Reading: The Privilege of the Sword

[white_hart]

Set several years after Swordspoint, Ellen Kushner's The Privilege of the Sword is both a sequel to the earlier novel and a complete, self-contained story in its own right. There are several strands to it, but the main one is the story of fifteen-year-old Katherine Talbert, summoned from her quiet country home to join her uncle, the Mad Duke Tremontaine (Alec from Swordspoint) in the city, where, instead of pretty dresses and balls, she finds herself given men's clothes and expected to learn swordplay. Interwoven with Katherine's first-person narrative are other stories, among the story of Artemisia, a young woman Katherine meets on her first night in the city who is following a much more conventional path, and the Mad Duke's interactions with people from all levels of society and the complex politics of the city. Together they combine into an entertaining comedy of manners which takes a critical look at the position of women in Kushner's fantasy society. I found the plot a little hard to get a handle on - it never quite seemed to be the shape I was expecting it to be, something I also found with Swordspoint - and the ending seemed a bit abrupt, but I loved the characters and their interactions and it was witty and thoughtful and also delightfully full of queer characters and interactions and generally great fun. (It's not, however, an entirely fluffy book, although the atmosphere of decay and corruption hanging over Riverside has lessened a lot since Swordspoint.)