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vanessa_vee's review against another edition
2.0
I was walking up and down my public library dying for a fantasy. I just came off another fantasy series so I might have been hung over from it still. This book looked interesting but I found it very difficult to get into it. I gave it ten chapters and noticed I was skimming through the last chapter I read. I just couldn’t do it. Maybe in another timeline I’ll try again. Sigh
bryne's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
4.0
sschwarzentraub's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
5.0
cupiscent's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
I am so perplexed about this one.
There's so much in the first two thirds that I really enjoyed. The settings are somewhat generic - a religious order / school for warriors (/rogues), and then a somewhat Middle-Eastern royal court - but they come alive in Carey's rich and sensitive detail, and through the exploration centred very firmly in our first-person narrator. Slowly, a wider and more unusual world opens up, one with a unique deity and magic arrangement, which lives richly in our characters.
And then in the final third, weget on a boat, meet a dozen new characters, and hop from new setting to new setting, solving simple problems with obviously provided answers, chasing the prophecy quest.
Wait, what? It kinda gave me whiplash, the speed at which I went from trundling happily along through the prose, to dragging my heels and skimming over passages. It reads like nothing so much as a roleplaying campaign, preceded by the really long and intricate backstory that the player thought up for their character. We lost Khai completely in the barrage of other characters, and everything became simply told in the happening. There was absolutely no tension about events, because of course, having come this far with Khai, she wasn't going to fail. And there was no tension about what it would cost her, because we barely met all the rest of this bunch five minutes ago. (Honestly, given the glimpses of the stories of the other prophecy-seeker characters, I feel like this book may have arisen from "Can I tell a compelling story about the least interesting one of the bunch?" Don't get me wrong, Khai's story was delightful, but the other characters all had even more fascinating meat on their bones.)
And thus my perplexity. The parts of this book just don't feel like they go together, in a very "if you wanted to go there, why did you start from here?" sort of way. I wasn't just less compelled by the final third, I actively hated it. If I hadn't already invested 400 pages of reading, I would have set the book aside. But how many readers who'd love that final quest-chase third never get there because they can't drag themselves through the first two thirds? So many decisions that went into this book are baffling to me.
Anyway, four stars for the first chunk, two stars for the last chunk, endless hand-waving all up.
There's so much in the first two thirds that I really enjoyed. The settings are somewhat generic - a religious order / school for warriors (/rogues), and then a somewhat Middle-Eastern royal court - but they come alive in Carey's rich and sensitive detail, and through the exploration centred very firmly in our first-person narrator. Slowly, a wider and more unusual world opens up, one with a unique deity and magic arrangement, which lives richly in our characters.
And then in the final third, we
Wait, what? It kinda gave me whiplash, the speed at which I went from trundling happily along through the prose, to dragging my heels and skimming over passages. It reads like nothing so much as a roleplaying campaign, preceded by the really long and intricate backstory that the player thought up for their character. We lost Khai completely in the barrage of other characters, and everything became simply told in the happening. There was absolutely no tension about events, because of course, having come this far with Khai, she wasn't going to fail. And there was no tension about what it would cost her, because we barely met all the rest of this bunch five minutes ago. (Honestly, given the glimpses of the stories of the other prophecy-seeker characters, I feel like this book may have arisen from "Can I tell a compelling story about the least interesting one of the bunch?" Don't get me wrong, Khai's story was delightful, but the other characters all had even more fascinating meat on their bones.)
And thus my perplexity. The parts of this book just don't feel like they go together, in a very "if you wanted to go there, why did you start from here?" sort of way. I wasn't just less compelled by the final third, I actively hated it. If I hadn't already invested 400 pages of reading, I would have set the book aside. But how many readers who'd love that final quest-chase third never get there because they can't drag themselves through the first two thirds? So many decisions that went into this book are baffling to me.
Anyway, four stars for the first chunk, two stars for the last chunk, endless hand-waving all up.
ladylizardxvii's review against another edition
4.0
This book delighted and surprised me. Although it was a pretty standard fantasy tale, elements of the world and the struggles of the characters seemed fresh and interesting. I think fantasy is a wonderful place to explore gender identity, and I love that I'm seeing that more and more nowadays. Seeing the world through Khai's eyes was a brilliant way to do that for Starless. I would recommend this to fantasy lovers everywhere!
annettewolf's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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? No
4.0
The first half of the book, while the protagonist is growing up and being trained, is easily 5 stars. I loved it. There was so much heart, and the protagonist is so earnest that I couldn't help but love them.
The second half was...less good for me, even though the pacing picked up and there was a lot more happening. The insta-twin-souls-you-complete-me aspect was...frankly, not my thing. I also felt really intrigued by a certain suitor, and then when the plot took a huge left turn I was feeling frustrated at not getting the story that could have happened.
All of that is pretty unusual for me, for a Jacqueline Carey novel. Kushiel's legacy and the Naamah trilogy are some of my most-revisited books ever. Her writing is gorgeous no matter what, so it still felt lovely to be immersed in one of her worlds. I love how well she weaves the gods into the mythology, and even just the way she has them exist on the mortal plane in this one.
Overall this felt like two different books, and the first half I was completely in love with, and the second half probably rated 3 stars for me.
The second half was...less good for me, even though the pacing picked up and there was a lot more happening. The insta-twin-souls-you-complete-me aspect was...frankly, not my thing. I also felt really intrigued by a certain suitor, and then when the plot took a huge left turn I was feeling frustrated at not getting the story that could have happened.
All of that is pretty unusual for me, for a Jacqueline Carey novel. Kushiel's legacy and the Naamah trilogy are some of my most-revisited books ever. Her writing is gorgeous no matter what, so it still felt lovely to be immersed in one of her worlds. I love how well she weaves the gods into the mythology, and even just the way she has them exist on the mortal plane in this one.
Overall this felt like two different books, and the first half I was completely in love with, and the second half probably rated 3 stars for me.
s_laurr's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
takeaways:
• stand-alone
• high fantasy
• plot heavy — slooowburn w/ epic end
• queer romantic subplot, no spice
• found family
• glad I read it but would not likely read again
• would be a solid dnd campaign
things I loved:
• strong, diverse supporting characters
• heroes had supernatural abilities but they weren’t OP & it was interesting to see how they approached disability & language barriers
• masterful imagery, high stakes adventure, EPIC battles — they would make for insane, anime fight sequences.
• expansive world-building — I really felt like I was taken all over a map & experienced different species/cultures
• living, involved gods + lush, Ghibli-esque environments
things I didn’t love:
• the protagonist — he was so* stalwart & lawful good that I found him emotionally limited & unrelatable. Significant time was spent on his upbringing & it wasn’t enough for me to connect. The only thing I actively liked about him was his exploration of gender identity.
• pace — I simultaneously wish this book had been shorter & longer. I almost DNF’d it bc of how slow the first half was but I’m glad I saw it through bc the back half was craaazy & I wanted more.
infinite_tbr's review against another edition
4.0
This book took me nearly 200 pages before I really got into it, but once it caught me, I couldn’t put it down. The slow start is mostly due to a lengthy section of training told from a child’s perspective. It also wasn’t the start I expected based on my minimal knowledge of Jacqueline Carey’s works. I expected something with strong female characters and an epic story. I did eventually get both, but it took a while. There’s also a lot of lore dumped at the start…
However, after the slow start, the story really gets going. Khai was chosen by the God Pakhrun to serve as the Shadow to Zariya, Princess of the House of the Ageless (a family that eats magic seeds to avoid aging). Khai spends their childhood training to become a deadly warrior and bodyguard. When Zariya and Khai finally meet, the story really gets going. Evil is rising, the Ageless are running out of seeds, and the House of the Ageless is full of vicious family members all trying to get the upper hand.
There were several things I really liked about this book. First, it turned out to be wonderfully diverse despite me spending a good quarter of the book fearing it was another boy-hero fantasy novel. Instead, we’ve got heroes that are nonbinary, physically disabled, LGBT, and POC. The fact that the gods literally walk around interacting with their faithful but are not human in aspect or understanding made it truly fascinating to read the interactions. The lore about them being cast from their places as stars in the heavens because they rebelled against their father the sun was fascinating. And I liked that the big bad guy, Miasmus, was somewhat redeemed through the heroes actions. The ensuing battle between good and evil based on prophecy was great. And the landscapes Khai and Zariya visited were excellent.
It did feel like the ending was a bit rushed after the dragging start. I could have used a lot more of the Prophecy Hunters and their stories and a bit less of Khai training… I do like that the prophecy didn’t refer to just one person. I also liked that we didn’t spend the entire story on one island but instead got to see a ton of the world and other gods, not just the twins. Overall, I really enjoyed this book although the pacing was a bit off.
However, after the slow start, the story really gets going. Khai was chosen by the God Pakhrun to serve as the Shadow to Zariya, Princess of the House of the Ageless (a family that eats magic seeds to avoid aging). Khai spends their childhood training to become a deadly warrior and bodyguard. When Zariya and Khai finally meet, the story really gets going. Evil is rising, the Ageless are running out of seeds, and the House of the Ageless is full of vicious family members all trying to get the upper hand.
There were several things I really liked about this book. First, it turned out to be wonderfully diverse despite me spending a good quarter of the book fearing it was another boy-hero fantasy novel. Instead, we’ve got heroes that are nonbinary, physically disabled, LGBT, and POC. The fact that the gods literally walk around interacting with their faithful but are not human in aspect or understanding made it truly fascinating to read the interactions. The lore about them being cast from their places as stars in the heavens because they rebelled against their father the sun was fascinating. And I liked that the big bad guy, Miasmus, was somewhat redeemed through the heroes actions. The ensuing battle between good and evil based on prophecy was great. And the landscapes Khai and Zariya visited were excellent.
It did feel like the ending was a bit rushed after the dragging start. I could have used a lot more of the Prophecy Hunters and their stories and a bit less of Khai training… I do like that the prophecy didn’t refer to just one person. I also liked that we didn’t spend the entire story on one island but instead got to see a ton of the world and other gods, not just the twins. Overall, I really enjoyed this book although the pacing was a bit off.
jei_reads_sometimes's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Classism, Death, Dysphoria, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Body horror, War, and Grief