Armistice (The Amberlough Dossier #2)

I’m giving the novel full stars, as it’s well written, well plotted, full of interesting people, a fascinating setting.

Having said that, I must confess to enjoying Amberlough more. Nothing was certain in Amberlough. Fear drove characters to do horrible things. The plotting, the counter-plotting, the betrayals were unpredictable. The love affair at the heart of the novel was understated, with both men unable to either trust one another, or to admit that they had feelings for one another beyond sex and politics. The fall of Gedda into a fascist state was inevitable, heartbreaking. Anyone could die. Anyone could betray. Beloved characters could be caught, tortured, mutilated. I never knew what would happen next, and loved it.

This novel is, in comparison, predictable. The betrayals and murders are toned down. Immediate danger is also toned down as Geddan ex-pats are relatively safe in a stable, powerful kingdom. The Ospie presence is reduced to an embassy with an ineffective leader. Cyril is replaced with his sister, whose story–woman tries to save child and reclaim lost love while realizing she needs a man to lean on–is predictable. Aristide is now a lovelorn director who’s given up most of his overt femininity. I fear he’s on the verge of going full Rambo in his search for Cyril.

Which all makes it sound as if I didn’t like this novel. I did! It’s excellent. However, I didn’t love it, the way I did Amberlough.

And after all that, I want the conclusion, and I want it now!

[light spoilers without names]

In this, the second volume of the Amberlough Dossier, there are tested loyalties, impassioned affairs, and a constant tightrope that must be walked by every character, lest their hearts be shown as they are. With the takeover of the Ospie party, the surrounding nations have been thrown into tumult. Many laypeople within Gedda’s borders resist the ruling party, but face brutality and the risk of vanishing entirely. But some of the resistance are more than laypeople: the Catwalk rebels derail trains, a film producer deals in weapons, and some of the Ospie’s most inner agents may not have the party’s best wishes at heart. As with her first (beautiful, tumultuous) novel, Donnelly explores the many glittering facets of the human heart within each of her cast. Much of this tale revolves around the relationship between a mother, stuck in a place of power and immorality, and her son, a boy used as leverage for her dutiful work. Characters from the pages of ‘Amberlough’ emerge again, opening and complicating the reader’s windows into their minds and desires, and dancing with caution around the newer members on stage. But the only stages you’ll find here are only mentioned in passing: instead, we’re thrown into the tropical, silken world of Porashtu’s wealthiest citizenry, royalty included, along with glimpses into bleak highlands and bleaker Ospie offices. Plots are hatched, trusts are doubted, and the flames of the dubiously-elected President Acherby continue to spread, threatening not only the lives of our beleaguered cast, but the millions of commonfolk in the nations surrounding. Detection, despair, and hope all swing precariously together in a gorgeous (and, admittedly, stress-inducing) trapeze act, and the reader swings with them too, never knowing whether who will stick the landing. Both a more than worthy successor to its impressive predecessor and a firm launchpad into the final part of the Dossier, this is a vibrant, swirling, incredible book. Read it and embrace the tightrope that is Donnelly’s fantastic pen!

I have been waiting for this book to arrive, and was definitely not disappointed.

I love Aristide so much, but definitely missed Cyril’s presence. I think that was probably the whole point, that we miss Cyril as much as Ari does. I adore Cordelia, stripper turned guerrilla leader, in her new, even-more-gritty-than-before personality. And diplomat Lillian, Cyril’s younger sister, is a Mama Bear of formidable proportion.

The bulk of this book is set in a sultry, middle-eastern style climate as even more intrigue plays out against this backdrop. It’s fantastic. It doesn’t have the decadent Berlin-feeling atmosphere Amberlough had, more of a Casablanca-ish feel here. Just waiting for the Ospies to get theirs. Can’t wait for the next one!

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