Scan barcode
dayday_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Torture, and Violence
katrinarose's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I loved this book because it is a fantasy world with familiar magical themes but instead of basing it on medieval European cultures (as is typical for many traditional fantasy books), it's based on West Asian cultures. I had grown frustrated with the lack of originality in many traditional fantasy and for this alone, this book was a breath of fresh air. I thought the political intrigue was very well done. Often I feel fantasy politics are oversimplified - there's the "bad" guys who are the oppressors and love to starve and torture and enslave the poor outsider population and the "good" guys who just want to save the needy and restore justice. That's always a compelling story - who doesn't want to root for the underdogs? - but it lacks the nuance of real life. It took some time to become familiar with the politics and backstories of the different djinn (daeva) tribes and it was confusing at first, but it was so well done. There are no good or bad guys, everyone has done good and bad things in the name of the people's survival and freedom. Everyone is morally gray, and I love that.
While plenty of exciting things happened in this book, it did still feel like an introduction to this world, as there was so much history and culture to get caught up on. I think I will enjoy the following books more, now that the exposition is over. One thing that annoyed me was the budding romance between Nahri and Dara. He's over a thousand years old and she's twenty, he has no business even entertaining romantic thoughts about her! It just felt very YA-ish, and not in a good way. There is no need to force every opposite sex duo together, even if they are on some long difficult journey together where they have to sleep near each other by the firelight (eye roll). And hinting at a love triangle with Ali, which would create the dreaded good-boy vs. bad-boy dynamic, is also very much not appreciated. I'm hoping that this whole romance deal was a big red-herring and she actually develops complex relationships for Nahri without the romance. I think overall Nahri could get some more character-development, I felt like she got a bit cheated in that area in favor of Ali's development (although I loved his character development too).
Overall I really enjoyed this, and I'm excited to read the next books!
While plenty of exciting things happened in this book, it did still feel like an introduction to this world, as there was so much history and culture to get caught up on. I think I will enjoy the following books more, now that the exposition is over. One thing that annoyed me was
Overall I really enjoyed this, and I'm excited to read the next books!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, and Death
Minor: Child death, Grief, Rape, Sexual content, and Torture
stevienielson's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
inspiring
mysterious
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Xenophobia, Racism, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Torture, Murder, Child death, and Animal death
Minor: Rape
annibd501's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
slow-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? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Genocide, and Violence
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Torture
ehmannky's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Absolutely stunning. Just the right balance of romance, high fantasy, and political intrigue for my tastes. I loved everything about it. The book follows Nahri, a young con artist who gets pulled into the dangerous world of the djinn after accidentally summoning an ancient warrior. It's fast-paced and I found all of the characters engaging. I love that Chakraborty delves into the moral ambiguity of all the characters here. Even the ones who seem like they'd be on the side of justice (like the religiously devout Ali, who annoys me most because he knows the injustices and is horrified by them and goes along with everything anyways) stray from doing what they know is right in defense of the honor and love of their family and ideology. Nahri is one of my favorite female protagonists I've read in years, and I cannot wait to get my hands on the sequel.
Just as stellar on a reread.
Just as stellar on a reread.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Violence, Slavery, Gore, Grief, and Genocide
Moderate: Sexism and Religious bigotry
Minor: Torture, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault
More...