Review: Solving crime and consent issues at the same time!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 4, 2013
So this book is about consent, with a side of consent sauce, and a few sprigs of consent on top.Which is interesting, because there is a screwup and someone loses the ability to meaningfully consent. And how do you work around that if you are ethical? Hard things! Lots of thought. A certain amount of Deception and Maneuverings and Misunderstandings are entailed in this.Also there are politics, and a road trip, and some derring-do. All of that with a thief and a disabled protagonist and some dynastic and fertility politics. And consent.Yan (and his brother) suffered birth-damage, and consequently have what we would think of as asthma. So he has to be aware of what activities are beyond him, and which ones will mean he needs medication, and where his medication is and if it's safe and if he needs more. It's not that he is afraid, he is just aware of his particular needs and limitations. I thought it was a nice model of disability, especially in contrast to, say, Miles Vorkosigan, who just bulls right through his disabilities until he gets hurt.I enjoyed the story, but judging by my bookmarks, I was also revelling in the atypical sex scenes that I attribute to both author creativity and the lack of traditional publishing stripping the liveliness out of the books. For instance, there is a steamy little scene where M'Jani plays with what is clearly Yan's uncircumcised "little dragon". The question of circumcision is not one that you often encounter in romance books, and yet, it seems humane to notify readers that there are natural variations in both male and female genitals, and McCoy deals with both here. Scarleteen would approve.But it's not ABOUT the sex. It's about Yan and M'Jani figuring out how they want to relate to each other, oh and also SOLVING CRIME. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.Read if: You are looking for some interesting approaches to consent in the context of a romance/adventure novel. You love disguised-prince stories. You would like more thief-girls and assassination plots in your life.Skip if: You are looking for a straightforward story. You are looking for a repeat of the first two books. This one has some characters from that, but it is its own thing.Also read:Herb-Witch (Lord Alchemist Duology)The Warrior's Apprentice (Vorkosigan Saga)