History Literature / TheMonsterBaruCormorant

* GambitPileup: Just like in the previous book. All the cryptarchs have their own personal schemes, most of which require manipulating the other cryptarchs, but on top of that they’ve all been tasked with uncovering evidence that could set off an Oriati civil war. Then factor in the politics of the Navy, which is terrified of being drawn into another war with the Oriati while secretly keeping a prisoner who could start it, and split into treacherous members planning a coup of Falcrest, loyalist members pursuing the treacherous ones, and one person playing either side as convenient. Then factor in Prince Tau-Indi Bosoka, an Oriati diplomat who's ''also'' trying to stop war from breaking out by finding their vanished estranged friend, who is the aforementioned prisoner who could start the war. Then factor in Tain Shir.

* EvilCannotComprehendGood: Throughout the early part of the book, the cryptarchs struggle to create an effective plan to fragment the Oriati Mbo society. The Masquerade's usual tools of relying on individual self-interest via trade and education can't find a foothold against the Mbo's dedication to community and cooperation.

* TheUnfettered: Baru makes a new nemesis this book in the form of Tain Shir, Tain Hu's estranged aunt. She is "unmastered" -- that is, she doesn't give a shit about anything except her goals, and therefore can't be commanded or coerced, whether by laws, morals, or emotional leverage. In this way she's a ShadowArchetype for Baru herself, who sacrificed her lover last book so that she couldn't be controlled by a hostage. Shir was ''also'' a cryptarch candidate once... and a killing machine with decades of experience fighting guerilla wars. The prose describes her as more akin to a force of nature than anything human or even animal, and Baru is terrified that continuing down her own path will make her into someone as monstrous as Shir.

* SuperstitiousSailors: A small point of worldbuilding: despite Falcrest’s state atheism and trying to destroy religion elsewhere, at least part of its Navy secretly follows the Cult of Ships, which worships the ships they sail on as living, thinking beings. Aminata is wary of being associated with it, as being ethnically Oriati she’s already on thin ice regarding religion in the eyes of Falcrest’s political officers.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: The afterword explains that many of the more fantastical elements introduced in the book have a real-world basis, such as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_nuclear_fission_reactor naturally-occurring nuclear reactors]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HeLa immortal cancer cells]], and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canine_transmissible_venereal_tumor transmissible cancers]].

* GambitPileup: Just like in the previous book. All the cryptarchs have their own personal schemes, most of which require manipulating the other cryptarchs, but on top of that they’ve all been tasked with uncovering evidence that could set off an Oriati civil war. Then factor in the politics of the Navy, which is terrified of being drawn into another war with the Oriati while secretly keeping a prisoner who could start it, and split into treacherous members planning a coup of Falcrest, loyalist members pursuing the treacherous ones, and one person playing either side as convenient. Then factor in Prince Tau-Indi Bosoka, an Oriati diplomat who's ''also'' trying to stop war from breaking out by finding his vanished estranged friend, who is the aforementioned prisoner who could start the war. Then factor in Tain Shir.

* RememberTheNewGuy: Baru's quest brings her face-to-face with survivors of the rebellion she betrayed, specifically her "inner circle" of advisers and aides who were captured alive for interrogation. Apart from Dziransi and Ulyu Xe, all of them are new characters who weren't so much as alluded to in the previous book, even though Baru knows all of them personally.

* WalkingDisasterArea: Each act of the book is named for a different location Baru finds herself at while searching for the Cancrioth. Specifically, each act is named "The Fall of [Location]", and ends with that place suffering a great disaster.

* GambitPileup: Just like in the previous book. All the cryptarchs have their own personal schemes, most of which require manipulating the other cryptarchs, but who have all been tasked with uncovering evidence that could set off an Oriati civil war. Then factor in the politics of the Navy, which is terrified of being drawn into another war with the Oriati while secretly keeping a prisoner who could start it, and split into treacherous members planning a coup of Falcrest, loyalist members pursuing the treacherous ones, and one person playing either side as convenient. Then factor in Prince Tau-Indi Bosoka, an Oriati diplomat who's ''also'' trying to stop war from breaking out by finding his vanished estranged friend, who is the aforementioned prisoner who could start the war. Then factor in Tain Shir.

* TheManBehindTheMan: The Cryptarchy is this for Falcrest. They, in theory, run the Masquerade as the power behind the throne, in which is propped a lobotomized puppet. In turn, the cryptarchy is convinced the Oriati have secret masters of their own, an organization called the Cancrioth. Determining the truths of their existence forms the plot of the book.

* GambitPileup: Just like in the previous book. All the cryptarchs have their own personal schemes, most of which require manipulating the other cryptarchs. Then factor in the politics of the Navy, which is terrified of another war with the Oriati while secretly keeping a prisoner who could start it, and split into treacherous members planning a coup of Falcrest and loyalist members pursuing the treacherous ones, and one person playing either side as convenient. Then factor in Prince Tau-Indi Bosoka, an Oriati diplomat who's ''also'' trying to stop war from breaking out by finding his estranged friend, the aforementioned prisoner. Then factor in Tain Shir.

* TheManBehindTheMan: The Cryptarchy is this for the throne. They, in theory, run the Masquerade. Supposedly they have an Oriati counterpart called the Cancrioth -- determining the truths of their existence forms the plot of the book.