Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
I've had this on my Kindle for ages. When I finally got around to reading it, I was all "Why didn't I read this earlier??" The premise is right up my alley: a detective novel set in a typical mediaeval fantasy setting with magic practitioners, where a returned ex-soldier teams up with an upright policeman to solve crime and deny their feelings for each other. The resolution of the mystery happens a little too fast considering the steady pacing of the rest of the book, but it was definitely enjoyable.
Just mediocre. Mediocre world building, mediocre plot, mediocre characters, mediocre feels. Terrible copy editing, terrible name choices (are they French? Why don't the MCs think of themselves by first name? I can accept why they think of others as Lastname, but call them Firstname, but themselves?!), terrible foreshadowing (I, for one, knew whodunnit from the very first mention), terrible comma abuse, terrible emotional connection between the characters (as in there wasn't anything of the sort). Disappointing use of an intricate facade when the real motivation behind the antagonist was "HE'S MAD."
Why am I even giving it three stars, I don't know.
Why am I even giving it three stars, I don't know.
I good book, though somewhat marred by poor editing. I had some how got the impression that it was going to be a romance, which it decidedly was not. It was still an excellent crime/fantasy novel, but false expectations meant that I spent far too long waiting for it to be something that it was not. Once I realized that, I had an easier time settling in and enjoying the wonderful world building.
The world-building was a bit impenetrable at first, and while I eventually figured out things from context clues, this was possibly the first time I ever wanted a glossary in a fantasy novel.
That said, this was delightful. Rough entry aside, the world-building is FASCINATING and wonderful, and I loved how pivotal the world-building was in the mystery.
Great cop procedural in a Renaissance-flavored fantasy novel. Also, I almost passed this book over because the blurb sounded like it was a Dude Novel, full of Dudely Dudes, but nah, this was good. Deeply enjoyed the hints to a romance, but if I hadn't been spoiled that they eventually get together, I probably would have been annoyed. (LOOKING AT YOU, FITZ AND THE FOOL)
That said, this was delightful. Rough entry aside, the world-building is FASCINATING and wonderful, and I loved how pivotal the world-building was in the mystery.
Great cop procedural in a Renaissance-flavored fantasy novel. Also, I almost passed this book over because the blurb sounded like it was a Dude Novel, full of Dudely Dudes, but nah, this was good. Deeply enjoyed the hints to a romance, but if I hadn't been spoiled that they eventually get together, I probably would have been annoyed. (LOOKING AT YOU, FITZ AND THE FOOL)
A very satisfying whodunnit set in a lushly detailed medieval fantasy alt-Europe where magic is REAAAAL (this is honestly like... 90% of what I ask from my fiction) and mediated by astrology. The romance is very faint (if this were a fic on AO3 it could be tagged “slow burn,” “no slower,” “really the match doesn’t actually touch the striking strip but it thinks about it that one time”) but I didn’t mind, though I’m looking forward to seeing it develop as the series goes on.
The book feels a bit like a cosier, less strange and prickly cousin of Swordspoint. Not a value judgement! Sometimes cosy is great.
The book feels a bit like a cosier, less strange and prickly cousin of Swordspoint. Not a value judgement! Sometimes cosy is great.
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was just glorious fun. Beautifully and apparently effortlessly developed fantasy world, without the leaden heaps of description and exposition that make so much worldbuilding unreadable. You get a political plot, a cultural background, a whole social structure and a magic system, all conveyed as integral parts of a fast paced investigation plot, with plenty of room for character development. *And* there's three novels and a novella, so I won't be reading anything else for some time. I can't think of any SFF I've enjoyed so much, so effortlessly since the Tales of the Ketty Jay by Chris Wooding, which also have the character-led, plot-driven, immensely readable quality. Loved it.
Edit: Second read because [b:Point of Sighs|38234812|Point of Sighs (Astreiant #4)|Melissa Scott|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1517258191s/38234812.jpg|59917221] is on its way. Everything I first thought stands, with an extra shout out for the magnificent necromancer--the character and worldbuilding there could have supported a book of their own--and especially for the matriarchal and queer-positive society so elegantly and convincingly depicted. Makes you wonder how come so many male authors are unable to conceive of such a thing.
Edit: Second read because [b:Point of Sighs|38234812|Point of Sighs (Astreiant #4)|Melissa Scott|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1517258191s/38234812.jpg|59917221] is on its way. Everything I first thought stands, with an extra shout out for the magnificent necromancer--the character and worldbuilding there could have supported a book of their own--and especially for the matriarchal and queer-positive society so elegantly and convincingly depicted. Makes you wonder how come so many male authors are unable to conceive of such a thing.