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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
Absolutely wonderful characters, world building, and story. Refreshing characters that I can relate with and magic systems that I thoroughly enjoyed.
**pls do not support this author. i was unaware of his offenses when i bought this book.**
5/5 this book was beautiful and i regret not annotating it. full of description, heavy characterization, fast paced almost throughout with some intimate moments. every sense was fulfilled with details and every line had a meaning and a purpose. it was packed with a LOT which is why it took me so long to complete. but it was amazing overall.
5/5 this book was beautiful and i regret not annotating it. full of description, heavy characterization, fast paced almost throughout with some intimate moments. every sense was fulfilled with details and every line had a meaning and a purpose. it was packed with a LOT which is why it took me so long to complete. but it was amazing overall.
3 stars.
Steel Crow Saga was on my 5 stars prediction list and unfortunately, it just didn't get there. There were elements of this story that I truly loved, and other that really fell flat for me, thus the middle ranking.
Let's start with the great stuff:
The real world influences from all over Asia (Japan, China, Korea, The Philippines, and India) were wonderful. The food, social customs, language descriptions, and scenery were clearly well researched and delightfully woven into this world (the cicadas in Japan truly are deafening hahah).
I also loved the way that characters from nations at war were able to slowly come to trust each other and work together. The process was a bit fast in some cases, but I found the end results to be so satisfying that the speed is easily forgiven.
Also, Lee. Lee is everything to me. She and Jimuro were the characters who carried the story for me.
Naturally written LGBTQ+ rep <3
Finally, I LOVED that none of the characters were perfect. They all made mistakes in desperation, all committed crimes, and all were able to understand each other's decisions because of it.
Now for the not so good stuff:
The magic system had me so EXCITED. A mixture of pokemon-like powers and metal bending from ATLA??? Count me in. But that actual application of this system was disappointing to me. Maybe I just love in depth magic systems too much, but this one wasn't explored fully. It felt like a very open magic system where Shades just fixed everything when they were called. How does metal pacting actually work?? What are it's limitations?? Why did Jimuro not use these powers when they served him best?? It felt like a blanket laid over this interesting world...not actually interwoven into it.
Which brings me to my second gripe; the fight scenes. They were wholly unsatisfying to me. Either over too quickly, or presented in flashbacks rather than real-time scenes, so there were almost no stakes involved. There was also almost no communication between the Shades and their humans during battles. It just felt like the humans said "I choose you! Good luck :)"
Finally, there was a lot of telling rather than showing for individual character traits. One of the characters is supposed to have unparalleled intellect, as I was told manymanymany times, but she is constantly outsmarted by and manipulated by others. I could understand if it was a character flaw in the way she saw herself, but this observation is made my other characters as well. Repeatedly. Some of the other characters whoa re supposed to be fierce warriors also failed to demonstrate that in the pages.
TL;DR
Overall disappointing, but enjoyable. I will read the next book if there is one.
Steel Crow Saga was on my 5 stars prediction list and unfortunately, it just didn't get there. There were elements of this story that I truly loved, and other that really fell flat for me, thus the middle ranking.
Let's start with the great stuff:
The real world influences from all over Asia (Japan, China, Korea, The Philippines, and India) were wonderful. The food, social customs, language descriptions, and scenery were clearly well researched and delightfully woven into this world (the cicadas in Japan truly are deafening hahah).
I also loved the way that characters from nations at war were able to slowly come to trust each other and work together. The process was a bit fast in some cases, but I found the end results to be so satisfying that the speed is easily forgiven.
Also, Lee. Lee is everything to me. She and Jimuro were the characters who carried the story for me.
Naturally written LGBTQ+ rep <3
Finally, I LOVED that none of the characters were perfect. They all made mistakes in desperation, all committed crimes, and all were able to understand each other's decisions because of it.
Now for the not so good stuff:
The magic system had me so EXCITED. A mixture of pokemon-like powers and metal bending from ATLA??? Count me in. But that actual application of this system was disappointing to me. Maybe I just love in depth magic systems too much, but this one wasn't explored fully. It felt like a very open magic system where Shades just fixed everything when they were called. How does metal pacting actually work?? What are it's limitations?? Why did Jimuro not use these powers when they served him best?? It felt like a blanket laid over this interesting world...not actually interwoven into it.
Which brings me to my second gripe; the fight scenes. They were wholly unsatisfying to me. Either over too quickly, or presented in flashbacks rather than real-time scenes, so there were almost no stakes involved. There was also almost no communication between the Shades and their humans during battles. It just felt like the humans said "I choose you! Good luck :)"
Finally, there was a lot of telling rather than showing for individual character traits. One of the characters is supposed to have unparalleled intellect, as I was told manymanymany times, but she is constantly outsmarted by and manipulated by others. I could understand if it was a character flaw in the way she saw herself, but this observation is made my other characters as well. Repeatedly. Some of the other characters whoa re supposed to be fierce warriors also failed to demonstrate that in the pages.
TL;DR
Overall disappointing, but enjoyable. I will read the next book if there is one.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
Enjoyable read with a good cast of diverse, interesting characters. The ending is quite beautiful.
I decided to give this a try based on recommendations from one of two other authors I follow. Twitter can sometimes be used for good.
I didn’t know what to expect. I liked it from the start and poured through it quickly enough, but the ending is really what got me. Without spoilers I will say that the conclusions of all of the character arcs are more satisfying than I imagined based on how events unfold at first. I now sit here desperately wanting to know where these characters go from here while simultaneously feeling like nothing could be more perfect than the ending I read and my own imagination. I will definitely look for more from this author, either in this universe or another.
I didn’t know what to expect. I liked it from the start and poured through it quickly enough, but the ending is really what got me. Without spoilers I will say that the conclusions of all of the character arcs are more satisfying than I imagined based on how events unfold at first. I now sit here desperately wanting to know where these characters go from here while simultaneously feeling like nothing could be more perfect than the ending I read and my own imagination. I will definitely look for more from this author, either in this universe or another.
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is a character-driven fantasy adventure novel set within invented Asian cultures that parallel ones in our world. The cultures are in the throes of violent conflict in which the protagonists are enmeshed on various sides.
The paranormal/magical systems of animal familiars (“shades”) and metal manipulation gives the story an anime or Pokémon aspect. Personally I found it a bit childish and distracting.
And then there’s the now de rigueur “progressive” portrayal of sexuality.
There were some good passages when the action and interpersonal relationships became more intense, but overall I found the story less engaging than I expected. I found it a bit of a drag and I was relieved to get to the end.
The paranormal/magical systems of animal familiars (“shades”) and metal manipulation gives the story an anime or Pokémon aspect. Personally I found it a bit childish and distracting.
And then there’s the now de rigueur “progressive” portrayal of sexuality.
There were some good passages when the action and interpersonal relationships became more intense, but overall I found the story less engaging than I expected. I found it a bit of a drag and I was relieved to get to the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Confinement, Grief
First half of the book was the best. Really good representation.
Latter half pacing was a little strange and felt like I was reading separate books spliced together.
But for the representation, I'm giving this book a 5 star.
Latter half pacing was a little strange and felt like I was reading separate books spliced together.
But for the representation, I'm giving this book a 5 star.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was really disappointed with this book. Two of the characters had unsatisfactory endings with a lot of loose ends even with how long the book was.
There are better books out there that have similar concepts.
There are better books out there that have similar concepts.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, War
Moderate: Cursing, Racial slurs, Racism, Grief
Minor: Incest, Transphobia, Alcohol
This book had me right from the start.
I loved the world created here. The cultures are great. The characters are the best part in my opinion. Well, that and the magic system. I really loved the shade pacting.
This is the first book that I have read by this author and I'm a big fan. I look forward to more by Paul Krueger, especially this series.
I received a copy from Net Galley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I loved the world created here. The cultures are great. The characters are the best part in my opinion. Well, that and the magic system. I really loved the shade pacting.
This is the first book that I have read by this author and I'm a big fan. I look forward to more by Paul Krueger, especially this series.
I received a copy from Net Galley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.