'The Will to Battle' in the 'Terra Ignota' series by Ada Palmer is a dense and intricate continuation of the narrative, focusing on the philosophical search for meaning, war, and the society created by Palmer as it crumbles. The book delves into complex questions surrounding the purpose of war, the balance between individual rights and the greater good, and the role of government in defending its people. Through a mix of politics, philosophy, and intricate worldbuilding, the story follows characters like Mycroft Canner and J.E.D.D. Mason as they navigate a near utopian society on the brink of a catastrophic World War.
The writing style of 'The Will to Battle' is described as beautiful, dense, and intricate, with a realistic feel that keeps readers on their toes. The narrative is praised for its unpredictability, engaging plot twists, and the way it balances philosophical discussions with action-packed scenes. The book is noted for its unique stylistic choices, including narrative breaks, dual columns of text, and parentheticals that add depth and complexity to the storytelling.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Triggers may include philosophical discussions on death, war, and complex moral dilemmas.
Has Romance?
There are romantic elements, but they are not the central focus of the narrative.
From The Publisher:
The Will to Battle is the third book of John W. Campbell Award winner Ada Palmer's Terra Ignota series, a political science fiction epic of extraordinary audacity.
The long years of near-utopia have come to an abrupt end.
Peace and order are now figments of the past. Corruption, deception, and insurgency hum within the once steadfast leadership of the Hives, nations without fixed location.
The heartbreaking truth is that for decades, even centuries, the leaders of the great Hives bought the world's stability with a trickle of secret murders, mathematically planned. So that no faction could ever dominate. So that the balance held.
The Hives' façade of solidity is the only hope they have for maintaining a semblance of order, for preventing the public from succumbing to the savagery and bloodlust of wars past. But as the great secret becomes more and more widely known, that façade is slipping away.
Just days earlier, the world was a pinnacle of human civilization. Now everyone-Hives and hiveless, Utopians and sensayers, emperors and the downtrodden, warriors and saints-scrambles to prepare for the seemingly inevitable war.
Praise for Seven Surrenders
"A cornucopia of dazzling, sharp ideas set in rich, wry prose that rewards rumination with layers of delight. Provocative, erudite, inventive, resplendent."-Ken Liu, author of The Wall of Storms
"Seven Surrenders veers expertly between love, murder, mayhem, parenthood, theology, and high politics. I haven't had this much fun with a book in a long time." -Max Gladstone, author of Ruin of Angels
Terra Ignota Series
#1 Too Like the Lightning
#2 Seven Surrenders
#3 The Will to Battle
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The Will to Battle?
About the Author:
ADA PALMER is a professor in the history department of the University of Chicago, specializing in Renaissance history and the history of ideas. Her first nonfiction book, Reading Lucretius in the Renaissance, was published in 2014 by Harvard University Press. She is also a composer of folk and Renaissance-tinged a cappella music, most of which she performs with the group Sassafrass. Ada is the author of the Terra Ignota series, including Too Like the Lightning, Seven Surrenders, and The Will to Battle.
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