Scan barcode
A review by roadtripreader
Blue and Gold by K.J. Parker
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Saloninus is such an arse! - I bloody love him.
That's saying a lot. I "met" him in Pulling the Wings of Angels and his genius pissed me off because of the earth shattering affect it had on that world's belief system. But Science must, after all, pull down the curtain of magic and superstition. He was their Newton-Tesla-Heisenberg and so much more.
And yet, starting here at the beginning or some ways to the beginning - I can't help but like this unreliable narrator. His truths are indistinguishable from his lies. I found myself shocked 😮into forced understanding on so many pages.
Plot/Storyline/Themes:
Saloninus The Philosopher is a lying liar who liars. A liar, an accidental killer, a genius all round - literature, science, art and most importantly, Saloninus the Liar is the Alchemist to beat and blend and change all other metals into something priceless and magnificent.
K.J. Parker built a world from our world that is so rich in things that make worlds well...worlds that I keep forgetting none of them are real. I found myself trying to find the books of these philosophers and alchemists and scientists mentioned and couldn't find them on Goodreads or google. Shot to the heart - they don't exist this side of the dimension.
Two Sentences or less - Characters:
Phocas: Patient murderer or more to the point, a royal serial killer with the facade of being a friend and protector.
Saloninus: Alchemist, Thief, Criminal, Philosopher, Author, Inventor, Magician, Priest, Lying Liar who Lies.
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Scene: :
Saloninus holds a Funeral lecture on the elements of the Human Body being burnt at the stake. This is his eulogy and honestly it is romantic in an academic way.
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Quotes:
🖤 “Time melts. In its liquid form (aqua temporis), it seeps and penetrates, like a thin mineral oil, and pools, and floods, under the influence of heat (the agency of fire, passim). Withdraw that influence and it congeals, like hot fat in a pan, and in its solid state undergoes a kind of slow transmutation into a gooey mess, in which you get stuck.” (Saloninus alchemical view of Time)
🖤 “It’s probably a mistake to teach logic to the young. Logic is a weapon as well as a tool. You learn it, you master it, you can’t wait to go out and use it on someone.” (Father Saloninus being wise and spitting facts)
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Concepts:
■The Alchemist: Saloninus
■ The Invincible Sun moves in orbit of Earth. Curious indeed.
■Philosophers, Scientists,
■ Ichor Tonans
■A walnut-sized gob of pulveus fulminans
StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2025
Challenge Prompt: 150 Speculative Fiction Books by 2025
That's saying a lot. I "met" him in Pulling the Wings of Angels and his genius pissed me off because of the earth shattering affect it had on that world's belief system. But Science must, after all, pull down the curtain of magic and superstition. He was their Newton-Tesla-Heisenberg and so much more.
And yet, starting here at the beginning or some ways to the beginning - I can't help but like this unreliable narrator. His truths are indistinguishable from his lies. I found myself shocked 😮into forced understanding on so many pages.
Plot/Storyline/Themes:
Saloninus The Philosopher is a lying liar who liars. A liar, an accidental killer, a genius all round - literature, science, art and most importantly, Saloninus the Liar is the Alchemist to beat and blend and change all other metals into something priceless and magnificent.
K.J. Parker built a world from our world that is so rich in things that make worlds well...worlds that I keep forgetting none of them are real. I found myself trying to find the books of these philosophers and alchemists and scientists mentioned and couldn't find them on Goodreads or google. Shot to the heart - they don't exist this side of the dimension.
Two Sentences or less - Characters:
Phocas: Patient murderer or more to the point, a royal serial killer with the facade of being a friend and protector.
Saloninus: Alchemist, Thief, Criminal, Philosopher, Author, Inventor, Magician, Priest, Lying Liar who Lies.
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Scene: :
Saloninus holds a Funeral lecture on the elements of the Human Body being burnt at the stake. This is his eulogy and honestly it is romantic in an academic way.
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Quotes:
🖤 “Time melts. In its liquid form (aqua temporis), it seeps and penetrates, like a thin mineral oil, and pools, and floods, under the influence of heat (the agency of fire, passim). Withdraw that influence and it congeals, like hot fat in a pan, and in its solid state undergoes a kind of slow transmutation into a gooey mess, in which you get stuck.” (Saloninus alchemical view of Time)
🖤 “It’s probably a mistake to teach logic to the young. Logic is a weapon as well as a tool. You learn it, you master it, you can’t wait to go out and use it on someone.” (Father Saloninus being wise and spitting facts)
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Concepts:
■The Alchemist: Saloninus
■ The Invincible Sun moves in orbit of Earth. Curious indeed.
■Philosophers, Scientists,
■ Ichor Tonans
■A walnut-sized gob of pulveus fulminans
StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2025
Challenge Prompt: 150 Speculative Fiction Books by 2025