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zeithelden's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
misterwisp's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
tense
fast-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
3.5
This is a fantasy adventure book. It has a similar vibe as the Locke Lamora book series by Scott Lynch, minus that degree of dark trauma. Things start a bit slow and then pick up for the rest of the book. For how long it is the pages went by quickly.
Ardor Benn is a criminal con artist extraordinaire who is skilled at deception, heists, cons etc. He has a supporting companion to provide muscle, backup, and witty banter as needed. The setting is a chain of islands ruled by a king. The level of technology is mainly pistols and horse carriages with a magic system for good measure. The unique magic aspect of the setting is dragon "grit" that I won't spoil but which was certainly a unique concept. Ardor Benn is hired to run a grand ruse deception that goes sideways and gets more complicated with significantly higher stakes than he planned for and he must find a way through all of it.
The strong points are the action, the fast pace, the tone, and the characters. There are some epic action sequences regularly enough to keep things interesting, and even though some common tropes are at play the the characters are still compelling. It's a comparatively lighthearted and easy to read book which was a nice change of pace for how heavy fantasy can be sometimes.
It was a bit hard to buy into the dragon grit concept. Avoiding spoilers of how dragon grit works, but it was hard to suspend disbelief enough to accept something that that could provide such a backbone to the functioning of a society and be readily available at all times whenever needed in copious amounts. Especially with how difficult it is to get which is shown in the book. A couple times things also felt a bit too convenient for the characters, like they succeeded more because the plot required them to in that moment than because they were doing it on their own.
Even so, if you can look past things like that it's still a fun book and was easy to like. It has a solid and satisfying ending with no cliffhangers leading into the sequel. You could read this and enjoy it, but still not feel bound to finish the series unless you wanted to. Everything is resolved by the end of this one.
Ardor Benn is a criminal con artist extraordinaire who is skilled at deception, heists, cons etc. He has a supporting companion to provide muscle, backup, and witty banter as needed. The setting is a chain of islands ruled by a king. The level of technology is mainly pistols and horse carriages with a magic system for good measure. The unique magic aspect of the setting is dragon "grit" that I won't spoil but which was certainly a unique concept. Ardor Benn is hired to run a grand ruse deception that goes sideways and gets more complicated with significantly higher stakes than he planned for and he must find a way through all of it.
The strong points are the action, the fast pace, the tone, and the characters. There are some epic action sequences regularly enough to keep things interesting, and even though some common tropes are at play the the characters are still compelling. It's a comparatively lighthearted and easy to read book which was a nice change of pace for how heavy fantasy can be sometimes.
It was a bit hard to buy into the dragon grit concept. Avoiding spoilers of how dragon grit works, but it was hard to suspend disbelief enough to accept something that that could provide such a backbone to the functioning of a society and be readily available at all times whenever needed in copious amounts. Especially with how difficult it is to get which is shown in the book. A couple times things also felt a bit too convenient for the characters, like they succeeded more because the plot required them to in that moment than because they were doing it on their own.
Even so, if you can look past things like that it's still a fun book and was easy to like. It has a solid and satisfying ending with no cliffhangers leading into the sequel. You could read this and enjoy it, but still not feel bound to finish the series unless you wanted to. Everything is resolved by the end of this one.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Violence
Minor: Gore and Murder
couperin's review against another edition
2.0
I will start with the positive - the author has clearly put a great deal of effort into the grit system and it's associated features. The characters are painted with big, bold colors; instantly recognizable archetypes whose roles are clearly laid out with their very first appearances. This is one of those books that, likely within the first 100 pages the reader will know whether he/she/they is going to love or hate it.
Unfortunately, I fell into the latter group early on.
If I have to hear mentioned one more mention of, or variation on, the workings of 'grit' I may set off a pot of the stuff myself. Tedious world building and a pretentious lead character with the moral depth of an early teen at best...and croissants?! Numerous places where the immersion is broken by the language - the dialogue, outside of the specfic references to grit, would not be at all out of place in a modern American high school hallway - and/or references (see croissants)...long and Ard-uous (see what I did?)
As another reviewer pointed out, this feels more than a tad bit of juvenilia, and judged as such, I would be less harsh as it would be passing average in that realm; as a full 'adult' work it simply lacks sufficient depth to make me feel much if any investment.
Unfortunately, I fell into the latter group early on.
If I have to hear mentioned one more mention of, or variation on, the workings of 'grit' I may set off a pot of the stuff myself. Tedious world building and a pretentious lead character with the moral depth of an early teen at best...and croissants?! Numerous places where the immersion is broken by the language - the dialogue, outside of the specfic references to grit, would not be at all out of place in a modern American high school hallway - and/or references (see croissants)...long and Ard-uous (see what I did?)
As another reviewer pointed out, this feels more than a tad bit of juvenilia, and judged as such, I would be less harsh as it would be passing average in that realm; as a full 'adult' work it simply lacks sufficient depth to make me feel much if any investment.
sblittle's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
brightwatcher's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
joeydell4's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
fast-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
3.75
starlitedragon's review against another edition
2.0
The plot in concept is good, but it overall is poorly written. I enjoyed the imagery provided for the setting but otherwise I found this book lacking. Several times I felt as though I was getting loaded with information that didn’t really matter much, or things that could have been explained in a better way later on without it feeling like a textbook. It felt like the end of the book was the climax, and that…isn’t the best look when the cliffhanger is where the twist is.
Not only that, but on more than one occasion something is explained, then explained again several paragraphs later as if the author doesn’t trust the reader’s intelligence. All the feminine characters in this book are written to drive the main character’s story rather than be their own people. I have issue with Quarrah specifically, considering she went from respecting the man to “I love him” with…absolutely nothing in between. It was maybe one or two chapters of her knowing Ardor, and that’s…not realistic. At all. Tanalin was just some woman for Ardor to pine over with no real character behind her.
I just…genuinely disliked it. I will not continue the series.
Not only that, but on more than one occasion something is explained, then explained again several paragraphs later as if the author doesn’t trust the reader’s intelligence. All the feminine characters in this book are written to drive the main character’s story rather than be their own people. I have issue with Quarrah specifically, considering she went from respecting the man to “I love him” with…absolutely nothing in between. It was maybe one or two chapters of her knowing Ardor, and that’s…not realistic. At all. Tanalin was just some woman for Ardor to pine over with no real character behind her.
I just…genuinely disliked it. I will not continue the series.