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thelenn3's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
galexywitch's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
3.5
lizziethereader's review against another edition
2.5
I loved the first book in the series, but this one does not do such a good job of balancing out the darkness with levity and fun scenes. The humor was a big part of what I loved about book one, and it was just lacking here. It didn't really make me feel anything at all, which is also not great in an adventure novel that is supposed to keep you on your toes.... It wasn't bad, but it wasn't really good either.
qjbrown96's review against another edition
4.0
Doesn’t have the same “magic” as the first one but a very fun and thrilling read nonetheless!
joeillereads's review
adventurous
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
unfortunately this one felt a bit too far fetched at times. did still enjoy this and i love this world, and had some very emotional parts at the end. but the scrivings did start getting a bit too complicated and hard to swallow.
rwatkins's review against another edition
3.0
I liked it. Overall: 2.5/5 (13/25)
A slight step down from Foundryside, the first book in The Founders trilogy. It is set 3 years after the events of Foundryside. Expect a lot of exposition explaining the complexities of the magic system, a lot of time spent building stuff, and some Godlike upgrades, especially for the baddies. You might like this book if you enjoy the magic system in Babel, overpowered villains, or light lesbian romance.
Minor Spoilers Below.
Plot: 3/5
After planting some new magitech into the pipes of one of the merchant houses, Sancia and the crew try to survive the threat of a revived Godlike being, Crasedes. Part of this involves protecting another Godlike being, Valeria, who seems to be just as untrustworthy as Crasedes, but needed to bring him down. Fairly predictable but done well. I liked the plot.
Setting: 3/5
The new worldbuilding outside Tevanne is done through dialogue from Crasedes when he describes kingdoms forgotten to history and is irrelevant to this world. The story does not leave the city except for a quick jaunt on the sea and back. The Commons has been upgraded to the Lamplands, from slums to public scriving workshops, so a little development there.
An advancement to the magic system goes in depth with "twinning" in a similar way to how Brando Sando adds a little more complication to the magic with each of his novels in a series.
The coolest element added was the celebrations, being very similar to the Chinese Lantern Festival, with some inspiration from Mardi Gras.
The worldbuilding within Tevanne included a lookin into the Moretti district. The buildings were of a different style and the scrivings being developed had a different focus, but that's the extent of what we get. The world-building we get I liked but I wanted more.
Characters: 2.5/5
Sancia is still snarky but now with a softer side being shown to Berenice. Gregor is now trying to be a martyr. It is hard to do a solid character arc with this novel, as several characters eventually get combined into a hive mind of sorts. Don't expect the characters to get more complex or develop too far from Foundryside. The characters were okay, but only because I liked them already from the first novel.
Style: 2/5
There is a LOT of extended dialogue and thoughts shared telepathically (kinda?). The head-hopping can be confusing.
The constant explanation of twinning slowed the pace down considerably at times.
Queer/ly is used to describe ALOT in this book. No joke. Because the word has certain connotations today, this pulled me out of the story every time it was used, especially in such strange contexts. Not only this, but after a procedure is performed, a she becomes a they for some time. I don't know if this was intended as a nod at trans-persons or not. Another character morphs into an it.
Writing style was just okay and a big drop from Foundryside for me.
Themes: 2.5/5
Power and Control over others is the main theme developed in Shorefall. There are some interesting pro-assimilation aspects to this novel that might inspire some thoughts. Otherwise, action is pursued over themes, so they are okay.
Queer Queerly Sightings all quoted from Shorefall:
"queerly abandoned" "queerly nauseous" "queer pressure" "queer sort of elation"
"queerly meditative position" "queerly placid" "ache queerly" "queerest feeling"
"queerly peaceful" "queerly stiff" "queerly numb" "queer starlight" "queerly calm"
"fluttering queerly" "queerly dull" "queerly emotionless"
A slight step down from Foundryside, the first book in The Founders trilogy. It is set 3 years after the events of Foundryside. Expect a lot of exposition explaining the complexities of the magic system, a lot of time spent building stuff, and some Godlike upgrades, especially for the baddies. You might like this book if you enjoy the magic system in Babel, overpowered villains, or light lesbian romance.
Minor Spoilers Below.
Plot: 3/5
After planting some new magitech into the pipes of one of the merchant houses, Sancia and the crew try to survive the threat of a revived Godlike being, Crasedes. Part of this involves protecting another Godlike being, Valeria, who seems to be just as untrustworthy as Crasedes, but needed to bring him down. Fairly predictable but done well. I liked the plot.
Setting: 3/5
The new worldbuilding outside Tevanne is done through dialogue from Crasedes when he describes kingdoms forgotten to history and is irrelevant to this world. The story does not leave the city except for a quick jaunt on the sea and back. The Commons has been upgraded to the Lamplands, from slums to public scriving workshops, so a little development there.
An advancement to the magic system goes in depth with "twinning" in a similar way to how Brando Sando adds a little more complication to the magic with each of his novels in a series.
The coolest element added was the celebrations, being very similar to the Chinese Lantern Festival, with some inspiration from Mardi Gras.
The worldbuilding within Tevanne included a lookin into the Moretti district. The buildings were of a different style and the scrivings being developed had a different focus, but that's the extent of what we get. The world-building we get I liked but I wanted more.
Characters: 2.5/5
Sancia is still snarky but now with a softer side being shown to Berenice. Gregor is now trying to be a martyr. It is hard to do a solid character arc with this novel, as several characters eventually get combined into a hive mind of sorts. Don't expect the characters to get more complex or develop too far from Foundryside. The characters were okay, but only because I liked them already from the first novel.
Style: 2/5
There is a LOT of extended dialogue and thoughts shared telepathically (kinda?). The head-hopping can be confusing.
The constant explanation of twinning slowed the pace down considerably at times.
Queer/ly is used to describe ALOT in this book. No joke. Because the word has certain connotations today, this pulled me out of the story every time it was used, especially in such strange contexts. Not only this, but after a procedure is performed, a she becomes a they for some time. I don't know if this was intended as a nod at trans-persons or not. Another character morphs into an it.
Writing style was just okay and a big drop from Foundryside for me.
Themes: 2.5/5
Power and Control over others is the main theme developed in Shorefall. There are some interesting pro-assimilation aspects to this novel that might inspire some thoughts. Otherwise, action is pursued over themes, so they are okay.
Queer Queerly Sightings all quoted from Shorefall:
"queerly abandoned" "queerly nauseous" "queer pressure" "queer sort of elation"
"queerly meditative position" "queerly placid" "ache queerly" "queerest feeling"
"queerly peaceful" "queerly stiff" "queerly numb" "queer starlight" "queerly calm"
"fluttering queerly" "queerly dull" "queerly emotionless"
rouge_red's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Read this pretty quickly and it was really enjoyable and reminds me why I have so much fun with fantasy novels. I read the first book in December and I'm happy that this wasn't hard to get back into, despite not having a short summary introduction. I wouldn't say that the plot is anything unique, and the feelings I have about this magic system still hold true from book 1, but damn, didn't I stick my nose into this book and not want to come up for air? And I mean the magic system and how easily convinced scrived items to do things...it's like talking circles around a child. But I guess you could read that as showing how flimsy the structures are holding Tevanne together. The twinning concept was intriguing, and it makes sense that working together in that manner is like pooling all your talents together x100. I'm looking forward to the ending, maybe unraveling some more of the history of the hierophants, what Valeria's deal is, etc.
allisongm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5