Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
slow-paced
D'aquells llibres que confonen tenir un món complex i moltes paraules inventades amb tenir personalitat, carisma i personatges profunds, motiu pel qual la lectura es fa pesada i plagada de clichés; que confonen oracions llargues i pomposes amb prosa literària, motiu pel qual el nombre de pàgines queda inflat.
Per un llibre que es defineix com a "Fantasia Literària", només compleix la meitat del que promet el terme. De vegades, quelcom brut i ràpid, però honest i sense pretensions és millor —si més no, perquè no et demana que te'l prenguis seriosament com res més que un entreteniment— que quelcom que creu que "eleva" el gènere i que fracassa en arribar als mínims exigibles del que hauria de ser una novel·la realment literària.
Per un llibre que es defineix com a "Fantasia Literària", només compleix la meitat del que promet el terme. De vegades, quelcom brut i ràpid, però honest i sense pretensions és millor —si més no, perquè no et demana que te'l prenguis seriosament com res més que un entreteniment— que quelcom que creu que "eleva" el gènere i que fracassa en arribar als mínims exigibles del que hauria de ser una novel·la realment literària.
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-paced
I received an ARC, and jumped right in.Very different from my usual reads, but I enjoyed the world building, the character development, and the slow build of the plot.
Davico is the son of the Davonaci di Regulai, the head of the banks in the city of Navola. He learns the trade from a young age, the numbers and the negotiations, but he lacks the hardened, cynical wisdom that allows his father to be a shrewd negotiator. As he grows to adulthood, Davico's life of relative leisure is threatened by those who covet the money and power his father controls, while the dragon's eye his father keeps on his desk seems to call to him.
I've been impressed with Paolo Bacigalupi in the past, and in particular the way that he ratchets up escalating tension across a society. Here, rather than the climate-crippled future settings of his other novels, we have a fantasy setting that feels like it could be an alt-history Italy--if not for the Dragon's eye. The story that plays out feels like something halfway between dark epic fantasy (A Song of Ice and Fire or the First Law trilogy) and The Godfather. The world it builds here is excellent, and the story feels surprising visceral and vulnerable.
Note however that while this story does reach a conclusion, it's meant as the first part of something longer, and it does distinctly feel like half of a complete story.
Overall Grade: A, but this could rise to an A+ if later books build on the foundation here.
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-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
medium-paced
dnf
From the get-go I knew this was going to be a stretch for me to like - there is a certain fantasy storytelling that includes *every* world building detail the author created. Some people like that. I do not. I’ve decided I just don’t have the mental rolodex necessary to store that much info, so it gets mundane.
Usually, when writing this way, the author writes from a first person pov and also goes back to the ✨beginning✨ (aka the protagonist’s childhood) so you ✨get a sense of their character✨ and personally I find that to be a stand-in for actually interesting character development. Other people like it. Fine, but we’re doing that here too.
Ok ok so I’m still reading because sometimes I convince myself to give a book a chance, I like to be pleasantly surprised by the end of something, I read enough that I don’t have to love everything immediately. I put this book down after a villainous woman was introduced and her two bodyguards were described as a race with “black skin” and none of the other 20+ characters we had met so far had a skin tone reference. Yeah, a little thing, but it was my tipping point.
From the get-go I knew this was going to be a stretch for me to like - there is a certain fantasy storytelling that includes *every* world building detail the author created. Some people like that. I do not. I’ve decided I just don’t have the mental rolodex necessary to store that much info, so it gets mundane.
Usually, when writing this way, the author writes from a first person pov and also goes back to the ✨beginning✨ (aka the protagonist’s childhood) so you ✨get a sense of their character✨ and personally I find that to be a stand-in for actually interesting character development. Other people like it. Fine, but we’re doing that here too.
Ok ok so I’m still reading because sometimes I convince myself to give a book a chance, I like to be pleasantly surprised by the end of something, I read enough that I don’t have to love everything immediately. I put this book down after a villainous woman was introduced and her two bodyguards were described as a race with “black skin” and none of the other 20+ characters we had met so far had a skin tone reference. Yeah, a little thing, but it was my tipping point.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes