The Traitor's Tunnel by C.M. Spivey [Book Review]
Full disclosure: I received The Traitor’s Tunnel as an ARC. I have not read the book this story takes place before.
The Traitor's Tunnel is a fantasy novella revolving around two siblings; Bridget pickpockets the wrong person and encounters her brother after they were separated long ago. In the midst of spying on her newly found brother, she learns of a conspiracy that could unravel an empire. What initially drew me to this novel, as a queer person, was the diversity. Both the protagonists are queer, with Theodor, Bridget's brother, being asexual and in a romantic partnership with another male character. Bridget is bisexual and in a relationship with another woman, Keaton. I'm thrilled to see positive LGBT relationships in fiction; as well as that, I like how, in Del, babies are not assigned genders at birth. Gender is decided later, or "claimed," and I enjoy that take. In fact, no person's gender is ever assumed; they're referred to in neutral terms before introducing their identity.
Fantasy and all rungs of speculative fiction hold the potential to explore social issues of gender, sexuality, disability, race, and what-have-you, but throughout the history of fantasy, though I love the genre dearly, there's a great deal of "realistic" settings with enforced gender roles in a patriarchal, medieval pseudo-England. This is by no means a critique of these works' literary merit, but on the lack of exploration in a field so ripe for exploring our differences and identities. Even when these settings are meant to subvert or critique these social norms, it's refreshing to have new takes. Also, I appreciate fantasy that acknowledges people of color exist. I hope to see more stories in the vein of Spivey's work. As for the writing, the prose is direct and clean; despite not having read any other books set in this universe, I had no trouble following along or immersing myself in the setting. Any issues I have are minor, such as “A chilly wind blew threw” instead of “A chilly wind blew through,” which may not be present in newer, published editions.
The Traitor's Tunnel is anticipated to come out on June 20, 2017. Here is C.M. Spivey’s author site and Twitter if you want to learn more about his books.
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