Volpone Glory: A Bluebloods Novel

[aa.logan]

On a less highbrow analytical level, the book also features a nod to the much-derided ‘tactical rock’, which I thought was pretty funny.

[Roomsky]

Volpone Glory – Nick Kyme (Audiobook)

 

I’ve been rather harsh on Kyme in the past. Of his works before Old Earth, only some of his short stories were at all readable. And it’s because of that opinion that I respect him even more for writing something this good. His improvement over the years has been remarkable, and even divorced from the book’s actual content, has been very impressive. Well done Kyme.

 

Prose is generally my number 1 when consuming a book, and I made sure to read the first few chapters free on Amazon so I could get a feel of it before I started listening. While Kyme isn’t quite among the stable’s best stylistically, his work here is very competent. He’s still prone to the occasional eyerolling florid prose and a bit of distracting repetition, but the majority is pretty smooth ride (made smoother by Wincott’s excellent narration in the audiobook.) This is fine, because the plot and characters are where the best aspects of this book lie.

 

This is paced and plotted very well. It seems to more common lately that BL books have the most in-depth battle in the middle of the book so the emotional climax doesn’t get lost in the physical one, and I think it’s paid off every time so far. The book lets its cast take a front seat and ratchet tension as much by their interpersonal scenes as when they’re shooting Blood Pact (who, by the way, are portrayed as refreshingly competent here.) The action set pieces all have clear stakes and rarely overstay their welcome, with some quality intrigue to balance out the fightan. While the climactic duel is more than a bit contrived, I have to forgive it because I think every action narrative should end with a one-on-one sword fight.

 

For a cast this wide all the key players are surprisingly well drawn. The Volpone cast is a great range from bumbling aristocrat to competent nobility, and the Agrians are just as compelling even with their lesser focus. There’s like 15 good characters in this book, and instead of going through each of them I’m just going to address the 4 I was lukewarm on. Shiller was distractingly one-note in a cast of otherwise competent moral ambiguity, as was Grussman (sp?) Fenk’s edginess flipped right over into unintentional comedy pretty early on, and there wasn’t much to Aramis besides cycling through military girlboss tropes. Any disappointment of the above is counteracted by Kyme’s fantastic portrayal of the commissariat – it’s an angle I never expected to want out of a BL book but dang I thought it was brilliant.

 

And that sentiment is a good summary of my overall feelings. Kyme still lapses into questionable quality on occasion, but everything this book does well or even great basically overpowers it. I’m shocked it’s so good, and for the first time am genuinely excited by what Kyme will deliver in future. Would that every mediocre to poor BL author improved this much during their tenure.

 

ANR: 8/10

To Taste – but only because there’s a bunch of middling reviews floating around I don’t comprehend.

Edited January 19, 2022 by Roomsky

[Ubiquitous1984]

I'm pleased for Kyme that the book is being received so well.  I feel like he has been harshly treated by some members of the community over the years.  I personally enjoyed his main-line Heresy work.  And it's clear from his social media postings that he is genuinely delighted that the book has been so warmly received.  Good for him!

[cheywood]

In the past 2-3 years a few authors the community is frequently meh on have produced really good work - Annandale with Horror, Thorpe with The Wolftime and Armageddon Saint, Kyme with Volpone Glory. Always nice to see writers find their groove.