There is a very important development in Empire of Ivory - you will catch up extremely quickly, but the reactions in Victory of Eagles may possibly seem overdone without seeing the set up.
Oh, there you go being *sensible*. Yes, I could; only then I'd feel I'd wasted the money on EoI. Argh. What I really want to do is read Victory and *then* read Empire. (ruminates some more)
Part III of EoI is pretty much required reading for plot and political set up and big character development issues for VoE. The rest is interesting at times, and picks up as you get further in, but does definitely have its slow times.
That said, I still found it more engaging than the "ho hum, doing the Alexander trek across the globe" in Black Powder War.
Yes, well, Black Powder War was kind of a low point after the wonders of China. Lotsa slog slog and Other People's Armies. My feeling is that Novik doesn't give herself enough time to tell her stories. We're here, we're there, we're somewhere else, people appear, people die, and I'm still not sure who they are. The trouble with riffing off Patrick O'Brian is that he's detailed and leisurely and feels immensely solid because of it, so that the action of the Novik books feels rushed and superficial by comparison.
Not that many people would sit still for more Jonathan Strange-type leisureliness. Still-- most fantasies are thumping thick door stoppers these days; you'd think that page count could be turned to use.
You might be able to get by if you read up on spoilers and then skipped ahead to the last few chapters of Empire of Ivory to read the bits pertinent to Victory of Eagles? If you're the sort of reader who can do that! (I can, but I've been told it's odd. XD;) The middle of EoI is a blur of jungle adventure for me, so I don't think you'd be missing out on too much until they get back to England near the end.
Mrh. Jungle adventure is so not my thing. But I'll feel like I'm cheating by doing the spoiler thing: One Must Suffer For One's Literature. Then we ask, is Novik literature?
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That said, I still found it more engaging than the "ho hum, doing the Alexander trek across the globe" in Black Powder War.
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Not that many people would sit still for more Jonathan Strange-type leisureliness. Still-- most fantasies are thumping thick door stoppers these days; you'd think that page count could be turned to use.
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