Read: Green, by Jay Lake (2011-62)

As I began reading this, I found myself thinking it reminded me of Gene Wolfe, and especially the Book of the New Sun, especially in the style. Then I ran across a direct and explicit, if obscure, reference to tBotNS, and I knew I was onto something.

I've never read anything else by Jay Lake, but this book is Wolfe Lite: Wolfe without the puzzles, the self-absorbed cleverness, and the depth of meaning that comes from his unreliable narration. It's a good book -- I'd almost say a very good book -- but it suffers from the comparison it actively invites.

What it's about: our heroine is sold as a child to a Factor, who trains her up to be a great lady of a noble house. The training is harsh and intense. But there are plots going on, and our still nameless heroine finds herself caught up in one of them.

At last the Factor names her, Emerald, but she decides her name will instead be Green. She escapes from her education, accidentally(?) killing her main teacher along the way, and becomes more involved in a plot whose purpose, it turns out, is to end the reign of the nigh-immortal Duke.

That's about the first half of the book, and it has enough in it for a book unto itself. There's a great deal more, but I won't commit total spoilage. The book is good, but not great; it stands out amongst the piles of trash published as fantasy each year. It's certainly better than a lot of the series I continue to read. So: highly, but guardedly, recommended.