Title: Red Sonja: The Falcon Throne
Author:
Marguerite Bennett
Contributors: Aneke, Marguerite Sauvage
Genre:
Graphic Novel, Fantasy, High Fantasy, LGBTQ+ (M/F; F/F)
A
few starting notes:
I
received a free digital review copy of this book via NetGalley.
NetGalley provides review copies from publishers in exchange for fair
and honest reviews.
Ahhhh, Red Sonja - the She-Devil with a Sword.
And to see that this Sonja story had Marguerite Bennett at the helm?
I hardly dared get my hopes up at the prospect of Sonja being given the book she deserved... but I think my fervent prayers to the feminist gods were at least somewhat answered.
Strap in guys, 'cos I got some stuff to say.
Premise:
Hyrkania's king is dying. Sonja believes the kingdom will be better off with someone who... well, basically, isn't her... in charge.
Instead of the She-Devil, someone else comes in to fill the power vacuum.
But will this new leader be a force for good? Or will the prejudices he stirs up become Hyrkania's shame?
Best
bits:
WOW. Dudes, this was the Red Sonja book I've been waiting for.
Finally, Sonja is freed from the prospect of painful chainmail wedgies and having to make pathetic doe-eyes at Conan that make her fans (well, some of us,) want to barf.
Instead, we have a still-sexy she-warrior who gets to wear warmer (though still not especially protective) clothes into battle, and doesn't have to worry about rust in her most intimate areas!
(Does anyone else flinch at the idea of non-lined chainmail underwear? *shudder*)
The (in)famous chainmail bikini is the costume male creators and fans have chosen again and again for Sonja; essentially they want an overly-sexualised Barbarian Barbie.
But as Sonja makes very clear - NO-ONE owns her!
There's also a clear political message throughout this book - hatred against people who are different to you goes against everything that makes us human.
Sonja is revolted by the clear bigotry and outright racism that creeps into Hyrkania, and even more revolted by the support this bigotry has from the people.
Instead of a strong female leader, they have a douchebag bigoted dude. Kind of timely, don't you think?
Sonja's bisexuality is not ignored here: too often, Sonja's character is manipulated to erase her queer aspects - she becomes de facto straight in so many of her books.
But with Marguerite Bennett at the helm, we have a queer woman making sure Sonja is given her dues.
There are also people of colour (PoC) characters with agency, and complexity, and lives of their own.
Not
so great bits:
Ok, so, my main problem with this book is that it comes dangerously close to White Saviour territory.
For those who don't know, the White Saviour trope is where a white person comes along and rescues the PoC characters - the implication being that they couldn't possibly rescue themselves, and need a white person to come and do it for them (which ofc is utter sh**.)
This trope reinforces the ugly idea of white superiority, and places PoC in a position where they are never the hero, only the victim.
Here, the PoC characters are pretty much doing things for themselves, but the final save-the-day business is achieved by Sonja - the white heroine and symbol of inspiration.
It all plays out a lot more complexly than just white-girl-saves-PoCs, but... I'm not saying this necessarily goes over the line, but we can certainly see the line from here, y'know?
And even seeing the line is worrying guys. I don't want to be anywhere near that line.
Parts of the plotting in general are... confused? Maybe? It just feels a bit hectic and out-of-control in places in terms of plot.
Maybe this is a side-effect of trying to make the plot twisty and action-filled, when really, all that was needed was to follow the characters' lead.
There's a bunch of gore and violence pretty much everywhere, swearing, and some non-explicit sexual content.
Verdict:
We verge uncomfortably close to white saviour territory here (*squints suspiciously at book*) and that's not cool.
Aside from that, though, this is the Sonja book her (true) fans have been waiting for - she kicks butt, looks sexy, but never betrays her character or her dignity.
Bennett's Sonja is strong. Bennett's Sonja is my Sonja, finally brought to the page.
This book is a major step-forward for the character. I just hope it can be built on and improved in the future.
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