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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
What a crass little story, loved it. The magic system and the world are fascinating. Looking forward to the second in the series.
Man, I wish I'd had this book in college, i would've absolutely eaten it up. As it is, I think it didn't quite hit the character depth and relationships I look for in fantasy nowadays, while the humor didn't fully land for me and often ended up on the wrong side of smug and/or sleazy. Maybe I had heard too many good things about this book before reading and they colored my expectation! It was fun though, and at its best I loved seeing the way Kinch used his skills and training to get himself in and out of tricky situations. This book wrapped up neatly enough for what it is, and while I don't think I'll be running out to get the eventual sequel, I might read some reviews and see if it takes a direction I find intriguing enough.
This might be the most fun I've ever had reading fantasy. It may not be as epic or consequential as Stormlight or ASOIAF, but the craftsmanship evident in this novel is staggering. Every line, every word is carefully selected and the result in a book that punches well above its weight or its page count. There's no filler - every paragraph is exciting, hilarious, heart-wrenching, intriguing, or some combination.
Kinch is an excellent protagonist, not because of the captivating circumstances we find him in but because of the voice he injects into the story through his narration. The whole story is delivered as if we're gathered around Kinch telling the story over drinks. The world is rich, and this novel only scratches the surface, but is filled with so many creative twists and arrangements of both new and old tropes that it's immensely satisfying. The book is also hilarious; even moreso than Kings of the Wyld (another relatively recent novel in the same "grin-dark" vein that I loved). Many times I found myself laughing out loud, especially when listening to the audiobook delivery (performed by Buehlman himself).
I would be very surprised if this isn't in the running for best fantasy novel of the year.
Kinch is an excellent protagonist, not because of the captivating circumstances we find him in but because of the voice he injects into the story through his narration. The whole story is delivered as if we're gathered around Kinch telling the story over drinks. The world is rich, and this novel only scratches the surface, but is filled with so many creative twists and arrangements of both new and old tropes that it's immensely satisfying. The book is also hilarious; even moreso than Kings of the Wyld (another relatively recent novel in the same "grin-dark" vein that I loved). Many times I found myself laughing out loud, especially when listening to the audiobook delivery (performed by Buehlman himself).
I would be very surprised if this isn't in the running for best fantasy novel of the year.
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I greatly enjoyed this read. The world building and the characters were all a blast. I think the narration made it even better because the narrator had an Irish brogue that made many phrases feel more authentic than if I were just reading the story.
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really want to like fantasy as a genre, but these books are too damn long.
Hit a bit of a reading slump through this one, and I do think the length played a part; I didn't push myself to read as quickly as I normally do because I knew it was always going to take me longer to finish this one, so why rush? Which is a shame, because the prose is written well, the dialogue flowed naturally and I was getting pretty invested in the worldbuilding that was introduced at all the right parts and in the right amounts. But I can't ignore the fact that whenever I picked this book up to pick up where I left off I had a sense of... I think resignation is too strong of a word, but the fact that I considered it should be telling on its own.
It was a funny-yet-serious book with memorable scenes and that wrapped up neatly while still allowing for an obvious segue into a sequel (which has not yet been written at the time of this review). I just wish that maybe a quarter or even a third of this book was taken out to slim it down, particularly the bits where a Chekov's Gun scenario is clearly being set up to go off later (which happened a few times).
Hit a bit of a reading slump through this one, and I do think the length played a part; I didn't push myself to read as quickly as I normally do because I knew it was always going to take me longer to finish this one, so why rush? Which is a shame, because the prose is written well, the dialogue flowed naturally and I was getting pretty invested in the worldbuilding that was introduced at all the right parts and in the right amounts. But I can't ignore the fact that whenever I picked this book up to pick up where I left off I had a sense of... I think resignation is too strong of a word, but the fact that I considered it should be telling on its own.
It was a funny-yet-serious book with memorable scenes and that wrapped up neatly while still allowing for an obvious segue into a sequel (which has not yet been written at the time of this review). I just wish that maybe a quarter or even a third of this book was taken out to slim it down, particularly the bits where a Chekov's Gun scenario is clearly being set up to go off later (which happened a few times).
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes