Reviews with content warning for Violence - Son of the Storm

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Son of the Storm by Suyi Davies Okungbowa

27 reviews

katnortonwriter's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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

5.0

I don't understand why this series isn't bigger, except that it's been taking longer than anticipated to release. If you love the political messiness of epic fantasy like Game of Thrones or Name of the Wind, why are you sleeping on this book? It's got African-inspired dark fantasy, political machinations, a bunch of absolutely kick-ass women in the lineup of main characters (is one of them a sociopath, yes, but she's a great villain!), a rich setting, gorgeous prose... I can't sing this book's praises enough.

I have an ARC copy of book 2 (oops, it's been out for months, sorryyyyyy) on standby, and I look forward to seeing where this goes. On one hand, the structure so far is what I'd expect from an epic fantasy series so I have guesses, but on the other, Okungbowa has literally no problem killing off characters I love in horrible ways. I'm all in on this series now. Danso, you better get your sh** together.

Note: In case people haven't seen the author's comment on the use of the word 'yellowskin,' look up his response. It looks like some readers misinterpreted this to be a slur against an Asian-inspired ethnic group. In reality, he's using it as a correlation for the skintone sometimes described as 'high yellow' and has specified that albinism is prevalent in Lilong's island nation. He goes into more detail, but since I can see how it could be very upsetting for people who misunderstand the descriptions based on words that have been used to harm them, I thought I'd note it here!

Addendum: bonus points for queernormativity and a nonbinary secondary villain. ;)

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bookishkellyn's review against another edition

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adventurous tense

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

4.0

In Bassa, a reverse caste system–where lighter skin is looked down upon to the point of segregation–is upheld. Dansko is ‘mixed’ and therefore basically shunned, despite his academic excellence as a university scholar. After the appearance of a fabled “Yellowskin” (Lilong), his curiosity sets him and his betrothed (Esheme) on different life-changing paths, and Dansko discovers that his otherness may be a gift. The story sucked me in immediately, lulled in the middle, and then somewhat dragged at the end due to Esheme’s role as a one-dimensional villain.

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midnightsharkist's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

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lanid's review

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adventurous mysterious

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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lcgordon's review

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adventurous challenging dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The worldbuilding is incredible....which means the first third of the book is an absolute slog. It really picks up in interesting ways if you can make it through that.

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fiona_gs's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Culture shock that distracts from the story as you need to get your head around what things a next you are in middle of a fight. A good mix of dystopian and fantasy with a very strong African feel.

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lady_valhella's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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zombiezami's review against another edition

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A third of the way in, and it still just wasn't grabbing me. The plot feels very uninspired.

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besnee's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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seanml's review

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adventurous challenging dark 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

3.5

Son of the Storm is a good start to a fantasy series, with tons of potential. The pace of the book I found to be somewhat slow for a while, and a lack of drive in the voice made it so that I had a hard time getting through initially. There is also a large roster of characters to keep track of and racial castes, which were probably the hardest to remember. Despite that, Son of the Storm has a great deal of worldbuilding put into it. It also has a fun magic system that can allow for deus ex machina moments without feeling that they come out of nowhere. The last 100 pages pick up in speed, and that’s mostly thanks to Esheme, who is a wonderfully entertaining antagonist to follow. Looking forward to the second installment! 7/10.

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