This trilogy could be used, and should be used, to illustrate how to do unlikeable characters who are splendidly likeable. And! Bonus! There are a ton of other unlikeable characters who are all different from El and different from each other. There’s El herself, who is the quintessential example of a fantastically likeable unlikeable protagonist. They’re much, much easier to read than an equally dark story told in a less sarcastic voice.ī) Amazing unlikeable characters. The books are funny even though they are also grim, edging into horror. This style suits both El and the story perfectly. You can pull that off in an SF setting with slang that is quite different from modern slang, as Eluki bes Shahar showed, for example, but you can’t really do it in high fantasy. This gives El an opportunity for sarcasm and snark. This story is told in an interesting way it’s sort of contemporary fantasy, close enough that El’s syntax and locution are thoroughly modern, even though we barely see the mundane world at all. The protagonist, El - Galadriel Higgins - has a highly distinctive voice. So, what did Naomi Novik really handle excellently in this trilogy?Ī) Wonderful voice. I think this is possible! Let’s see if I can do it.

I’m just filled with admiration for what Novik achieved in this series, so I thought I’d take a stab at talking about that without revealing any important spoilers. It’s excellent! A great ending for a fantastic trilogy. Okay, so, I didn’t get anything done yesterday because I read the rest of The Golden Enclaves instead.

The scholomance series