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jasanin's review against another edition
3.0
Unfortunately I found myself really losing focus while reading this, which is through no fault of the author or book itself I believe and more my current state of mind while reading. I'll have to revisit this one another time because I can see myself really liking this, but for now I just didnt take the story in very well.
hannah2schmidt's review against another edition
1.0
DNF
I guess the writing style was beautiful?? But it was also extremely confusing and I couldn't get into it, let alone follow the story line.
I guess the writing style was beautiful?? But it was also extremely confusing and I couldn't get into it, let alone follow the story line.
sterrenkijker's review against another edition
3.5
This book deserves a higher rating than what I'm giving it right now. The Winged Histories was a complex tapestry of stories, woven together with beautiful prose, and even though the writing itself was by far the best thing about this book I found it hard to follow what exactly was going on. I was just along for the ride which was great, but it was too complicated for me at times.
sapereaude's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
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? It's complicated
5.0
jennieartemis's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
TL;DR: If you can meet it on its own terms (postmodern and experimental), this is an immensely rewarding literary fantasy
This is a weird one, because I read it twice in the same year (with A Stranger in Olondria in between), and my opinion radically shifted. At first I merely respected the book rather than enjoyed it - I found it very experimental, to the point of too fragmented for me. But even in the first read, the ending really stuck with me in its beauty and use of the fantastic. Returning to it, I was completely sold, now that I knew what to expect. Much better to enter with a framework of postmodernism and postcolonialism than any generic and narrative expectations of fantasy. Once I knew where to look, I found its insights into language, power, and human experiences very powerful, and I really admired the different styles and what that said about stories themselves. Despite an initial bad experience, I'm happy to rate this book very highly because it was genuinely a case where I needed to change rather than it.
10/10 in personal rating system
This is a weird one, because I read it twice in the same year (with A Stranger in Olondria in between), and my opinion radically shifted. At first I merely respected the book rather than enjoyed it - I found it very experimental, to the point of too fragmented for me. But even in the first read, the ending really stuck with me in its beauty and use of the fantastic. Returning to it, I was completely sold, now that I knew what to expect. Much better to enter with a framework of postmodernism and postcolonialism than any generic and narrative expectations of fantasy. Once I knew where to look, I found its insights into language, power, and human experiences very powerful, and I really admired the different styles and what that said about stories themselves. Despite an initial bad experience, I'm happy to rate this book very highly because it was genuinely a case where I needed to change rather than it.
10/10 in personal rating system
elisekatherine's review against another edition
4.0
This is, like A Stranger in Olondria, kind of a hard book to review. On the one hand, it's full of stylistic flourishes and doesn't actually have a whole lot of plot. On the other hand, it's so beautiful and atmospheric and the way it's telling the story it does have is cool and unique and exciting, and I closed the book feeling like I'd just taken a bath in some beautiful language. On the whole, net positive, but if you go into this plot looking for a linear plot or story, you're going to come out disappointed. Just enjoy the words as they happen.
fatsopandah's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
3.25
cordelia_egnor's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
veil0819's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
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
5.0