Leaf 🍂 reviewed The Habitation Of The Blessed by Catherynne M. Valente
Review of 'The Habitation Of The Blessed' on 'Storygraph'
5 stars
Catherynne Valente is without a doubt one of the most skilled authors working in the fantasy and science fiction genres today. Her prose is dense, and colorful, and detailed-- to wade into it is like immersing oneself in an ocean inhabited by brilliant, impossible fish and corals. Putting one of her books down quite literally feels like surfacing.
"The Habitation of the Blessed" highlights Valente's prowess at weaving multiple, seemingly disparate narratives into a whole and comprehensible story. She takes the kingdom of Prester John and peoples it with extremely human monsters and confused, self-serving humans. She dapples the narrative with metaphor without even once depleting or effacing a character's narrative significance or personality. "Habitation" is a story about love, loss, regrowth. It questions the philosophical relationship between mind and body, teasing apart the distinction.
It takes a fantastical world, and places the reader squarely among its indigenous peoples as …
Catherynne Valente is without a doubt one of the most skilled authors working in the fantasy and science fiction genres today. Her prose is dense, and colorful, and detailed-- to wade into it is like immersing oneself in an ocean inhabited by brilliant, impossible fish and corals. Putting one of her books down quite literally feels like surfacing.
"The Habitation of the Blessed" highlights Valente's prowess at weaving multiple, seemingly disparate narratives into a whole and comprehensible story. She takes the kingdom of Prester John and peoples it with extremely human monsters and confused, self-serving humans. She dapples the narrative with metaphor without even once depleting or effacing a character's narrative significance or personality. "Habitation" is a story about love, loss, regrowth. It questions the philosophical relationship between mind and body, teasing apart the distinction.
It takes a fantastical world, and places the reader squarely among its indigenous peoples as the first outside conqueror tries to claim it for himself.
I cannot wait for the next two books.