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Science Fiction Fantasy Blog

Our Discussion of Amberlough by Lara Elena Donnelly

Welcome to Amberlough City, the illustrious but corrupt cosmopolitan beacon of Gedda. The radical One State Party—nicknamed the Ospies—is gaining popular support to unite Gedda's four municipal governments under an ironclad, socially conservative vision.

Not everyone agrees with the Ospies' philosophy, including master spy Cyril DePaul and his lover Aristide Makricosta, smuggler and emcee at the popular Bumble Bee Cabaret. When Cyril's cover is blown on a mission, however, he must become a turncoat in exchange for his life. Returning to Amberlough under the Ospies' watchful eye, Cyril enters a complex game of deception. One of his concerns is safeguarding Aristide, who refuses to let anyone—the crooked city police or the homophobic Ospies—dictate his life.

Enter streetwise Cordelia Lehane, top dancer at the Bee and Aristide’s runner, who could be the key to Cyril’s plans—if she can be trusted. As the twinkling lights of nightclub marquees yield to the rising flames of a fascist revolution, these three will struggle to survive using whatever means—and people—necessary. Including each other. Goodreads

Below are a sampling of our comments:

  • The first 50 pages were slow and overloaded with names and vague political groups
  • The politics wasn’t well explained – it took a while to figure out that “Ospies” stood for “One State Party”
  • The map was problematic
  • There were good scenes and interesting characters, but too much torture
  • I enjoyed the characters at the Bee and could have used more of them and less political thriller
  • We could have skipped part one and just started the book on part two…
  • The book was set in an alternative Weimar Republic that allowed openly LGBT people, different religions, and plural marriages
  • The book opened with a Sally Bowles quote from Cabaret
  • I didn’t care about Cyril once he killed Finn – was Finn a double agent or just a resistance mole?
  • How did Cyril “throw” the election – was it a giant switch?

Please add any additional thoughts or comments you have about Amberlough. We gave this title the codes POL, ETH, CUL, ALC, SEX, FEM, & NARC with an average rating of 2.7.

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