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thedigsy's review
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
sofia_santana's review
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
3.0
dembury's review
4.0
As someone who has studied and written about MANY a hagiography, I thought this was a beautiful little collection. The illustrations are almost all stunning, rich and full of iconography, and accentuate the stories very well done. The hagiographies themselves are all predictable to an extent, but Bardugo does a solid job at building up the mythology of the Grishaverse and giving the reader a better idea of each of the individual cultures, values, and religions found in that world. Sometimes I feel like books like this are just a cashgrab tacked on to a popular book, but not this one; I think "The Lives of Saints" was a great choice to make for an "extra" non-novel book addition to the Grishaverse. My biggest critique is that there was certainly room to make these stories REALLY pop- saints lives stories are often a bit wild, which makes them a delight to read (like Saint Mary of Egypt). Bardugo's felt a bit more like fables rather than saints lives at times. All in all though, a solid read for any hardcore Grisha-fan, or anyone who enjoys fictional religious tales.
leonielovesbooks's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
lermonysnickers's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I go crazy for all Grishaverse lore and these stories pair especially well with King of Scars.
jennreadslots's review against another edition
adventurous
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
antivancrowe's review
adventurous
dark
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I'm not going to do my normal rating for this one, as it is a bunch of short stories.
I don't know if this was really necessary, but it added to the lore of the grishaverse, and the art was pretty.
What really gets me about a lot of the stories is about people who wanted to do good, and then how terrible some people can be and just killing them.
Your not a saint till your dead I guess.
I liked the art it felt very much like bibical and it was nice. This felt more just like a collector's item and didn't add much to series for me.
I don't know if this was really necessary, but it added to the lore of the grishaverse, and the art was pretty.
What really gets me about a lot of the stories is about people who wanted to do good, and then how terrible some people can be and just killing them.
Your not a saint till your dead I guess.
I liked the art it felt very much like bibical and it was nice. This felt more just like a collector's item and didn't add much to series for me.
annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review
4.0
It's been a while since I visited the Grisha world created by Bardugo. It was also a world I had to warm up to. However, the moment this book was announced I knew I just had to have it. I loved the other collection of short stories and considering the amount of Saints Bardugo has talked about in her books I was quite curious to discover their tales. And tonight I had some spare time and I didn't want to read an e-book, so this was the perfect choice!
What I really loved about this book is that the stories of the Saints are really told like stories of Saints are told in the big religions I'm familiar with. All of the stories are therefore quite short, between two and five pages, but it really gives an authentic feel to the concept. I can even imagine that if you'd bury this book in some time capsule and people would find it in who knows how many years, they might conclude these Saints were really Saints we worshipped.
And just like the traditional stories of Saints, most of these Saints have quite tragic endings. I guess it's one of those things making someone a Saint. You have to be willing to give your life for people who are unthankfully taking it. It therefore doesn't make this book light and it's for sure not the kind of book that makes you smile. (Although, maybe the two last ones did make me smile, but mostly because of how they tie in with the stories we're so familiar with!)
Last but not least, there are the wonderful drawings in the book! Every story starts with wonderful artwork! Even if you may never read the stories, you just want to have this book for the beautiful art inside of it. The atmosphere in each drawing is amazing and I loved how they already gave an impression of what was waiting for us in the story. I'm sure that at times I will just go through the book again to stare at the pictures and to re-read a few favorites.
What I really loved about this book is that the stories of the Saints are really told like stories of Saints are told in the big religions I'm familiar with. All of the stories are therefore quite short, between two and five pages, but it really gives an authentic feel to the concept. I can even imagine that if you'd bury this book in some time capsule and people would find it in who knows how many years, they might conclude these Saints were really Saints we worshipped.
And just like the traditional stories of Saints, most of these Saints have quite tragic endings. I guess it's one of those things making someone a Saint. You have to be willing to give your life for people who are unthankfully taking it. It therefore doesn't make this book light and it's for sure not the kind of book that makes you smile. (Although, maybe the two last ones did make me smile, but mostly because of how they tie in with the stories we're so familiar with!)
Last but not least, there are the wonderful drawings in the book! Every story starts with wonderful artwork! Even if you may never read the stories, you just want to have this book for the beautiful art inside of it. The atmosphere in each drawing is amazing and I loved how they already gave an impression of what was waiting for us in the story. I'm sure that at times I will just go through the book again to stare at the pictures and to re-read a few favorites.