The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson

This is a novel of treachery.   Falcrest has an empire.  It conquers by attrition, providing income, innovations and troops. Baru, a precocious child, decides to work against the empire when her parents suffer.  This is her story.

Machiavelli has nothing on Dickinson.  The plot was devilishly clever with nuances that had to be noticed as they later came into play.

The wealth of characters sometimes led to minor confusion. 

It was an interesting book and very clever plot.

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.