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chrisb913's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
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? Yes
4.5
For a debut novel, this was incredible. It took me on a journey through all of Dara and Ken Liu has established and the detail he put into the HUGE cast of characters was amazing. Even if the side characters were there for only a couple chapters, he was able to incorporate such life into them. Also his "villain" work is on point. The way Ken made me dispise certain characters through their inner monologuing, actions, and words. I literally could not stop reading this book.
There were two major cons for me though. One was the rampant misogyny throughout. The "villains" were open about it but even the heroes had it shine through from time to time either in actions or inner monologuing. Also, around the 55%-75% mark the story feels like it comes to a screeching halt to slog through some muck. It does pick up and ends on a high note.
There were two major cons for me though. One was the rampant misogyny throughout. The "villains" were open about it but even the heroes had it shine through from time to time either in actions or inner monologuing. Also, around the 55%-75% mark the story feels like it comes to a screeching halt to slog through some muck. It does pick up and ends on a high note.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War, and Death
Moderate: Misogyny, Suicide, Sexism, and Murder
Minor: Sexual assault, Animal death, and Rape
chasinggrace's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
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? It's complicated
3.0
A fantastic, epic, detailed story of the battle for power in one of the most intricate worlds I’ve ever read about. This story examines the ethics of war, trust between friends and foes, betrayals of grand proportions, and how far one will go for what he believes is right.
The culture that the author creates is masterful and the world is lush. If you take the time to understand the intricacies of this land and its people, you’ll be transported.
However, it’s clear that this book is to be seen as a tool for world-building. While the pacing isn’t bad, the middle of the novel is bogged down with details - names, battles, animals, locations, places, gods, etc - that slow down the plot. I found this book difficult to want to pick up at times, because it isn’t something to be consumed lightly. There is a need to constantly remind myself of who is who, where everyone is, which god rules which state, what city is where, etc. Many characters are introduced just to be killed, but such is the matter of war.
Overall, I’m interested to see where this story goes, but I hope the next books are more intriguing than a war & peace play-by-play. I hope to feel more attached to the characters, hopefully through more intricate relationships. This was a slow-burn labor of love to read.
Favorite characters I hope to see explored in the following books: Jia, Gin, Kuni
The culture that the author creates is masterful and the world is lush. If you take the time to understand the intricacies of this land and its people, you’ll be transported.
However, it’s clear that this book is to be seen as a tool for world-building. While the pacing isn’t bad, the middle of the novel is bogged down with details - names, battles, animals, locations, places, gods, etc - that slow down the plot. I found this book difficult to want to pick up at times, because it isn’t something to be consumed lightly. There is a need to constantly remind myself of who is who, where everyone is, which god rules which state, what city is where, etc. Many characters are introduced just to be killed, but such is the matter of war.
Overall, I’m interested to see where this story goes, but I hope the next books are more intriguing than a war & peace play-by-play. I hope to feel more attached to the characters, hopefully through more intricate relationships. This was a slow-burn labor of love to read.
Favorite characters I hope to see explored in the following books: Jia, Gin, Kuni
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Classism, Colonisation, Gore, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Blood, Pregnancy, Self harm, War, Death, Animal death, Grief, Murder, Misogyny, and Suicide
isi__1's review
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
This novel felt extremely ambitious. The plot spans many years, there‘s a ton of different named characters, a lot of them fairly relevant to the bigger picture, and all of it is told by an omniscient narrator. Thus, the reader always knows what every character in any scene is feeling and/or thinking at any point in time.
The focus of the story constantly switches between different sides of the war and also between more important characters and very minor characters.
The best way to describe this book is that it feels like reading a textbook about this important historical event: This battle happened at this place, then these characters met and had a discussion about this topic, then this other battle took place, then this person died, then another battle took place,…you get the gist.
I saw someone else describe this as “outlining a whole epic series“ which is a rather apt description, in my opinion.
Because the narration felt so clinical and impersonal, I had a hard time getting attached to the characters. In the same way you wouldn‘t really get attached to the characters in a history textbook. I‘ve heard that the sequel is a bit more character-driven. That‘s why I really want to try it. If it doesn‘t manage to pull me in, though, I‘m just gonna have to accept that this series might not be for me.
It very well is a case of this book just not working for me personally. I would still recommend checking it out if it sounds interesting, because it could be a new favorite for someone else.
The writer is certainly skilled and the book feels well-thought-out. The concept is definitely quite intriguing, but the execution simply didn‘t work for me.
I don‘t dislike this book, but I also don‘t care about it at all. It unfortunately left me with this feeling of apathy. Not necessarily what I‘m looking for when I‘m reading a book for entertainment.
The focus of the story constantly switches between different sides of the war and also between more important characters and very minor characters.
The best way to describe this book is that it feels like reading a textbook about this important historical event: This battle happened at this place, then these characters met and had a discussion about this topic, then this other battle took place, then this person died, then another battle took place,…you get the gist.
I saw someone else describe this as “outlining a whole epic series“ which is a rather apt description, in my opinion.
Because the narration felt so clinical and impersonal, I had a hard time getting attached to the characters. In the same way you wouldn‘t really get attached to the characters in a history textbook. I‘ve heard that the sequel is a bit more character-driven. That‘s why I really want to try it. If it doesn‘t manage to pull me in, though, I‘m just gonna have to accept that this series might not be for me.
It very well is a case of this book just not working for me personally. I would still recommend checking it out if it sounds interesting, because it could be a new favorite for someone else.
The writer is certainly skilled and the book feels well-thought-out. The concept is definitely quite intriguing, but the execution simply didn‘t work for me.
I don‘t dislike this book, but I also don‘t care about it at all. It unfortunately left me with this feeling of apathy. Not necessarily what I‘m looking for when I‘m reading a book for entertainment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Infidelity, Murder, Violence, Suicide, and Misogyny
Minor: Pregnancy
blacksphinx's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Misogyny, Infidelity, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, War, Gore, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Grief, Drug use, Pregnancy, Xenophobia, Slavery, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Trafficking, and Kidnapping
Minor: Infertility, Cannibalism, Excrement, and Colonisation
There is lots of talk of forcing women into sexual slavery. Eye injuries.paperbacktiger's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Murder, Misogyny, Animal death, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: Rape
kendal_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Violence, War, Murder, Colonisation, and Death
macliffe's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A really good book overall. I felt immersed in the world and very attached to some of the characters. The reason I marked it down was just because sometimes the world building was just a little too vast for me. The were so many locations and they’d get conquered by this person or that person so it was really hard to keep track of (I didn’t have access to a map which did not help. I would suggest reading the physical book of this and not listening to it on audio like I did just so it’s easier to keep things straight). I couldn’t tell a lot of the side characters apart from each other. I had other little nitpicks which bumped it down to a 3.5 for me, but I did always enjoy it overall. It did a great job of immersing me every time I picked it up again and I always wanted to keep reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Excrement, Misogyny, Torture, Infertility, Sexism, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Suicide, War, Murder, Gore, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Sexual content and Child abuse
Minor: Animal cruelty, Blood, and Pregnancy
noellelovesbooks's review against another edition
Content Warnings: violence, war themes, blood, gore, suicide, death, sexism, racism, death of loved one[s],
This is an incredible novel that shows so many complex characters. It has such a vast world that leaves you desperately wanting to explore more of it.
The book seemed quite daunting when I tried reading the physical copy. I think I kept letting the size of the book and the small print intimidate me...so I switched over to my ereader and stopped stressing. I'm so glad that I didn't end up DNF-ing and was able to fully experience the ups and downs in this amazing story.
This is an incredible novel that shows so many complex characters. It has such a vast world that leaves you desperately wanting to explore more of it.
The book seemed quite daunting when I tried reading the physical copy. I think I kept letting the size of the book and the small print intimidate me...so I switched over to my ereader and stopped stressing. I'm so glad that I didn't end up DNF-ing and was able to fully experience the ups and downs in this amazing story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, War, Murder, Animal death, Violence, Child death, and Death
nquinlan's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Murder, Suicide, Violence, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Child abuse
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Torture, Animal death, Sexual violence, Rape, and Infidelity
Minor: Trafficking, Infertility, and Death of parent
sabrinz's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I really enjoyed this book - even if it took me ages to finish. It was more circumstances that kept me from reading more than me not wanting to.
For everyone wanting to read this, this book is best suited when you have time to read for longer periods of time. If you read it chapter by chapter with even some days between chapters, you might lose some of the connections that are woven in the different chapters and that tie the different characters together.
It's a brilliant book about friendship and how things are perceived, but also how you go about doing things.
For everyone wanting to read this, this book is best suited when you have time to read for longer periods of time. If you read it chapter by chapter with even some days between chapters, you might lose some of the connections that are woven in the different chapters and that tie the different characters together.
It's a brilliant book about friendship and how things are perceived, but also how you go about doing things.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery
Moderate: Death of parent, Sexism, Suicide, Blood, Death, Grief, Murder, War, and Violence