Scan barcode
dejahentendu's review against another edition
4.0
This was exactly the palate cleanser I needed after Ringworld Engineers and Niven's deep misogyny. Also, I love stories that explore how changes in technology (or magic, in this case) echo into changes into society. This book does it well.
However, I did find it lazy that she used fat as shorthand for cruel and morally lacking
However, I did find it lazy that she used fat as shorthand for cruel and morally lacking
tasharobinson's review against another edition
4.0
This has been billed as something of an epic-fantasy answer to Naomi Alderman's The Power, set in a deeply misogynistic collection of kingdoms where, depending on the country, women are treated as anything between third-class citizens and barely sentient breeding devices. (For instance, even in one of the more lenient countries, families who don't want their daughters, or men who don't want their wives, can repudiate them, at which point they're forced to go to "the Abbey" and sell their sexual services to anyone who wants them, while giving all the proceeds to the throne.)
Then three women give up their lives to enact a giant spell that changes the nature of the world: suddenly, women can't be coerced into bearing children, and will only conceive if they truly want to. This is meant to change the world and give women new power, but initially, it only works like The Pill did: suddenly women are having more casual sex, since they aren't risking pregnancy. What really shifts the balance of power is a whole bunch of apparent additional side effects involving the author's magic system, side effects that keep getting revealed nearly to the end of the novel.
For me, that was fairly unsatisfying for a while, because I was pretty curious how the childbirth change alone could shift society in time to save the many suffering primary characters in the novel, who are all facing problems ranging from forced marriage to awful men, to execution for crimes they didn't commit. And instead, the rules of magic and engagement keep changing. This book moves very quickly, with characters rapidly shifting in ways that sometimes seem more like inconsistencies than development. And on top of that, the characters are generally pretty shallow types — vicious tyrant, devoted mom, young queen, precocious teen — who mostly fall into a few distinct black-and-white baskets: horrible abusers or noble, desperate strivers.
But all that said, once I settled down and got into the book not being what I expected, and got to the parts of the book that actually acclimate readers to the way the world works, I found this a pretty compelling read. The magic system is unlike anything I've read before, which is interesting all on its own, and there are a lot of interesting aspects of that magic system in terms of how the specific things people can build and do with it shape society, like what it means to be able to easily build tireless horse-replacements, or infallible magical messenger-carriers. And it's interesting to see how this world's inherent sexism plays out in radically different ways in different countries, rather than being a monoculture. I'm kind of a sucker for stories about injustice and the fight against it (see also: my GRRM fandom), so even when it happens kind of rapidly and shallowly, I'm generally down for a story about a radical feminist movement against a cruel and selfish ruler.
That said, man is there a lot of rape and torture and systemic abuse of women in this book. The rape is glossed over (and as others have noticed, the survivor narratives mostly consist of "but they were used to this kind of thing and they moved on") and the torture happens offscreen, without pages devoted to it, but it can still be a little wearying for the empathetic.
Then three women give up their lives to enact a giant spell that changes the nature of the world: suddenly, women can't be coerced into bearing children, and will only conceive if they truly want to. This is meant to change the world and give women new power, but initially, it only works like The Pill did: suddenly women are having more casual sex, since they aren't risking pregnancy. What really shifts the balance of power is a whole bunch of apparent additional side effects involving the author's magic system, side effects that keep getting revealed nearly to the end of the novel.
For me, that was fairly unsatisfying for a while, because I was pretty curious how the childbirth change alone could shift society in time to save the many suffering primary characters in the novel, who are all facing problems ranging from forced marriage to awful men, to execution for crimes they didn't commit. And instead, the rules of magic and engagement keep changing. This book moves very quickly, with characters rapidly shifting in ways that sometimes seem more like inconsistencies than development. And on top of that, the characters are generally pretty shallow types — vicious tyrant, devoted mom, young queen, precocious teen — who mostly fall into a few distinct black-and-white baskets: horrible abusers or noble, desperate strivers.
But all that said, once I settled down and got into the book not being what I expected, and got to the parts of the book that actually acclimate readers to the way the world works, I found this a pretty compelling read. The magic system is unlike anything I've read before, which is interesting all on its own, and there are a lot of interesting aspects of that magic system in terms of how the specific things people can build and do with it shape society, like what it means to be able to easily build tireless horse-replacements, or infallible magical messenger-carriers. And it's interesting to see how this world's inherent sexism plays out in radically different ways in different countries, rather than being a monoculture. I'm kind of a sucker for stories about injustice and the fight against it (see also: my GRRM fandom), so even when it happens kind of rapidly and shallowly, I'm generally down for a story about a radical feminist movement against a cruel and selfish ruler.
That said, man is there a lot of rape and torture and systemic abuse of women in this book. The rape is glossed over (and as others have noticed, the survivor narratives mostly consist of "but they were used to this kind of thing and they moved on") and the torture happens offscreen, without pages devoted to it, but it can still be a little wearying for the empathetic.
curtissimo's review
challenging
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
priya_amrev's review against another edition
2.0
This book is an interesting one, with relatively good world and character building. However, for all the hype is has been marketed with as a “feminist book”, it isn’t actually one. All the female characters just seem to accept their oppression and only occasionally under extreme conditions express a mild willingness to do something about it. The 2 women who are depicted as “feminists” for “taking control” of their lives and kingdoms are pushed into those roles by men and then advised by men. I fail to see how this is a paragon of feminism.
Not to mention the fact that homosexuality seems to be non-existent in this book’s universe. Whole towns of only women living together and their only expression of sexuality seems to be 1) accept being raped by men 2) in a very rare case find a “good man” or 3) remain sexually deprived for their whole lives.
Not to mention the fact that homosexuality seems to be non-existent in this book’s universe. Whole towns of only women living together and their only expression of sexuality seems to be 1) accept being raped by men 2) in a very rare case find a “good man” or 3) remain sexually deprived for their whole lives.
ctlucas16's review
adventurous
emotional
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? It's complicated
3.0
I would have given this more stars if I had not read the Priory of the Orange Tree right before it, which I absolutely loved. Every once in a while I'll think about the ending and wonder if I should read the second book in the series, but then I forget about it again.
chninamir's review against another edition
4.0
I received free books from Penguin Random House in exchange for this review.
My rating: 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4)
I definitely enjoyed this book. I wouldn't say I loved it, but The Woman's War is a strong example of Adult Fantasy with its wonderful world-building abilities, unique take on magic, and wide range of well developed characters.
The Woman's War is an epic female led fantasy with strong feminist themes throughout. In a world where women are constantly persecuted and looked down on, one woman sacrifices her life to ensure that women will finally have a way to stand up for themselves in a world dominated by men.
The Woman's War did a fantastic job at handling a multitude of main characters, it never felt like one character was overshadowing the other and despite the fact that there were so many characters, each character felt like they developed throughout the book. I often find myself confused when faced with too many characters, especially in fantasy books as interconnected as this one, but Jenna Glass did an amazing job finding the perfect balance that allowed for me to enjoy each character equally.
It's easy to get tired of fantasy books especially when faced with a similar type of magic and society in every single book. The "world" represented in the book wasn't especially unique, and was much like many other fantasy books out there, with the basic framework of kingdoms and political ties. But the type of magic in the book was very unique, instead of spells being a way to harness magic through spoken word, the spells in the book seem a lot more similar to mixing potions, and there is also the fact that there are some parts of the magic that are only available towards women.
Though I did enjoy The Woman's War, there are a few things that caused it to have it's less than 5 star rating. I know this is superficial, but I really don't like the cover. I was also not a huge fan of the transitions between characters as they happened abruptly in middle of the chapters. These are small things though, and I don't think they should discourage anyone from reading the book.
My rating: 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4)
I definitely enjoyed this book. I wouldn't say I loved it, but The Woman's War is a strong example of Adult Fantasy with its wonderful world-building abilities, unique take on magic, and wide range of well developed characters.
The Woman's War is an epic female led fantasy with strong feminist themes throughout. In a world where women are constantly persecuted and looked down on, one woman sacrifices her life to ensure that women will finally have a way to stand up for themselves in a world dominated by men.
The Woman's War did a fantastic job at handling a multitude of main characters, it never felt like one character was overshadowing the other and despite the fact that there were so many characters, each character felt like they developed throughout the book. I often find myself confused when faced with too many characters, especially in fantasy books as interconnected as this one, but Jenna Glass did an amazing job finding the perfect balance that allowed for me to enjoy each character equally.
It's easy to get tired of fantasy books especially when faced with a similar type of magic and society in every single book. The "world" represented in the book wasn't especially unique, and was much like many other fantasy books out there, with the basic framework of kingdoms and political ties. But the type of magic in the book was very unique, instead of spells being a way to harness magic through spoken word, the spells in the book seem a lot more similar to mixing potions, and there is also the fact that there are some parts of the magic that are only available towards women.
Though I did enjoy The Woman's War, there are a few things that caused it to have it's less than 5 star rating. I know this is superficial, but I really don't like the cover. I was also not a huge fan of the transitions between characters as they happened abruptly in middle of the chapters. These are small things though, and I don't think they should discourage anyone from reading the book.
wenwe's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
em815ily's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Death, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Rape, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
j_j_catcrazydragon's review against another edition
3.0
So many trigger warnings needed for this. It’s a difficult read at times, but worth it.
Rape, both physical and emotional abuse, imprisonment-slavery, torture, war crimes.
I swear I already wrote a review for this…?
It was at least 2 years ago I read this, and while I remember it all, the details needed for a review allude me right now.
I remember loving certain parts, while being dissatisfied by others, and truly disliking the end.
It was needlessly ugly and painful. Not fitting to the message within the story.
Will come back and fill in the rest at a later date.
Rape, both physical and emotional abuse, imprisonment-slavery, torture, war crimes.
I swear I already wrote a review for this…?
It was at least 2 years ago I read this, and while I remember it all, the details needed for a review allude me right now.
I remember loving certain parts, while being dissatisfied by others, and truly disliking the end.
It was needlessly ugly and painful. Not fitting to the message within the story.
Will come back and fill in the rest at a later date.