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kgdailey929's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Interesting world, but the magical structure didn't make sense and wasn't well explained, which made it really hard to understand the plot. Some of the plot lines seemed frivolous and unnecessary and it was hard for me to follow the importance and consequences of the character's goals/actions. I loved the time spent in different planes most, and woild have loved more of that.
vickizliu's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5 - read this for a new book club I joined who mostly reads queer fantasy. This was a fun read and I'm choosing not to think too hard about the logic behind the world and the alchemy. The book was strong in character development however and the majority of them had strong personalities that made the book an overall enjoyable read.
vengefuldime's review against another edition
3.0
The story follows Siyon, a “petty alchemist” forced into larger magical issues, mostly by accident. At first I thought that it felt like a stand-alone (although I knew it was supposed to be the first of a series), but it does leave a little room at the end for future books. Mostly, I can see room for other characters to develop even more- not sure what plot can be much more. I enjoyed it but did want more from it.
The worldbuilding isn’t necessarily bad, but it isn’t good either, on account of being very hazy. Now, it makes sense for the characters to not think much about the facts of their world, but I don’t know- it’s all completely new to me! I ended up getting an ok feel for power dynamics and how groups worked as the book went on, but I would not be comfortable writing it out. It was an interesting kind of immersive experience, but ultimately I would have preferred to know how things worked earlier. I don’t know about laws and magic in a social sense. I don’t know how anything outside of the city influences Bezim and wish I did, but that’s less important. There are a few times where questions are brought up in-text (How did these people meet? How did this person get me up here?) to be met with a shrug, and that was frustrating even if it comes up later.
The relationship (while having a bi lead and therefore very cool) didn’t work for me. I like both characters, and I get why they would like each other. It’s also a little slower than other relationships I have read lately which worked well, but once they could be attracted to each other that seemed to be over. The focus was always on the main plot, but I wanted a few more binding scenes to strengthen their relationship. Still, I could see them being good together. It was bittersweet that they seems to have a lot of potential, but met at the wrong time. It felt sad but true to the characters, and a unique aspect of the book. I was imagining that future books would include the loss and acceptance of that relationship, and maybe a new love interest. Again, a unique and interesting track, but apparently not to be. Love? There’s love? From where?
The characters themselves, however, are a lot of fun. They all manage to feel clearly distinct and dynamic from the start, which I appreciated. I could see any of the main characters being the protagonist of their own book rather than just supporting characters to Siyon. I felt affection for all of them, but especially Izmirlian. The pacing is also great, each new conflict felt interesting and close on the heels of the last. The opening quickly introduces the reader to another plane and its dangers- then doesn’t even wait very long after introducing Zagiri to make them invested in her safety. The plot is enticing, with mysteries relating to alchemical past and the state of the worlds. I really wanted to know more even as answers were given, with new actions easily taking their place.
I really like what I liked, but I still feel in-between about a lot.
The worldbuilding isn’t necessarily bad, but it isn’t good either, on account of being very hazy. Now, it makes sense for the characters to not think much about the facts of their world, but I don’t know- it’s all completely new to me! I ended up getting an ok feel for power dynamics and how groups worked as the book went on, but I would not be comfortable writing it out. It was an interesting kind of immersive experience, but ultimately I would have preferred to know how things worked earlier. I don’t know about laws and magic in a social sense. I don’t know how anything outside of the city influences Bezim and wish I did, but that’s less important. There are a few times where questions are brought up in-text (How did these people meet? How did this person get me up here?) to be met with a shrug, and that was frustrating even if it comes up later.
The relationship (while having a bi lead and therefore very cool) didn’t work for me. I like both characters, and I get why they would like each other. It’s also a little slower than other relationships I have read lately which worked well, but once they could be attracted to each other that seemed to be over. The focus was always on the main plot, but I wanted a few more binding scenes to strengthen their relationship. Still, I could see them being good together. It was bittersweet that they seems to have a lot of potential, but met at the wrong time. It felt sad but true to the characters, and a unique aspect of the book. I was imagining that future books would include the loss and acceptance of that relationship, and maybe a new love interest. Again, a unique and interesting track, but apparently not to be. Love? There’s love? From where?
The characters themselves, however, are a lot of fun. They all manage to feel clearly distinct and dynamic from the start, which I appreciated. I could see any of the main characters being the protagonist of their own book rather than just supporting characters to Siyon. I felt affection for all of them, but especially Izmirlian. The pacing is also great, each new conflict felt interesting and close on the heels of the last. The opening quickly introduces the reader to another plane and its dangers- then doesn’t even wait very long after introducing Zagiri to make them invested in her safety. The plot is enticing, with mysteries relating to alchemical past and the state of the worlds. I really wanted to know more even as answers were given, with new actions easily taking their place.
I really like what I liked, but I still feel in-between about a lot.
ptaradactyl's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
A book about searching and finding and loving, plus some magic. I want to finish the trilogy, but I will wait till the 3rd book is out because the ending has such unanswered elements
ayaros's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
haylzno's review
adventurous
tense
medium-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
3.75
patriciomas's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-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
3.0
laelyn's review against another edition
4.0
Well this one took me entirely by surprise! I don't know the author, I've never heard of this book, but the description sounded fun and the title really spoke to me, so here I am. And I don't regret a thing. This is why I love reading debuts.
"Notorious Sorcerer" tells the story of street urchin and amateur practicioner of alchemy Siyon, mostly hopping the different planes of existence to gather material to sell to actual alchemists. When he accidentally shows real magical potential while very publicly saving a friend's life, he draws the attention of not just known alchemists, but also their enemies.
"Notorious Sorcerer" is plain fun - charming, funny, sweet, exciting, full of loveable characters. Siyon is a rather typical unlikely hero, but he's so charming it doesn't even matter. Most of the chapters are written from his perspective, although there are a bunch of other pov characters - the sisters Zagiri and Anahid being my favourites and I hope they will be focused on even more in the sequel. The only character I didn't quite warm up to is Izmirlian, a noble on his very own adventure and love interest of our protagonist. I very much loved their romance, but the character itself was never allowed to truly reveal his depths. The villains were also a little too on the nose and onedimensional. though I enjoyed certain reveals happening later on.
The plot is exciting and the pacing admittedly very fast. There are rarely any quiet scenes to take a breath and reflect on events happening, which does take away some potential for more character interactions and development. It also made it very difficult for me to put this book down, which is not a bad thing unless I have to get up early in the morning. The ending also hit me right in the feels, which I wasn't expecting. I also enjoyed the focus on classicm and structural class differences, so next to all the fluff and fun there's always an underlying seriousness, giving the whole book more weight. Now, the politics involved are not very complex but this is not political fantasy as such, so it didn't dampen my enjoyment at all.
The potential for a sequel is there, but I really think this works well as a standalone too. So I can easily recommend this to readers who don't necessarily want to start a new series as well. All in all: great debut, awesome story, loveable characters, go read this!
Many thanks to Orbit and Netgalley for the arc!
"Notorious Sorcerer" tells the story of street urchin and amateur practicioner of alchemy Siyon, mostly hopping the different planes of existence to gather material to sell to actual alchemists. When he accidentally shows real magical potential while very publicly saving a friend's life, he draws the attention of not just known alchemists, but also their enemies.
"Notorious Sorcerer" is plain fun - charming, funny, sweet, exciting, full of loveable characters. Siyon is a rather typical unlikely hero, but he's so charming it doesn't even matter. Most of the chapters are written from his perspective, although there are a bunch of other pov characters - the sisters Zagiri and Anahid being my favourites and I hope they will be focused on even more in the sequel. The only character I didn't quite warm up to is Izmirlian, a noble on his very own adventure and love interest of our protagonist. I very much loved their romance, but the character itself was never allowed to truly reveal his depths. The villains were also a little too on the nose and onedimensional. though I enjoyed certain reveals happening later on.
The plot is exciting and the pacing admittedly very fast. There are rarely any quiet scenes to take a breath and reflect on events happening, which does take away some potential for more character interactions and development. It also made it very difficult for me to put this book down, which is not a bad thing unless I have to get up early in the morning. The ending also hit me right in the feels, which I wasn't expecting. I also enjoyed the focus on classicm and structural class differences, so next to all the fluff and fun there's always an underlying seriousness, giving the whole book more weight. Now, the politics involved are not very complex but this is not political fantasy as such, so it didn't dampen my enjoyment at all.
The potential for a sequel is there, but I really think this works well as a standalone too. So I can easily recommend this to readers who don't necessarily want to start a new series as well. All in all: great debut, awesome story, loveable characters, go read this!
Many thanks to Orbit and Netgalley for the arc!
eleeeeleelee's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
3.0
I actually really liked the plot overall as well as the world and the depth of the characters. However it was really scattered writing in parts that made it harder to follow. The world building was poorly explained and I didn’t quite understand the society until about halfway through. I also thought this is a classic example of what people critique about the fantasy genre- overly complex for little reason and poor explanation. Also the author tried to tackle issues of racism and classism through the fantasy lens (always a messy choice)- which led them to being poor representation of those issues.
lisabrune's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-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
4.0