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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
A fun romp through an Asia-based fantasy world with enjoyable characters and a fairly good deconstruction of imperialism, its causes, and its aftermath. All in all, I think Tala was my favorite character, which I didn't expect. I thought that would be Lee, and while she was great, Tala drew me in. A couple of loose ends (what happened to the steel cicadas??) but all in all a good read.
3.5 stars!
This novel had such promise! Pokémon meets The Golden Compass?? It sounded like my cup of tea, and unfortunately it wasn’t. This book was pretty good, but there was something missing that I can’t fully define. It needed more context, more characterization, more follow-through for what it set out to be. I would have loved this book if the plot was more finely honed. There were too many characters that bled together for most of the book, and I felt like some of the bigger plot points were glossed over. So much happened at the end that ended up just feeling convenient and under-explained. I feel like this could’ve been a trilogy, going more in depth into the war (which has just finished when the book begins) and then what happened in this book. The concept is one of the coolest I’ve ever read, but the “Pokémon” aspect became much less of an important component than I thought it’d be.
This novel had such promise! Pokémon meets The Golden Compass?? It sounded like my cup of tea, and unfortunately it wasn’t. This book was pretty good, but there was something missing that I can’t fully define. It needed more context, more characterization, more follow-through for what it set out to be. I would have loved this book if the plot was more finely honed. There were too many characters that bled together for most of the book, and I felt like some of the bigger plot points were glossed over. So much happened at the end that ended up just feeling convenient and under-explained. I feel like this could’ve been a trilogy, going more in depth into the war (which has just finished when the book begins) and then what happened in this book. The concept is one of the coolest I’ve ever read, but the “Pokémon” aspect became much less of an important component than I thought it’d be.
Steel Crow Saga by Paul Krueger is a fun fantasy novel featuring great LGBTQ representation (including the T!) and a highly entertaining magic system. For starters, I loved the F/F relationship in this book. It was so pure, and the characters wildly different backgrounds and personalities made for many humerous moments. I also love that this was not the only queer relationship // only set of queer characters. You find out Mang is gay in like the first page, and Prince Jimuro has his only love interests that provide solid representation. Next, the magic system. Shadepacting. I want to do it now! I love books with animal companions (like the Disreputable Dog in Lirael and Abhorsen), and this took that concept in a fun/interesting directions that allowed the author to explore some more complex thematic topics like freewill. Metalpacting was awesome too, though it did not contribute to the thematic exploration in the same way shadepacting did. Finally, there was the magic of the Dahali, which felt just kinda there. I hope there is a sequel because there were some unexplored areas of the magic system (like the Dahali and the *spoilers* involving two main characters).
This book has my favorite fantasy elements in it:
* Non-western fantasy
* Kick-ass lady heros
* Honest wrestling on the part of the protagonists about whether they are helping the people in their communities or causing more harm
* Awesome animal companions.
* really relatable craving for a decent cup of coffee
Picked it up, and it carried me away from real life for a bit, in the most gorgeous story I have read for a while, strongly recommended.
(Hi Paul's Mom.)
* Non-western fantasy
* Kick-ass lady heros
* Honest wrestling on the part of the protagonists about whether they are helping the people in their communities or causing more harm
* Awesome animal companions.
* really relatable craving for a decent cup of coffee
Picked it up, and it carried me away from real life for a bit, in the most gorgeous story I have read for a while, strongly recommended.
(Hi Paul's Mom.)
Got this as an ARC from Book Wizard at BookCon! Can't wait to see what happens. Wish me luck!
adventurous
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:
No
I wanted to like this book a lot, especially as it started out. I wanted to read this book because it was a fantasy world inspired by Asian cultures, set in a more modern setting (1920s/1930s). There was a lot to like in its uniqueness and ambition. But while the story started strongly, it quickly went downhill and sort of stayed there. There were way too many political machinations for my taste, and I was disappointed that all four of the main characters only met up at the very end, and their relationships for the most part felt forced.
SPOILERS TO FOLLOW
But the biggest hurdle for me was the motivation of the villain. You're telling me that all of this was over...a bird? It would have made sense if there had been some in-depth description of what being a splintersoul truly does to a person, but there was too much else going on to really explore this. It's too bad because the story had great potential.
SPOILERS TO FOLLOW
But the biggest hurdle for me was the motivation of the villain. You're telling me that all of this was over...a bird? It would have made sense if there had been some in-depth description of what being a splintersoul truly does to a person, but there was too much else going on to really explore this. It's too bad because the story had great potential.
Actual rating: 4.5 stars
Steel Crow Saga feels like Pokemon for big kids - magical realism where people shadepact with the souls of creatures, who they can later summon for help. It is a super fun story of adventure, intrigue, and tiny bits of romance set in gorgeous, sprawling world. There are complex political rivalries, and each nation has an awesome unique culture and international relations.
The story follows four main characters across this broad world. Xiulan is a Shang princess turned detective, a bookworm who’s taking a step out into the real world and finds herself over her head. Lee is a hilarious thief who starts the story on death row, and manipulates and woos her way across the continent. Tala is a complex, haunted, sweet bodyguard/ soldier who struggles with what loyalty and duty actually mean. Jimuro is the Iron Prince of Tomoda, set on justice and peace but worried that his mother’s crown may be a little too large for him to carry.
There are great questions of moral ambiguity - is it ok to bind your soul to another creature if you can give it orders? Is it ok to sort of maybe fall for somebody if your countries are rivals and you are working for very different goals? What does it mean to be worthy of a throne? Mixed with some great humor, some adorable (and not overwhelming) romantic subplots, this story checked all my boxes. Great characters. Great relationships. Great world. Great story.
I loved reading this book, and I will definitely pick up all of the next ones in the series (and I’m hoping it’s a long series, because there is tons of room for more stories in this world!).
My only complaint - the world is enormous and complex, and I loved it, but the story Paul Krueger set up is so huge it took a while for the different threads to come together. The first half of the book is woven together somewhat slowly, whereas once those pieces are in place, the second half moves a lot more quickly.
Steel Crow Saga feels like Pokemon for big kids - magical realism where people shadepact with the souls of creatures, who they can later summon for help. It is a super fun story of adventure, intrigue, and tiny bits of romance set in gorgeous, sprawling world. There are complex political rivalries, and each nation has an awesome unique culture and international relations.
The story follows four main characters across this broad world. Xiulan is a Shang princess turned detective, a bookworm who’s taking a step out into the real world and finds herself over her head. Lee is a hilarious thief who starts the story on death row, and manipulates and woos her way across the continent. Tala is a complex, haunted, sweet bodyguard/ soldier who struggles with what loyalty and duty actually mean. Jimuro is the Iron Prince of Tomoda, set on justice and peace but worried that his mother’s crown may be a little too large for him to carry.
There are great questions of moral ambiguity - is it ok to bind your soul to another creature if you can give it orders? Is it ok to sort of maybe fall for somebody if your countries are rivals and you are working for very different goals? What does it mean to be worthy of a throne? Mixed with some great humor, some adorable (and not overwhelming) romantic subplots, this story checked all my boxes. Great characters. Great relationships. Great world. Great story.
I loved reading this book, and I will definitely pick up all of the next ones in the series (and I’m hoping it’s a long series, because there is tons of room for more stories in this world!).
My only complaint - the world is enormous and complex, and I loved it, but the story Paul Krueger set up is so huge it took a while for the different threads to come together. The first half of the book is woven together somewhat slowly, whereas once those pieces are in place, the second half moves a lot more quickly.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was super fun! The four (main) civilizations are pretty explicitly based off China, Korea, Japan and the Philippines, with India taking a minor role in the story and one passing mention of who I believe to be the Uyghurs. While the country names are different and the setting is imbued with fantasy, the world doesn't shy away from including and addressing the real-life relationships of oppression and colonialism that tie these places together.
That was my favorite part of this book: the way that the narrative took on colonial privilege, good people coming from the top of bad systems of power, the decisions made by desperate people fighting for freedom. My second favorite part was the characterization -- while some of the relationship-building did seem to go a little fast considering the short time frame in the novel, I was still there for it and the author did his best to make sure every development was properly supported. I ended up really liking all four characters, when I'd started out unsure about all of them.
Docking one star honestly because the plot and magic system both really start falling apart when you think about them too hard... It took me out of the book quite a few times. But if you let go of that stuff and focus on the character-driven narrative, this could really be an incredible & unique read.
That was my favorite part of this book: the way that the narrative took on colonial privilege, good people coming from the top of bad systems of power, the decisions made by desperate people fighting for freedom. My second favorite part was the characterization -- while some of the relationship-building did seem to go a little fast considering the short time frame in the novel, I was still there for it and the author did his best to make sure every development was properly supported. I ended up really liking all four characters, when I'd started out unsure about all of them.
Docking one star honestly because the plot and magic system both really start falling apart when you think about them too hard... It took me out of the book quite a few times. But if you let go of that stuff and focus on the character-driven narrative, this could really be an incredible & unique read.