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cupiscent's review against another edition
There's nothing wrong with the writing, it's very nicely done, but the story is not doing anything I'm interested in, and I actively dislike much of the worldbuilding. I always find reductive or essentialist delineations wearisome, and this one has two - all Scorpica warriors are women and male children are sold elsewhere (ok but how does gender nuance fit into that?); and there are five queendoms and each does a separate thing. Which... oof. Seriously? It takes two months for a quick-moving party to get from the breadbasket country to the warrior country, but they get all their food from there? So no fresh produce in Scorpica, not ever? (Though they do hunt, at least, so they have fresh meat.) And Scorpica provides soldiers... to fight what? (Turns out: to keep peace, so they're more like police? Which is not what they're trained for? This whole situation seems inherently ridiculous.)
But the big kicker was that the story starts grim - with human sacrifice as a central part of the culture - and just gets grimmer, and I am not in the mood.
But the big kicker was that the story starts grim - with human sacrifice as a central part of the culture - and just gets grimmer, and I am not in the mood.
hsloop's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
alisonzetterquist's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
grimmwinters's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
vaporization's review against another edition
3.0
It was all right. The world was cool but I didn't feel attached to any of the characters. The biggest flaw was that it was boring.
mhmissey's review against another edition
4.0
I really do not like most of the main characters but the story is worth it.
esdeecarlson's review against another edition
4.0
[This book was provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review]
4 stars
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book! The beginning was a rather slow start, but the story just keeps building and building in a way that slowly sucked me into the narrative, so that by the halfway mark I was hooked.
This is a sweeping epic fantasy, which will particularly excite those who enjoy long-term macro-plots weaving together across leagues of space. Those who enjoy political machinations in their fantasy will have a very good time with the five queendoms presented here, and the way their interactions change when a natural (magical) disaster occurs and girls, inexplicably, stop being born.
I also really enjoyed the characters, each of whom I felt was a fully realized person and not merely a cog in the enormous machine of this plot.
My only real gripe is that the climax felt strangely rushed after the slow but delicious buildup that was the meat of the novel. Perhaps this is intended to set up a twist at the start of the sequel, where new point-of-view chapters will reveal new information to us, because I was left feeling as though something was missing.
I definitely recommend this book to fans of epic fantasy, and I’m very curious to see where the series goes from here.
4 stars
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book! The beginning was a rather slow start, but the story just keeps building and building in a way that slowly sucked me into the narrative, so that by the halfway mark I was hooked.
This is a sweeping epic fantasy, which will particularly excite those who enjoy long-term macro-plots weaving together across leagues of space. Those who enjoy political machinations in their fantasy will have a very good time with the five queendoms presented here, and the way their interactions change when a natural (magical) disaster occurs and girls, inexplicably, stop being born.
I also really enjoyed the characters, each of whom I felt was a fully realized person and not merely a cog in the enormous machine of this plot.
My only real gripe is that the climax felt strangely rushed after the slow but delicious buildup that was the meat of the novel. Perhaps this is intended to set up a twist at the start of the sequel, where new point-of-view chapters will reveal new information to us, because I was left feeling as though something was missing.
I definitely recommend this book to fans of epic fantasy, and I’m very curious to see where the series goes from here.
kirstencholewa's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent
greenteabookme's review
I tried really hard to get into Scorpica as I loved the premise, and the strong female led world that GR Macallister created but I just couldn’t get hooked / into the story. The writing dragged and felt a little flat for my tastes and I read about 15% of the book and decided not to finish.