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ptaradactyl's review
4.0
Mostly enjoyed it, although there are a few small things that frustrated me. The world and the characters are fascinating.
Spoiler
listen to you attack dog! Chaeri is up to no good!catastrophic_books's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
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
4.5
tyrshand's review
3.0
This novel succeeds most with its lush descriptions. I don't think anyone could deny that it has that. The author certainly loves her world building and I found in refreshing that it is based off of something other than the standard European influences. Now, I did not read her prior trilogy and am not sure how much it would tie into this -- other than being set in the same world.
I enjoyed her four main characters well enough, but found it a bit odd that as much as we get to know them, it felt as if their relationships to each other (the ones who met, anyway) were mostly glossed over. Obviously the Dead Man and the Gage had a lot more of their entwined backstory revealed, but at the same time, a lot was left out. The multiple love plots that show up felt rather insta-love. So the powers of description did not seem to be focused on character interactions near as much as it was on the world.
The magic system was fascinating, as well as the effects that it had on society and people. The hints of religion were also interesting.
So, with all these pluses, why only three stars? Well, while objectively quite a bit happened, it felt as if not much happened. The novel felt longer to me than it was and as if it took forever to get to major plot points. There wasn't much resolution, either, because by the time the biggest events happened it was time for book two, apparently. I will likely continue with the series, but no guarantees. I'm interested to see what happens, but the pacing was tough for me.
I should say, however, that lately I don't have as much patience for books with multiple POVs. They make me feel as if every time something is about to happen, it all gets delayed by someone else. Do, if you enjoy multiple POVs, I bet you wouldn't have the issues I did with the novel.
What a beautiful cover, though!
I enjoyed her four main characters well enough, but found it a bit odd that as much as we get to know them, it felt as if their relationships to each other (the ones who met, anyway) were mostly glossed over. Obviously the Dead Man and the Gage had a lot more of their entwined backstory revealed, but at the same time, a lot was left out. The multiple love plots that show up felt rather insta-love. So the powers of description did not seem to be focused on character interactions near as much as it was on the world.
The magic system was fascinating, as well as the effects that it had on society and people. The hints of religion were also interesting.
So, with all these pluses, why only three stars? Well, while objectively quite a bit happened, it felt as if not much happened. The novel felt longer to me than it was and as if it took forever to get to major plot points. There wasn't much resolution, either, because by the time the biggest events happened it was time for book two, apparently. I will likely continue with the series, but no guarantees. I'm interested to see what happens, but the pacing was tough for me.
I should say, however, that lately I don't have as much patience for books with multiple POVs. They make me feel as if every time something is about to happen, it all gets delayed by someone else. Do, if you enjoy multiple POVs, I bet you wouldn't have the issues I did with the novel.
What a beautiful cover, though!
diesmali's review
3.0
A richly vibrant world with believable characters of fantastic origin. Not so much plot... or at least not so much of excitement happening.
broomgrass's review
3.0
Hmm, so...I liked it, in general, I guess. I might have liked it more if I had read other books by her, since the world seems interesting. This book did a good job of focusing on the Lotus kingdom, but it was mostly done in exposition-heavy scenes (and, uh, not sure how I feel about the use of Indian culture/rajas/henna/etc). I would have liked a bit more showing and a bit less telling. I did like the characters, though, and the playing with gender, etc.
In addition to the too-much exposition, the writing style was sometimes clunky or cliche. I'm thinking here of phrases such as "potent portents", sentences such as "You wouldn't think a doctor would be so fastidious of sensibility. You would be wrong," or "It was less like a sunrise as the Gage knew them and more like a beautiful woman lifting the gauzy edge of her veil, showing a soft and gold expanse of skin," or "Even as he knew her provincialism for naiveté, it filled him with a sense of kinship to her", and several terms that I had to look up but seemed more like use of a thesaurus than adding to the text (was fetor really needed in place of stench? or bight instead of bay?).
In addition to the too-much exposition, the writing style was sometimes clunky or cliche. I'm thinking here of phrases such as "potent portents", sentences such as "You wouldn't think a doctor would be so fastidious of sensibility. You would be wrong," or "It was less like a sunrise as the Gage knew them and more like a beautiful woman lifting the gauzy edge of her veil, showing a soft and gold expanse of skin," or "Even as he knew her provincialism for naiveté, it filled him with a sense of kinship to her", and several terms that I had to look up but seemed more like use of a thesaurus than adding to the text (was fetor really needed in place of stench? or bight instead of bay?).
chukg's review
4.0
Very well done, interesting viewpoint characters and some good magic. Definitely the first book of a trilogy though, it will be hard to wait for the next one.
onceandfuturelaura's review
3.0
A lushly built fantasy world in the grand Tolkien style, moved east a bit. Not a lot of action. Strangely patriarchal given that three of the most powerful people in the story are women who run city states. Also a cyborg.
argentrabe's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
emvdw's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0