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4.26 AVERAGE
4.26 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
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:
Complicated
It was an amazing story. The detail and depth that was captured in the book was incredible. It is a slow start but once all the stories merge it becomes captivating.
4.5
Unglaubliches Abenteuer! Sehr komplex und die verschiedenen Perspektiven sind eng miteinander verworren. Auch die Charaktere waren alle super interessant, die romantischen Abschnitte waren wunderschön und haben genau reingepasst. Vorallem die Geschichte dieser Welt hat mich unglaublich fasziniert!
Die große Schlacht war für meinen Geschmack etwas zu schnell vorbei, dennoch episch!
Unglaubliches Abenteuer! Sehr komplex und die verschiedenen Perspektiven sind eng miteinander verworren. Auch die Charaktere waren alle super interessant, die romantischen Abschnitte waren wunderschön und haben genau reingepasst. Vorallem die Geschichte dieser Welt hat mich unglaublich fasziniert!
Die große Schlacht war für meinen Geschmack etwas zu schnell vorbei, dennoch episch!
the woman was too stunned to speak
okay it's a few months later and I'm finally able to form an opinion on this book.
I think the rating makes it obvious : I loved this !
Nonetheless I still have a few things to say, starting with the fact that this book is very long. I enjoyed the ride, all of the world building, etc... still, I can't help myself but ask : Was it all worth it ? For me the ending fell kinda flat and I would have expected so much more. Thank god I went into this with almost 0 expectations or else I wouldn't have liked it as much.
I have to say, this book did a good job in keeping me entertained. I was constantly willing to learn more and engage with the characters. This is an epic fantasy and it does its job well, meaning you totally escape the real world.
The characters are really the best thing about this, especially the females. Loved every single one of them, Ead being top of the pyramid of course. They are all so different yet so interesting and well built it amazes me, truly.
to sum this up READ THIS BOOK !!
okay it's a few months later and I'm finally able to form an opinion on this book.
I think the rating makes it obvious : I loved this !
Nonetheless I still have a few things to say, starting with the fact that this book is very long. I enjoyed the ride, all of the world building, etc... still, I can't help myself but ask : Was it all worth it ? For me the ending fell kinda flat and I would have expected so much more. Thank god I went into this with almost 0 expectations or else I wouldn't have liked it as much.
I have to say, this book did a good job in keeping me entertained. I was constantly willing to learn more and engage with the characters. This is an epic fantasy and it does its job well, meaning you totally escape the real world.
The characters are really the best thing about this, especially the females. Loved every single one of them, Ead being top of the pyramid of course. They are all so different yet so interesting and well built it amazes me, truly.
to sum this up READ THIS BOOK !!
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
tense
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
sad
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
A very enticing read.
So many things about this book kept me guess it he best way. Absolutely delightful read. I wish I could read it for the first time all over again to relive that feeling. 10/10.
So many things about this book kept me guess it he best way. Absolutely delightful read. I wish I could read it for the first time all over again to relive that feeling. 10/10.
i wanted to like this sm and the ending was good but the length was so unnecessary
3.5 stars.
I think there are few reasons why I didn't love this as much as everyone else seemed to:
1. Pacing - to me, it felt so very slow-paced. Nothing much happens for the first half of the book, and even after that you can go pages and pages with no action.
2. Info-dumping - there was just too much info dumping. Each character needed the same story telling to them in a different way. There was so much history, mythology, religion, culture and more to explore, so much to tell, that this could have been done much better over a series rather than in one book.
3. The characters. I thought some characters quite flat, others seemed quite similar to others. I couldn't understand what the two characters who fell for each other saw in each other. They seemed to lack defining characteristics, and had no chemistry or real reason to love each other. It was like so much was spent on world building and history and everything else that the author didn't put enough into her characters to make me care about who they loved and if they died. The only ones I cared even a little about were Tane and Margret. Tane because I did feel for her in the situation she ended up in - her selfishness and lack of character growth meant that I soon lost that pity and ended up not caring if she died or not.
4. The plot. There just wasn't enough of it to warrant an 800 page book, in my opinion. So much time was spent on side plots and introducing character history that I just wanted to get to the plot, to the actual action.
5. The passive voice - I think the writing style also didn't gel with me. I found it very passive, and very descriptive, and it didn't engage me as much as it should have.
6. The 'feminism' - yes, this features 'strong' female characters, but there is an emphasis on being childless, mothers have generally died before the start of the book, and men are dragged down to the status that women usually have in fantasy novels - that of a consort. While it can be refreshing to see fantasy novels from this perspective, I personally do not think that feminism means dragging men down, but by raising women up to be the equals of men. Most men in this novel are not even worth writing about. Except Loth, perhaps. I don't know. I didn't hate this aspect, but it left a bad taste in my mouth. You know?
Overall, I enjoyed the story enough to continue and finish the book, but I wasn't very engaged, I didn't care about the characters, and the book was about 300 pages too long.
I think there are few reasons why I didn't love this as much as everyone else seemed to:
1. Pacing - to me, it felt so very slow-paced. Nothing much happens for the first half of the book, and even after that you can go pages and pages with no action.
2. Info-dumping - there was just too much info dumping. Each character needed the same story telling to them in a different way. There was so much history, mythology, religion, culture and more to explore, so much to tell, that this could have been done much better over a series rather than in one book.
3. The characters. I thought some characters quite flat, others seemed quite similar to others. I couldn't understand what the two characters who fell for each other saw in each other. They seemed to lack defining characteristics, and had no chemistry or real reason to love each other. It was like so much was spent on world building and history and everything else that the author didn't put enough into her characters to make me care about who they loved and if they died. The only ones I cared even a little about were Tane and Margret. Tane because I did feel for her in the situation she ended up in - her selfishness and lack of character growth meant that I soon lost that pity and ended up not caring if she died or not.
4. The plot. There just wasn't enough of it to warrant an 800 page book, in my opinion. So much time was spent on side plots and introducing character history that I just wanted to get to the plot, to the actual action.
5. The passive voice - I think the writing style also didn't gel with me. I found it very passive, and very descriptive, and it didn't engage me as much as it should have.
6. The 'feminism' - yes, this features 'strong' female characters, but there is an emphasis on being childless, mothers have generally died before the start of the book, and men are dragged down to the status that women usually have in fantasy novels - that of a consort. While it can be refreshing to see fantasy novels from this perspective, I personally do not think that feminism means dragging men down, but by raising women up to be the equals of men. Most men in this novel are not even worth writing about. Except Loth, perhaps. I don't know. I didn't hate this aspect, but it left a bad taste in my mouth. You know?
Overall, I enjoyed the story enough to continue and finish the book, but I wasn't very engaged, I didn't care about the characters, and the book was about 300 pages too long.