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159 reviews for:
The Hunger and The Dusk, Vol. 1
Michele SassyK, G. Willow Wilson, Christian Wildgoose
4.18 AVERAGE
159 reviews for:
The Hunger and The Dusk, Vol. 1
Michele SassyK, G. Willow Wilson, Christian Wildgoose
4.18 AVERAGE
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This books just feels rushed? The character dynamics are very common to Romance genre novels (which I love and respect) but done in a fairly flat way with little personality - a lot of telling rather than showing. The main characters don't feel interesting, and their interactions feel like hitting the plot beats of a romance novel outline rather than driven by interior motivations. It shies away from the 'arranged marriage for a treaty' plot, which weakens the external structures forcing the romantic leads to stay together, but also doesn't really provide internal motivation for them to work together either. I'm informed by the book about a character's history rather than being shown it thru characters interacting, so it just feels all a bit meh.
The world building has orcs and humans (traditional enemies) working against an invading horde of elf-like monsters who appear at first to be like zombies but eventually get revealed as a evil but sentient. This feels lazy - you've just replaced the trope of 'orcs as inhuman nonsentient enemies' with 'elves as inhuman flatly evil enemies' - this is a shallow change that actually makes the books kind of icky, but 'evil nonsentient horde of enemies' is a pretty standard trope for a DnD-lite fantasy setting so I suppose I should have expected it.
It's just that the move to say, actually, no, orcs are NOT racially evil! They can be main characters! It's really elves that are racially evil! As a plot shift, this does not really address the choice to make a group of people inherent evil and inhuman monsters. It undermines it pretty badly, actually. You could have conflict where everyone is actually a sentient person?
The art is competent clear and often beautiful, with good expression and clear character designs.
The world building has orcs and humans (traditional enemies) working against an invading horde of elf-like monsters who appear at first to be like zombies but eventually get revealed as a evil but sentient. This feels lazy - you've just replaced the trope of 'orcs as inhuman nonsentient enemies' with 'elves as inhuman flatly evil enemies' - this is a shallow change that actually makes the books kind of icky, but 'evil nonsentient horde of enemies' is a pretty standard trope for a DnD-lite fantasy setting so I suppose I should have expected it.
It's just that the move to say, actually, no, orcs are NOT racially evil! They can be main characters! It's really elves that are racially evil! As a plot shift, this does not really address the choice to make a group of people inherent evil and inhuman monsters. It undermines it pretty badly, actually. You could have conflict where everyone is actually a sentient person?
The art is competent clear and often beautiful, with good expression and clear character designs.
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-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:
No
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
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:
Yes
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
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:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have complicated feelings on this one. On the one hand, it's interesting to see a war between humans and orcs where they're fighting over territory and environmental issues are reducing the amount of land available. And the mysterious Vangol from overseas are intriguing, particularly the hints being laid about there being more to the story in terms of what is driving them to invade.
But on the other hand, the interpersonal elements between the characters just feel very...predictable and overdone. It feels like I've read these kinds of dynamics a million times before. I'm not completely uninterested but nothing about the characters is really holding my attention. I think I'll still pick up the next volume to see where the plot is headed but without that character investment, I'm not sure I'd continue much past that.
But on the other hand, the interpersonal elements between the characters just feel very...predictable and overdone. It feels like I've read these kinds of dynamics a million times before. I'm not completely uninterested but nothing about the characters is really holding my attention. I think I'll still pick up the next volume to see where the plot is headed but without that character investment, I'm not sure I'd continue much past that.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No