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therealbel's review against another edition
4.0
This really grew on me as I got farther through it. I wondered at the beginning if I’d made a mistake by starting this but actually, as complicated as the story got and as large as the cast of characters got, I found myself liking it more and more. It was fun, the writing chatty (not my usual favorite but it worked here) and the pace fast enough to keep me engaged.
frogggirl2's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
NOTE: This author was accused of sexual misconduct in the workplace, which he apologized for, then removed his apology from the internet. I own two copies of this book purchased before this was announced publicly, so I am choosing to read this. I add this note in case someone else decides that they do not want to read from this author, which I respect. What follows is a review of the book, not the author's conduct.
The magic is cool. The monsters are cool. The world building is continuous and integrated into the story - it is not dumped in tedious, unrelated chunks. It's easy to get into this book, which is not always the case with fantasies.
I've really grown to hate this unoriginal, distracting, unnecessary habit in fantasy of using an interrogation as a narrative frame.
"Had I known I was about to ruin his life, I probably would have felt bad right about then," (p. 66). I hate this kind of hokey, faux-cliff hanger chapter endings that keep happening throughout the book.
I don't know enough about the characters to care about the many long fight scenes. If you hide so much of the character's background, I can't invest in the character or the situation. No side character is ever fleshed out in a meaningful way.
There's a lot of redundancy around her relationship, her self-hatred, hiding who she is, and her relationship to the enemies of the book. It feels slow and it feels repetitive. This book is in desperate need of editing. If I wasn't so disconnected by the lack of information and annoyed by the repetiousness, I could have enjoyed this romantic relationship and felt more compassion for the main character throughout.
The magic is cool. The monsters are cool. The world building is continuous and integrated into the story - it is not dumped in tedious, unrelated chunks. It's easy to get into this book, which is not always the case with fantasies.
I've really grown to hate this unoriginal, distracting, unnecessary habit in fantasy of using an interrogation as a narrative frame.
"Had I known I was about to ruin his life, I probably would have felt bad right about then," (p. 66). I hate this kind of hokey, faux-cliff hanger chapter endings that keep happening throughout the book.
I don't know enough about the characters to care about the many long fight scenes. If you hide so much of the character's background, I can't invest in the character or the situation. No side character is ever fleshed out in a meaningful way.
There's a lot of redundancy around her relationship, her self-hatred, hiding who she is, and her relationship to the enemies of the book. It feels slow and it feels repetitive. This book is in desperate need of editing. If I wasn't so disconnected by the lack of information and annoyed by the repetiousness, I could have enjoyed this romantic relationship and felt more compassion for the main character throughout.
aranafyre's review against another edition
4.0
If this book had been shorter I would have given it a 5. I really like Sal and her personality. She’s obnoxious and strong and broken and crass and incidentally good. Her voice and story are wonderful. Though I quickly realized here is another strong woman on a vengeance quest. Why must strong women only be seeking revenge for crimes they have suffered.
I loved the frame of telling her story as a confession before she is to be executed. Unreliable narrators are definitely in one of my wheel houses. I also loved the twist at the end. It was great.
I got tired in the middle though. Her reliving her trauma became tedious. There was also a lot of oh no Sal is super injured oh wait she can fight again yay let’s fight more and here’s another battle but wait... it just felt too long. The twist at the end kind of explained why she was telling a long drawn out story but it was annoyed as I read it. Especially the two fights with Greta the Thorn.
I also really like Liette and Calvirc. Liette was a very interesting character. I loved seeing Calvric’s development too. Ironically I think a bit more time could have been spent on that.
I loved the frame of telling her story as a confession before she is to be executed. Unreliable narrators are definitely in one of my wheel houses. I also loved the twist at the end. It was great.
I got tired in the middle though. Her reliving her trauma became tedious. There was also a lot of oh no Sal is super injured oh wait she can fight again yay let’s fight more and here’s another battle but wait... it just felt too long. The twist at the end kind of explained why she was telling a long drawn out story but it was annoyed as I read it. Especially the two fights with Greta the Thorn.
I also really like Liette and Calvirc. Liette was a very interesting character. I loved seeing Calvric’s development too. Ironically I think a bit more time could have been spent on that.
chthonicgod's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.25
labunnywtf's review against another edition
5.0
I agree with Felicia Day, this is Anne Frank for the modern age. Or, as I put it, Anne Frank for the technology age. Definitely not near as extreme, though. No nazis.
I really, really enjoyed this story. I read the (non-spoilery) negative reviews before I started it, and while I can understand the complaints, I didn't have the same problems. Yes, she was petulant and childish at times, but she's also 16 years old. I think she handled things extremely well for a 16-year old. I don't think my mother and I would've made it through this same situation without murdering each other, and my sister.
A very strange thing happens when you listen to this audiobook in your car. You start feeling like this is ACTUALLY HAPPENING. It didn't help that a) the moon was extremely bright and full for most of it, and b) the weather was horrendous. Torrential rain and winds, and freezing cold. Seriously, I went grocery shopping and felt like I needed to buy as much as I could because it could run out. It was extremely disconcerting.
I have already put book 2 on hold. I really, really enjoyed the storyline, and rooted for all of the characters. Even Megan. I got nervous with the Megan part, because I was worried this was going to go the religious route, but I think that part was handled well. It showed how everyone reacted to this major disaster.
Falon (10-year old niece) was in the car with me, and we were going on a drive that would take an hour each way. I've never listened to an audiobook with her in the car before, so I told her to bring her Nintendo DS and I would listen to my book. She ended up paying attention, and really got into the story. She would not, however, agree to read the hard book if I got it for her to continue the story. Brat.
She couldn't understand my HORROR at what happened to Sammy. I had to explain that she was SIXTEEN. That was...oh, god.
And while I knew not everyone could survive, my jaw dropped when they told us Peter died. The poor mom.
The ending was a little too convenient. I was hoping for a "So if you find this diary, know that we survived, and we blah blah blah" ending, that the diary was found posthumously. But I can live with it. I'm glad they made it.
I really, really enjoyed this story. I read the (non-spoilery) negative reviews before I started it, and while I can understand the complaints, I didn't have the same problems. Yes, she was petulant and childish at times, but she's also 16 years old. I think she handled things extremely well for a 16-year old. I don't think my mother and I would've made it through this same situation without murdering each other, and my sister.
A very strange thing happens when you listen to this audiobook in your car. You start feeling like this is ACTUALLY HAPPENING. It didn't help that a) the moon was extremely bright and full for most of it, and b) the weather was horrendous. Torrential rain and winds, and freezing cold. Seriously, I went grocery shopping and felt like I needed to buy as much as I could because it could run out. It was extremely disconcerting.
I have already put book 2 on hold. I really, really enjoyed the storyline, and rooted for all of the characters. Even Megan. I got nervous with the Megan part, because I was worried this was going to go the religious route, but I think that part was handled well. It showed how everyone reacted to this major disaster.
Falon (10-year old niece) was in the car with me, and we were going on a drive that would take an hour each way. I've never listened to an audiobook with her in the car before, so I told her to bring her Nintendo DS and I would listen to my book. She ended up paying attention, and really got into the story. She would not, however, agree to read the hard book if I got it for her to continue the story. Brat.
She couldn't understand my HORROR at what happened to Sammy. I had to explain that she was SIXTEEN. That was...oh, god.
And while I knew not everyone could survive, my jaw dropped when they told us Peter died. The poor mom.
The ending was a little too convenient. I was hoping for a "So if you find this diary, know that we survived, and we blah blah blah" ending, that the diary was found posthumously. But I can live with it. I'm glad they made it.
geekwayne's review against another edition
3.0
'Seven Blades in Black' by Sam Sykes is the first novel in a new trilogy. It's about a snarky killer and her sentient gun.
Sal the Cacophony is a pretty unpleasant character. She is scarred, a reputed killer, leaves a wake of trouble in her wake, and has a serious grudge. It's a wonder she has any friends, and she kind of doesn't, but her lover Liette does her best to help, and Cavric, the soldier she kidnapped, tries somewhat helplessly. Sal is out to kill the ones that betrayed her, but it just may kill her.
I liked this story of revenge, but I got to a point in the book, and there wasn't a lot of character development. It was a lot of new monsters to fight, and new characters that Sal had ticked off in her life. The final third comes together, but I really feel like this book was about 200 pages too long. The writing is good and I would definitely read more by this author.
I received a review copy of this ebook from Orbit Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
Sal the Cacophony is a pretty unpleasant character. She is scarred, a reputed killer, leaves a wake of trouble in her wake, and has a serious grudge. It's a wonder she has any friends, and she kind of doesn't, but her lover Liette does her best to help, and Cavric, the soldier she kidnapped, tries somewhat helplessly. Sal is out to kill the ones that betrayed her, but it just may kill her.
I liked this story of revenge, but I got to a point in the book, and there wasn't a lot of character development. It was a lot of new monsters to fight, and new characters that Sal had ticked off in her life. The final third comes together, but I really feel like this book was about 200 pages too long. The writing is good and I would definitely read more by this author.
I received a review copy of this ebook from Orbit Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
caitgriff's review against another edition
3.0
Buried the lede WAY too deep in the book. I loved the last quarter of the book, but it was a bit much to spend 450 pages not knowing what kind of mage Sal was or why she hated that list of 7 people. There really weren't any hints or the beginning threads of a story on which the reader could pull. I could see the book losing a lot of people that way, and had I not had a long weekend off to take this book in quickly, it might have lost me too. It's basically a prequel, but the reader doesn't have the requisite knowledge of what's to come that enables so many prequels-written-after-the-originals to succeed.
I will be reading the sequel, if only because I finally feel like the story has started!
I will be reading the sequel, if only because I finally feel like the story has started!
sandyfleener's review against another edition
3.0
I had trouble getting into this story.
I just couldn't get interested in this book. I tried skimming through it but had to force myself to read as much as I did.
I just couldn't get interested in this book. I tried skimming through it but had to force myself to read as much as I did.
angelic712's review against another edition
4.0
I don’t think I have read a book where a weapon is a character before. I kinda liked it.