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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
slow-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:
Complicated
One of the best things about modern fantasy that's often overlooked is the strength of its characters. Abraham does this well by populating his worlds with flawed people who aren't Chosen Ones. He leans the story on them rather than letting the conceits do all the work. But he's no slouch on the mythology, either. The mythology is original and the characters are solid, and I look forward to the next installment, even if this one took a little while to get going. As sad as I am to have The Expanse series ended, it's nice to see Abraham return to fantasy in full force.
I really wanted to loved this book. From the premise go the stunning cover promises a fantastic journey.
The writing felt messy. You're thrown into a world you know nothing about, and only get a tiny handful of explanations before more elements of this world are introduced. Maybe this is enough for some people, but to me it was confusing, and reading this book felt like work.
The writing felt messy. You're thrown into a world you know nothing about, and only get a tiny handful of explanations before more elements of this world are introduced. Maybe this is enough for some people, but to me it was confusing, and reading this book felt like work.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-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
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Original Review 5/23/22: 3 stars
I mostly liked this, the story was interesting and I liked the interplay between the two girls. But I really felt it was bordering on poverty porn. The world they lived in was just so relentlessly grim, and there was nothing to lighten it up. It was just a greyscale bummer of a world.
Review 9/4/2023: 4 stars
After reading the second book, I decided to do a reread of the first so I could refresh my memory and see if it improved for me after reading the second one: Yes! It was still really depressing, and I found one character still incredibly unsympathetic, but my overall appreciation for the story was better, and I really enjoyed seeing how the two books are in the margins of each other, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern style.
I mostly liked this, the story was interesting and I liked the interplay between the two girls. But I really felt it was bordering on poverty porn. The world they lived in was just so relentlessly grim, and there was nothing to lighten it up. It was just a greyscale bummer of a world.
Review 9/4/2023: 4 stars
After reading the second book, I decided to do a reread of the first so I could refresh my memory and see if it improved for me after reading the second one: Yes! It was still really depressing, and I found one character still incredibly unsympathetic, but my overall appreciation for the story was better, and I really enjoyed seeing how the two books are in the margins of each other, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern style.
“Violence is the nature of the world. Peace is the pause between blows.”
adventurous
dark
sad
slow-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
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
