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lunarchfey's review against another edition
5.0
4.5/5 stars
I honestly love this book, even though there's a few obvious things I took issue with: a really slow burn start, a zoomed-in focus on inconsequential details and a zoom out on the more dramatic situations, not enough time spent with the characters and a lot of very dense and elaborate worldbuilding. Looking back at it as a whole, I found that I didn't really care, and I had trouble putting it down along the way.
The worldbuilding is complex and really immersive. The prose is fantastical and almost lyrical in the way the story is woven together, and it's certainly unique. Just, you know, sometimes enters "what the heck is even happening" territory. A depth and breadth and complexity that probably could have supported a book twice as long with two sequels* (*sequels that actually followed in the style and the spirit of the original, let's not even talk about the ones we've actually gotten).
As for the characters... I'd have liked to see more attention paid to the secondary & tertiary characters, since they aren't given a lot of thought or time or depth. But at the same time, it's written as a first-person recollection, and I was never, ever bored with Jessex. He's some strange, sleeper protagonist where he seems like an ordinary farmboy but is actualy quirky and fascinating and way more than a little weird and I was totally there for that.
I honestly love this book, even though there's a few obvious things I took issue with: a really slow burn start, a zoomed-in focus on inconsequential details and a zoom out on the more dramatic situations, not enough time spent with the characters and a lot of very dense and elaborate worldbuilding. Looking back at it as a whole, I found that I didn't really care, and I had trouble putting it down along the way.
The worldbuilding is complex and really immersive. The prose is fantastical and almost lyrical in the way the story is woven together, and it's certainly unique. Just, you know, sometimes enters "what the heck is even happening" territory. A depth and breadth and complexity that probably could have supported a book twice as long with two sequels* (*sequels that actually followed in the style and the spirit of the original, let's not even talk about the ones we've actually gotten).
As for the characters... I'd have liked to see more attention paid to the secondary & tertiary characters, since they aren't given a lot of thought or time or depth. But at the same time, it's written as a first-person recollection, and I was never, ever bored with Jessex. He's some strange, sleeper protagonist where he seems like an ordinary farmboy but is actualy quirky and fascinating and way more than a little weird and I was totally there for that.
Spoiler
It's definitely important to note that the main romantic relationship between someone just-barely-a-legal-adult and a millennia-old godking. Obviously this is super not everyone's jam. For me personally, the combination of Jessex writing in first person as an introspective recalling however-many-years later, that weird gray territory of "actually I spent many years montage training in a world where time was technically not passing so I'm older than I look...", and Jessex being the initiator reduced the issues of that for me, but YMMV. Jessex & KK were probably as healthy as you could get for being really, really weird immortals.siavahda's review
5.0
I really wish Jessex had been at least a bit older, but I can't justifiy not giving this book 5 stars. Absolutely spectacular!
karireads's review against another edition
Could not get past the idea of an immortal king who has lived for hundreds of years becoming sexually involved with a 15 year old boy, even though everyone around the king tells him that it is not appropriate.
Shame, because I liked 'The Ordinary' which I read before this one.
Shame, because I liked 'The Ordinary' which I read before this one.
jhinuuserrett's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
crowyhead's review against another edition
4.0
It's odd, because in some ways this isn't a very well-written book: it's dense, slow-moving and at times hard to follow; I found the sequel, The Ordinary, to be superior in terms of storytelling and writing. But despite its flaws, this is a captivating story -- I had trouble putting this book down, even though it was slow going. Grimsley has obviously put a lot of thought into the workings of the society depicted in the novel. He also manages to write about the use of magic and make it more than just snapping one's fingers or saying some magic words. All in all, this is a flawed but fascinating novel, and well worth the patience required to read it.
cindywho's review against another edition
3.0
This was a solid high fantasy - a coming of age story of a young wizard, some of which was predictable and some that was unexpected. I found the war bits tedious at times, but enjoyed the rest. There was a tiny bit of foreshadowing for The Ordinary and it was nice to get Jessex's story.
tui_reads's review against another edition
Capsule review: high fantasy with an Arthurian flavour (but not directly Arthurian as far as I can tell; or anyway my Arthurian knowledge isn't strong enough to make the analogies if they exist). A few elements unique & spectacular, a few flaws frustratingly typical of the genre. I am very glad I read it, anyway.
Also I felt a tiny bit cockblocked by the ending. If I'm going to get through 550 pages of high fantasy, dammit, I don't want the happy ending summarised for me! I want to experience it in detail for at least as long as the author spent on describing troop movements!
On the other hand, though, there are things I got out of this book that are unique to high fantasy and yet not that common in the genre nevertheless - a story that is epic in scope yet driven by personality and individuality, rooted deeply in character and clearly favouring character over plot. And some parts of this book are genuinely unique. I don't think I've ever read something where they take a 100-year break in the middle for the protagonist to go into a coma and the battle with the dark lord is, essentially, lost - or at least the victory is put on hold for a long time ... those elements were fascinating, worthwhile, I treasured them.
So: uneven, I guess, but I'm very glad I read it.
Spoiler
I can't give this book a rating because I don't know if I loved it or I hated it. I couldn't put it down, that's for sure. I got stuck in the world, captivated by its rhythms. At the same time, the magic system, deliberately opaque, bothered me quite a bit. I understand that it's supposed to be outside my mortal ken, but this is quite a frustrating experience as a reader when key plotpoints hang on magical technicalities. Moreover, as the book went on, quite intentionally, I believe, Jessex in particular and Kirith Kirin got more and more distant, with fewer and fewer flashes of warmth and humanity, and that wasn't necessarily an enjoyable experience.Also I felt a tiny bit cockblocked by the ending. If I'm going to get through 550 pages of high fantasy, dammit, I don't want the happy ending summarised for me! I want to experience it in detail for at least as long as the author spent on describing troop movements!
On the other hand, though, there are things I got out of this book that are unique to high fantasy and yet not that common in the genre nevertheless - a story that is epic in scope yet driven by personality and individuality, rooted deeply in character and clearly favouring character over plot. And some parts of this book are genuinely unique. I don't think I've ever read something where they take a 100-year break in the middle for the protagonist to go into a coma and the battle with the dark lord is, essentially, lost - or at least the victory is put on hold for a long time ... those elements were fascinating, worthwhile, I treasured them.
So: uneven, I guess, but I'm very glad I read it.
avelinereynard's review against another edition
5.0
4.5/5 stars
I honestly love this book, even though there's a few obvious things I took issue with: a really slow burn start, a zoomed-in focus on inconsequential details and a zoom out on the more dramatic situations, not enough time spent with the characters and a lot of very dense and elaborate worldbuilding. Looking back at it as a whole, I found that I didn't really care, and I had trouble putting it down along the way.
The worldbuilding is complex and really immersive. The prose is fantastical and almost lyrical in the way the story is woven together, and it's certainly unique. Just, you know, sometimes enters "what the heck is even happening" territory. A depth and breadth and complexity that probably could have supported a book twice as long with two sequels* (*sequels that actually followed in the style and the spirit of the original, let's not even talk about the ones we've actually gotten).
As for the characters... I'd have liked to see more attention paid to the secondary & tertiary characters, since they aren't given a lot of thought or time or depth. But at the same time, it's written as a first-person recollection, and I was never, ever bored with Jessex. He's some strange, sleeper protagonist where he seems like an ordinary farmboy but is actualy quirky and fascinating and way more than a little weird and I was totally there for that.
I honestly love this book, even though there's a few obvious things I took issue with: a really slow burn start, a zoomed-in focus on inconsequential details and a zoom out on the more dramatic situations, not enough time spent with the characters and a lot of very dense and elaborate worldbuilding. Looking back at it as a whole, I found that I didn't really care, and I had trouble putting it down along the way.
The worldbuilding is complex and really immersive. The prose is fantastical and almost lyrical in the way the story is woven together, and it's certainly unique. Just, you know, sometimes enters "what the heck is even happening" territory. A depth and breadth and complexity that probably could have supported a book twice as long with two sequels* (*sequels that actually followed in the style and the spirit of the original, let's not even talk about the ones we've actually gotten).
As for the characters... I'd have liked to see more attention paid to the secondary & tertiary characters, since they aren't given a lot of thought or time or depth. But at the same time, it's written as a first-person recollection, and I was never, ever bored with Jessex. He's some strange, sleeper protagonist where he seems like an ordinary farmboy but is actualy quirky and fascinating and way more than a little weird and I was totally there for that.