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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Good plot but dense and not much dialogue.
Such a poor excuse for a novel. Very standard characters made truly annoying by their ignorance, spite and stupidity. Kalyna is from a family of soothsayers but doesn't have the skill. She's kidnapped by a guy serving a prince and then succumbs to Stockholm Syndrome. Everyone's a caricature, it's really a bunch of scenes rather than a novel, and the plot, that there is, is as trite as can be. Skip this one.
slow-paced
adventurous
slow-paced
I really, really enjoyed this! It gave me vibes that I associate with being a teenager, curling up with a fat fantasy book from my father's collection on a Saturday afternoon, with all the innocent freedom of not needing to do my own taxes. Just a rollicking good fantasy book, with politics and intrigue and con jobs and so much punching and stabbing. Just a grand ride, all along.
I reviewed this novel for the Hugo-winning blog Nerds of a Feather:
http://www.nerds-feather.com/2023/01/review-kalyna-soothsayer-by-elijah.html
http://www.nerds-feather.com/2023/01/review-kalyna-soothsayer-by-elijah.html
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Unfortunately due to pacing issues, I stopped caring what happened to Kaylna the charlatan seer and her changing gang of compatriots. By her nature of being anti-monarchy, anti-establishment, anti-aristocrat, it's difficult to see why anyone would bother with these palace power struggles. Vague concern for the 'common people.' In this xenophobic fantasy world, Kaylna's background gives me the impression of having been taken from the Roma/Sinti (nomadic life, prosecuted everywhere in Europe, darker skin colour, colourful clothing, mixed blood, fortune telling). The names and places hint of a Eastern European origin (although Wiki informs that harquebusiers are cavalry from Western Europe). Fruits like lychee, persimmons and durian are added for some Orientalism, as with white authors. Coffee still exists as coffee and there are guns with no mention of the origin of gunpowder (China). Worldbuilding was fairly solid at the beginning but I do not plan on reading the next book.