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megawhoppingcosmicbookwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
dei2dei's review against another edition
3.0
Clearly a post-colonial Indian setting... it was middling enjoyable.
morganish's review
3.0
I bought this book from a secondhand shop with no prior knowledge of the author or the types of books she writes. After reading it and then reading reviews, I get the distinct feeling that I might not be the target audience here - I have next to no knowledge of the historical conflict this was apparently based on, and less understanding of where this falls in the canon of this fictional world, so any criticisms listed here should probably be read bearing these facts in mind.
The story itself was solid and straightforward, easy to follow. The most interesting aspect of the book, for me, was this monstrously dark, cannabalistic pantheon of entities from another plane of existence. I only wish there had been more for the protagonist to engage with in some way, because that aspect of the book was deliciously creepy. The world and city felt interesting, and the tension simmering amongst the underclass felt palpable. There seemed to be a little thematic undercurrent which suggested that compromise was what would solve the coming civil war, with an equal emphasis on the colonized locals having to make compromises or become sacrifices. This felt a bit dated when read in the US in 2018, but may have been less controversial at the time this was written.
The author is clearly a very competent, well-educated writer, though if there can be such a thing as writing that is too good, this may be it. I consider myself well-read and to have a relatively large vocabulary (in fairness, I suppose most people probably do), but the bar for entry here is higher than any book I recall reading. Paragraphs are dense, and the number of times I encountered a word I haven't heard before... It felt like at least once a page. At one point I laughed aloud because I ran across two words I'd never heard before in the very same sentence, which I think is a first. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, and I hope it's not taken as a criticism - I don't necessarily believe in a right or wrong way to handle prose. But potential readers should know that if they're looking for something fun, light, and easy to read, this probably won't be the book they're looking for.
If I were to try to pinpoint a perfect target audience for this book, I'd say those with a higher-than-average knowledge of history and/or literature, or those with particularly scholarly interests and aesthetics, might enjoy this story - if they also enjoy fantasy. Others looking for a more simplistic fantasy story might also want to brave it if they're up for a bit of a challenge or can fluidly switch gears when reading different kinds of writing styles.
The story itself was solid and straightforward, easy to follow. The most interesting aspect of the book, for me, was this monstrously dark, cannabalistic pantheon of entities from another plane of existence. I only wish there had been more for the protagonist to engage with in some way, because that aspect of the book was deliciously creepy. The world and city felt interesting, and the tension simmering amongst the underclass felt palpable. There seemed to be a little thematic undercurrent which suggested that compromise was what would solve the coming civil war, with an equal emphasis on the colonized locals having to make compromises or become sacrifices. This felt a bit dated when read in the US in 2018, but may have been less controversial at the time this was written.
The author is clearly a very competent, well-educated writer, though if there can be such a thing as writing that is too good, this may be it. I consider myself well-read and to have a relatively large vocabulary (in fairness, I suppose most people probably do), but the bar for entry here is higher than any book I recall reading. Paragraphs are dense, and the number of times I encountered a word I haven't heard before... It felt like at least once a page. At one point I laughed aloud because I ran across two words I'd never heard before in the very same sentence, which I think is a first. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, and I hope it's not taken as a criticism - I don't necessarily believe in a right or wrong way to handle prose. But potential readers should know that if they're looking for something fun, light, and easy to read, this probably won't be the book they're looking for.
If I were to try to pinpoint a perfect target audience for this book, I'd say those with a higher-than-average knowledge of history and/or literature, or those with particularly scholarly interests and aesthetics, might enjoy this story - if they also enjoy fantasy. Others looking for a more simplistic fantasy story might also want to brave it if they're up for a bit of a challenge or can fluidly switch gears when reading different kinds of writing styles.
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