To Trick a Trickster

stellar, funny, twisted

This book was originally part of the larger series Wyrd Gods, although it takes place before it, and is a sort of prelude. not having read the series yet, I can only evaluate it as a standalone piece, and I think it works quite well, though I have the suspicion that, when I return to it after the series, I will have many 'aha' moments connecting it to the larger story. The title is very appropriate, and works in more ways than one, the narrative being really a game of shadows. In the end, Psyche, although not a particularly likable character as far as I'm concerned, has clearly elevated herself in some way above the gods, and one feels the gods kind of deserved it. To me it felt almost like a platonic dialogue between the god of mischief Loki and the mortal-prisoner Psyche, a philosophy book disguised as mythic romance. I say this approvingly. But in any case, it's very well disguised, because it's very well written. I found the same sharp wit and deep character intuition I came to expect from Asterius, and I was sucked in effortlessly into both the settings described, but more importantly (for me) the inner world of the characters, their motivations and struggles and feelings. I was a little surprised, as the other book had none of that, by the sensuality of it - I'll say no more so as not to spoil it. In any case, usually that kind of thing is so terribly done that one just cringes. Not here. It's neither underdone nor overdone, its just right, and not gratuitous. This is the second book I read by Susana, I can now definitely say she has a voice of her own, but not only that, a worldview too, and while this may not be to everyone's taste, it is to mine. So many books are just empty promises, with no depth. Susana has depth, and knows how to portray it without being preachy. I will finish by saying this: I am not really the target audience for mythic fiction, in general - in fact, I don't think I ever finished a book of this kind, within this genre, before I came across Susana's. So you should take my five stars all the more seriously. Another stellar book by Susana.