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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
Brilliantly wrought and creatively summoned, this book will take you on a wild adventure through a brand new world that will transport you fully.
From what I can gather, the world that Krueger has created is inspired by Japanese, Chinese, and Pacific Island cultures, with a healthy dose of magic. The characters transcend themselves within the pages and interact so honestly and, sometimes, bluntly, that they feel more real than any from recent books I have read. His magic system is something truly unique and lively, without being too muddled with rules and architecture.
Also: EVERYBODY GAY! SO GAY! This world is the future I want to live in. People can love who they love and there is no one standing in their way! Even the "baddies" are queer, and wonderfully so. The society and culture that Krueger has built is still human with all our flaws, but no none of those flaws are homophobic!!
If you are a fan of character-rich magical adventures with a stunningly queer cast: read this book!
From what I can gather, the world that Krueger has created is inspired by Japanese, Chinese, and Pacific Island cultures, with a healthy dose of magic. The characters transcend themselves within the pages and interact so honestly and, sometimes, bluntly, that they feel more real than any from recent books I have read. His magic system is something truly unique and lively, without being too muddled with rules and architecture.
Also: EVERYBODY GAY! SO GAY! This world is the future I want to live in. People can love who they love and there is no one standing in their way! Even the "baddies" are queer, and wonderfully so. The society and culture that Krueger has built is still human with all our flaws, but no none of those flaws are homophobic!!
If you are a fan of character-rich magical adventures with a stunningly queer cast: read this book!
This was a cool fantasy novel! I enjoyed getting to meet and know each of our 4 main characters and their perspectives on the world. I was rooting for all of them and loved seeing our plot come together at the end. :)
A deeply complicated and emotional story with lots of action, cool magic, post-war politics, intrigue and complex motivations and feelings resulting from invasions, colonization, xenophobia, racism, murder and other brutalities.
This book grabbed me from its opening, then kept me rapt with its characters and their banter, the extremely cool shades, and the many difficult and painful conversations between people who all had good reasons to hate one another but were forced to deal with their assumptions and entrenched views.
The author had me reading all the way to the last chapter, which had me tearing up. This was an excellent novel, and while it wrapped up, there were enough things left open so that if Paul Krueger ever returns to this early 20th century alt-Asia, I’ll be there.
This book grabbed me from its opening, then kept me rapt with its characters and their banter, the extremely cool shades, and the many difficult and painful conversations between people who all had good reasons to hate one another but were forced to deal with their assumptions and entrenched views.
The author had me reading all the way to the last chapter, which had me tearing up. This was an excellent novel, and while it wrapped up, there were enough things left open so that if Paul Krueger ever returns to this early 20th century alt-Asia, I’ll be there.
“Wake me up if there’s danger or breakfast. Preferably the second thing.”
The cover of Steel Crow Saga describes it as a mix between Avatar the Last Airbender (I assume the amazing cartoon and not the terrible movie) and Pokémon, and that was enough to pull me in for sure.
There’s a bit of be gay, do crimes in here as well, as well as empires and colonialism and magical shades like Beaky who can peck your eye out.
Where I think I loved this best was in the relationships between people, in how the shades worked, and the banter. Where I struggled with this was towards the beginning where it felt like some info-dumping, and some of the larger political intrigue just didn’t pull me in as much. Either way, I’ll be checking out his other book for sure, and when the next book comes out in this world I will be interested.
There’s a bit of be gay, do crimes in here as well, as well as empires and colonialism and magical shades like Beaky who can peck your eye out.
Where I think I loved this best was in the relationships between people, in how the shades worked, and the banter. Where I struggled with this was towards the beginning where it felt like some info-dumping, and some of the larger political intrigue just didn’t pull me in as much. Either way, I’ll be checking out his other book for sure, and when the next book comes out in this world I will be interested.
Do not read this book.
I was about halfway through this book when I learned about the allegations against the author for harassing women. In no way do I condone support of the author, and I did not and will not purchase a copy of this book.
While this was a phenomenal book with great representation, a solid plot, and characters that I care deeply about, none of this excuses the author's behavior.
I was about halfway through this book when I learned about the allegations against the author for harassing women. In no way do I condone support of the author, and I did not and will not purchase a copy of this book.
While this was a phenomenal book with great representation, a solid plot, and characters that I care deeply about, none of this excuses the author's behavior.
Holy shit. Without giving any spoilers, this is one of the best books I have read in a very long time. The perfect combination of fantasy, adventure, and anime, it is a beautifully written story about family, responsibility, and cultural identities. From the very first line, Paul Krueger expertly pulls you in and doesn't let you go, as it's almost impossible not to devour this novel as quickly as humanly possible. The characters are all perfectly and uniquely brought to life with vivid description and heart-wrenching insight not just into their roles in the book, but into who they are as people. And that there are LGBTQIA+ characters! Openly, blatantly, happily!
But the crowning achievement of this book is not just the characters, who I fell in love with immediately, but the incredible worldbuilding. The countries, unique enough to distinguish them and recognizable as their real-world influences (and on that, the fact that these countries are clearly Asian-inspired, instead of the boring ass whitebread medieval Western Europe that's been beaten to death in fantasy); the magic (the metal- and shadow-pacting, OH MY GOD); the food! But it's impossible not to recognize the imperialism, the colonialism, and the nationalism present in this story, and exactly how Krueger has expertly woven in the realities of it and the real life experiences of what people go through. There is an importance to this book that cannot be understated.
tl;dr : You won't find a better book if you're into anime, food, Asian-inspired fantasy worlds, and brutally honest looks at why accountability is not the same as forgiveness. This book is super important, Paul Krueger is an awesome guy, and we need to show the publishing world exactly why books like this should be supported and promoted
But the crowning achievement of this book is not just the characters, who I fell in love with immediately, but the incredible worldbuilding. The countries, unique enough to distinguish them and recognizable as their real-world influences (and on that, the fact that these countries are clearly Asian-inspired, instead of the boring ass whitebread medieval Western Europe that's been beaten to death in fantasy); the magic (the metal- and shadow-pacting, OH MY GOD); the food! But it's impossible not to recognize the imperialism, the colonialism, and the nationalism present in this story, and exactly how Krueger has expertly woven in the realities of it and the real life experiences of what people go through. There is an importance to this book that cannot be understated.
tl;dr : You won't find a better book if you're into anime, food, Asian-inspired fantasy worlds, and brutally honest looks at why accountability is not the same as forgiveness. This book is super important, Paul Krueger is an awesome guy, and we need to show the publishing world exactly why books like this should be supported and promoted
** I won a free copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway. **
I have to admit I had a bit of trouble getting into this story at first. The switching points of view and the number of characters and customs I had to keep straight were a little overwhelming. However, after the first quarter of the book (if that much), I found I had fallen into the story and no longer had any trouble keeping the characters and story lines straight and that I really cared about the characters and the world they reside in. The magic system (bonding with either other living beings or with metal or both) was unique and fascinating. The characters were well developed and there was enough back story for many of them to make the reader care for them. None of the characters were completely good or evil, they all existed in shades of gray and that is always my favorite type of character. I also appreciated the fact that while there were several romantic relationships in the book, none of them took over the story (I'm not a huge fan of romances!). I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys epic fantasy and would encourage anyone who feels overwhelmed when starting this book to push on because it is definitely worth it!
I have to admit I had a bit of trouble getting into this story at first. The switching points of view and the number of characters and customs I had to keep straight were a little overwhelming. However, after the first quarter of the book (if that much), I found I had fallen into the story and no longer had any trouble keeping the characters and story lines straight and that I really cared about the characters and the world they reside in. The magic system (bonding with either other living beings or with metal or both) was unique and fascinating. The characters were well developed and there was enough back story for many of them to make the reader care for them. None of the characters were completely good or evil, they all existed in shades of gray and that is always my favorite type of character. I also appreciated the fact that while there were several romantic relationships in the book, none of them took over the story (I'm not a huge fan of romances!). I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys epic fantasy and would encourage anyone who feels overwhelmed when starting this book to push on because it is definitely worth it!
I am so pleased with sci fi that includes bi, gay, lesbian, and trans representation. Especially since the storyline is also compelling.