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blodeuedd's review against another edition
2.0
It is part 2, but it works as a stand alone. I had managed to forget that when I started the book. So just cos I was curious I read a few reviews about book 1. But yes it worked as a stand alone as I said. I came in with no expectations and knowing nothing about the two characters.
Shoe is the main character, a half dwarf, half human. A mercenary. His companion and friend is Fisk, the son of a traitor. Fisk is married to Livia, another main character. As her letters to Fisk tells of her journeys to a foreign land.
Oh, back up. I need to tell you what this is first. Why am I speaking of characters without mentioning the weirdness that is this book.
Right. So this takes place in a fantasy world. A fantasy world that reminds us of our world. There is Rume, ruling a vast land. There is Tchinee where Livia goes as an ambassador. And in the Ruman empire there is something that compares to the wild west. It's a steampunk world where engineers use demons to power machines. There are dwarves and elves (the latter being bloodthirsty beasts.) It's a weird world, a mix of things. Our world, so familiar, and yet not. So for this the fantasy world works, yes there is Rume. Tchinee. But it never feels like it's just borrowed from our world. It is its on world.
And in this world Fisk and Shoe tries to find an engineer on the run. Livia has her own issues as the emperor is angry with her family.
It took some getting into, mostly cos it was so strange. But then it became hard to put down and the end! Damn that emperor! Yes it does end with a cliffie. I thought it would be settled, but nope. It will make you want more.
Such an interesting world.
Shoe is the main character, a half dwarf, half human. A mercenary. His companion and friend is Fisk, the son of a traitor. Fisk is married to Livia, another main character. As her letters to Fisk tells of her journeys to a foreign land.
Oh, back up. I need to tell you what this is first. Why am I speaking of characters without mentioning the weirdness that is this book.
Right. So this takes place in a fantasy world. A fantasy world that reminds us of our world. There is Rume, ruling a vast land. There is Tchinee where Livia goes as an ambassador. And in the Ruman empire there is something that compares to the wild west. It's a steampunk world where engineers use demons to power machines. There are dwarves and elves (the latter being bloodthirsty beasts.) It's a weird world, a mix of things. Our world, so familiar, and yet not. So for this the fantasy world works, yes there is Rume. Tchinee. But it never feels like it's just borrowed from our world. It is its on world.
And in this world Fisk and Shoe tries to find an engineer on the run. Livia has her own issues as the emperor is angry with her family.
It took some getting into, mostly cos it was so strange. But then it became hard to put down and the end! Damn that emperor! Yes it does end with a cliffie. I thought it would be settled, but nope. It will make you want more.
Such an interesting world.
rocketiza's review against another edition
1.0
The decline in story telling from the first in this series was like falling off a cliff. Characters radically altered for no reason, a story arc was told like a child who read about a new country for the first time, just really disappointingly terrible.
bionicturtle64's review
4.0
The world Jacobs has created only gets more interesting and deep with this sequel, and I can't wait for the third book. I had some issues with pacing in this novel - I mean a 44 page long chapter is ridiculous - but the reveals, actions and characterisation make it worth it. Due these pacing issues I probably enjoyed this book less than the first, unfortunately, but this was still a great read. Jacobs has a very distinct and complicated style which can be hard to read at times (e.g. I struggled to read this at night when I was tired, due to the depth of the text), yet I feel this world warrants the effort. The Vaetters are haunting creatures, and I love how they are becoming more central to lore and politics of this world. Besides all that, this book features a pregnant woman with a shotgun. That's rad.
jefffrane's review
5.0
Clearly a middle book, with an ending that will send the reader gnashing teeth to take up the third book in the series. It is at least as wickedly-paced and inventive as The Incorruptibles and why John Hornor Jacobs is not more widely-read and dripping with awards as he should be is an evil mystery.
patriciaabad's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
technophile's review against another edition
3.0
This wasn't quite as good as the first book; I felt like a great deal of the plot takes place off screen (Fisk's and Livia's portions do for a huge portion of the book), which isn't terribly exciting.
I still love the setting and ideas, just... this was kind of a transitional book and I didn't really feel like it knew where it was really going.
I still love the setting and ideas, just... this was kind of a transitional book and I didn't really feel like it knew where it was really going.
ant's review against another edition
4.0
The author mixes genres in the most bizarre ways that when I describe them to friends it even I (having read them) can't believe it would actually work.
I've read quite a few reviews where people didn't like this second installment. Maybe it set my expectations so I could still enjoy it, but enjoy it I did.
In a lot of ways, it is a very different book from the first and I think it's important to accept that from the outset. For me, the characters evolved nicely and the world expanded dramatically - definitely in the direction of keeping the series going. This story builds the tension to what I felt was a spectacular ending. I'm already anticipating the next installment.
I've read quite a few reviews where people didn't like this second installment. Maybe it set my expectations so I could still enjoy it, but enjoy it I did.
In a lot of ways, it is a very different book from the first and I think it's important to accept that from the outset. For me, the characters evolved nicely and the world expanded dramatically - definitely in the direction of keeping the series going. This story builds the tension to what I felt was a spectacular ending. I'm already anticipating the next installment.
technophile's review
3.0
This wasn't quite as good as the first book; I felt like a great deal of the plot takes place off screen (Fisk's and Livia's portions do for a huge portion of the book), which isn't terribly exciting.
I still love the setting and ideas, just... this was kind of a transitional book and I didn't really feel like it knew where it was really going.
I still love the setting and ideas, just... this was kind of a transitional book and I didn't really feel like it knew where it was really going.
crane's review
4.0
An excellent and worthy sequel; again the synthesis of Imperial Rome and the Wild West works very well, this time with the added spice of Jacobs' take on Imperial China. We also get a large portion of the book from a viewpoint other than Shoe's, narrated through letters written by Livia as she is part of the delegation to the Autumn Lords; her perspective is pleasantly distinct from Shoe's, and the greater insight into her as a character is welcome.
I can't rate Foreign Devils as highly as the first book however, largely due to its ending. It finishes with a "shocking twist" that is somewhat predictable, and then leaves off on a rather inconclusive cliffhanger, with most plot threads still dangling unresolved.
I can't rate Foreign Devils as highly as the first book however, largely due to its ending. It finishes with a "shocking twist" that is somewhat predictable, and then leaves off on a rather inconclusive cliffhanger, with most plot threads still dangling unresolved.
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