Reviews

The Red Scholar's Wake by Aliette de Bodard

moo_remus's review

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.0

It was fine, I just wasn’t too attached to the characters or the romance or the plot. All were somewhat interesting but nothing stood out to me.

jillyfae's review against another edition

adventurous emotional fast-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? Yes

4.0

claudcloud's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

This sounded like a dream come true from the premise and the synopsis, but unfortunately, it fell short for me. While I enjoyed the world and the Chinese and Vietnamese inspiration, I felt like I was just dumped in with 0 explanation or world-building - which makes sense, since after starting to read I figured out that 'The Red Scholar's Wake' is part of a much larger Xuya Universe; but then this is marketed as a standalone? I was able to figure it out as I went and get the gist of things, but it was still thoroughly confusing.

As for the rest, I would best describe this book as not-weak-but-also-not-strong. We barely get a sense of who these characters are, the writing is beautiful but repetitive, and the whole of it just struggles to make me care that much about anything, even the romance. I had an okay time with it, but I wouldn't revisit it or find myself picking up more by this author.

bings's review against another edition

tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.0

I don't really know what to say about this book...

The concept had so much potential, but oh boy the execution was so so bad. The characters were flat and superficial. The world was intriguing HOWEVER nothing is explained. You constantly felt like this was book 2 of a series where things were already explained to you... 

I could get over the instant love. I could get over the abnormal romance. But lord so many words about the world get thrown at you (which are never explained), and you just go from one scene into the next expecting you to know how much time has past... it jars you from the story time and time again and you feel constantly lost. 

1 star for having a mildly interesting plot, but that's about it sadly.

maxalotl_xl's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.0

octopusreads's review

adventurous emotional hopeful fast-paced

4.0

bookish_withsky's review

This is a soft DNF for me. I think the imagery is stunning and the concept is interesting. It did also feel quite insta-lovey, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I do want to try again later, but I'm just not interested at the moment.

rap_tor_god's review

adventurous emotional inspiring tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

emberise's review

emotional

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Sexual violence

night0wl_23's review

Did not finish at 106 pages. 

I was really excited to read this book, but I just couldn’t get into it. The world building was too much with little explanations, and the characters were kinda boring. 

I might give it a new try at some point, but right now it’s just too confusing