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birte's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-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
4.0
iansharp's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
smurf2416's review against another edition
2.0
This book started off so well. Then right around the middle of the book it took a turn and headed down. Then down, and down, and down. It was like running a marathon, but you bonk with 4 miles to go and just have to suffer through it.
ashryn's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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? No
3.0
katietreebee's review against another edition
Just wasn't for me. Well written but just wasn't gripping me. May go back to it at a later date, could be I'm just not in the mood for it at the moment
theshaggyshepherd's review against another edition
5.0
We Ride the Storm // Devin Madson
While this wasn’t the first book I started this year (that honor goes to Elantris), it was the first book I finished in 2021 because let me tell you, once Devin Madson sucks you into a story, she doesn’t let you go until you turn the last page. This book took me on an absolutely wild ride and I loved every minute of it! I wish everyone could start their year off with a bang like I did.
I’ve noticed that the majority of my favorite fantasy books have multiple narrators and it seems that three is the number many authors fall on. I like that a lot when it is well done because you get a better understanding of what’s going on along the way. Madson chose three very different characters in her story. They came from different cultures, were raised in different social classes and systems, had widely different personalities and attitudes, and have or were preparing for very different occupations. When it came to choosing varying POVs, she really couldn’t have done any better. I love how her writing made you feel empathetic towards each one. She made you want the best for them but the entire way through it was difficult to determine how all of them could come out on top in the end without sacrificing someone’s happiness along the way.
By having such different characters we got to learn about the three main cultures that were addressed in this book. The Levanti social system couldn’t have been any more different from Kisia and Chiltae, and it was absolutely fascinating to learn about their traditions. The setup for the other two countries felt much more familiar at first glance but there were still interesting nuances to learn about them nonetheless. I didn’t know until I finished the book that this series is set in the same world as Madson’s previous series, The Vengeance Trilogy, and I definitely want to check that out to get a better understanding of everything though you do not need to have read those to enjoy this book. Due to having these vastly different characters, we also get to understand their unique motivations, which is providing us with all kinds of intrigue from start to finish. While we do get to learn plenty about the world itself, this never stopped the action from happening. And let me tell you, once it started, it never slowed down until the end. Madson puts both elements – the world-building and the action – together very well though where they complement each other rather than stealing the limelight.
Minor spoilers ahead for trigger warnings (rape/brutality):
I was initially scared away from this book last year when I saw reviewers write about how gory it is. I’m not saying it isn’t that – you do learn about certain things in detail, such as how to cut off someone’s head – but it definitely was not nearly as bad as expected. There is a lot of killing and hurting people, there is rape, there is psychological abuse. But at least to me, someone that really struggles with rape scenes and excessive brutality, this wasn’t done in a way that put unnecessary attention on those actions and they weren’t detailed in a disturbing way either. It’s hard to describe honestly but if you want to take the beheading as an example, the importance isn’t in the brutality of it; it is important culturally to help the souls of those slain bodies move on in the afterlife so the people performing the severing of heads do it out of respect for those fallen, even if they weren’t on their side. It has a much different feel to it than sheer brutality and goriness for the shock effect.
While this wasn’t the first book I started this year (that honor goes to Elantris), it was the first book I finished in 2021 because let me tell you, once Devin Madson sucks you into a story, she doesn’t let you go until you turn the last page. This book took me on an absolutely wild ride and I loved every minute of it! I wish everyone could start their year off with a bang like I did.
I’ve noticed that the majority of my favorite fantasy books have multiple narrators and it seems that three is the number many authors fall on. I like that a lot when it is well done because you get a better understanding of what’s going on along the way. Madson chose three very different characters in her story. They came from different cultures, were raised in different social classes and systems, had widely different personalities and attitudes, and have or were preparing for very different occupations. When it came to choosing varying POVs, she really couldn’t have done any better. I love how her writing made you feel empathetic towards each one. She made you want the best for them but the entire way through it was difficult to determine how all of them could come out on top in the end without sacrificing someone’s happiness along the way.
By having such different characters we got to learn about the three main cultures that were addressed in this book. The Levanti social system couldn’t have been any more different from Kisia and Chiltae, and it was absolutely fascinating to learn about their traditions. The setup for the other two countries felt much more familiar at first glance but there were still interesting nuances to learn about them nonetheless. I didn’t know until I finished the book that this series is set in the same world as Madson’s previous series, The Vengeance Trilogy, and I definitely want to check that out to get a better understanding of everything though you do not need to have read those to enjoy this book. Due to having these vastly different characters, we also get to understand their unique motivations, which is providing us with all kinds of intrigue from start to finish. While we do get to learn plenty about the world itself, this never stopped the action from happening. And let me tell you, once it started, it never slowed down until the end. Madson puts both elements – the world-building and the action – together very well though where they complement each other rather than stealing the limelight.
Minor spoilers ahead for trigger warnings (rape/brutality):
I was initially scared away from this book last year when I saw reviewers write about how gory it is. I’m not saying it isn’t that – you do learn about certain things in detail, such as how to cut off someone’s head – but it definitely was not nearly as bad as expected. There is a lot of killing and hurting people, there is rape, there is psychological abuse. But at least to me, someone that really struggles with rape scenes and excessive brutality, this wasn’t done in a way that put unnecessary attention on those actions and they weren’t detailed in a disturbing way either. It’s hard to describe honestly but if you want to take the beheading as an example, the importance isn’t in the brutality of it; it is important culturally to help the souls of those slain bodies move on in the afterlife so the people performing the severing of heads do it out of respect for those fallen, even if they weren’t on their side. It has a much different feel to it than sheer brutality and goriness for the shock effect.
oursinculte's review
4.0
We ride the storm était à l’origine auto-édité et finaliste du SPFBO 2018, il m’avait tapé dans l’œil à cause de la couverture magnifique de John Anthony Di Giovanni. Ses très bonnes critiques m’ont poussé à l’ajouter à ma petite liste d’achats mais, dès que j’ai tourné le dos, Orbit a racheté les droits de la saga et a décidé de changer la couverture pour un truc vraiment moins à mon goût (pour rester diplomate). Je suis triste, je n’aurai jamais la couverture originale qui n’est plus disponible. Mais j’avais toujours envie de le lire alors je me suis rabattu sur l’ebook.
L’empire de Kisia est dirigée par l’empereur Kin Ts’ai mais le bonhomme n’a pas encore désigné d’héritier donc c’est un peu la foire. Sa femme a deux jumeaux bâtards mais ils restent dans le flou quant à leur sort. Et voilà que les Chiltaens d’à côté commencent à envahir le coin à l’aide des fameux mercenaires Levanti. Dans tout ça nous suivrons trois points de vue complémentaires. La première protagoniste est Miko Ts’ai, la princesse bâtarde de Kisai qui déjoue les tentatives d’assassinat depuis son enfance, et rêve de diriger l’empire avec son frère. Mais l’empereur les laisse dans le flou quant à leur avenir. Côté Chiltae, le lecteur suivra Cassandra Marius, une assassine un peu perturbée par la voix qui squatte son cerveau. Pourtant ça ne l’empêche pas d’être balèze et quand on lui promet de la guérir, elle n’hésite pas à se jeter au cœur des complots. Et enfin le capitaine Rah e’Torin est exilé avec son escouade de cavaliers nomades Levanti, et il sera forcé de choisir entre se battre pour Chiltae ou mourir.
Devin Madson nous propose ici une fantasy d’inspiration asiatique, et le dépaysement ça fait toujours du bien. Kisia évoque évidemment les grandes dynasties d’empereurs de Chine tandis que les Levanti sont inspirés des peuples nomades mongoles, avec leurs chevaux et leurs arcs. Chiltae est le pendant un peu plus occidental de cet univers, avec une religion monothéiste quasi-chrétienne, des prêtres et des noms occidentaux. C’est dépaysant sans être toutefois renversant, parce que c’est pas non plus super original au sein du sous-genre spécifique. On a un gros imbroglio politique avec différents peuples, mais comme le titre l’indique, nos protagonistes apparaissent comme des petites feuilles emportées par la fureur de la tempête et finissent presque malgré eux par jouer un rôle dans cette grande fresque.
Les personnages sont très solides et accrochent le lecteur sur la durée. Même si Cassandra est un peu en retrait et que son arc joue au ping-pong entre deux royaumes, sa relation avec sa colloc de cerveau est bien exploitée, entre dépendance et répulsion. L’histoire de Miko est la plus politique mais arrive à faire passer assez d’humanité pour s’y investir. La princesse veut tirer son épingle du jeu mais elle oscille entre une détermination implacable et les doutes, est-elle le meilleur choix d’héritière pour l’empire ? Doit-elle s’imposer ou rester en retrait alors qu’ils sont envahis ? Les (très bons) personnages secondaires qui défilent vont rendre ces choix encore plus difficiles, et cette incertitude plane sur tout le roman. La princesse, et le lecteur, ne connaissent pas la réponse, l’enjeu est là et tient sur un fil. Ce qui partait comme « mais avec qui qu’on va la marier ? » prend un tournant beaucoup plus fort pour cette jeune femme qui prend son destin en main.
Et enfin dans l’arc Levanti, Rah va nous entrainer dans la guerre et l’esclavage. Son escouade tombe dans les mains de l’armée Chiltaenne et ils sont obligés de renoncer à leur code et leurs valeurs pour survivre. Le capitaine souffre de ça mais lutte comme il peut pour garder son honneur… Et ça a des conséquences. Ses hommes ne voient pas tous son entêtement d’un bon œil, l’enjeu sera de trouver le bon équilibre, s’il existe. Avis aux lecteurs et lectrices sensibles, on nous décrit quelques décapitations par le menu, mais ça a bizarrement du sens dans le contexte. Il y a également une scène de viol (en tant qu’arme de soumission en temps de guerre) que l’autrice arrive à évoquer avec une certaine retenue, dans une scène forte. Mais on se demande toujours s’il c’était bien obligatoire, à chacun de juger de sa pertinence selon sa sensiblité.
Au final l’ensemble n’est pas extrêmement original, on a déjà vu certains schémas mais ça a du souffle, les personnages et leurs dilemmes tiennent le lecteur sur ses 500 pages et on découvre quelques scènes mémorables comme le duel rhétorique de Rah ou la confrontation de Miko dans la salle du trône. Tout est articulé de manière très précise, la construction de cet édifice est bien pensé et le fil se déroule de manière fluide et prenante. Certains personnages font le pont d’une perspective à l’autre du roman mais les protagonistes ne se croiseront pas (encore). Attention, pour les allergiques aux cliffhangers, la fin nous laisse dans une situation pas complètement résolue. Elle offre un beau retournement de situation, mais il faudra attendre le second tome We lie with death en Janvier 2021 pour connaitre la suite.
Je continuerai cette série qui reste une belle aventure, une lecture prenante et rythmée, une tragédie tout en nuances de gris qui tient ses promesses. Notez également que The reborn empire est la seconde trilogie de l’autrice, la première intitulée The vengeance trilogy se passe chronologiquement avant, et a aussi été rachetée par Orbit. Elle ressortira le 04 aout avec des couvertures moches également.
https://ours-inculte.fr/we-ride-the-storm/
L’empire de Kisia est dirigée par l’empereur Kin Ts’ai mais le bonhomme n’a pas encore désigné d’héritier donc c’est un peu la foire. Sa femme a deux jumeaux bâtards mais ils restent dans le flou quant à leur sort. Et voilà que les Chiltaens d’à côté commencent à envahir le coin à l’aide des fameux mercenaires Levanti. Dans tout ça nous suivrons trois points de vue complémentaires. La première protagoniste est Miko Ts’ai, la princesse bâtarde de Kisai qui déjoue les tentatives d’assassinat depuis son enfance, et rêve de diriger l’empire avec son frère. Mais l’empereur les laisse dans le flou quant à leur avenir. Côté Chiltae, le lecteur suivra Cassandra Marius, une assassine un peu perturbée par la voix qui squatte son cerveau. Pourtant ça ne l’empêche pas d’être balèze et quand on lui promet de la guérir, elle n’hésite pas à se jeter au cœur des complots. Et enfin le capitaine Rah e’Torin est exilé avec son escouade de cavaliers nomades Levanti, et il sera forcé de choisir entre se battre pour Chiltae ou mourir.
Devin Madson nous propose ici une fantasy d’inspiration asiatique, et le dépaysement ça fait toujours du bien. Kisia évoque évidemment les grandes dynasties d’empereurs de Chine tandis que les Levanti sont inspirés des peuples nomades mongoles, avec leurs chevaux et leurs arcs. Chiltae est le pendant un peu plus occidental de cet univers, avec une religion monothéiste quasi-chrétienne, des prêtres et des noms occidentaux. C’est dépaysant sans être toutefois renversant, parce que c’est pas non plus super original au sein du sous-genre spécifique. On a un gros imbroglio politique avec différents peuples, mais comme le titre l’indique, nos protagonistes apparaissent comme des petites feuilles emportées par la fureur de la tempête et finissent presque malgré eux par jouer un rôle dans cette grande fresque.
Les personnages sont très solides et accrochent le lecteur sur la durée. Même si Cassandra est un peu en retrait et que son arc joue au ping-pong entre deux royaumes, sa relation avec sa colloc de cerveau est bien exploitée, entre dépendance et répulsion. L’histoire de Miko est la plus politique mais arrive à faire passer assez d’humanité pour s’y investir. La princesse veut tirer son épingle du jeu mais elle oscille entre une détermination implacable et les doutes, est-elle le meilleur choix d’héritière pour l’empire ? Doit-elle s’imposer ou rester en retrait alors qu’ils sont envahis ? Les (très bons) personnages secondaires qui défilent vont rendre ces choix encore plus difficiles, et cette incertitude plane sur tout le roman. La princesse, et le lecteur, ne connaissent pas la réponse, l’enjeu est là et tient sur un fil. Ce qui partait comme « mais avec qui qu’on va la marier ? » prend un tournant beaucoup plus fort pour cette jeune femme qui prend son destin en main.
Et enfin dans l’arc Levanti, Rah va nous entrainer dans la guerre et l’esclavage. Son escouade tombe dans les mains de l’armée Chiltaenne et ils sont obligés de renoncer à leur code et leurs valeurs pour survivre. Le capitaine souffre de ça mais lutte comme il peut pour garder son honneur… Et ça a des conséquences. Ses hommes ne voient pas tous son entêtement d’un bon œil, l’enjeu sera de trouver le bon équilibre, s’il existe. Avis aux lecteurs et lectrices sensibles, on nous décrit quelques décapitations par le menu, mais ça a bizarrement du sens dans le contexte. Il y a également une scène de viol (en tant qu’arme de soumission en temps de guerre) que l’autrice arrive à évoquer avec une certaine retenue, dans une scène forte. Mais on se demande toujours s’il c’était bien obligatoire, à chacun de juger de sa pertinence selon sa sensiblité.
Au final l’ensemble n’est pas extrêmement original, on a déjà vu certains schémas mais ça a du souffle, les personnages et leurs dilemmes tiennent le lecteur sur ses 500 pages et on découvre quelques scènes mémorables comme le duel rhétorique de Rah ou la confrontation de Miko dans la salle du trône. Tout est articulé de manière très précise, la construction de cet édifice est bien pensé et le fil se déroule de manière fluide et prenante. Certains personnages font le pont d’une perspective à l’autre du roman mais les protagonistes ne se croiseront pas (encore). Attention, pour les allergiques aux cliffhangers, la fin nous laisse dans une situation pas complètement résolue. Elle offre un beau retournement de situation, mais il faudra attendre le second tome We lie with death en Janvier 2021 pour connaitre la suite.
Je continuerai cette série qui reste une belle aventure, une lecture prenante et rythmée, une tragédie tout en nuances de gris qui tient ses promesses. Notez également que The reborn empire est la seconde trilogie de l’autrice, la première intitulée The vengeance trilogy se passe chronologiquement avant, et a aussi été rachetée par Orbit. Elle ressortira le 04 aout avec des couvertures moches également.
https://ours-inculte.fr/we-ride-the-storm/
theresab93's review against another edition
It's not you, it's me... Okay maybe it's a little you. This one just did not stick for me, got to the half way point and could not remember a thing that happened prior.
Also I'm tired of multiple first person narrations where the author doesn't use a name for the chapter title and instead uses symbols etc. Every chapter I was staring at the symbol for a minute trying to work out who's perspective I'm on
Also I'm tired of multiple first person narrations where the author doesn't use a name for the chapter title and instead uses symbols etc. Every chapter I was staring at the symbol for a minute trying to work out who's perspective I'm on
mxsallybend's review against another edition
4.0
A solid fantasy with engaging characters, hints of magic, and violent twists, We Ride the Storm had a frustrating lack of answers, but it’s still a damned fine read.
Devin Madson tells her story through three POV characters, alternating between them in the early going, but then largely leaving one behind in the second half. Part of the reason why I liked this rather than loved it is the fact that it was my favorite character she neglected.
Princess Miko Ts’ai, a young woman trapped between a father’s tainted legacy and a stepfather’s ugly rule, is the first character we meet. She is a frustrating character, single-minded and courageous to the point of foolishness, but also incredibly naive for one who has grown up in such a tenuous situation. I liked her, and I loved the way here story arc developed, but I found her a hard character to pin down. The ways in which she’s learned the art of war while being ignored is perhaps the most interesting way in which the story explores the refreshing twist of a Princess, not a Prince, striving to seize power in a time of war.
The next POV character we meet is Captain Rah e’Torin of the Levanti horse tribes, a young man just as single-minded as naive as Miko. The world is changing around him, but he refuses to change with it. He’s one of those characters who would rather see his people die honoring their culture than live changed by the world. He is an admirable young man, one who remains true to his ideals no matter what the cost, and while there were more than a few moments where I had to applaud that passion, he was also somewhat tiresome. If he’d had more personality, some humor or potential for joy within his perpetually dour bearing, he might have been more interesting.
The last POV character we meet is Cassandra Marius, who was by far the most interesting of the lot. She’s a dangerous woman, using her role as a whore to get close to the men she’s hired to assassinate, but what makes her so intriguing is her connection to death. The dead call to her (in what way we’re never quite told), and she has a voice inside her head that constantly argues against her dark passions. She captivated me from her first chapter. I would have gladly read a novel all about her, or one where she is the only POV, but she’s sadly neglected in the second half, and we’re never given the answers we crave as to how/why the dead call to her, who that voice is, or just what she expects the mysterious Witchdoctor to do for her.
While he’s not a POV character, Dom Leo Villius is another character I wanted to see more of and know more about. Like Cassandra, this book left me with far too many questions about him for my liking. He has so much personality for a secondary character (his verbal sparring with Cassandra is fantastic), and the twists in his story are some of the most genuine in the book. He’s not comic relief, not by any stretch, but his every scene does breathe a little light and life into the story.
As for the plot, it was a solid story of cultures at war, empires at risk, and challenges for succession. I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially the ways in which schemes and plots threatened to topple empires from within, but I also struggled with the world building. We don’t see enough of Kisia to really understand it as an empire, and the potential of an Emperor past his prime and an Empress playing Lady Macbeth from the shadows is largely squandered. Similarly, the Chiltae seem more a race of people than a political force, and I struggled to understand where they stood and how they compared to Kisia. The bulk of the world building seems to go to the Levanti horse tribes, but I found them the least interesting and became bored with them.
Despite my frustrations, We Ride the Storm did end exceptionally strong, bringing together all of the plots and machinations to topple one empire while establishing a long-hinted new power. There are no great surprises there, no killer twists to leave the reader reeling, but it’s a satisfactory climax.
https://femledfantasy.home.blog/2020/06/04/book-review-we-ride-the-storm-by-devin-madson/
Devin Madson tells her story through three POV characters, alternating between them in the early going, but then largely leaving one behind in the second half. Part of the reason why I liked this rather than loved it is the fact that it was my favorite character she neglected.
Princess Miko Ts’ai, a young woman trapped between a father’s tainted legacy and a stepfather’s ugly rule, is the first character we meet. She is a frustrating character, single-minded and courageous to the point of foolishness, but also incredibly naive for one who has grown up in such a tenuous situation. I liked her, and I loved the way here story arc developed, but I found her a hard character to pin down. The ways in which she’s learned the art of war while being ignored is perhaps the most interesting way in which the story explores the refreshing twist of a Princess, not a Prince, striving to seize power in a time of war.
The next POV character we meet is Captain Rah e’Torin of the Levanti horse tribes, a young man just as single-minded as naive as Miko. The world is changing around him, but he refuses to change with it. He’s one of those characters who would rather see his people die honoring their culture than live changed by the world. He is an admirable young man, one who remains true to his ideals no matter what the cost, and while there were more than a few moments where I had to applaud that passion, he was also somewhat tiresome. If he’d had more personality, some humor or potential for joy within his perpetually dour bearing, he might have been more interesting.
The last POV character we meet is Cassandra Marius, who was by far the most interesting of the lot. She’s a dangerous woman, using her role as a whore to get close to the men she’s hired to assassinate, but what makes her so intriguing is her connection to death. The dead call to her (in what way we’re never quite told), and she has a voice inside her head that constantly argues against her dark passions. She captivated me from her first chapter. I would have gladly read a novel all about her, or one where she is the only POV, but she’s sadly neglected in the second half, and we’re never given the answers we crave as to how/why the dead call to her, who that voice is, or just what she expects the mysterious Witchdoctor to do for her.
While he’s not a POV character, Dom Leo Villius is another character I wanted to see more of and know more about. Like Cassandra, this book left me with far too many questions about him for my liking. He has so much personality for a secondary character (his verbal sparring with Cassandra is fantastic), and the twists in his story are some of the most genuine in the book. He’s not comic relief, not by any stretch, but his every scene does breathe a little light and life into the story.
As for the plot, it was a solid story of cultures at war, empires at risk, and challenges for succession. I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially the ways in which schemes and plots threatened to topple empires from within, but I also struggled with the world building. We don’t see enough of Kisia to really understand it as an empire, and the potential of an Emperor past his prime and an Empress playing Lady Macbeth from the shadows is largely squandered. Similarly, the Chiltae seem more a race of people than a political force, and I struggled to understand where they stood and how they compared to Kisia. The bulk of the world building seems to go to the Levanti horse tribes, but I found them the least interesting and became bored with them.
Despite my frustrations, We Ride the Storm did end exceptionally strong, bringing together all of the plots and machinations to topple one empire while establishing a long-hinted new power. There are no great surprises there, no killer twists to leave the reader reeling, but it’s a satisfactory climax.
https://femledfantasy.home.blog/2020/06/04/book-review-we-ride-the-storm-by-devin-madson/
kaylabix's review against another edition
4.0
The characters are everything. My heart breaks for all of them throughout the journey. And I want to come back to reading to know what they're up to.