trying to keep my LJ reading list short, but Goodreads works ^_^. I think I friended you already on there?