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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I get the impression that the city of Kithamar itself is the main character of this story. The story is entirely self contained within this city, only vague allusions to a larger fantasy world are made. The city itself is characterized by an extreme wealth stratification that makes for a nice gritty fantasy read. The characters range from the ruling family to poverty stricken thieves. The main plot interweaves the different levels of the society as a cult like group try to maintain their control on the city. The manipulations through calls for patriotism are a dark reminder of many events that are happening in the real world. Alys provides the central character - a thief who is drawn into the plot after her brother's death.
Being so focused on one place allows a real depth to the world building for the city, giving life to a very real feeling place. Daniel Abraham has a beautiful prose style that works well to bring this place to life. The characters are interesting, although maybe not as well developed as the place. I am intrigued where the story will go now though - it felt reasonably self contained so far so it will be interesting to see how it develops in the series
Being so focused on one place allows a real depth to the world building for the city, giving life to a very real feeling place. Daniel Abraham has a beautiful prose style that works well to bring this place to life. The characters are interesting, although maybe not as well developed as the place. I am intrigued where the story will go now though - it felt reasonably self contained so far so it will be interesting to see how it develops in the series
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I expected a lot coming from one of the co-authors of the expanse, and I was not let down! It's so atmospheric and gritty and real, but instead of floating rocks in space it's all in a single city. A great change of pace from big epic stories with lots of world building, as you don't need to know more than you're told to make sense of what's goin on. Any fantasy fans who also like the storytelling of the expanse will enjoy this
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Racism, Violence
Lots of great political complexity and world building. The characters weren't super sympathetic and the story felt more like a prelude than a story.
I felt very confused throughout the beginning but kept going because I was confident that with an author as popular as this one that it would get better. Unfortunately as more and more was revealed and told to us, I got more confused. There wasn’t anything that pulled me in to keep reading, so ultimately I decided to put it down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced