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moondragon8's review
very misleading title. these mages have NO linguistic credentials at all.
there are very few books in my life that i can remember ever truly not finishing, as in, got a chapter or more into the book and decided actually i can't do this, and consciously put the book down with no intent to return. there are only two books i can remember doing this with: twilight and carry on. battle of the linguist mages may be the third. every time i looked at it on my shelf i think "i could keep reading", and then i think "god, but do i really want to?" and the answer was yes. but also no. it kept hooking me with plot snippets just interesting enough to keep going and then dropping them before they could go anywhere in favor of yet another fucking twist. i listened to a very good podcast (wizards vs. lesbians) on it and it sort of confirmed for me that it was not going to be worth finishing. i'm cutting myself off here. i can't do this anymore.
this was one of the most genuinely frustrating reading experiences i have ever had. this book wasn't bad all the way through, but it kept throwing really interesting concepts at me and then moving on from them far too fast to explore them, and then throwing OTHER concepts at me, either much worse or much better. the pacing was bizarre-- some parts dragged miserably, others went by way, WAY too fast. the protagonist's outlook on this whole situation seemed to be simultaneously utterly baffled and yet just kind of taking it all in stride, which at least made her a tiny bit more relatable, as that's what i felt for most of the book. however, she also was kind of a blank nothing of a character, and was emotionally disconnected from the events of the book to an almost concerning degree, which made it really hard to take any of it seriously. (did it want me to take it seriously???? i have no idea. but like, people were dying. fucked up stuff was happening. it was emotionally dissonant and Weird.)
i could keep talking about any of the many little things that frustrated me about this book for a while, so i'm cutting myself short, but i do want to mention this one thing: the only part of the book that i actually actively wish they'd done differently (rather then just wondering why they did any of it at all) is the bit where it insists on introducing characters with their pronouns and race, which is.... i think well-intentioned, and i understand where its coming from, but in practice it just seems weird and clunky (and serves to highlight how almost every character in this is white, lmao). also it's actually really hard to estimate someone's race just by looking, especially if you're, you know, aware of how diverse human skin tones are, and given the protagonist's dedication to not assuming people's pronouns (which both she and the author seem to realize isn't helpful for narration purposes) its kind of weird that she does assume everyone's race???????
finally: i checked this one out from the college library along with another book (mr. penumbra's 24-hour bookstore). that one takes place in san francisco, while this one takes place in los angeles, and i just think the contrast between the two and the way they live up to stereotypes of their respective cities is really funny. (i apologize to LA in advance for what i am about to say.) this book was all neon and flash and no substance whatsoever, all dreams and no reality. it felt like...okay, i've never done hard drugs, but i IMAGINE it feels like a drug trip gone somewhat bad. it's confusing, it's weird, time seems dilated or sped up, and you're emotionally removed from everything that's happening so you have no way to ground yourself. thank god i at least had the sense to not finish it.
this was one of the most genuinely frustrating reading experiences i have ever had. this book wasn't bad all the way through, but it kept throwing really interesting concepts at me and then moving on from them far too fast to explore them, and then throwing OTHER concepts at me, either much worse or much better. the pacing was bizarre-- some parts dragged miserably, others went by way, WAY too fast. the protagonist's outlook on this whole situation seemed to be simultaneously utterly baffled and yet just kind of taking it all in stride, which at least made her a tiny bit more relatable, as that's what i felt for most of the book. however, she also was kind of a blank nothing of a character, and was emotionally disconnected from the events of the book to an almost concerning degree, which made it really hard to take any of it seriously. (did it want me to take it seriously???? i have no idea. but like, people were dying. fucked up stuff was happening. it was emotionally dissonant and Weird.)
i could keep talking about any of the many little things that frustrated me about this book for a while, so i'm cutting myself short, but i do want to mention this one thing: the only part of the book that i actually actively wish they'd done differently (rather then just wondering why they did any of it at all) is the bit where it insists on introducing characters with their pronouns and race, which is.... i think well-intentioned, and i understand where its coming from, but in practice it just seems weird and clunky (and serves to highlight how almost every character in this is white, lmao). also it's actually really hard to estimate someone's race just by looking, especially if you're, you know, aware of how diverse human skin tones are, and given the protagonist's dedication to not assuming people's pronouns (which both she and the author seem to realize isn't helpful for narration purposes) its kind of weird that she does assume everyone's race???????
finally: i checked this one out from the college library along with another book (mr. penumbra's 24-hour bookstore). that one takes place in san francisco, while this one takes place in los angeles, and i just think the contrast between the two and the way they live up to stereotypes of their respective cities is really funny. (i apologize to LA in advance for what i am about to say.) this book was all neon and flash and no substance whatsoever, all dreams and no reality. it felt like...okay, i've never done hard drugs, but i IMAGINE it feels like a drug trip gone somewhat bad. it's confusing, it's weird, time seems dilated or sped up, and you're emotionally removed from everything that's happening so you have no way to ground yourself. thank god i at least had the sense to not finish it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Cursing, and Violence
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Death, and Murder
a lot of weird fucking stuff happens in this book. unreality and, like, fuckin' existential crises?? i guess??? would be the main other ones?? there's a Lot of stuff but also the way it's all treated makes it feel.... less. there. i think someone once described this whole book as feeling like you're at a rave and on a lot of drugs and like. yeah. that is the vibes. so a lot of fucked up stuff happens (also cults? political corruption? the entire population of california gets kidnapped?) but none of it seems to affect or stick with the characters at allcaseythereader's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Death, Kidnapping, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Drug use
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