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skycrane's review
5.0
Some good solid grimdark fantasy. The main characters are either deeply deluded or deeply cynical. Eudokia holds the rest of her species in the utmost contempt, Calla is such a fine slave that she doesn't even see the shackles, Thistle is bereft of purpose or dignity, and Bas has made himself completely numb after a lifetime of slaughter. That's not all they are, of course, but that forms the core of the story. Mostly unlikable people who are nevertheless compelling.
brettmichaelorr's review against another edition
DNF: Despite an interesting premise, this was just too slow for my liking. A ponderous pace that didn't really inspire me to keep reading, which is disappointing as I'd wanted to read this book for quite a long time.
adru's review
Eh jah. Võimalik, et see on hästi kirjutatud: yks suur lugu neljast eri loost koos (militaarvärk, intriigipoliitika, jumalused õukonna keskel, tänavapoisid mässajateks), aga iga neist on juba kusagilt tuttav ja varem loetud ja ykski tegelane suurt ei huvita ja huvi oli yldse väga raske ylal hoida. Sel on teine osa veel, millel ma jõudsin poole peale - algul arvasin, et varsti loen edasi, aga ei.
joeri81's review against another edition
3.0
Daniel Polansky is the writer of the Low Town series, a series which I haven't read myself but that gets sme praise on the internet. With The Empty Throne he makes a first attempt at epic fantasy. It's not that the end result is bad, but it isn't great either.
The main strength in the book is the world building for me. Polansky brings something new with this book, or at least something I haven't read before. The world exist of the ordinary people on the one hand, and the Eternal on the other. The Eternal act like Godlike creature, they live on the uppur level of the Roost, a huge town build atop a huge mountain that is devided in five levels with the lowest rung containing the poorest people. Among them there is Thistle, a boy in search of a purpose in life. Among the Eternal themself we follow Calla, she is one of the servants of the Aubade, one of the Eternal. Next to them we have two Aelerian representatives; Eudokia, the central figure in the Commonwealth,widowed after the last war with the Eternal, and Bas, a General in the Aelerian army, the only one ever to have killen an Eternal.
Polansky brings all this with very good writing, another important plus.
Unfortunately there are also some negatives. The story still has an interesting start but it slows down enormously. It takes a lot of time before we get some direction where Polansky is going with his story. Once things fall in place we still don't get much excitement; a lot of the story concists of politicking by Eudokia. Nothing wrong with this, even an interesting aspect in fantasy, but here Eudokia is just to perfect in everything with barely any opposition. And when there finaly is some, it is easy dealt with.
This finally brings you to the ending. Rather abrupt and without a propor finish to the book. It really makes you wonder why it was necessary to split this series up in two when it would have been better brought in one book. It's perfectly possible as even then it would only be less than 800 pages. I can only come up with one reason: money!
Conclusion:
Interesting wold building and the story does have potential, I Just don’t think Polansky got everything out of it what he wanted. He didn’t really find the righy balance in his story. On top of this the story is split in two at a moment when it would have become more interesting. A standalone would have been the better choice (from my viewpoint before having read the second
Book)
The main strength in the book is the world building for me. Polansky brings something new with this book, or at least something I haven't read before. The world exist of the ordinary people on the one hand, and the Eternal on the other. The Eternal act like Godlike creature, they live on the uppur level of the Roost, a huge town build atop a huge mountain that is devided in five levels with the lowest rung containing the poorest people. Among them there is Thistle, a boy in search of a purpose in life. Among the Eternal themself we follow Calla, she is one of the servants of the Aubade, one of the Eternal. Next to them we have two Aelerian representatives; Eudokia, the central figure in the Commonwealth,widowed after the last war with the Eternal, and Bas, a General in the Aelerian army, the only one ever to have killen an Eternal.
Polansky brings all this with very good writing, another important plus.
Unfortunately there are also some negatives. The story still has an interesting start but it slows down enormously. It takes a lot of time before we get some direction where Polansky is going with his story. Once things fall in place we still don't get much excitement; a lot of the story concists of politicking by Eudokia. Nothing wrong with this, even an interesting aspect in fantasy, but here Eudokia is just to perfect in everything with barely any opposition. And when there finaly is some, it is easy dealt with.
This finally brings you to the ending. Rather abrupt and without a propor finish to the book. It really makes you wonder why it was necessary to split this series up in two when it would have been better brought in one book. It's perfectly possible as even then it would only be less than 800 pages. I can only come up with one reason: money!
Conclusion:
Interesting wold building and the story does have potential, I Just don’t think Polansky got everything out of it what he wanted. He didn’t really find the righy balance in his story. On top of this the story is split in two at a moment when it would have become more interesting. A standalone would have been the better choice (from my viewpoint before having read the second
Book)
lauregul's review
3.0
Die „Anderen“, eine humanoide Rasse, die den Menschen körperlich, geistig und technologisch überlegen ist, beherrscht die Menschheit. Vor langer Zeit legten sie gemeinsam mit den Ahnen der Menschheit fest, dass sie über Menschheit herrschen und diese schützen würden. Doch mittlerweile schotten sich die „Anderen“ stark von den Menschen ab. Sie leben auf der obersten Stufe der Hauptstadt und bekommen nichts mehr vom allgemeinen Pöbel mit. Einige Menschen beginnen nun, sich gegen sie aufzulehnen.
An sich ist das Buch auch gut geschrieben, die Geschichte bleibt stets interessant und es kommen keine längeren Phasen auf, die einen langweilen. Besonders positiv hervorzuheben hinsichtlich des Schreibstils ist, dass jeder Charakter seine eigene Stimme hat. Je nach Charakterändert sich die Wortwahl, wenn die Geschichte aus deren Standpunkt erzählt werden. Ebenso auch bei der direkten Rede der einzelnen Personen.
Leider haben mir von den Hauptcharakteren nur etwa die Hälfte gefallen. Thistle und Call empfand ich als Charaktere uninteressant, wobei in der POV von Calla wenigstens viel über die „Anderen“ erzählt wurden. Schöner wäre es allerdings gewesen, wenn es auch POV-Erzählungen von direkt von den „Anderen“ gegeben hätte.
Das Worldbuilding ist solide bis gut, besonders die Kultur und Geschichte der „Anderen“ ist sehr interessant. Die „Anderen“ waren insgesamt das Interessanteste der ganzen Geschichte. Leider erfährt über diese nur mäßig viel, was zum großen Teil sicherlich daran liegt, dass deren Gedanken und private Gespräche untereinander aufgrund deren nicht vorhandener POVs nie erzählt werden. Lediglich die Tatsache, dass Calla wenigstens deren Sprache spricht, hilft hier ein wenig. Hoffentlich erfährt man im 2. Band mehr über die „Anderen“.
Insgesamt ist [b:Those Above|21017636|Those Above (The Empty Throne, #1)|Daniel Polansky|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1417954739l/21017636._SY75_.jpg|40389884] ein gutes Buch, das jedoch weitaus mehr Potential hat, als tatsächlich ausgeschöpft wird.
An sich ist das Buch auch gut geschrieben, die Geschichte bleibt stets interessant und es kommen keine längeren Phasen auf, die einen langweilen. Besonders positiv hervorzuheben hinsichtlich des Schreibstils ist, dass jeder Charakter seine eigene Stimme hat. Je nach Charakterändert sich die Wortwahl, wenn die Geschichte aus deren Standpunkt erzählt werden. Ebenso auch bei der direkten Rede der einzelnen Personen.
Leider haben mir von den Hauptcharakteren nur etwa die Hälfte gefallen. Thistle und Call empfand ich als Charaktere uninteressant, wobei in der POV von Calla wenigstens viel über die „Anderen“ erzählt wurden. Schöner wäre es allerdings gewesen, wenn es auch POV-Erzählungen von direkt von den „Anderen“ gegeben hätte.
Das Worldbuilding ist solide bis gut, besonders die Kultur und Geschichte der „Anderen“ ist sehr interessant. Die „Anderen“ waren insgesamt das Interessanteste der ganzen Geschichte. Leider erfährt über diese nur mäßig viel, was zum großen Teil sicherlich daran liegt, dass deren Gedanken und private Gespräche untereinander aufgrund deren nicht vorhandener POVs nie erzählt werden. Lediglich die Tatsache, dass Calla wenigstens deren Sprache spricht, hilft hier ein wenig. Hoffentlich erfährt man im 2. Band mehr über die „Anderen“.
Insgesamt ist [b:Those Above|21017636|Those Above (The Empty Throne, #1)|Daniel Polansky|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1417954739l/21017636._SY75_.jpg|40389884] ein gutes Buch, das jedoch weitaus mehr Potential hat, als tatsächlich ausgeschöpft wird.
cseanread's review
1.0
Chapter one: this is a very strong manly soldier captain dude. You know he's strong and manly because of his amazing accomplishments, and his truly stoic nature.
Chapter two: this is a lady. We know she's a lady because she wakes up naked, next to a man she holds in low esteem, and she likes to gossip. We also know she's a lady because she has breasts, let me describe them to you in great detail.
I stopped reading around that point. *eyeroll*
Chapter two: this is a lady. We know she's a lady because she wakes up naked, next to a man she holds in low esteem, and she likes to gossip. We also know she's a lady because she has breasts, let me describe them to you in great detail.
I stopped reading around that point. *eyeroll*
antonism's review
3.0
3.5 / 5
Those Above is a tough beast of a novel to read and to review. I will forgo my usual reviewing mode and style and speak more freely about it.
First important thing to know is that this book is the first of a duology which is meant to be read together. It can not be read as a standalone. That's not a bad thing, it's just something that readers should know before starting it.
Now, let's get into the real criticism. Polansky's prose is impressive and dense, so much so that it requires quite an effort and concentration from the reader in order to reap the rewards of reading it. Herein lies the first pitfall: sometimes it gets way too dense, too hard to figure out, so complicated and verbose that it becomes labyrinthine. It's not constantly but it's often enough.
Then there's the plot. I won't say there's not a great plot in this book but it sure takes its good time to show up and get going. Also, I personally believe that any plot, good or bad, needs hooks to get and hold the readers attention. Surprisingly for a writer as experienced and great as Polansky, there are absolutely no hooks for most of the book! I honestly kept reading just by burning my trust for Polansky's ability and hopeful vision. For at least the first half of the book I kept wondering why I was reading it as there was little holding me or making me turn the pages. There's always the hints or promises that something great or amazing or mind-blowing is coming any page now... but it's not coming. This lack of a well-presented plot acting as a driving force, along with the total lack of hooks to make the reader want and keep reading is inexcusable to me for such a proven author.
Those three criticisms take down the score for at least half a point each and for another book and author it would be more but at least Polansky has some really deep and well developed characters as his protagonists. None is perfect and each has flaws but they are all written very well. Dialogues are very well crafted and totally believable, a feat that for me few books can achieve.
Also, world-building is absolutely amazing with so much history and details presented all throughout the book that I honestly often felt that this was a real world. All the races, countries and places have rich histories and backgrounds. The politics are realistic and exciting. Warfare is brutal, awful and with no real winners. Top-notch staff here!
So in summary, there's a lot to like here. Polansky has proven in the past that he can write amazingly, and in a way, it's obvious here as well. But, as I mentioned before, this whole idea with the extremely obscure and slow plot along with the lack of plot-hooks gave me a rather frustrating experience. Before I read the second and final part, I can't say if I recommend this or not.
3.5 / 5
Those Above is a tough beast of a novel to read and to review. I will forgo my usual reviewing mode and style and speak more freely about it.
First important thing to know is that this book is the first of a duology which is meant to be read together. It can not be read as a standalone. That's not a bad thing, it's just something that readers should know before starting it.
Now, let's get into the real criticism. Polansky's prose is impressive and dense, so much so that it requires quite an effort and concentration from the reader in order to reap the rewards of reading it. Herein lies the first pitfall: sometimes it gets way too dense, too hard to figure out, so complicated and verbose that it becomes labyrinthine. It's not constantly but it's often enough.
Then there's the plot. I won't say there's not a great plot in this book but it sure takes its good time to show up and get going. Also, I personally believe that any plot, good or bad, needs hooks to get and hold the readers attention. Surprisingly for a writer as experienced and great as Polansky, there are absolutely no hooks for most of the book! I honestly kept reading just by burning my trust for Polansky's ability and hopeful vision. For at least the first half of the book I kept wondering why I was reading it as there was little holding me or making me turn the pages. There's always the hints or promises that something great or amazing or mind-blowing is coming any page now... but it's not coming. This lack of a well-presented plot acting as a driving force, along with the total lack of hooks to make the reader want and keep reading is inexcusable to me for such a proven author.
Those three criticisms take down the score for at least half a point each and for another book and author it would be more but at least Polansky has some really deep and well developed characters as his protagonists. None is perfect and each has flaws but they are all written very well. Dialogues are very well crafted and totally believable, a feat that for me few books can achieve.
Also, world-building is absolutely amazing with so much history and details presented all throughout the book that I honestly often felt that this was a real world. All the races, countries and places have rich histories and backgrounds. The politics are realistic and exciting. Warfare is brutal, awful and with no real winners. Top-notch staff here!
So in summary, there's a lot to like here. Polansky has proven in the past that he can write amazingly, and in a way, it's obvious here as well. But, as I mentioned before, this whole idea with the extremely obscure and slow plot along with the lack of plot-hooks gave me a rather frustrating experience. Before I read the second and final part, I can't say if I recommend this or not.
3.5 / 5
strangethedreamer's review
2.0
A lot of build up with no payoff. Writing was above average but the plot itself was so slow I barely got myself to finish.
t_jenkins's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25