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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I had heard good things about this book and was eager to read it. However, it was just NOT catching my interest at all, despite having an interesting premise. I was hoping to give it a chance at least until page 100, but I just couldn't do it. The characters were so flat, dull, and non-reactive that it felt impossible to connect with any of them or even picture them as actual people. Seriously, their lack of reaction is disturbing. They travel to another dimension, but they might as well have just popped over to a quirky bar across town for how little they seemed to care. No wonderment, no excitement, no thrill.
To top it all off, the writing was grating (IMO). It was like enduring the prose of someone who loved to hear themselves talk. If the writing had more lyricism or artistic skill, I could more easily forgive this, but it doesn't. It was just...ugh. I've never read Kay's work before, so I don't know if this is his usual writing style (I hope not), but regardless, this book is not for me.
To top it all off, the writing was grating (IMO). It was like enduring the prose of someone who loved to hear themselves talk. If the writing had more lyricism or artistic skill, I could more easily forgive this, but it doesn't. It was just...ugh. I've never read Kay's work before, so I don't know if this is his usual writing style (I hope not), but regardless, this book is not for me.
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dumb
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
meh.
second try at reading this first novel (and first of a series) of kay’s, and i made it all the way through this time.
it’s astounding to me how little i like this book, because his later books (especially, for me, ‘a brightness long ago’) are just SO beautifully written (amazing passages of prose) and so existentially emotional. every character sings and has resonance, the story feels so *there*. really, some of my favorite writing!
here tho, it just never lands for me. probably because the main ensemble of other-world crashing characters (all white, all cis, all mostly straight) are just so lackluster. any shine they end up with comes from being saved, trained or befriended by a MUCH better cast of secondary characters. and, it just really feels like a settler + savior vibe overall.
also, pretty significant (and unwarranted to tell the storyline it’s connected to) SA at end of book.
i do not love it, and won’t read the rest of the series. and remain flummoxed that my experience with this author can be so inconsistent! truly, both ends of the spectrum!
second try at reading this first novel (and first of a series) of kay’s, and i made it all the way through this time.
it’s astounding to me how little i like this book, because his later books (especially, for me, ‘a brightness long ago’) are just SO beautifully written (amazing passages of prose) and so existentially emotional. every character sings and has resonance, the story feels so *there*. really, some of my favorite writing!
here tho, it just never lands for me. probably because the main ensemble of other-world crashing characters (all white, all cis, all mostly straight) are just so lackluster. any shine they end up with comes from being saved, trained or befriended by a MUCH better cast of secondary characters. and, it just really feels like a settler + savior vibe overall.
also, pretty significant (and unwarranted to tell the storyline it’s connected to) SA at end of book.
i do not love it, and won’t read the rest of the series. and remain flummoxed that my experience with this author can be so inconsistent! truly, both ends of the spectrum!
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
"In the space of calm almost lost in what followed, the question of why tended to surface."
If you enjoy Patrick Rothfuss for his prose then Guy Gavriel Kay will also be down your alley.
If you enjoy Patrick Rothfuss for his prose then Guy Gavriel Kay will also be down your alley.
Probably some of the best written high fantasy. Some of how GKK structures the plot can be annoying, but the end result feels alright.