the traitor masquerade book 1 seth dickinson

The most striking commentary while reading this book was its critique of empire. During Baru’s time there, she is subject to scrutiny based on her ethnicity, covert attraction to women and her ultimate loyalties.

She is then sent to the far-flung region of Aurdwynn full of fractious dukes, duchesses and a rebellious population. As those merchant ships dock on Baru’s island, her parents become keenly nervous of the way the Empire of Masks, a distant but powerful empire, begin to remake Taranoke: using paper money, hostile treaties, pestilence and their views on “hygiene” - a strict limit of one mother and father, with harsh punishments for “sodomites” and “tribadists.” Baru soon realizes that the only way to fight the Empire, or the “Masquerade,” is to become a part of it and is singled out by a Masquerade agent to attend one of their new schools where she is quickly identified as a savant. Raised by a “ huntress and a blacksmith and a shield-bearer,” Baru has a mother and two fathers as most children do on Taranoke. The main character Baru Cormorant is introduced on the beaches of her island home, Taranoke, which is described by all accounts as a tropical paradise. This introduction is not unlike anything many have read in history books about colonization and Seth Dickinson’s “The Traitor Baru Cormorant” tackles the very tough questions of empire and all of its tangled implications. Out in the distance beyond Halae’s Reef, a young girl spots a fleet of red-sailed ships that will forever change her life and that of her island community.

The traitor masquerade book 1 seth dickinson