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sunjaybooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
5.0
This book has it all! Gender, family trauma, psychic tortoises, ableism, gay sex, moral ambiguity, genocide, the broad scope of history, magic and myth. It's beautifully written and also deeply deeply violent and yet still humanistic in its portrayal of the aggressors, victims, and all the morally ambiguous people in between.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Excrement, War, Ableism, Alcoholism, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Classism, Self harm, Suicide, and Genocide
city_girl_writer's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Words cannot capture how much I have felt while reading this amazing piece of literature. Simon Jimenez became a new all-time favorite and auto-buy author for me. Check out the content warnings though because this is a dark story.
This is a love story to its blade-dented bone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content, Child abuse, and Ableism
Minor: War and Sexual assault
brideshead's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
A perfect blend of first, second, and third person perspective that masterfully evokes folklore, epic fantasy, and brutal human drama. It haunted me the whole time, and it was a visual delight with searing imagery. The characters probably will not leave me for a long while.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism, War, Excrement, Death, Cursing, Animal cruelty, Ableism, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, and Body horror
uncreativeoops's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
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
3.75
I'm still a bit confused tbh. The worldbuilding was really impressive as well as the characters and plot, but I felt kinda detached from it. Loved the inverted theatre part and the switching to 2nd person POV, which gave the main story the atmosphere of a fairy tale. There are also short parts in first person which I now want in every fantasy novel, it was such a good way of humanising background characters and conveying atmosphere. Sometimes the writing was a bit clunky, but most of the scenes were incredibly visual; I could totally see it as a movie. Or maybe several movies, because every part/day had a completely different vibe and they didn' quite connect. And when it started with this magical theatre and fairy tales about how the moon fell in love with the sea I did not expect this much graphic violence. But definitely a new concept. The closest comparison i can think of is The Forever Sea by Joshua Philipp Johnson though the setting is very difderent.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Murder, Torture, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child death, Confinement, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism and Excrement
Minor: Death of parent
charlotteregan's review against another edition
adventurous
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? Yes
5.0
OH MY FUCKING GOD. When I tell you this book ruined me 10000x more than The Vanished Birds did. It is just so, so good. I devoured every paragraph in this book and I cannot even begin telling you how wonderful Jimenez’s writing is.
The thing is he takes you in this world NO ONE will ever be able to create other than him and makes you believe you live there, and once you’ve finished reading his masterpiece, you will look in your ceiling and wonder why you still live in this useless reality where people isn’t just as magical as Simon Jimenez has made them out to be in his amazing, showstopping world.
Jun and Keema? Amazing. My beloveds. My poor, sweet children. They very much deserved that ending and I am so happy. Jimenez loves making me cry with his queer ships and I will never be able to forgive him for it.
Please please please pick up this book. Please read it. And please tell me everything.
The thing is he takes you in this world NO ONE will ever be able to create other than him and makes you believe you live there, and once you’ve finished reading his masterpiece, you will look in your ceiling and wonder why you still live in this useless reality where people isn’t just as magical as Simon Jimenez has made them out to be in his amazing, showstopping world.
Jun and Keema? Amazing. My beloveds. My poor, sweet children. They very much deserved that ending and I am so happy. Jimenez loves making me cry with his queer ships and I will never be able to forgive him for it.
Please please please pick up this book. Please read it. And please tell me everything.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Gore, Cannibalism, Genocide, Body horror, and Ableism
kat__z8's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
This book is, in every way, unbearably quirky and different.
There are first, second, and third person POVs, which were really jarring, and made it really difficult to get through. Even as I managed to trudge through my initial confusion, the sudden switch often took me out of the story.
This book was... something. The beginning was definitely the toughest part to get into, as it switches from the main storyline of Jun and Keema, told through third person, to the second person POV, and then random passersby whose thoughts were written, italicized, in first person. It became tedious in the end, and I kept wondering if the heart-pounding adventures and love story promised would all make it worth it in the end. After all, it begins with an intriguing premise: Jun and Keema are to escort a dying goddess across the land and basically save the world.
The writing is beautiful, and poetic and powerful in its own way, but it means nothing to me when not balanced with an engaging plot or interesting character dynamic. The book feels too ambitious, and as a result it fell flat on the aspects that mattered to me, i.e. storyline, pacing, and characterization.
So, what did I get for getting through such a difficult reading journey? Nothing. Not even a sense of accomplishment for having finished such a... unique book, to put it kindly. It felt like a waste of my time. Beyond the dizzying switches between POVs, this book offers nothing that other more conventional epic fantasy books could not provide, with less exaggerations in an attempt to stand out.
There are first, second, and third person POVs, which were really jarring, and made it really difficult to get through. Even as I managed to trudge through my initial confusion, the sudden switch often took me out of the story.
This book was... something. The beginning was definitely the toughest part to get into, as it switches from the main storyline of Jun and Keema, told through third person, to the second person POV, and then random passersby whose thoughts were written, italicized, in first person. It became tedious in the end, and I kept wondering if the heart-pounding adventures and love story promised would all make it worth it in the end. After all, it begins with an intriguing premise: Jun and Keema are to escort a dying goddess across the land and basically save the world.
The writing is beautiful, and poetic and powerful in its own way, but it means nothing to me when not balanced with an engaging plot or interesting character dynamic. The book feels too ambitious, and as a result it fell flat on the aspects that mattered to me, i.e. storyline, pacing, and characterization.
So, what did I get for getting through such a difficult reading journey? Nothing. Not even a sense of accomplishment for having finished such a... unique book, to put it kindly. It felt like a waste of my time. Beyond the dizzying switches between POVs, this book offers nothing that other more conventional epic fantasy books could not provide, with less exaggerations in an attempt to stand out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Ableism, and Cannibalism
razzberry_pi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Book was a little hard to get into at first as I generally dislike second-person narration, but glad I stuck it out as the narration switches frequently and I eventually got the hang of the authors style.
At no point in this story did it go the way I was expecting it to (/pos). Jimenez is able to balance a bunch of different characters and plot threads simultaneously while incorporating them in unexpected and interesting ways.
At no point in this story did it go the way I was expecting it to (/pos). Jimenez is able to balance a bunch of different characters and plot threads simultaneously while incorporating them in unexpected and interesting ways.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism, Violence, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Ableism, War, and Child abuse
Minor: Colonisation and Xenophobia
ofliterarynature's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism
Moderate: Ableism
discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is a very imaginative story told in a very imaginative way, I have to say that first. The structure of the narrative and how it’s presented is like nothing I’ve ever read. The world is also incredibly unique and vivid.
The inclusion of the whispers of the dead peppered throughout add a ton of depth and nuance to an already multi-dimensional story.
I think the reason why it didn’t get a higher rating from me had more to do with my tendency to space out and struggle through dense fantasy. Especially in a book this long, the writing has to be naturally propulsive, or else it becomes too easy to simply give up in the event that you hit a slog 250 pages in, only realize you’ve still got half the book to go.
That happened to me here. Somewhere around the 370-480 page section of the story, I had to force myself to push on. All in all, I thought the ending was satisfying, but maybe it would’ve been easier for me to get through if the story hadn’t tried to do SO much.
The inclusion of the whispers of the dead peppered throughout add a ton of depth and nuance to an already multi-dimensional story.
I think the reason why it didn’t get a higher rating from me had more to do with my tendency to space out and struggle through dense fantasy. Especially in a book this long, the writing has to be naturally propulsive, or else it becomes too easy to simply give up in the event that you hit a slog 250 pages in, only realize you’ve still got half the book to go.
That happened to me here. Somewhere around the 370-480 page section of the story, I had to force myself to push on. All in all, I thought the ending was satisfying, but maybe it would’ve been easier for me to get through if the story hadn’t tried to do SO much.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Grief, Bullying, Cannibalism, Blood, Death of parent, Gore, Torture, Child death, Violence, and War
wardenred's review against another edition
challenging
dark
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-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
4.75
This is a love story to its blade-dented bone.
Wow, this is an incredibly hard book to rate. On one hand, I almost automatically five-starred it simply for how it is written. I'm in awe of what the author has done with the narrative and the structure. All the POV work alone, and the whole story within a story/world within a world thing—I have no words. And the prose is so eloquent and intricate, too. Honestly, the shape of the story is so masterfully constructed, it's unbelievable. I took so many notes while I was reading. It's a novel, but it's also kind of a play, and a massive mythic folk tale, and OMG, I wish I knew how to make language and structure do such magic.
On the other hand, when it comes to the essence of the story... Well, the longer I sit here, having finished it, the more I start feeling that it got a little lost under all the structural twists and curves. It was hard for me to connect with any of the characters, despite finding Jun's and Keema's journey really poignant. But it wasn't poignant in a way that made me perceive the characters as semi-real people existing at the intersection of the author's imagination and my own, as a reader. It was more like... the central themes of war and power and the impact they have? They shone really brightly through these characters' interactions, and the characters served their purpose really well as elements of the narrative. I don't know if I can explain it any better at this point.
Also, as I look back at the central plot, I feel like it was... maybe even a little bit less interesting than the framing device part, or at least some of the things the framing device part kept hinting at? If it wasn't for the structure, it would be fairly predictable, and it's more than a little slow. On the other hand, it sure was constructed in a way that showed off a lot of really amazing and skillful worldbuilding with plenty of original elements. But it still felt like what the story is came second to how it's told, and I'm not sure I'm a fan of this approach. At the same time, I do feel that the way the story's told is unique, beautiful, and also kind of makes all the darkness within the pages easier to bear (and trust me, there's a lot of darkness within these pages). When you're constantly figuring out the new angle to witness the narrative from, all the gore and the pain becomes just a little more artificial. Something that can't touch you on its own, but can be a vehicle to bring the themes home. Is that a good thing? Damn if I know. Maybe it's simply a little too litfic for my reading habits?..
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Ableism, Cannibalism, Genocide, Blood, Gore, Body horror, Murder, Violence, and War