Scan barcode
ariel790's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book is mainly about Fitz. Fitz is the love child of Prince Chivalry. Due to this, he is left unwanted but is still thrown into a court of a king. This story is about his coming of age, covering from about the age of 6 to 15, and the different difficulties of being born into the position that he is. Thinking that he is unloved and a pawn of the king, he does do what he can to stay in favor.
Fitz is easy to like. As you read, you are growing up with him, experiencing his challenges and view point. He is the hero of this story, and the author makes that clear. As soon as he starts to become a capable, on his own type of person, his world is devastated by war from the outlands. The Outlanders turn captured people into "Forged" or brainless thugs who don't care what happens to themselves or those they once loved (totally a hidden zombie story of the 90's with this side story ;) ). As the outlanders gain ground in the war, it becomes a do or die situation for Fitz and his comrades. Stress and panic ensue.
Lots of layers to this one, there is the story of Fitz, of his friends, teachers, of the king and the princes, as well as politics and war. Not a quick read at all. Seems worth the investment, if into the sort of thing.
Graphic: Abandonment and Grief
Moderate: Murder and War
Minor: Alcoholism
lotten4's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Drug use, Abandonment, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Alcohol, and Animal cruelty
carroll's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Racism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Violence
princesspumpkinhead10's review
- 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? It's complicated
0.5
Graphic: Bullying, Abandonment, Murder, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Death, Animal death, Violence, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Grief, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Excrement, Drug use, and Animal death
maggieslibrarycard's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed this book and am certainly looking forward to continuing the series. I liked how Fitz's role as an assassin isn't quite what I've seen from other fantasy assassins, he's trained to be a lot more political and subtle. The book definitely has some hard hitting themes about loneliness, trauma, and living with trauma and I am also intrigued by certain side characters, and I already really love Fitz, of course.
Major CW for animal deaths.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Abandonment, and Grief
Moderate: War, Vomit, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Infertility, Gore, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, Child death, Child abuse, Bullying, Blood, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Addiction
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The worldbuilding is layered, with things explained as Fitz is told them, supplemented by insights from his older self. This leads to a gradually filled-in impression of a complex setting where details are conveyed as they are necessary, and even more is implied through the narrative. This style lends clarity. He discusses both how he felt at the time, as a child and then a teenager, and what he thinks about those events now that he’s an adult. This becomes especially important during sections such as his time under Galen, as the dissonance intensifies between events as they happened and how he was being conditioned to perceive them. There are several moments where something he does as he’s telling the story is juxtaposed with some assertion made by his younger self, showing how something must have changed in the meantime (presumably to be covered somewhere in the trilogy).
One of my favorite things is his complex relationship with Burrich. How they are to and with each other changes throughout the story. Even when it's changing for the worse, it makes sense, and it's nice to see Fitz's growing understanding of Burrich as a person with his own internal world separate from Fitz. How Fitz views Burrich is often a great proxy for how Fitz is growing and changing, flavored by the dissonance between how Fitz is and how Burrich wants him to be.
There’s a lot of care in the narration, partly due to the balance between Fitz’s memories and his older self’s reactions to and commentaries on the memories, and partly due to what I can best describe as a lack of voyeuristic interest. One of the background plots involves raiders pillaging the coast, and, other than a few scenes where Fitz has to directly fight someone as a result of the raids, there are few descriptions of the kind of violence which accompanies such raids. Said violence is canonically happening, and Fitz frequently discusses the effects he’s observing on the people and the Kingdom which stem from the raids, but in a way that makes sense for his character. This is just one example of how the narration gives the impression of the complexity (and sometimes violence) of Fitz’s world, but does not unnaturally bend his character to direct the story towards it, nor does it shy away when appropriate.
A great start to the series, I'm ready to read the next one.
Graphic: Bullying, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Blood, Violence, and Medical content
Moderate: Cursing, Pregnancy, Ableism, Sexism, Misogyny, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Excrement, Drug use, Child abuse, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Child death, and Death
Minor: Miscarriage and Rape
kiandrareadsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Blood, and Death
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
amelialincoln's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Death of parent, Grief, Medical content, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Drug use and Alcoholism
liteartha's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Misogyny, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Suicide and Vomit
booksnbeesofbea's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Animal death and Bullying
Moderate: Self harm and Torture
Minor: Alcoholism and Infertility