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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
Oh man this book rules. I love a big, sprawling feudal hierarchy, plus being in space. The world building doesn't overwhelm you, you are told just what you need to understand the plot, and there's a spoiler free lexicon in the back for all the jargon.
Hadrian Marlowe, during the time of this book, is a young man who just wants to learn and explore, but his life gets thrown many, many directions he could not predict. Sometimes, it wasn't evident what the specific plot of the book was, but by the end we have a very clear image of what the young Hadrian is like, and who he wants to become. It's an excellent start to a series I'm very much hooked on to, and which I expect will be my new favorites of the year.
Hadrian Marlowe, during the time of this book, is a young man who just wants to learn and explore, but his life gets thrown many, many directions he could not predict. Sometimes, it wasn't evident what the specific plot of the book was, but by the end we have a very clear image of what the young Hadrian is like, and who he wants to become. It's an excellent start to a series I'm very much hooked on to, and which I expect will be my new favorites of the year.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, Religious bigotry
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, War
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a very enjoyable 3.75. What i have heard consistently is this book is a set up for a deep and wide universe and i am confident this first book was necessary to establish that universe.
I am excited to take what this book built to explore the rest of this universe and story.
I am excited to take what this book built to explore the rest of this universe and story.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
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
This was a great introduction into this series. Don't be fooled by my rating, I'm trying that thing where you be more honest and realistic, without feeling like I need to gladhand a 5* review to everything I finish, because I would give this a 5* before. It has its problems, for sure. The passing is great most of the time, but I found some periods a bit clunky.
The world is fascinating, and so much of it feels like an homage to the ancestors of the sci-fi and fantasy genre. And this may be in part because Samuel Roukin narrated this and Elric, but I definitely had some Elric vibes. Some of the social commentary made me feel like I was in a different area of space in the Dune universe.
Some of the characters felt a little flat, but I think that can also be chalked up to it being the first book in a series. I'll be honest, I thought I'd hate Hadrian. I love a sad/moody/broody lead, but there is always a fine line to walk there between a good character and an annoying character. I feel like Hadrian was, similar to the likes of Paul and Elric, intentionally toeing the line. And I ended up enjoying his character more (but not much more) in the second half of the book. There are still some moral confusions I have, but we'll see how things play out.
I feel like this series is going to continue to keep me hooked, by what I've seen and heard from others. And I want to give the other books room to shine, so a 3.75* for the first of the Sun Eater Series.
The world is fascinating, and so much of it feels like an homage to the ancestors of the sci-fi and fantasy genre. And this may be in part because Samuel Roukin narrated this and Elric, but I definitely had some Elric vibes. Some of the social commentary made me feel like I was in a different area of space in the Dune universe.
Some of the characters felt a little flat, but I think that can also be chalked up to it being the first book in a series. I'll be honest, I thought I'd hate Hadrian. I love a sad/moody/broody lead, but there is always a fine line to walk there between a good character and an annoying character. I feel like Hadrian was, similar to the likes of Paul and Elric, intentionally toeing the line. And I ended up enjoying his character more (but not much more) in the second half of the book. There are still some moral confusions I have, but we'll see how things play out.
I feel like this series is going to continue to keep me hooked, by what I've seen and heard from others. And I want to give the other books room to shine, so a 3.75* for the first of the Sun Eater Series.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-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:
No
I didn't think I was going to enjoy this book as much as I did. It took a while to get used to the narration, and it's only really at I started to like/feel for the narrator that I started to appreciate this book.
Story telling - our narrator is well educated and from the upper echelons of society, so I struggled to find anything in common or anything I could understand in their story until about 30% of the way through, when a story line completely changes the way I had viewed our main character.
Character - as mentioned, it takes a while to start to like Marlowe. However, there are plenty of characters who are easier to like much quicker. There are a lot of characters to keep up with in the book, but I really appreciate that type of world building.
All our main and secondary characters feel real and believable.
World building - the best thing. There is so much going on, it's hard to keep up. Religion, politics, aliens, tech. I can't wait to read more, as I can tell this author has a lot more of the world to share.
Story telling - our narrator is well educated and from the upper echelons of society, so I struggled to find anything in common or anything I could understand in their story until about 30% of the way through, when a story line completely changes the way I had viewed our main character.
Character - as mentioned, it takes a while to start to like Marlowe. However, there are plenty of characters who are easier to like much quicker. There are a lot of characters to keep up with in the book, but I really appreciate that type of world building.
All our main and secondary characters feel real and believable.
World building - the best thing. There is so much going on, it's hard to keep up. Religion, politics, aliens, tech. I can't wait to read more, as I can tell this author has a lot more of the world to share.
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes