My first book of hers, and the thing I most enjoyed was the atmospheric writing which built this half-real half-imagined world and its various characters.
When Leo Martin is sacked from his post as Minister of Culture for not being sufficiently on side with the fascist-like government, he’s sent back to his old school high in the mountains, Montverre. His cover story – he’s not being publicly shamed, yet – is that he’s taking time out to immerse himself in what was once his great obsession, the country’s national ‘game’ of Grand Jeu. But Montverre holds mixed memories for Martin, and the current Magister Ludi (Master of the Game) somehow appears to know more about this than she should.
Lots of threads here – the ‘unity laws’ and the persecution of the Christians, the mysterious presence of the Rat, the future of Montverre, Martin’s former girlfriend, the Magister being the first female to hold the post, as well as the unfolding of the main theme of the relationship between Martin and the Magister.
In my view, none of them were satisfactory resolved (and in many cases a good conversation might have sorted an awful lot). Which was disappointing, because I was engaged with the story (although I could have strangled the main characters), and was looking forward to discovering what happened at The End. An author can get away with open endings in short stories and flash fiction – in fact, it’s almost compulsory. Novels not so much, as the reader has invested too much time to be left having to work it out themselves..
Find The Betrayals here.