Reviews

I love this science-fantasy setting and its radical diversity of race and sexuality with no bigotry in sight, but the actual plot here is dreadfully slow. And the protagonist who should be fascinating -- a lesbian orc priestess who flees her sacrificial fate to help a wizard retake his planet -- feels very passive to me, generally falling in with other people's plans rather than exhibiting much motivating agency herself. The second half of the novel improves on that front, and I enjoy how the only villains are more like temporary rivals and potential future allies, but I can't fault anyone who doesn't have the patience to wait for this character or storyline to blossom. It does end on an upswing that's quite promising for the next volume in the series, though.

[Content warning for torture.]

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otter_the_grouch's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

zeuxine's review against another edition

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3.25

Pacing problems but I liked it well enough ! I would be interested in reading the sequel

ajahax's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

mhockenson's review against another edition

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4.0

A unique and fascinating fantasy read. Not at all like most fantasy novels that I've read and I enjoyed it very much. I loved how you are never told that the mc is an orc and I'm pretty sure there are elves as well but nobody is ever described in those terms. Subtle hints of race here and there but it's left up to the reader to figure things out. LOVED IT! Looking forward to book 2.

mdpbernal's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

3.0

fireblend's review against another edition

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4.0

A fantasy book that feels like a rollercoaster. I feel like a trilogy could've been made out of this book alone, for better or worse, it has several major arcs, significant timeskips and radical changes of allegiance. The premise and world are somewhat reminiscent of Earthsea for me, although it doesn't have the restraint or contemplative nature that series has; this is very much an action movie that does not stop. That said, it's well written and a lot of fun, the characters are good (even if I wanted the "camera" to linger on them a bit more at times) and the lore is absolutely my jam.

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