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annailles's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Gore
sapphic_in_the_stacks's review
adventurous
challenging
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
3.5 stars
The first in a series of novellas, this book drops the reader into a fantastical world full of gods, monsters, demons, and curses. The story follows a mysterious man, along with several others, on a mission to meet the god of this world, the Absolved (the Mad God). If they reach the temple, they may pray before the Mad God and one (but only one) of their prayers will be fulfilled. The journey can only be undertaken with the guide of a priest, and takes the adventurers through a perilous and cursed land, where they are hunted by many monsters, and forced to outwit them or fight for their lives.
While I appreciated the world Ryan has built, this novella did leave me wanting more information, both about the characters and the broader world it is set in. The story could have easily been double or triple the length if the backstories of the characters or the world itself were more thoroughly explained. It seems like a decision was made to introduce this world exclusively through the experiences of the characters, with no explicit world building to speak of, but it left me as a reader feeling a little lost. Though the overall writing was excellent, it was hard to overlook the pure lack of information about the context the story takes place in, which resulted to a difficulty to connect with the characters.
The first in a series of novellas, this book drops the reader into a fantastical world full of gods, monsters, demons, and curses. The story follows a mysterious man, along with several others, on a mission to meet the god of this world, the Absolved (the Mad God). If they reach the temple, they may pray before the Mad God and one (but only one) of their prayers will be fulfilled. The journey can only be undertaken with the guide of a priest, and takes the adventurers through a perilous and cursed land, where they are hunted by many monsters, and forced to outwit them or fight for their lives.
While I appreciated the world Ryan has built, this novella did leave me wanting more information, both about the characters and the broader world it is set in. The story could have easily been double or triple the length if the backstories of the characters or the world itself were more thoroughly explained. It seems like a decision was made to introduce this world exclusively through the experiences of the characters, with no explicit world building to speak of, but it left me as a reader feeling a little lost. Though the overall writing was excellent, it was hard to overlook the pure lack of information about the context the story takes place in, which resulted to a difficulty to connect with the characters.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
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