Open main menu

Changes

no edit summary
}}
dua Adua is going through a period of rapid industrial revolution, the old social structures being thrown into chaos as the factories go up. But, the old ways die hard in this land. In the north, young heir to the Governorship Leo Dan Brock and his allies fight off the invading armies of Scale Ironhand and his nephew Stour Nightfall. He desperately wants reinforcements from the crown, but the debaucherous, self-loathing Crown Prince Orso is all they can spare. Savine Dan Glotka, investor and daughter of the High Inquisitor, plots to ascend to the top of the social hierarchy no matter the cost. But, with hatred and discontent growing among the working classes, her plans might never come to fruition. Under the tutelage of the world-weary old witch Isern-I-Phail, young Rikke struggles to control the Long Eye, something she was blessed (or possibly cursed) with. However, seeing the future and affecting it are two very different things...
The setting is one that’s not often explored in fantasy literature, and definitely makes it more interesting. The world depicted in A Little Hatred is neither completely medieval European-style fantasy, nor completely Gaslamp-style fantasy, but a world that is transitioning from the former to the latter. The chapters set in Leo and Rikke’s point-of-view involves the province of Angland repelling a much larger invading force in the form of the armies of Scale Ironhand, king of the North, his brother Black Calder and his nephew Stour Nightfall, which seems much more like a classic fantasy novel plot. Meanwhile, the Union is on the brink of an industrial revolution, which is mostly told through the eyes of Savine and other characters. It doesn’t shy away from showing the ugly side of industrial revolution, either, child labour is often used to maximise profits and workers are being put out of employment by these new machines. As such, there are also rising factions of this world’s equivalent of the Luddites: the Breakers, who just want to smash the machines that have taken their jobs, and the Burners, who are much more anarchical and want to bring down the entire ruling class. Thankfully, the plentiful dark comedy and dry wit acts to alleviate some of the more depressing moments in the book.