Reviews

Emperor of the Eight Islands by Lian Hearn

biophile's review against another edition

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3.0

Not as tidy and poetic as the Otori series, and a few too many names and allegiances to keep straight. It wasn't terrible, but also wasn't amazing and I'm not that excited to read #2. Much more of a bleak setting than Otori also.

cheems's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

czarnykot5's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes

4.0

trombone_le_phasme's review against another edition

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adventurous dark reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

miaowsen's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

ohyayitstrey's review against another edition

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1.0

The book starts and ends with scenes of rape. The characters all sound the same. There is very little in the way of descriptive language. It's simply not an engaging or interesting read.

mermaird's review against another edition

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4.0

My full review can be read on my blog

slavicsongbird's review against another edition

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3.0

I don't know how to describe what I think about this book. The story is really good but it's written without any depth whatsoever. Interesting events are just briefly described or even happen off-screen as it were. Why is more care given to descriptions of places than events at times? Because of that, one can't really connect to the characters at all, and cares much less about everything than would otherwise have been the case. A lot of books could do with some trimming and cutting, this one is one of the few which would benefit so so much by some expantion and, I cannot say this enough, depth. This could easily have been a 5-star story, no contest, but it's just not.

merisaurum's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

mehitabels's review against another edition

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3.0

Weeeelllll, it was good, just not for me.

I think the story is really well put together. The setting, time period, magic, and culture are all fascinating. The ending was enticing enough to want the next book asap.

It just didn't really stir my emotions. I think I had a difficult time with the stylistic writing.
So it was good, but not enough to keep reading the series. I would recommend for readers who like Asian culture.