The Coup by Erica Dakin

The Coup Reviews

• 
  Pauline Ross

  I positively inhaled this book – I just couldn't read it fast enough. This is the third book in the Theft and Sorcery series. I really enjoyed the first two, but this one is the best of the lot, for me. Although each book can be read independently of the others, there are some characters from the earlier books that turn up here. Big, big warning for those who might find it problematic: there's a heap of graphic sex in the book, bordering on erotica, and there's also some robust language.
  
  One of the enjoyable aspects of this series is that there's a time-skip from one book to the next. This opens up the possibilities for interesting social changes. In the first book, half-elves were slaves, the lowest rung on the social ladder (after full-blooded elves, the aristocracy, and humans, effectively the middle classes). In the second book, the enlightened new queen had freed all the slaves, and half-elves were coming to terms with full citizenship. Another generation on, and there seems to be no social distinction at all. It's rather nice to see this progression. However, not everything is rosy: there are still those who would divide society down the middle.
  
  The main character this time is Miko, also known as Badger, a half-elf in training at an academy for sorcerers. He's an unusually powerful sorcerer, and creative with his magic, so not only can he do more than most, but he invents new and ingenious spells too. Oh, and he can do all this by the power of his mind, without using the normal incantation and gesture to trigger the magic. I liked Miko very much, despite his grumpiness (I found it quite endearing) and his unusual background is very intriguing.
  
  The love interest is Aya, also a sorcerer, although less powerful than Miko. This seems like a straightforward boy-meets-girl and away-we-go romance, but the obstacles to happiness are quite major ones, and it’s very understandable that things don’t run smoothly. Miko is naturally pretty upset about… well, many things (not wanting to give anything away). But even though it seems the romance is faltering, the two are still thrown together and the attraction is undeniable. In previous books in the series, the sex has possibly been a more significant element than the plot, but here the pacing works perfectly: the sexual tension builds beautifully and resolves itself at just the right moment. Perfectly judged.
  
  The plot (the coup of the title) is gradually revealed, and then comes the attempt to thwart it without disrupting the delicate balance of court politics. Again, this is all perfectly believable, and I loved the way Miko’s innovation comes to the fore, creating new magical functions as needed. Everything builds to a dramatic climax, but (of course) things don’t go quite according to plan, and this part of the book was even more of a page-turner than the rest. Great stuff.
  
  This was a terrific read, and a great finale to the series, with walk-on roles for all the favourite characters from the previous two books. Five stars for the sheer enjoyment of the read, and the inventive ways Miko finds to exploit his powers.
  
• 
  Anachronist

  My impressions:
  
  I am not going to be fair in my review, nuh-huh. After reading an anthology of short stories by Ted Chiang I believe it is impossible to read any other sci-fi or fantasy book and be impressed. Still I chose this one deliberately – as a palate cleanser. You know the drill: steamy sex scenes, a simple romance between two sorcerers, a coup threatening the whole kingdom. What not to like?
  
  Ok, let’s try to be positive and fair for a moment or two. The romance thread between Miko and Aya was nicely done, at least in the first part of the book. He was a kind of school celebrity – a brilliant student and a great lay with a list (yes, a list!) of willing females waiting to have a go at him. She was a smart girl who had a hidden agenda of her own and wasn’t easily impressed.
  
  Then the actual plot intervened. Even though I was nicely surprised that I recognized some characters from previous parts (Vaysita and Kai among them) my enjoyment went firmly downwards. I hated the fact that the reigning Queen had no other plan of action than to rely on her subjects, keep calm and hope for the best. The main baddie, the great Headmistress Sotariel could have been more three-dimensional and a tiny bit more complex. The ending could have avoided well-known clichés like the one showing the reconciliation with a dying parent or a hero all alone saving the day and the kingdom single-handedly (or close).
  
  You see? I promised you no balance or fairness and I am true to my word. Still I have to say the cleanser worked as it should so I shouldn’t complain too much, right? Oh, and I love the cover – simple but pertinent.
  
  Final verdict:
  
  A nice, uncomplicated erotica fantasy with a lot of sex scenes and sweet, sweet romance you will love. Or not. If you have a lazy summer afternoon before you and you want to end it with an upbeat this novel might do the trick. However if you are into brainier stuff do read Mr. Chiang.
• 
  Voirrey

  I really loved this. I enjoyed the other two books in the trilogy greatly, as well, but I think that this may well be the best. It is so good to see Ms Dakin's style improving, becoming richer and more complex with each book; so often it seems as if writers begin to write by rote as they add to a series, but she most certainly has not fallen into this trap and has improved on a good first book with each subsequent one.
  
  The point of view character in this one is male, compared with the female POV characters of the previous two. And not a terribly heroic male, either, but a rather sulky young man, with a real soft spot for animals, strong magical abilities, a definite degree of sex appeal, and with a sex life which (spoiler alert....) is less spontaneous than he had assumed it was. He is caught up in a conspiracy for the coup mentioned in the title without realising at first, and then he is more annoyed than anything else; he seems very real to me and I think looking through his eyes works well in this story.
  
  The young lady who ends up as his guide and partner, as he tries to disentangle himself/ escape, is part of the family we have met in the previous two books - and a good character in her own right. Interesting, too, to see how the lives of Zash and Rin from The Ritual, and Kai, Sita, Thiro and others from The Conspiracy have developed and change through the years. (There is certainly room for a short story, or some good fanfic, to fill in a details for Kai and Sita's lives from where we left them at the end of The Conspiracy to where we find them here!)
  
  So - I would love more in this world if the author could stretch her promised trilogy a bit further, especially as her world gets more and more detailed and her characters more multi-dimensional.
  
  As it is, I am re-reading the other two at the moment.
• 
  Ginette R Jonas

  I liked it? a lot?
  
  The story line was innovative, entertaining and at times frustrating. Sometimes the crude and graphic sex took away from the story.