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miggins1610's review against another edition
4.0
A really fun read, with the first 50% a deep dive into Atalantean society and history, the 2nd an expedition into growing above prejudice to protect the last people of the Atalantean empire. I have #2 ready to go, and i am very excited as a lot of setup is now out the way, paving the way for an truly meaningful journey from ignorance to enlightenment by way of war, ruin, and adventure
szeththeassassin's review
5.0
Wow, just wow. A Drowned Kingdom is a book that pulls you in, absorbs you into it's world, and then refuses to let go. I would think about this book all of the time, making me think and ponder about what was to come. I felt like it was a real world, the book feeling it was a history of what transpired in the eyes of Othrun.
From the beginning, the religion and beliefs of Othrun become prominent and real. Written in a first-person narrative, we are able to see the world with the logic of his beliefs at the forefront. It captures a lot of the fantasy elements in a new light. The magic is present and just hinted at what is to come in the future. The action is breath-taking, beautifully described, and brutal. That is just the way that I like it.
The world is extremely rich. Beautifully detailed and different as we visit from place to place. You grow a true attachment to this world because of the love you can feel for it from the characters. The characters are extremely relatable. Each was detailed and used in ways that made complete sense according to the story. I like the flaws that each of them showed, making them real to the point of expecting to find them in a history book.
I eagerly look forward to the next installment of this series as it left some definite hints at what is to come. P.L. Stewart writes in a way that makes you want to read all day! Beautifully done and I can't recommend this book enough.
CW: Language and a few adult situations.
Thank you for reading my review and as always, Happy Reading!!
From the beginning, the religion and beliefs of Othrun become prominent and real. Written in a first-person narrative, we are able to see the world with the logic of his beliefs at the forefront. It captures a lot of the fantasy elements in a new light. The magic is present and just hinted at what is to come in the future. The action is breath-taking, beautifully described, and brutal. That is just the way that I like it.
The world is extremely rich. Beautifully detailed and different as we visit from place to place. You grow a true attachment to this world because of the love you can feel for it from the characters. The characters are extremely relatable. Each was detailed and used in ways that made complete sense according to the story. I like the flaws that each of them showed, making them real to the point of expecting to find them in a history book.
I eagerly look forward to the next installment of this series as it left some definite hints at what is to come. P.L. Stewart writes in a way that makes you want to read all day! Beautifully done and I can't recommend this book enough.
CW: Language and a few adult situations.
Thank you for reading my review and as always, Happy Reading!!
dragontomes2000's review against another edition
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
2.0
I have been sitting on this review for like a full day now. A Drowned Kingdom is a book a struggled with at the very beginning. I did start this book and put it down after the first 50 pages but decided to give it another go. Was it still a struggle, very much so, but by the end my interest is piqued. For how long, we shall see.
A Drowned Kingdom is split into three parts and part one is nothing but world building and the main character describing his past. It is like 128 pages with little dialogue. I am almost certain it is like 10 pages of dialogue, the rest is pretty much inferred that it happened. It is very jarring and makes part one really hard to get through. But then you come to Parts two and three and it is almost as if the book was written by a different author. The story starts to develop and the pace is much quicker although not a lot really happens. I have seen places that this will be a seven book series so there is still a lot of story to be told.
The last thing I will talk about really briefly is that what saved this book, is the world building because it is really fascinating. It is very religious focused (which I myself am not religious so that was hard for me but didn't hinder me in anyway). It is also very rich and there is much potential. What really hindered this book, besides the pacing, was the main character of Othrun and the characters in general. Othrun is only memorable because being inside his head and his head only is hard. He is a man stuck in his ways and his way is just not hitting it. He is quite insufferable and I want the other characters to shake some sense into him.
I am intrigued enough to see how the story develops in book two. I enjoyed what was transpiring in parts two and three, I hope the author continues in that style rather then what he did in part one. I don't know if this review is going to help people or deter people. Honestly, this book seems like one you just have to read for yourself.
A Drowned Kingdom is split into three parts and part one is nothing but world building and the main character describing his past. It is like 128 pages with little dialogue. I am almost certain it is like 10 pages of dialogue, the rest is pretty much inferred that it happened. It is very jarring and makes part one really hard to get through. But then you come to Parts two and three and it is almost as if the book was written by a different author. The story starts to develop and the pace is much quicker although not a lot really happens. I have seen places that this will be a seven book series so there is still a lot of story to be told.
The last thing I will talk about really briefly is that what saved this book, is the world building because it is really fascinating. It is very religious focused (which I myself am not religious so that was hard for me but didn't hinder me in anyway). It is also very rich and there is much potential. What really hindered this book, besides the pacing, was the main character of Othrun and the characters in general. Othrun is only memorable because being inside his head and his head only is hard. He is a man stuck in his ways and his way is just not hitting it. He is quite insufferable and I want the other characters to shake some sense into him.
I am intrigued enough to see how the story develops in book two. I enjoyed what was transpiring in parts two and three, I hope the author continues in that style rather then what he did in part one. I don't know if this review is going to help people or deter people. Honestly, this book seems like one you just have to read for yourself.
rplauer's review
5.0
I’m still not one for reviews; that’s never going to change. But I know how important they are to authors so for that reason I’m giving this a shot, so take it for what it’s worth.
A Drowned Kingdom is the debut novel from P.L. Stuart, but I would have never suspected he wasn’t a seasoned author due to the writing alone. Stuart does an amazing job painting a rich world with complex characters in this very compelling fantasy epic! Or is it epic fantasy? Either works well to describe this work. But I can easily see this making future lists of top epic fantasy novels! (Seriously though, or is it fantasy epic?)
There is a real literary classic feel to his words; if H.G. Wells had leaned more towards pure fantasy and not so much the realms of science fiction, this is close to what I would imagine that could have been. That may be a weird comparison, but that is what kept coming to mind as I read, and possibly just because Wells is one of my favorite ‘classic’ writers.
I cannot wait to see what P.L. releases next, and if this debut novel is any indication, whatever it is will be fantastic! I eagerly await the next entry in this saga!
(P.S. I did warn that I'm not great with reviews. Sorry about that.)
A Drowned Kingdom is the debut novel from P.L. Stuart, but I would have never suspected he wasn’t a seasoned author due to the writing alone. Stuart does an amazing job painting a rich world with complex characters in this very compelling fantasy epic! Or is it epic fantasy? Either works well to describe this work. But I can easily see this making future lists of top epic fantasy novels! (Seriously though, or is it fantasy epic?)
There is a real literary classic feel to his words; if H.G. Wells had leaned more towards pure fantasy and not so much the realms of science fiction, this is close to what I would imagine that could have been. That may be a weird comparison, but that is what kept coming to mind as I read, and possibly just because Wells is one of my favorite ‘classic’ writers.
I cannot wait to see what P.L. releases next, and if this debut novel is any indication, whatever it is will be fantastic! I eagerly await the next entry in this saga!
(P.S. I did warn that I'm not great with reviews. Sorry about that.)
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