Baru Cormorant believes any price is worth paying to liberate her people-even her soul.
When the Empire of Masks conquers her island home, overwrites her culture, criminalizes her customs, and murders one of her fathers, Baru vows to swallow her hate, join the Empire's civil service, and claw her way high enough to set her people free.
Sent as an Imperial agent to distant Aurdwynn, another conquered country, Baru discovers it's on the brink of rebellion. Drawn by the intriguing duchess Tain Hu into a circle of seditious dukes, Baru may be able to use her position to help. As she pursues a precarious balance between the rebels and a shadowy cabal within the Empire, she orchestrates a do-or-die gambit with freedom as the prize.
But the cost of winning the long game of saving her people may be far greater than Baru imagines.
Baru Cormorant believes any price is worth paying to liberate her people-even her soul.
When the Empire of Masks conquers her island home, overwrites her culture, criminalizes her customs, and murders one of her fathers, Baru vows to swallow her hate, join the Empire's civil service, and claw her way high enough to set her people free.
Sent as an Imperial agent to distant Aurdwynn, another conquered country, Baru discovers it's on the brink of rebellion. Drawn by the intriguing duchess Tain Hu into a circle of seditious dukes, Baru may be able to use her position to help. As she pursues a precarious balance between the rebels and a shadowy cabal within the Empire, she orchestrates a do-or-die gambit with freedom as the prize.
But the cost of winning the long game of saving her people may be far greater than Baru imagines.
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Find The Traitor Baru Cormorant Seth Dickinson in PDF, EPUB, ebook, audiobook, print, or library editions.
Find The Traitor Baru Cormorant Seth Dickinson in PDF, EPUB, ebook, audiobook, print, or library editions.
2 books in catalog
Exploring imperial bureaucracy, economic intrigue, and psychological warfare, political fantasy fiction received a distinct addition with the publication of The Traitor Baru Cormorant. Seth Dickinson gained wide recognition for this hard fantasy debut, which follows a brilliant accountant attempting to dismantle an oppressive empire from within its financial machinery.
Beyond his original book series, Dickinson has contributed worldbuilding lore to high-profile interactive franchises and written short fiction across major speculative magazines and anthologies.
Dickinson grew up in the Vermont hills, spending his childhood reading speculative paperbacks such as George Orwell's 1984 and Lois Lowry's The Giver, while also playing complex strategy board games. He began writing stories at a young age before attending the University of Chicago, where he earned the Dell Magazines Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing in 2011 for his short story "The Immaculate Conception of Private Ritter." He later became a doctoral candidate at New York University studying racial bias in police decision-making before focusing his career full-time on fiction writing and narrative design.
In addition to his novel-length fantasy, Dickinson spent significant time as a narrative writer and lore consultant for Bungie Studios, shaping backstory and universe lore for the video game Destiny. He has also served as an instructor for the Alpha Workshop for Young Writers and published short stories in major genre venues including Clarkesworld, Lightspeed, Asimov's, Analog, Strange Horizons, and Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
Dickinson's fiction frequently investigates the mechanics of statecraft, systemic oppression, high finance, and moral compromise. Rather than relying primarily on traditional magic systems, his narratives emphasize political strategy, economic leverage, social engineering, and institutional power. His characters regularly face harrowing ethical dilemmas where personal loyalty directly conflicts with administrative necessity and survival.
2 books in catalog
Exploring imperial bureaucracy, economic intrigue, and psychological warfare, political fantasy fiction received a distinct addition with the publication of The Traitor Baru Cormorant. Seth Dickinson gained wide recognition for this hard fantasy debut, which follows a brilliant accountant attempting to dismantle an oppressive empire from within its financial machinery.
Beyond his original book series, Dickinson has contributed worldbuilding lore to high-profile interactive franchises and written short fiction across major speculative magazines and anthologies.
Dickinson grew up in the Vermont hills, spending his childhood reading speculative paperbacks such as George Orwell's 1984 and Lois Lowry's The Giver, while also playing complex strategy board games. He began writing stories at a young age before attending the University of Chicago, where he earned the Dell Magazines Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing in 2011 for his short story "The Immaculate Conception of Private Ritter." He later became a doctoral candidate at New York University studying racial bias in police decision-making before focusing his career full-time on fiction writing and narrative design.
In addition to his novel-length fantasy, Dickinson spent significant time as a narrative writer and lore consultant for Bungie Studios, shaping backstory and universe lore for the video game Destiny. He has also served as an instructor for the Alpha Workshop for Young Writers and published short stories in major genre venues including Clarkesworld, Lightspeed, Asimov's, Analog, Strange Horizons, and Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
Dickinson's fiction frequently investigates the mechanics of statecraft, systemic oppression, high finance, and moral compromise. Rather than relying primarily on traditional magic systems, his narratives emphasize political strategy, economic leverage, social engineering, and institutional power. His characters regularly face harrowing ethical dilemmas where personal loyalty directly conflicts with administrative necessity and survival.
The Masquerade
The Masquerade
