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4.26 AVERAGE
4.26 AVERAGE
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I do wish some of the characters’ deaths were a bit more fleshed out, so many just felt so quickly brushed off, but otherwise a fantastic book.
adventurous
emotional
tense
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
I’m finally released from the claws of this book! It took me over five months to read this. You’d think after taking several breaks, I’d have thrown in the towel. But I kept coming back, thanks to the pesky sunk-cost fallacy. And I ask myself… was it worth it in the end? Frankly, there’s nothing bad in this book. Some parts were very good and riveting. Other parts were mild or boring. Nothing poorly written. But never anything *great*. It’s all just… very okay.
Out of a diverse cast of POV characters, the only one I remotely cared about was Ead. The book put forth most of its effort to her, but even when her stuff was good, it could still be so stilted. And if Ead’s story is stilted, then the rest are just dry and dull, save for some choice parts of Niclays Roos and his chaotic character arc. I just could never sink into a character’s head, understand their motivations, their way of thinking. I could probably find more to say about their occupations rather than their personalities. After time, they became so lifeless to me and never escaped their generic fantasy tropes. Is this really a feminist book because there’s female characters in power? Because all these women have the same boring, dutiful “personalities” regardless of their origin, race, religion, or circumstances. It’s a shame; I see a lot of praise for this book for its female characters, but if all of that is wooden and penciled in, then it’s pointless. You’ve wasted my time.
Regarding the queer rep, it was honestly a big letdown. Ead’s romance with Sabran is fleeting, tame and boring. When something is marketed as a sapphic romance, I expect some sapphic themes in the book; not just the literal presence of sapphic characters in a queernorm world. Because then you’re on the edge of pandering to me. There’s barely any understanding to me of why Ead and Sabran were drawn to one another other than their forced proximity. Where’s the chemistry? The intimate scenes? The acts of love? They have few true conversations before they become physical, and that’s after a harrowing event for Sabran. Some of these lofty expectations are my fault, hoping for an intense romance to blow me away. But everything is so detached even in moments that should clearly be an emotional peak.
In fact, so much of this book is severely hampered by this widespread restraint. The characters rarely emote, hardly ever reflect, and if they do, it’s in this very sober, disciplined sort of way I found myself grasping to relate to. Even the way Shannon describes the world is reserved. I could not tell you what a single city or country in this book looks like; the locations lack detail and richness, and it’s super evident because we are constantly traveling and hopping between supposedly diverse cultures and parts of the world. Even character descriptions are withheld until far late in the book at times. The scenes as I read them in my head never progressed from rough sketches to finished pieces. And yet if the book had any sort of upfront descriptions, it would probably be 1000+ pages long.
Sadly, overall, this was a joyless read. When it comes to my own personal reading experience, I much prefer books that prioritize character over plot; I can excuse a lot when character shines. However, I found this book to be far too enmeshed in a rather bland world with uninteresting characters and generic good vs evil story. I’d almost prefer the book had been outright terrible, because then I would not have kept hanging on, hoping for it to improve or be anything but what it was. I’m not sure if I used my time wisely here, but at least I know Shannon’s style, while structurally sound I suppose, is ultimately not for me.
Out of a diverse cast of POV characters, the only one I remotely cared about was Ead. The book put forth most of its effort to her, but even when her stuff was good, it could still be so stilted. And if Ead’s story is stilted, then the rest are just dry and dull, save for some choice parts of Niclays Roos and his chaotic character arc. I just could never sink into a character’s head, understand their motivations, their way of thinking. I could probably find more to say about their occupations rather than their personalities. After time, they became so lifeless to me and never escaped their generic fantasy tropes. Is this really a feminist book because there’s female characters in power? Because all these women have the same boring, dutiful “personalities” regardless of their origin, race, religion, or circumstances. It’s a shame; I see a lot of praise for this book for its female characters, but if all of that is wooden and penciled in, then it’s pointless. You’ve wasted my time.
Regarding the queer rep, it was honestly a big letdown. Ead’s romance with Sabran is fleeting, tame and boring. When something is marketed as a sapphic romance, I expect some sapphic themes in the book; not just the literal presence of sapphic characters in a queernorm world. Because then you’re on the edge of pandering to me. There’s barely any understanding to me of why Ead and Sabran were drawn to one another other than their forced proximity. Where’s the chemistry? The intimate scenes? The acts of love? They have few true conversations before they become physical, and that’s after a harrowing event for Sabran. Some of these lofty expectations are my fault, hoping for an intense romance to blow me away. But everything is so detached even in moments that should clearly be an emotional peak.
In fact, so much of this book is severely hampered by this widespread restraint. The characters rarely emote, hardly ever reflect, and if they do, it’s in this very sober, disciplined sort of way I found myself grasping to relate to. Even the way Shannon describes the world is reserved. I could not tell you what a single city or country in this book looks like; the locations lack detail and richness, and it’s super evident because we are constantly traveling and hopping between supposedly diverse cultures and parts of the world. Even character descriptions are withheld until far late in the book at times. The scenes as I read them in my head never progressed from rough sketches to finished pieces. And yet if the book had any sort of upfront descriptions, it would probably be 1000+ pages long.
Sadly, overall, this was a joyless read. When it comes to my own personal reading experience, I much prefer books that prioritize character over plot; I can excuse a lot when character shines. However, I found this book to be far too enmeshed in a rather bland world with uninteresting characters and generic good vs evil story. I’d almost prefer the book had been outright terrible, because then I would not have kept hanging on, hoping for it to improve or be anything but what it was. I’m not sure if I used my time wisely here, but at least I know Shannon’s style, while structurally sound I suppose, is ultimately not for me.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
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:
Yes
Vraiment bien mais parfois trop de facilité prise. Du style: oh un bateau quand on en a besoin!
Le démarrage est long mais le world building et les persos sont bien construits. J’etais pas trop perdue mais je pense que certains combats ou certaines morts mériteraient plus de longueur/details.
Le démarrage est long mais le world building et les persos sont bien construits. J’etais pas trop perdue mais je pense que certains combats ou certaines morts mériteraient plus de longueur/details.
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
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:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
fast-paced
⭐⭐⭐⭐, 5 / 5
Il n'y a pas à dire, quand Samantha Shannon crée un univers elle ne le fait pas à moitié.
Un continent avec une dizaine de pays différents ayant tous leur propre culture, religion, système politique et langue – tout ça basé sur une histoire dont les fondements ont plus de 1000 ans : on est sur une masterclass de world building.
C'est un des seuls livres où, quand je le lisais, j'avais conscience de ce fait et donc je me prenais claque sur claque au fur et à mesure du développement historique et légendaire.
Alors après, le roman n'est pas parfait. Quand on regarde dans la globalité, il a quelques longueurs et un rythme d'ensemble assez lent. J'ai trouvé que la fin était aussi très vite expédiée. Mais, parce que j'ai énormément aimé la création du monde et que j'étais super curieuse d'en connaître plus, ce n'est pas quelque chose qui m'a trop dérangé.
Au niveau des POV, on suit 4 personnages aux 4 coins du monde. Mais je dois avouer qu'ils n'étaient pas égaux dans mon coeur. Ead a survolé tous les autres, son point de vue était incroyable et j'avais toujours hâte de retourner à ses chapitres. J'ai appris à aimer Loth à mesure que j'avançais dans l'histoire. Tané ne m'a pas touché plus que ça mais elle ne me dérangeait pas. Et j'ai malheureusement trouvé Niclays assez antipathique, même si j'avais conscience que le savoir que ses chapitres apportaient étaient essentiels à l'intrigue.
D'ailleurs tant on y est, une autre grande force de l'autrice ce sont ses personnages. Entre intrigues politiques, complots et j'en passe sur plus de 1000 ans, il faut réussir à trouver un juste milieu entre trop de personnages qui font que l'on ne s'attache pas et trop peu qui font que l'histoire semble creuse. Ici, j'ai trouvé que l'entre deux était maîtrisé ! Trois ont su trouver un place particulière dans mon coeur : Ead, Sabran et Margret ♥️ Et d'y côté des "figures mystiques", Cleolind est celle qui m'intrigue le plus !
Enfin bref, on n'est pas sur un coup de coeur, mais peu importe. Parce que ce que Samantha Shannon vient de faire, c'est me rappeler pourquoi j'aime autant lire de la fantasy. On se plonge corps et âme dans un monde nouveau qui ne demande qu'à être exploré– et quand il est aussi riche que celui-là, on s'y perd volontiers pendant des heures et des heures.
Il n'y a pas à dire, quand Samantha Shannon crée un univers elle ne le fait pas à moitié.
Un continent avec une dizaine de pays différents ayant tous leur propre culture, religion, système politique et langue – tout ça basé sur une histoire dont les fondements ont plus de 1000 ans : on est sur une masterclass de world building.
C'est un des seuls livres où, quand je le lisais, j'avais conscience de ce fait et donc je me prenais claque sur claque au fur et à mesure du développement historique et légendaire.
Alors après, le roman n'est pas parfait. Quand on regarde dans la globalité, il a quelques longueurs et un rythme d'ensemble assez lent. J'ai trouvé que la fin était aussi très vite expédiée. Mais, parce que j'ai énormément aimé la création du monde et que j'étais super curieuse d'en connaître plus, ce n'est pas quelque chose qui m'a trop dérangé.
Au niveau des POV, on suit 4 personnages aux 4 coins du monde. Mais je dois avouer qu'ils n'étaient pas égaux dans mon coeur. Ead a survolé tous les autres, son point de vue était incroyable et j'avais toujours hâte de retourner à ses chapitres. J'ai appris à aimer Loth à mesure que j'avançais dans l'histoire. Tané ne m'a pas touché plus que ça mais elle ne me dérangeait pas. Et j'ai malheureusement trouvé Niclays assez antipathique, même si j'avais conscience que le savoir que ses chapitres apportaient étaient essentiels à l'intrigue.
D'ailleurs tant on y est, une autre grande force de l'autrice ce sont ses personnages. Entre intrigues politiques, complots et j'en passe sur plus de 1000 ans, il faut réussir à trouver un juste milieu entre trop de personnages qui font que l'on ne s'attache pas et trop peu qui font que l'histoire semble creuse. Ici, j'ai trouvé que l'entre deux était maîtrisé ! Trois ont su trouver un place particulière dans mon coeur : Ead, Sabran et Margret ♥️ Et d'y côté des "figures mystiques", Cleolind est celle qui m'intrigue le plus !
Enfin bref, on n'est pas sur un coup de coeur, mais peu importe. Parce que ce que Samantha Shannon vient de faire, c'est me rappeler pourquoi j'aime autant lire de la fantasy. On se plonge corps et âme dans un monde nouveau qui ne demande qu'à être exploré– et quand il est aussi riche que celui-là, on s'y perd volontiers pendant des heures et des heures.