The Belly of the Bow by K.J. Parker

Bardas Loredan, no longer fencer-at-law, attempts to make a living as a bowyer. Unfortunately, both his relatives, the Bank, and the Foundation are about to thoroughly stymie him. I didn’t find this quite as engaging as Colours in the Steel, the first in the Fencer trilogy, but it was still an enjoyable read. Though reacquainted with most of the characters, one or two are replaced by new ones, and we have left the city of Perimadeia far behind. The story is split, between various locations, and character viewpoints, often with jumps that can seem jarring, but serve to keep the reader on their toes. The fencing scenes from book one have been replaced by warfare as both Scona and Shastel lack the trial by combat lawfare aspect that I found so intriguing. However, there are lots of lovely (and some less so) descriptions of the bowyer’s craft, which I highly enjoyed. Parker turned the world on its head again, and I’m intrigued to find out what happens to both it, and the characters in the…