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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
It’s sooooo slow and I don’t have the brain space to focus of the world building right now.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
dark
sad
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
2.5 stars. The story is engaging and gets better with future books, but the writing is appalling. Having just finished Hilary Mantel's superlative Cromwell trilogy it was painful having to wade through the torrent of superfluous adjectives and adverbs, not to mention Wurts' overuse of passive tense and relentless 'tell-not-show'. If only she could have got Raymond E Feist to collaborate again, these books would be real fantasy classics.
I had a strange reaction to this book, and I know part of that reaction is due to the fact that I hate, really really hate, the whole cliche elder sibling theme that started in fairy tales. I know it's me, and to be fair, that is part of my reaction.
Wurts does a wonderful job world building, and the idea behind the series is wonderful. The main problem I had, however, was the fact that I felt absolutely no connection to either of the main characters. In fact, I was only really curious about the fate of one character.
But the world building!
Still think [b:To Ride Hell's Chasm|28671|To Ride Hell's Chasm|Janny Wurts|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167954604s/28671.jpg|1964566] is better.
Wurts does a wonderful job world building, and the idea behind the series is wonderful. The main problem I had, however, was the fact that I felt absolutely no connection to either of the main characters. In fact, I was only really curious about the fate of one character.
But the world building!
Still think [b:To Ride Hell's Chasm|28671|To Ride Hell's Chasm|Janny Wurts|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167954604s/28671.jpg|1964566] is better.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is about the 4th or 5th time I have tried to read this. I gave up after 200 pages. The form and lack of structure made this difficult for me to engage in the narrative. If this had been in a more linear story format I would have enjoyed it. On the positive side I read 100 more pages than previous attempts.
Janny challenged me as a reader again with the first entry of The Wars of Light and Shadow. I love that she lets you decide what is right and wrong rather than telling you. She subverts tropes in a continuous beautiful way and her storytelling and the way she weaves the narrative is captivating. It did take me a bit to get into the groove of things but I feel like the payoff was truly worth it. If you’re a character-driven reader that wants to be challenged this is an absolute must.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It's very interesting to read this book knowing it's the beginning of such a large series because it doesn't seem like there's enough here to occupy another 11 books. The main cast is quite small, principally focusing on two half brothers with elemental powers of shadow and light. The main characters seem generally likeable, although there's a quirk of the writing style that is making me struggle to connect to them. The narration switches points of view frequently, switching from outside observer to reflecting inner thoughts sometimes within a single paragraph. I'm having a hard time getting a read on some of the character's core personality as well, at least some of which seems to be driven by plot elements.
The world has several elements I enjoy. There are multiple worlds (we've seen two but there's at least one more). The magic system is quite soft, but I like the depictions of spellcasting. I get the strong feeling there is clearly one main character between the two princes, but I find myself responding well to both of them and generally wanting the best for them both.
I'm approaching this series as a reading project, so I'm fairly committed to seeing it through. I can see how this would filter out a lot of potential readers from the series. The book is quite massive with some heavy subject matter and a heavy sense of foreboding throughout. It also seems steeped in what I'm coming to recognize is a 90s fantasy angst that doesn't age all that well (or perhaps doesn't strike the same way now that I'm not an angst-ridden teen). People who have read the later books seem to like them, so I'll be very curious to see if it's a survivorship bias or if these do turn out to be a rewarding read.
The world has several elements I enjoy. There are multiple worlds (we've seen two but there's at least one more). The magic system is quite soft, but I like the depictions of spellcasting. I get the strong feeling there is clearly one main character between the two princes, but I find myself responding well to both of them and generally wanting the best for them both.
I'm approaching this series as a reading project, so I'm fairly committed to seeing it through. I can see how this would filter out a lot of potential readers from the series. The book is quite massive with some heavy subject matter and a heavy sense of foreboding throughout. It also seems steeped in what I'm coming to recognize is a 90s fantasy angst that doesn't age all that well (or perhaps doesn't strike the same way now that I'm not an angst-ridden teen). People who have read the later books seem to like them, so I'll be very curious to see if it's a survivorship bias or if these do turn out to be a rewarding read.