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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
WOW!!! I have to say there was a lot going on during the novel, so much that at times I had to reread some of the passages to fully understand the plot. I always admire how science fiction authors create a world completely different to ours. I am fully aware the challenges to create a science fiction novel, just to create a different culture in itself is complex enough. Bring a world to life in just words is astounding, and Paolini did an incredible job. I have to admit that there are ideas that were taken from other movies or novels, but the story itself is very entertaining. I am looking forward to Paolini expanding this universe.
slow-paced
Just got too long winded for me. I love Paolini but I will admit it might be nostalgia goggles from reading Eragon when I was 10
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
reflective
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:
Yes
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This is a hard one to rate (I always say that when I'm writing a review - but by the time it's posted there will be a rating. Probably). Okay, I know I gave it a 3 but think of it like a high-3-that-isn't-quite-a-4.
This book is long - probably much longer than it has to be, but also there's a lot that happens over the course of 800 pages of plot (and something like 100 pages of extra material). We see so many cool aliens, lots of different people (both alien and human) with all kinds of ideologies that don't necessarily play well together, different technology, lots of action and battles and spaceships and maneuvering. We're never left bored, even when we're just traveling from one place to another - the travel time is handled rather brilliantly by having characters go into cryo-sleep, so the passage of time is nearly instantaneous for them. But there's also... too much. There are so many characters, most of whom are only passing-relevant for at most 100 pages. And I don't know whether it's because I mostly listened to the audiobook (and this book requires a lot of focus), but I feel like a lot of things weren't entirely explained.
Which brings us to the negative portion of this review. There are several moments in this story where I was very much struck by the irrefutable fact that it was written by a straight man starring a woman. Kira is very casually sexualized a handful of times in the story - in a way that kind of soured my experience. The sex scenes are weird and don't feel very natural at all (using the words "embrace" and "clutching" a lot in a way that shows that the moment is being taken altogether too seriously; it felt very staged) - but luckily there are only two of those. Also, the ending was weird. It was a very classic-epic-fantasy "parting of ways" where people get gifts based on their personality/contribution to the quest. Like... not really how I would have pictured a book like this ending. Paolini, your Eragon is showing.
Honestly, the real star of this book is debut audiobook narrator Jennifer Hale. Her background in video games and animation really show in her ability to suffuse even a single word with whatever emotion is needed. There are so many characters (see above) and she differentiates them all so well between accent, tone, pitch, whatever. Not to mention the very video-gamey battle sounds (which were actually written in the text... strange).
Thank you Macmillan Audio and Libro.fm for ALC copies of this book and Tor Books and NetGalley for the e-ARC. All thoughts are my own.
This book is long - probably much longer than it has to be, but also there's a lot that happens over the course of 800 pages of plot (and something like 100 pages of extra material). We see so many cool aliens, lots of different people (both alien and human) with all kinds of ideologies that don't necessarily play well together, different technology, lots of action and battles and spaceships and maneuvering. We're never left bored, even when we're just traveling from one place to another - the travel time is handled rather brilliantly by having characters go into cryo-sleep, so the passage of time is nearly instantaneous for them. But there's also... too much. There are so many characters, most of whom are only passing-relevant for at most 100 pages. And I don't know whether it's because I mostly listened to the audiobook (and this book requires a lot of focus), but I feel like a lot of things weren't entirely explained.
Which brings us to the negative portion of this review. There are several moments in this story where I was very much struck by the irrefutable fact that it was written by a straight man starring a woman. Kira is very casually sexualized a handful of times in the story - in a way that kind of soured my experience. The sex scenes are weird and don't feel very natural at all (using the words "embrace" and "clutching" a lot in a way that shows that the moment is being taken altogether too seriously; it felt very staged) - but luckily there are only two of those. Also, the ending was weird. It was a very classic-epic-fantasy "parting of ways" where people get gifts based on their personality/contribution to the quest. Like... not really how I would have pictured a book like this ending. Paolini, your Eragon is showing.
Honestly, the real star of this book is debut audiobook narrator Jennifer Hale. Her background in video games and animation really show in her ability to suffuse even a single word with whatever emotion is needed. There are so many characters (see above) and she differentiates them all so well between accent, tone, pitch, whatever. Not to mention the very video-gamey battle sounds (which were actually written in the text... strange).
Thank you Macmillan Audio and Libro.fm for ALC copies of this book and Tor Books and NetGalley for the e-ARC. All thoughts are my own.
This is the second Paolini book I've tried (tried Eragon when it first came out) and I think his writing just isn't for me. I liked the concept and loved that Jennifer Hale narrated the audiobook, but the writing felt very jarring.