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4.26 AVERAGE
4.26 AVERAGE
adventurous
medium-paced
I think this one could have been 5 stars but the transition from the slow paced first half to the fast paced second half was too jarring. However the worldbuilding was unbelievably complex and incredible!
This book is a feminist fantasy epic, and the language is absolutely gorgeous. My favourite thing about the book was probably that it was pretty gay, and I love fantasy in which being gay isn’t noteworthy or even commented on. There are also dragons, and I love dragons. The plot is really well formulated and unfolds in a well paced and dramatic way. Because Shannon develops such a deep lore behind every region and religion in the book, the plot and every character's action carries the weight of destiny behind them. There are 4 points of view for the narrative, and some of them are separated by continents, which gives the narrative a sprawling and vast feeling. The book very much reads like several books stitched together, and Shannon luckily possesses the skill to make that happen. The only thing that bothered me is that the characters in this book are so so intriguing, but are not quite fleshed out enough. They’re not quite two dimensional, but in moments of conflict they sometimes fall a bit flat. I think Shannon made a strategic decision to sacrifice some character development for plot, which I can’t be too mad about. So: would recommend, but wish it was a trilogy!
adventurous
challenging
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:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. The vastness of this universe is beyond my ability to describe it while also touching home and my heart in so many up close and personal ways. This book has everything I could ever ask for in a fantasy novel: dragons, multi-religious conflicts (that mirror current religious conflicts in a crazy way) the most beautiful world/setting building, political intrigue, insanely well-written prose, feminist governments, and most of all, PERSONAL GROWTH. I fell so in love with these characters and how all of them across the entire universe came together for a unifying purpose despite intense personal and religious conflicts.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
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
Amazing book and definitely at the top of my top fantasy books!
The writing style is everything I'm looking for: a great balance between complex and smooth read.
The story is really well written, and the author took the time to develop each character and give them a real purpose.
The writing style is everything I'm looking for: a great balance between complex and smooth read.
The story is really well written, and the author took the time to develop each character and give them a real purpose.
dark
funny
medium-paced
*4.5 GODDDDAMNNNNN.
this was my war and peace. i have never felt prouder of finishing a book than i have felt finishing this 800 page behemoth.
on another note, WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT ENDING BRO??? this book was so close to being a 5 star, but i just..
this was my war and peace. i have never felt prouder of finishing a book than i have felt finishing this 800 page behemoth.
on another note, WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT ENDING BRO??? this book was so close to being a 5 star, but i just..
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
My first high/epic fantasy read in a long time. Really enjoyed this book overall, but it did have some flaws. Contrary to popular opinion, I didn’t think it was too long, slow to start, or complicated. Honestly, the length and complexity of characters/details felt really typical of this genre of fantasy so it didn’t bother me at all—I actually enjoyed that (except the endless physical descriptions of random one line characters lol). Having read a lot of books with alternating perspectives, I didn’t find that hard to follow either. I do regret reading this online out of convenience (not my first choice) because I feel these books work best when you can easily flip back and forth to the maps and glossary, which is much more difficult in a digital format.
Pros-enjoyed the vivid writing, the world building, the diverse characters and cultures, the political intrigue and religious aspects, the twists and turns, etc. It was really interesting how all these characters were forced to challenge their preconceived notions about so many things as the plot unfolded.
Cons-number one problem was pacing. I don’t mind a long book, but it needs to be paced well. The first half of the book, you spend so much time on the West that the East feels like an afterthought, which is really unfortunate considering how vital Tané was to the plot. Her story was underwhelming compared to the others as a result. There’s also a lot more magic/action in the last third or so than the rest and it ended up feeling somewhat unbalanced. The climaxespecially felt incredibly rushed for such a big buildup. And it was too easy considering the stakes—not that I was rooting for characters to die or anything, but an event of that magnitude should have had real consequences. Why did all the actual deaths occur so early in the book and then every single person and even dragon made it through the big final battle completely unscathed? . Lastly, although I enjoyed the writing, sometimes it was too flowery or vague at really key moments, especially in the action scenes. The style worked much better for the non-action parts. A lot of info was also relayed through dialogue—got a bit too “tell, rather than show” at times. Or things would be mentioned that really didn’t need to be (you can just say that a character explained to someone else what happened to them over the last few days, instead of saying the character explained this, this, this, and that event!) I didn’t mind but the amount of times that happened felt silly and could have definitely been edited out.
Anyways, I sound negative but I did really enjoy the book. I just had a bit of a break between reading most of the book and the climax, where these flaws were most apparent to me, so they’re more fresh in mind.
Pros-enjoyed the vivid writing, the world building, the diverse characters and cultures, the political intrigue and religious aspects, the twists and turns, etc. It was really interesting how all these characters were forced to challenge their preconceived notions about so many things as the plot unfolded.
Cons-number one problem was pacing. I don’t mind a long book, but it needs to be paced well. The first half of the book, you spend so much time on the West that the East feels like an afterthought, which is really unfortunate considering how vital Tané was to the plot. Her story was underwhelming compared to the others as a result. There’s also a lot more magic/action in the last third or so than the rest and it ended up feeling somewhat unbalanced. The climax
Anyways, I sound negative but I did really enjoy the book. I just had a bit of a break between reading most of the book and the climax, where these flaws were most apparent to me, so they’re more fresh in mind.