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abception's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Death, War, Drug abuse, Genocide, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Torture, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Drug use
Minor: Alcoholism, Medical content, Confinement, and Gun violence
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
*I received a free review copy in exchange for an honest review of this book.
TO GAZE UPON WICKED GODS is a collaborator's view of colonization, as a girl with the power to wield death agrees to work with a prince among the colonizers because he promises to use her in pursuit of lasting peace.
Ruying has been trying to keep her twin sister alive and their grandmother cared for even as everything else is falling apart. Their city is divided, literally, with half of it carved away for use by the Roman colonizers from another world who have held the city in their grip for more than two decades. The Romans brought a powerfully addictive drug with them, promising it would unlock the people's magic but all it has brought is pain. After losing their father to the drug, Ruying is trying to wean her sister off of it, bargaining away whatever possessions she must in order to keep her family together. Already in this precarious state, Ruying is unable to say no when a mistake lands her in Roman dungeons, faced with torture and death unless she agrees to help one of the princes with his dreams of peace through Death like only Ruying can wield.
Ruying is a fascinating main character. Normally I don't like characters who make terrible decisions when a better option is clearly available, but that's not quite what's happening here. There's an ongoing discussion of which definition of "better" should be applied. Ruying's choice might not be the one I would make, but I completely understand why she does what she does, and I don't know for sure if I'd actually disagree under the same circumstances. That tension makes for an excellent story, with Ruying fully committing to her choices once they're made, but then remaining open enough to reevaluate her situation as new facts come to light. At her core, her goal is to protect her family at any cost, and that drives her to a great many things which she would not otherwise accept. Ruying isn't the only one making such choices, early on she interacts with a sort of friend who has been collaborating with the Romans in exchange for access and power. She judges him at first, then comes to understand why he does so. Ruying finds herself in a colonized/colonizer romance, always aware of the coercion which is inextricable from her position. She cares for Anthony, but any safety she feels is always at his discretion. He might really love her, but there's no risk for him in that, not really. Whereas Ruying knows that if she loses his favor, she and her family could lose everything in an instant.
The worldbuilding is excellent. It focuses on the people, the language, and culture, frequently including passages and their translations. There are also frequent reminders of how the Roman invasion changed things, never letting the reader forget that it hasn't always been this way, even though for the reader, it has, because this is our first view of this world. As the first book in the series, this doesn't have to resolve any particular major plot point because it's still setting things up for later. Ruying makes an important decision towards the end in a way that serves as an emotional resolution/climax of the story, while establishing a new status quo for the sequel.
TO GAZE UPON WICKED GODS is a collaborator's view of colonization, as a girl with the power to wield death agrees to work with a prince among the colonizers because he promises to use her in pursuit of lasting peace.
Ruying has been trying to keep her twin sister alive and their grandmother cared for even as everything else is falling apart. Their city is divided, literally, with half of it carved away for use by the Roman colonizers from another world who have held the city in their grip for more than two decades. The Romans brought a powerfully addictive drug with them, promising it would unlock the people's magic but all it has brought is pain. After losing their father to the drug, Ruying is trying to wean her sister off of it, bargaining away whatever possessions she must in order to keep her family together. Already in this precarious state, Ruying is unable to say no when a mistake lands her in Roman dungeons, faced with torture and death unless she agrees to help one of the princes with his dreams of peace through Death like only Ruying can wield.
Ruying is a fascinating main character. Normally I don't like characters who make terrible decisions when a better option is clearly available, but that's not quite what's happening here. There's an ongoing discussion of which definition of "better" should be applied. Ruying's choice might not be the one I would make, but I completely understand why she does what she does, and I don't know for sure if I'd actually disagree under the same circumstances. That tension makes for an excellent story, with Ruying fully committing to her choices once they're made, but then remaining open enough to reevaluate her situation as new facts come to light. At her core, her goal is to protect her family at any cost, and that drives her to a great many things which she would not otherwise accept. Ruying isn't the only one making such choices, early on she interacts with a sort of friend who has been collaborating with the Romans in exchange for access and power. She judges him at first, then comes to understand why he does so. Ruying finds herself in a colonized/colonizer romance, always aware of the coercion which is inextricable from her position. She cares for Anthony, but any safety she feels is always at his discretion. He might really love her, but there's no risk for him in that, not really. Whereas Ruying knows that if she loses his favor, she and her family could lose everything in an instant.
The worldbuilding is excellent. It focuses on the people, the language, and culture, frequently including passages and their translations. There are also frequent reminders of how the Roman invasion changed things, never letting the reader forget that it hasn't always been this way, even though for the reader, it has, because this is our first view of this world. As the first book in the series, this doesn't have to resolve any particular major plot point because it's still setting things up for later. Ruying makes an important decision towards the end in a way that serves as an emotional resolution/climax of the story, while establishing a new status quo for the sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Confinement, Murder, Kidnapping, Classism, Death, and Colonisation
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, War, Gun violence, Death of parent, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Torture, Misogyny, Drug abuse, Child death, Sexism, and Drug use
Minor: Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Abandonment, Rape, Medical content, Trafficking, and Alcohol
savannnah_reads's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
HEROES DIE. COWARDS LIVE.
I was promised an “epic fantasy” and even star crossed lovers but you know what I got? A COLONIZER ROMANCE.
The beginning started so strong. There were so many lines that had me giddy because I finally found another ARC that I could get into and was written well. Unfortunately, the threads of the story started to come undone around halfway through, and by the end, everything felt rushed and confusing.
We start with Ruying, a young woman in a setting that is basically medieval China (under a different name). She is very firm about (and repeats it every chapter) her willingness to do anything to protect her twin and her ailing Grandmother. Ruying also has powers like a small sub-section of her world, but no one knows where the powers came from or why each person that has them is unlike anyone else. Three people can have water powers, but one might have the ability to control bodies of water, one might control storms, one might be able to suck water out of the environment. Ruying’s power is Death as in she can suck the Qi out of anyone to the point that they die.
We kind of murkily also discover that her kingdom is actively being colonized by Rome (yeah, Rome, Rome. Why the author gave fantasy-China a different name and not Rome, I don’t know). But this version of Rome is set far enough into the future that they have guns, universal remotes, emergency room equipment, bulletproof glass, fighter jets, and nukes.
For 20 years, Rome has steadily invaded Ruying’s world through a portal we truly get no details on. It’s just a portal that showed up one day and never left; it just exists in the sky and is never mentioned again.
Anyway, Rome is colonizing book-China and exerting God-like authority over Ruyings people thanks to their “science” (a major theme is that the ever-lessening magical powers of this world can’t stand up to the “science” of Rome, aka progress/advancement/technology/weapons)
Ruying encounters a man named Antony (yeah.) that she knows is a villain, but surprise, he’s hot and she gets a crush while acting as his assassin under duress. The thing is, all the assassin-ing happens off page. We just hear about how randomly skilled she is for a 19 year old with no formal training or experience, but never really see it.
Things progress, betrayals are had, feelings go back and forth etc etc until some very predictable plot twists and a random chapter thrown in from Antony’s POV that spoils the whole “is he actually a bad guy? Or is he just misunderstood?” Question. Because honestly, for the whole middle part, I wanted to believe that he was secretly scheming for the good of both worlds in a way that would be revealed in grand fashion. But instead, it really is just a book about a girly falling in love with her oppressor. Even when he’s come close to killing her, forced her to kill people he admits are innocent, holds a gun up to her head,, tells her that he’s willing to sacrifice people for the “greater good” (which people’s greater good?) and only ever made weak excuses as to why he’s doing what he’s doing for his rickety-ass plan to “save the world.” She turns her back on the culture and people she says over and over and over that she’s wholly dedicated to and protective of.
My girl Ruying ignored every red flag that was slapping her in the face. She even occasionally snaps out of her lovesick puppy shtick, only to fall right back into it when Antony smiles at her with dimples.
I think this was an interesting (or at least a first, for me) examination of the messiness of interpersonal relationships under colonialism. Of the merits between honoring the past and those who have shaped history and forging forward for progress, but destroying your history. Of people trying to figure out if what they do as an individual matters in the grand scheme of things. If justifying some for the sake of the masses is justified. I also really liked the way Antony was a super villain but in a way that was carefully crafted; he didn’t just stomp in and crush people, he learned their culture and beliefs and language. To me, that makes him even more insidious because he knew exactly how to hurt people.
I just think it needs a few more rounds of editing, clearer and earlier world-building, and if you’re going to have the colonized fall in love with the colonizer just to have her be betrayed by him, it needs to be more drawn out and really soak in the feelings of disgust and confusion. And when she’s in that, keep her in it, harder to really drive the impact of the betrayal.
Another emphasis on needing more editing. I know this was an ARC, but there are lots of grammatical errors and the twist with the experiment gets ruined bc it’s confusingly accidentally revealed before the actual reveal of her name. And some of the dialogue was confusing in a way that it takes you out of the story. Things like characters supposedly in mideval times saying things like “is he going to be okay?” And “don’t paint me out to be the bad guy” plus their use of both gold coins AND pennies????
Things I wanted more of:
- Baihu!! He was a really interesting and complex character and I was much more interested in his espionage between worlds
- Ruying’s daddy issues; I wanted more about how they probably manifested in her speedy trust toward Antony; the need to belong and be taken care of!
- Baihu eating Ruying UP about her naivety
- The magic system. In this book, the only explanation for it that we get is “no one knooooows where it comes from! It’s just there!!”
Favorite Quotes:
“Heroes die. Cowards live.”
“To say Er-Lang Baihu was a villain would be a stretch. To say he was innocent was a lie.”
“Frustration was dark crimson. It tasted of ash when I tried to swallow, scorched my throat before clotting my lungs.”
“All heroes fail to pass the test of love.”
“I fear you the way mortals fear gods.”
“He pushed me away, loaded a bullet into the gun, and pressed it against my head this time.
‘Your power is exquisite—and you are beautiful. But there are plenty of pretty things in this world. Don't think for a second that I, Antony Augustus, am someone who sees a pretty girl and loses his head or grows soft. If I were like that, I would have been killed a long time ago, and Rome would never meet its greatest ruler.’”
“His eyes met mine, without fear. As if daring me to prove my words. I gripped the gun tighter. ‘Call off the snipers!’
‘Or what?’ ‘Or I'll show you how much of a killer I can be.’ ‘Do it,’ he whispered without taking his eyes off me, his body too close to mine in the confined space, his voice a taunting rasp.
‘Do it. Kill me. Pull the trigger.’”
Thank you to NetGalley and RandomHouse for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation
Moderate: Genocide
Minor: Torture, War, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse
reading_ray's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I was given an e-arc from NetGalley for an honest review and I was lucky enough to find a physical copy of the arc at a local little free library!
I loved the world building of To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods. The descriptions of the cities and the mythology that was sprinkled in really captured my attention. I thought it was very clear how Ruying's world came to be what it is currently and you felt the ghost of what it was in the past. This made the book really interesting because you got to feel the the drastic effects the Romans had on Er-Langu. I could picture the grand cities Ruying described before the Roman's came. The mythology added a lot of depth to Ruying beliefs and highlighted the struggles she had a child blessed by Death. I loved how the traditional saying Ruying quote are written in Chinese characters and then translated into English. A reminder that Ruying learned the Roman's language as a means of survival and it is not her first language.
Ruying is a very complex character as she is driven by her desire to keep her family safe over anything else. It was interesting to see how her prioritizing survival over anything affected her relationships with the people around her. Ruling's mindset did cause an internal struggle which I felt was the built up thought out the book. I felt the most important part of the story was not Ruying's relationship with Anthony but on how she grows as a person. This makes the last 50 or so pages of the book every interesting as we can see the cumulation of everything she learned and went through in the book.
A 4/5 star read!!! I can not wait to get a copy of this book when it is published and to read the rest of the series!
Trigger warnings for the books: death, violence, torture, and addiction
I loved the world building of To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods. The descriptions of the cities and the mythology that was sprinkled in really captured my attention. I thought it was very clear how Ruying's world came to be what it is currently and you felt the ghost of what it was in the past. This made the book really interesting because you got to feel the the drastic effects the Romans had on Er-Langu. I could picture the grand cities Ruying described before the Roman's came. The mythology added a lot of depth to Ruying beliefs and highlighted the struggles she had a child blessed by Death. I loved how the traditional saying Ruying quote are written in Chinese characters and then translated into English. A reminder that Ruying learned the Roman's language as a means of survival and it is not her first language.
Ruying is a very complex character as she is driven by her desire to keep her family safe over anything else. It was interesting to see how her prioritizing survival over anything affected her relationships with the people around her. Ruling's mindset did cause an internal struggle which I felt was the built up thought out the book. I felt the most important part of the story was not Ruying's relationship with Anthony but on how she grows as a person. This makes the last 50 or so pages of the book every interesting as we can see the cumulation of everything she learned and went through in the book.
A 4/5 star read!!! I can not wait to get a copy of this book when it is published and to read the rest of the series!
Trigger warnings for the books: death, violence, torture, and addiction
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Racism, Physical abuse, Torture, Addiction, Blood, Child abuse, and Colonisation
Moderate: Death of parent
lastblossom's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
tl;dr
A complicated set of lead characters set against a science vs. magic backdrop. Feels like a lot of pins being set up to be knocked over in future installments.
Thoughts
First off, be aware the genre is science fantasy. A giant portal opened up and people with missiles and smart phones came out of it. Calling it straight fantasy is going to set up some wildly wrong expectations. The "science vs. magic" thing has never been of interest to me, but I really like checking out debut novels, and the cover was too good to ignore. The verdict? Still to come! A lot of this book is scene-setting for future installments, which promise to swing a lot harder, so I feel like I can't accurately decide how I feel until I see how it ends. But for now, let's break down what we do have. Ruying is, by her own admission, a coward, and her navigation of an impossible situation is probably the most realistic incarnation I've read in a while. Her sister is more the "hero" type, and in another book in another world, she probably would be the fearless protagonist. I liked the choice to focus on a very un-heroic MC and the choices one has to make in a space where there are no correct moves - only moves of varying levels of wrongness. I also enjoyed the multiple plot threads running at the same time with various political bents.
The romance is where this series is going to be the most divisive. Falling in love with one's captor is a tale as old as time, and in this case it feels ill-advised. Antony pragmatically presents himself as the least of many evils, and he's probably right. That doesn't mean dating has to be on the table, and despite the fact that a chapter from his POV indicates his feelings are genuine, I'm still not a fan. That being said, the ending is a major turning point that promises some big moves in future installments. I shall have to wait patiently until then.
Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for an advance copy. All thoughts in this review are my own!
A complicated set of lead characters set against a science vs. magic backdrop. Feels like a lot of pins being set up to be knocked over in future installments.
Thoughts
First off, be aware the genre is science fantasy. A giant portal opened up and people with missiles and smart phones came out of it. Calling it straight fantasy is going to set up some wildly wrong expectations. The "science vs. magic" thing has never been of interest to me, but I really like checking out debut novels, and the cover was too good to ignore. The verdict? Still to come! A lot of this book is scene-setting for future installments, which promise to swing a lot harder, so I feel like I can't accurately decide how I feel until I see how it ends. But for now, let's break down what we do have. Ruying is, by her own admission, a coward, and her navigation of an impossible situation is probably the most realistic incarnation I've read in a while. Her sister is more the "hero" type, and in another book in another world, she probably would be the fearless protagonist. I liked the choice to focus on a very un-heroic MC and the choices one has to make in a space where there are no correct moves - only moves of varying levels of wrongness. I also enjoyed the multiple plot threads running at the same time with various political bents.
The romance is where this series is going to be the most divisive. Falling in love with one's captor is a tale as old as time, and in this case it feels ill-advised. Antony pragmatically presents himself as the least of many evils, and he's probably right. That doesn't mean dating has to be on the table, and despite the fact that a chapter from his POV indicates his feelings are genuine, I'm still not a fan. That being said, the ending is a major turning point that promises some big moves in future installments. I shall have to wait patiently until then.
Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for an advance copy. All thoughts in this review are my own!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Violence, and Colonisation
Moderate: Medical content, Murder, War, Torture, Child death, Classism, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Child abuse, Racism, and Blood
Minor: Confinement and Kidnapping
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