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kitvaria_sarene's review against another edition
4.0
This is a really epic read, that needs you to fully focus on it all the time, or you'll spend a lot of time rereading bits. *Coughs*
It has a wonderfully detailed and rich world, full of small gods, demons, magic, different cultures and religions.
I loved the mix of slow burn world building and a lot of action and very well written fight scenes.
It features complex relationships between characters, gods and factions. It describes the life in a mercenary troupe traveling the desert as well as living in what feels a bit like mountain enclave, with a mad god at its head. I enjoyed the small scale bits just as much as the overarching "fate of the world" plot that the whole book runs toward.
There's quite some different POVs, some time jumps and different locations to keep track of, so again - it's a rather epic and definitely demanding read.
But you get rewarded with a unique world with a silk road feel to it. Inspired by a Himalayan village, central Asian caravan guards, some possibly Mongolian influences and more made for a real feast of different views and ideas.
There's also an amazing cast of characters who grew and changed organically over the course of the story. I especially liked the well written female characters.
All the different POVs run together nicely in the end. While you keep wondering what everything has to do with anything else, the different storylines slowly start to meet, mingle and weave themselves into one big braid. And it all makes for a fantastic finale, that will have you on the edge of your seat.
And another gigantic plus: while this is the start of a series, and has enough intrigue left to want to read on, it can also be read as a stand alone. All the major plot arcs are resolved and it is a very satisfying end all on its own, even if you don't move on to the sequels.
It has a wonderfully detailed and rich world, full of small gods, demons, magic, different cultures and religions.
I loved the mix of slow burn world building and a lot of action and very well written fight scenes.
It features complex relationships between characters, gods and factions. It describes the life in a mercenary troupe traveling the desert as well as living in what feels a bit like mountain enclave, with a mad god at its head. I enjoyed the small scale bits just as much as the overarching "fate of the world" plot that the whole book runs toward.
There's quite some different POVs, some time jumps and different locations to keep track of, so again - it's a rather epic and definitely demanding read.
But you get rewarded with a unique world with a silk road feel to it. Inspired by a Himalayan village, central Asian caravan guards, some possibly Mongolian influences and more made for a real feast of different views and ideas.
There's also an amazing cast of characters who grew and changed organically over the course of the story. I especially liked the well written female characters.
All the different POVs run together nicely in the end. While you keep wondering what everything has to do with anything else, the different storylines slowly start to meet, mingle and weave themselves into one big braid. And it all makes for a fantastic finale, that will have you on the edge of your seat.
And another gigantic plus: while this is the start of a series, and has enough intrigue left to want to read on, it can also be read as a stand alone. All the major plot arcs are resolved and it is a very satisfying end all on its own, even if you don't move on to the sequels.
linwearcamenel's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
night_starry's review against another edition
1.0
I like the story idea and the main characters but the author gets bogged down in character details (pages of writing that gets boring/repetitious). I think it would be better as a shorter novel so the pacing would keep me more intersted. I unfortunately did not finish this book. I will try K. V. Johansen's short story collection though.
midrel's review against another edition
4.0
Prose 3/5
Plot 4/5
Pacing 3/5
Characterization 4/5
World-building 5/5
Plot 4/5
Pacing 3/5
Characterization 4/5
World-building 5/5
fellumhistane's review against another edition
4.0
Wonderful world building, exquisite spiritual systems and lore behind the landscape presented. This might be seen as complex for some readers, but the continuity drawn between different places, names and origins are very well drawn.
Some characters are difficult to grow attached to, especially since the points of view bounce around quite a bit. I understand this is an introduction to a story that keeps on elaborating and developing, but in this tome some characters stay somewhat vague. In many cases, I felt that I was missing "something" in being shown some characters, especially people like Moth and Mikki, who clearly have entire stories on their own and of which this tome only shows the essentials. I particularly enjoyed the relationship between Holla-Sayan and Pakdhala, bringing me to tears in some parts. Meanwhile, characters like Gaguush and Atavaia I felt could have used more attention and human moments to really sink my teeth into.
This is a slow-burning story, where all events are unpacked long before they occur. This makes the experience somewhat lack excitement, as all points of views are shown before the stones finally drop.
This took me a while to get through, though I do plan on reading the following volumes someday. I would compare this series to a strong pot of tea you watch brew and enjoy one sip at a time.
Some characters are difficult to grow attached to, especially since the points of view bounce around quite a bit. I understand this is an introduction to a story that keeps on elaborating and developing, but in this tome some characters stay somewhat vague. In many cases, I felt that I was missing "something" in being shown some characters, especially people like Moth and Mikki, who clearly have entire stories on their own and of which this tome only shows the essentials. I particularly enjoyed the relationship between Holla-Sayan and Pakdhala, bringing me to tears in some parts. Meanwhile, characters like Gaguush and Atavaia I felt could have used more attention and human moments to really sink my teeth into.
This is a slow-burning story, where all events are unpacked long before they occur. This makes the experience somewhat lack excitement, as all points of views are shown before the stones finally drop.
This took me a while to get through, though I do plan on reading the following volumes someday. I would compare this series to a strong pot of tea you watch brew and enjoy one sip at a time.
badcushion's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-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
3.5
I loved some things about this book: the Central Asian setting (a nice change of fantasy-historical-epic pace), different cultures with their own nuances, complex characters with realistic and varied motivations, and a strong main plot/secondary plot. It really drew me in from the outset!
On the downside - there is a LOT going on in this book. We hit page 167 (out of 500ish) and a whole new bunch of people showed up with their own angle to the story, after already asking the reader to follow three other stories (taking place in three different areas, so each has their own cultural and religious vibe), not counting the world foundational myth that’s being trickled out between the main stories. By the end we have so many things happening in parallel - previous groups have split but all members are still involved in the finale - that for me, the tension and drama of the climax was undermined. Not to mention that multiple main characters are themselves dual- or triple- souled, and at times have conversations with themselves. There was one whole plot thread I lost at the end because a triple-souled character had killed (in the past) someone related to one of their souls, but maybe the killer wasn’t the one related to the deceased? I know it was supposed to be a dramatic moment but truly by then I just wanted to get to the end and see how the 72 most important characters did.
This book could be two or three books, with even more added to the world, and it could be really amazing. And if you like a really overstuffed epic tale, this might work really well for you - I really did enjoy the world and many of the characters and the key story. But it was too much for me, and it muddied the ending, which I was too exhausted to struggle through.
On the downside - there is a LOT going on in this book. We hit page 167 (out of 500ish) and a whole new bunch of people showed up with their own angle to the story, after already asking the reader to follow three other stories (taking place in three different areas, so each has their own cultural and religious vibe), not counting the world foundational myth that’s being trickled out between the main stories. By the end we have so many things happening in parallel - previous groups have split but all members are still involved in the finale - that for me, the tension and drama of the climax was undermined. Not to mention that multiple main characters are themselves dual- or triple- souled, and at times have conversations with themselves. There was one whole plot thread I lost at the end because a triple-souled character had killed (in the past) someone related to one of their souls, but maybe the killer wasn’t the one related to the deceased? I know it was supposed to be a dramatic moment but truly by then I just wanted to get to the end and see how the 72 most important characters did.
This book could be two or three books, with even more added to the world, and it could be really amazing. And if you like a really overstuffed epic tale, this might work really well for you - I really did enjoy the world and many of the characters and the key story. But it was too much for me, and it muddied the ending, which I was too exhausted to struggle through.
raccoonsinatrenchcoat's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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? It's complicated
4.5
clawfoot's review against another edition
5.0
I tend to read a lot of epic fantasy, and I do have to wade through a lot of chaff to find the wheat. This book was recommended to me because it was a rarity: an epic fantasy that was a stand-alone story, and not "part one of eight." Don't get me wrong: I love multi-volume series, but it's really refreshing to read a book that's just a self-contained story.
The world is rich and interesting, and the characters consistently engaging, and the plot although simple (man gains great power; challenges gods) nonetheless has some complex ramifications. The story is political, spiritual, and personal all at once, and the characters are both divinely-inspired and larger-than-life and at the same time intensely real and very human.
I enjoyed this immensely, and will certainly check out more of K.V. Johansen's books.
The world is rich and interesting, and the characters consistently engaging, and the plot although simple (man gains great power; challenges gods) nonetheless has some complex ramifications. The story is political, spiritual, and personal all at once, and the characters are both divinely-inspired and larger-than-life and at the same time intensely real and very human.
I enjoyed this immensely, and will certainly check out more of K.V. Johansen's books.
pastathief's review against another edition
5.0
I've loved fantasy in general, but lately I've not been reading a lot of fantasy, for two big reasons: One, there seem to be a lot of highly derivative "mechanically produced fantasy filler" books these days, and without being more on top of the genre than I am it's hard to separate those out from the good stuff; and two, with a busy life and a relatively slow reading pace, it's hard to commit to "book one of three of the first cycle of six".
Blackdog both provides a unique take on standard fantasy and stands alone as a self-contained novel. It has all the feeling and vibe of epic fantasy, but its world has a lot of fantastic world-building elements, and the religion and mythos and the take on Gods and Goddesses is particularly well-done and shot through with well-considered differences from the standard fare. Add to that a whole ensemble of well-rendered characters (there are at least half a dozen characters who I'd read a spinoff novel about, either detailing their history or their future) and this novel really knocked it out of the park for me. It did take some effort near the beginning -- after hitting the ground running, it seems to slow down for a bit -- but then I started to feel the edges of the gravity well no later than half way through the book, which is earlier than most for me.
I'm not sure that I'd say that this book changed my life or caused me to rethink my personal philosophy, but it was a compelling page-turner that felt smarter and more textured than most, and that's a good thing.
Blackdog both provides a unique take on standard fantasy and stands alone as a self-contained novel. It has all the feeling and vibe of epic fantasy, but its world has a lot of fantastic world-building elements, and the religion and mythos and the take on Gods and Goddesses is particularly well-done and shot through with well-considered differences from the standard fare. Add to that a whole ensemble of well-rendered characters (there are at least half a dozen characters who I'd read a spinoff novel about, either detailing their history or their future) and this novel really knocked it out of the park for me. It did take some effort near the beginning -- after hitting the ground running, it seems to slow down for a bit -- but then I started to feel the edges of the gravity well no later than half way through the book, which is earlier than most for me.
I'm not sure that I'd say that this book changed my life or caused me to rethink my personal philosophy, but it was a compelling page-turner that felt smarter and more textured than most, and that's a good thing.
testpattern's review against another edition
4.0
A very enjoyable, pleasingly detailed epic fantasy yarn, blessedly concise (in that it only spans a single volume, if a hefty one), but balanced and satisfying.