Review: The Curator by Owen King

Publication date

7 March 2023

Standalone or series

Standalone

First time reading this author?

No

Why I picked this

While I’ve read Sleeping Beauties by the same author that was a joint project so I wanted to try a book where they were the sole writer.

Review copy or purchase

Purchased as ebook.

What it’s about

In the aftermath of the revolution Dora leaves her job as a maid at the university and becomes the curator of a forgotten museum. But with the screams of tortured people coming from one neighbouring property and museum artefacts which seem to link to an organisation her beloved brother was a member of before he died, Dora’s new life isn’t simple.

Review

How do you review a book like The Curator?

It doesn’t follow any genre structure I’m familiar with, although there are fantasy and sci-fi elements. The whole thing is set in a semi-feudal society in a world similar to ours, but not ours. There is a plot, but the context behind it all only becomes clear in the final 20 per cent. The characters often border on the farcical. It’s readable, but slow-going, yet is sub-500 pages.

The only thing I’m sure about is that I liked the main character of Dora. She’s strong and determined and much more sensible than any of the people supposed to be setting up a new government.

It reminds me a little of War and Peace. There’s the war, or revolution in this case, based around big ideals. Then there’s the reality for the everyday people the revolutionaries claim to be fighting for. And for a lot of the book we’re just following the stories of the former maid, the street kid, the idealistic revolutionary and the career soldier who feels patronised by him. All set in the limbo of no stability or sense of order to replace the overturned regime.

But, then you’ve got the mysterious Society for Psykical Research, the torture chamber in the Embassy next door to Dora’s museum, a floating ghost ship and lots and lots of cats.

An interesting read.

Rating

⭐⭐⭐️

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