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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As seen on my blog.
I allowed myself a minute to catch my breath and still my fast-beating heart after reading this. And then I proceeded to stop myself from banging my head on the wall, because I don't have a copy of the next book yet. I can't think of a proper word to describe what I just read, and I'm sure I wouldn't be able to give justice to how brilliant this book is anyway. I can only say that I haven't been this out of breath upon closing a book in years, nor have I been so attached to a story or to characters like this in a while.
Wow. It's a lame thing to say, but it is all that comes to my mind right now.
If the first book was a piece of cake, this second one would be that same cake dressed in luscious frosting, and decorated with the best-quality chocolate and toppings money can buy. This book is everything that the first book was, only better and more complete. It is an intelligently written tale of politics, espionage and war; fast-paced and filled with twists and turns that will keep your blood ringing in your ears. But beyond the bigger picture of political intrigue, the emotional driver of this story would be the personal struggles of the individual characters, and how these shape their actions as they move within the story.
The whole time I was reading this, I kept thinking to myself, 'This is the kind of book I want to write'. There is something in the way Turner writes that makes it seem like the words flow on their own accord through the pages, like a current taking you exactly where it wants to. You have no way of controlling it, but you don't want to anyway. You just want to sit there and let it take you to wherever it pleases. Her words are eloquent, providing much clarity in terms of imagery; but there is a directness to them. There isn't anything that was written or said by any of the characters that are random or used just to fill the page. Each word was carefully and subtly placed to serve one purpose or another in the whole of the story, even if we are to find out about it much later on. Her style of narrating is so smooth that you can't help but get surprised at the turn of events, even though you've already gotten this nagging feeling that it was about to happen and you just don't know when.
I think there are some who write fantasies thinking that they should be truly epic in nature. Those authors like describing battle scenes in painful gory detail, right down to where this person's blood spattered or where that person's head rolled off to. Sometimes these parts drag, forcing you to scan through to the end of the scene. One of the things I admired about this book is that although there is none of that kind of a bloody detailed battle scene, the author attains the same effect. Well for me at least. The way Turner told the events of the war, about which side did this or who attacked whom across one season to the next, was through a summary. She did in a way that beautifully delivered the gist of the situation, while still making it easy for the reader to fill in the tiny events in-between, without the need for a long and winding account.
The way that Turner sneaked in a love story here was so pleasantly surprising! And it's not your typical romance story filled with those sappy lovey-dovey moments interchanging with shallow and repetitive lovers' quarrels. It's a different kind of love story rooted on deeper, more complex, truly tragic things. Here we get a glimpse of what real love actually looks like. It's not always rainbows and butterflies and lovely giddy feelings. The proof of love is not in the happy moments shared, but how this love stands and survives after it is pushed into the violent whirlwind of chaos and upheaval.
And now we get to my favourite part about this series: the characters. They are all so amazingly complex and superbly written, and I love that I learn more and more about them the further into the series I go. Just when you are about so ready to hate a character, you suddenly realize that they are perhaps not who they seem after all. Take for instance the icy Queen of Attolia, who is arguably the easiest person to dislike in this book. But suddenly some things are revealed about her that made me think twice, and even grow sympathetic towards her despite all the things she did throughout the novel.
I've mentioned this before, but Eugenides has become one of my absolute favourite male protagonists of all time. You would think that the first book, being told in Eugenides' point of view, was the book that revealed his character the most. But here, the book is told in the third person point of view, giving Eugenides no chance to be sly and hold back on revealing things he wouldn't like to about himself. I could feel how flawed he is here, putting on a brave face but really afraid at the same time; unsure but confident out of necessity; bold but mostly afraid. My heart broke as I watched him pick up the pieces of his life, and I watched as he changed from a selfish, immature boy and turned into man who seemed like he has weathered through the worst storms of his life. I always find myself rooting for him and what he wants, even though I would have probably chosen or acted differently were I in his situation. That's how attached I've become to him.
And it's not just Eugenides I have grown to love as a character. Every character here is fleshed out, some less than the others, but to degrees that are important to a reader and a story nonetheless. I loved the warmth and wisdom of the Queen of Eddis, as well as the cold strength but fragile heart of the Queen of Attolia. I also hate the Mede amabassador Nahuseresh's beard. Each character is so multidimensional, and we are given such a good look at them that I can't help but feel like an omnipresent bystander, one of Eddis' mythical gods even, watching the events and the characters unfold.
As a final note, I just wish I could be reading the next two books instead of going to work.
My rating:
. Completely swept me off my feet with the writing, the story, and especially the characters. Megan Whalen Turner is officially one of my new favourite authors!
I allowed myself a minute to catch my breath and still my fast-beating heart after reading this. And then I proceeded to stop myself from banging my head on the wall, because I don't have a copy of the next book yet. I can't think of a proper word to describe what I just read, and I'm sure I wouldn't be able to give justice to how brilliant this book is anyway. I can only say that I haven't been this out of breath upon closing a book in years, nor have I been so attached to a story or to characters like this in a while.
Wow. It's a lame thing to say, but it is all that comes to my mind right now.
If the first book was a piece of cake, this second one would be that same cake dressed in luscious frosting, and decorated with the best-quality chocolate and toppings money can buy. This book is everything that the first book was, only better and more complete. It is an intelligently written tale of politics, espionage and war; fast-paced and filled with twists and turns that will keep your blood ringing in your ears. But beyond the bigger picture of political intrigue, the emotional driver of this story would be the personal struggles of the individual characters, and how these shape their actions as they move within the story.
The whole time I was reading this, I kept thinking to myself, 'This is the kind of book I want to write'. There is something in the way Turner writes that makes it seem like the words flow on their own accord through the pages, like a current taking you exactly where it wants to. You have no way of controlling it, but you don't want to anyway. You just want to sit there and let it take you to wherever it pleases. Her words are eloquent, providing much clarity in terms of imagery; but there is a directness to them. There isn't anything that was written or said by any of the characters that are random or used just to fill the page. Each word was carefully and subtly placed to serve one purpose or another in the whole of the story, even if we are to find out about it much later on. Her style of narrating is so smooth that you can't help but get surprised at the turn of events, even though you've already gotten this nagging feeling that it was about to happen and you just don't know when.
I think there are some who write fantasies thinking that they should be truly epic in nature. Those authors like describing battle scenes in painful gory detail, right down to where this person's blood spattered or where that person's head rolled off to. Sometimes these parts drag, forcing you to scan through to the end of the scene. One of the things I admired about this book is that although there is none of that kind of a bloody detailed battle scene, the author attains the same effect. Well for me at least. The way Turner told the events of the war, about which side did this or who attacked whom across one season to the next, was through a summary. She did in a way that beautifully delivered the gist of the situation, while still making it easy for the reader to fill in the tiny events in-between, without the need for a long and winding account.
The way that Turner sneaked in a love story here was so pleasantly surprising! And it's not your typical romance story filled with those sappy lovey-dovey moments interchanging with shallow and repetitive lovers' quarrels. It's a different kind of love story rooted on deeper, more complex, truly tragic things. Here we get a glimpse of what real love actually looks like. It's not always rainbows and butterflies and lovely giddy feelings. The proof of love is not in the happy moments shared, but how this love stands and survives after it is pushed into the violent whirlwind of chaos and upheaval.
And now we get to my favourite part about this series: the characters. They are all so amazingly complex and superbly written, and I love that I learn more and more about them the further into the series I go. Just when you are about so ready to hate a character, you suddenly realize that they are perhaps not who they seem after all. Take for instance the icy Queen of Attolia, who is arguably the easiest person to dislike in this book. But suddenly some things are revealed about her that made me think twice, and even grow sympathetic towards her despite all the things she did throughout the novel.
I've mentioned this before, but Eugenides has become one of my absolute favourite male protagonists of all time. You would think that the first book, being told in Eugenides' point of view, was the book that revealed his character the most. But here, the book is told in the third person point of view, giving Eugenides no chance to be sly and hold back on revealing things he wouldn't like to about himself. I could feel how flawed he is here, putting on a brave face but really afraid at the same time; unsure but confident out of necessity; bold but mostly afraid. My heart broke as I watched him pick up the pieces of his life, and I watched as he changed from a selfish, immature boy and turned into man who seemed like he has weathered through the worst storms of his life. I always find myself rooting for him and what he wants, even though I would have probably chosen or acted differently were I in his situation. That's how attached I've become to him.
And it's not just Eugenides I have grown to love as a character. Every character here is fleshed out, some less than the others, but to degrees that are important to a reader and a story nonetheless. I loved the warmth and wisdom of the Queen of Eddis, as well as the cold strength but fragile heart of the Queen of Attolia. I also hate the Mede amabassador Nahuseresh's beard. Each character is so multidimensional, and we are given such a good look at them that I can't help but feel like an omnipresent bystander, one of Eddis' mythical gods even, watching the events and the characters unfold.
As a final note, I just wish I could be reading the next two books instead of going to work.
My rating:
. Completely swept me off my feet with the writing, the story, and especially the characters. Megan Whalen Turner is officially one of my new favourite authors!
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
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:
Complicated
fast-paced
Just a drop-dead awesome fantasy. Still in love with the Greek influence that pervades this part of Turner's world. All the characters have such heart and life, it feels like it could easily be real. (The parallels with the Persian invasions and the Peloponnesian War certainly help.)
Daaaamn, gegenüber dem ersten Teil war dieses Buch wirklich eine Verbesserung! Schreibstil war genauso gut wie beim Vorgänger, aber die Handlung ist tausendmal besser geworden.
Das Handlungstempo ist diesmal besser gewesen, es wird nie zu langsam, sondern schreitet stetig voran. Im Gegensatz zu Der Dieb wird dieses Buch aus dritter Person erzählt und nicht nur aus Eugenides' Sicht, sondern auch z. B. von den Königinnen Attolia und Eddis.Ich hatte diesmal eher das Gefühl, dass ich die Charaktere kennenlerne und ihre Komplexität zu Gesicht bekomme.
Was mir gefallen hat, war die Tatsache, dass es sich in diesem Teil mehr um Politik und Kriegsführung dreht und die ganze Handlung aufgewertet hat. Die Fantasywelt wird mehr ausgebaut, wir bekommen mehr von ihr zu sehen und ich lechze nach mehr!
Ich bin sehr gespannt darauf, wie sich die Reihe weiterentwickelt.
Das Handlungstempo ist diesmal besser gewesen, es wird nie zu langsam, sondern schreitet stetig voran. Im Gegensatz zu Der Dieb wird dieses Buch aus dritter Person erzählt und nicht nur aus Eugenides' Sicht, sondern auch z. B. von den Königinnen Attolia und Eddis.Ich hatte diesmal eher das Gefühl, dass ich die Charaktere kennenlerne und ihre Komplexität zu Gesicht bekomme.
Was mir gefallen hat, war die Tatsache, dass es sich in diesem Teil mehr um Politik und Kriegsführung dreht und die ganze Handlung aufgewertet hat. Die Fantasywelt wird mehr ausgebaut, wir bekommen mehr von ihr zu sehen und ich lechze nach mehr!
Ich bin sehr gespannt darauf, wie sich die Reihe weiterentwickelt.