Reviews

This is my second read from Dimaline and I've enjoyed both thoroughly. The biggest thing I've come away with from both is wanting MORE - more development of supporting characters, more flashbacks to establish relationships and emotional connection, more in depth examinations of the systems at hand in these stories. Ended on a cliffhanger and I'd definitel pick up the sequel.

midnightcomets's review against another edition

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Past 50% and it is still not as spooky as I expected it to be, although it's truly horrifying in real life terms

Content Warnings

kerickertful's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

mastersal's review against another edition

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4.0

Even though I put this book on my TBR back in February 2020, I had forgotten about it until I got this from my library in a grab-and-go bag.

Thank you library because this book was a revelation. And the author is Metis which was a super plus too!!

The story follows Joan as she is looking for her missing husband. She find a doppelganger and the adventure takes off from there. The blurb promised a messed-up, grown-up, Little Red Riding Hood. which is a good hook but really does a disservice to the content.

NPR put the mood well: (https://www.npr.org/2020/07/29/896445003/empire-of-wild-tells-a-small-story-but-not-a-slight-one) “Down in its bones, Empire Of Wild is a monster story. Mythic but not epic, swimming in Indigenous medicine, not magic. Calling it urban fantasy gives it a gloss it doesn't possess.

This is such a personal story of Joan fighting for her husband and her life which is woven into the community. There is no “saving the world” or “discovering your place and power” tropes here which would make this book fit more comfortably into the fantasy mainstay.

Rather this book is “real” in a more general fiction sense. Joan resonated with me (well actually all the women did) in a way that a monster werewolf story does not. I knew her in the way you can know your friends and loved one. I knew her in my heart even when she annoyed me. And that mix of reality and fantasy was something I was not expecting. I would call this more mythic (without the scale of world-ending tales) instead of fantasy-adventure.

I think if one goes into this book thinking this will be urban fantasy with its plot driven adventure tales they will be disappointed. This book is more concerned about community, marriage and love than werewolves (not that the Rogarou is a werewolf but you know what you mean).

The writing was great too - I haven’t read the author’s break-out [b:The Marrow Thieves|34649348|The Marrow Thieves|Cherie Dimaline|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1490885548l/34649348._SY75_.jpg|55810844], so I was not sure what to expect but I was quite impressed. Examples:

“She became smaller, quieter - living for Jimmy Fine and the ways she could be a better Indian through him. This was important for a halfbreed born of other halfbreeds.”

“Her love for Zeus was a painful thud at the bottom of her broken heart - still there, still strong, but surrounded by a rattle and wheeze that made it difficult to hear.”

I loved all the glimpses of Metis life that the author put in. There was so much I don’t know but so much that made me smile because it felt familiar - the older women with smart mouths and sass. That reminded me of my family and made me smile - so good.

For all the wonderful portions of the book, unfortunately the ending kind of brought this down for me. There was a detour away from Joan and her family to some other POVs - which felt thin and not needed. It felt like filler and annoyed me; maybe that was the point, but for such a short book I felt that space would have been better given to Zues or Victor. Especially Victor as I loved how sexy and passionate the relationship with Joan was (and after marriage no less!!!)

The plotting of the end sequence was also a little convenient and a little too pat. And then it took a u-turn in confusion for me. I have no clue what happened and that was annoying. I suppose the ending is meant to be open-ended but really it felt that sequel-bait to me.

Spoiler

There also wasn’t enough of an emotional pay-off to the book’s plot - we never got to see Victor and Joan together or even have much of a reunion. That felt like a cop-out.

This book better get a sequel (watching you publisher).

I am going with 4 stars for this book despite the ending because I am still smiling thinking about the book and parts of it are still with me.

judeisapriest's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

kerriboland's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

I don't like Cherie Dimaline's books. I don't like her characters, her dialogue or her relationships. I like the ideas, but they fell flat here.

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