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hrtlss_grl's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Classism, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal death, War, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Murder, and Xenophobia
Minor: Miscarriage, Death of parent, and Animal death
avsdhpn's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
A fairly good book overall. For the most part, this is the typical high-fantasy romp and ticks off many of the usual tropes and pitfalls such as a detailed history of the land going back thousands of years, morally ambiguous local religions, elves that aren't "elves", an ambiguous system of magic, a banished evil threatening to retake the land, among other things. The book is split into two main arcs. The first is more adventurous, characters getting from point A to point B while fleeing from antagonists across the large expanse of the map. The second arc is more localized to a single area of the map and deals with more political intrigue and a cloak and dagger narrative.
My criticisms of the book were twofold. The perspective of the story would almost change mid paragraph at times, so at one moment the narrative could be being told from one character, then suddenly switch to another. This led to a little confusion in some parts, especially when reading too fast, leading to having to re-read entire paragraphs.
Secondly, and I find this to happen often in high-fantasy, the book gets overly detailed or overly wordy, leading to sections that just drag on and on needlessly. Some details felt somewhat extraneous, contributing little to the plot overall. Albeit with six other books in the series, these details may eventually be visited later. Essentially, this book could have used another round of editing.
The main appeal of the book is the sexuality diversity, specifically in the deuteragonist Seregil. Admittedly I haven't read a wide variety of high fantasy novels, but for a book written in 1996, a period just coming out of the AIDS crisis and conservative era of Reagan/Bush and into the mid 1990s of the Clinton era, Seregil is a breath of fresh queer air. As far as I am aware, as a queer character he isn't written in the stereotypical fashion of being overly flamboyant, selfish, or waifish. He checks all the boxes of the archetypical fantasy rogue with cunning and agency outside of his sexuality. His sexuality is hinted at, but never explicitly the focus of his journey, with occasional references to his queerness in passing. This strikes a good balance at providing queer representation beyond being a walking talking rainbow flag of angst without also delving into the Dumbledore effect of his sexuality being an after thought.In certain blink and you miss it moments in the book, his character arc also deals with parental homophobia such as his first nightmare, as well as a possible allegory to the AIDS crisis when he is in the full throes of the cursed amulet .
For queer readers familiar with shipping culture, the relationship with Alec and Seregil should also be a treat, as it is very much a blooming "will they, won't they" story so far.The relationship is almost confirmed in the future with a trip to an oracle. Alec's sexuality is never really confirmed, but his growing attachment to Seregil almost borders on jealousy in some parts, such as when Seregil keeps secrets from him or needs to complete solo missions without Alec.
My criticisms of the book were twofold. The perspective of the story would almost change mid paragraph at times, so at one moment the narrative could be being told from one character, then suddenly switch to another. This led to a little confusion in some parts, especially when reading too fast, leading to having to re-read entire paragraphs.
Secondly, and I find this to happen often in high-fantasy, the book gets overly detailed or overly wordy, leading to sections that just drag on and on needlessly. Some details felt somewhat extraneous, contributing little to the plot overall. Albeit with six other books in the series, these details may eventually be visited later. Essentially, this book could have used another round of editing.
The main appeal of the book is the sexuality diversity, specifically in the deuteragonist Seregil. Admittedly I haven't read a wide variety of high fantasy novels, but for a book written in 1996, a period just coming out of the AIDS crisis and conservative era of Reagan/Bush and into the mid 1990s of the Clinton era, Seregil is a breath of fresh queer air. As far as I am aware, as a queer character he isn't written in the stereotypical fashion of being overly flamboyant, selfish, or waifish. He checks all the boxes of the archetypical fantasy rogue with cunning and agency outside of his sexuality. His sexuality is hinted at, but never explicitly the focus of his journey, with occasional references to his queerness in passing. This strikes a good balance at providing queer representation beyond being a walking talking rainbow flag of angst without also delving into the Dumbledore effect of his sexuality being an after thought.
For queer readers familiar with shipping culture, the relationship with Alec and Seregil should also be a treat, as it is very much a blooming "will they, won't they" story so far.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Gore
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Homophobia and Sexual assault
robin1010's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
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
4.0
I really enjoyed this book! Great classic high fantasy, with interesting, well developed and diverse characters. Its definitely a slow burn, both in sense of plot and in the romance, but the author builds tension and pays it off well. I'll definitely be reading at least the next book (originally a duology) to finish the plot.
One of the biggest contentions in the reviews seems to be the writing/world building. The writing was honestly not that dense and reasonably easy to follow, especially compared to some other high fantasy books. The author didn't waffle too much, and anything she did linger on was more of a Chekov's gun situation. Bits of lore/world building or political intrigue were definitely densely packed though and needed a close reading to understand what was going on. If you're a particularly fastidious reader it can be helpful to have notes, but you'll manage fine without.
As I mentioned, the plot is a slow burn, but the slower pace suited the novel, and gave us appropriate time to get used to the characters, give us world building, and get a sense of the scale of place we're dealing with. It also gave the characters room to grow between major plot points so their victories felt more hard won. An exception to this is Nysander's magic. Often it felt his magic seemed to circumvent the plot or offer an easy escape, like at the last conflict where he turns them into birds, despite never having done so or mentioned doing so before. It is a fantasy novel and the magic added is interesting, but it felt a bit like it was cheapening the conflict in some places . The political plots were a bit more difficult to follow, and does often feel like you're reading in loops with no end, but I felt it paid off to a satisfying ending, and it feels rather straightforward in hindsight. There were definitely bits that felt needlessly complicated - the Lerans for example, we're only told they have an heir to put on the throne towards the end of the book, not when their desire to overthrow the queen is mentioned even though one of the characters in that scene does know this, so for a while they seem an utterly nonsensical group that want to overthrow the only lineage that can keep Skala safe . There are some classic fantasy tropes here and there that feel a bit well worn, but they're done well and I didn't mind them so much.
The characters were overall very well developed and distinct. I definitely found myself partial to the protagonist, which is always nice, although i found the insistence on his naivete a little bit excessive. Seregil was also an interesting character, if a bit predictable in his heritage and his general 'lovable scamp' nature . The dynamic between them was a touch awkward for decent amounts, honestly. Much of Seregil's interaction with Alec is very condescending, and Alec is repeatedly tricked or made a fool of for actions or aspects of himself that have literally saved Seregil's life in the past. There was a brief bit of confrontation about this towards the end that was satisfying, so I hope this improves in the second book. It does also settle better that the characters in the novel feel aware of it and its Seregil's flaw rather than it being an unself-aware author. Micum and his family were a great part of the novel. Women in general were excellently written, which is very rare in fantasy and classic fantasy especially as I'm sure most people are aware. All felt as distinct and well developed as the male cast, despite the fact that we didn't have a female 'main' character. The queen, Klia, and Beka are the most obvious examples, but I also enjoyed that Kari was a mother and a wife and still had her own goals, conflicts and personality. Being more overtly feminine/maternal didn't strip her of the rest of her character. I don't quite know if the same can be said of Ylinestra.
Despite some nitpicky bits here and there, I did have a good time reading this book, and I will continue on with the sequels.
One of the biggest contentions in the reviews seems to be the writing/world building. The writing was honestly not that dense and reasonably easy to follow, especially compared to some other high fantasy books. The author didn't waffle too much, and anything she did linger on was more of a Chekov's gun situation. Bits of lore/world building or political intrigue were definitely densely packed though and needed a close reading to understand what was going on. If you're a particularly fastidious reader it can be helpful to have notes, but you'll manage fine without.
As I mentioned, the plot is a slow burn, but the slower pace suited the novel, and gave us appropriate time to get used to the characters, give us world building, and get a sense of the scale of place we're dealing with. It also gave the characters room to grow between major plot points so their victories felt more hard won.
The characters were overall very well developed and distinct. I definitely found myself partial to the protagonist, which is always nice, although i found the insistence on his naivete a little bit excessive. Seregil was also an interesting character, if a bit predictable in
Despite some nitpicky bits here and there, I did have a good time reading this book, and I will continue on with the sequels.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Death, Violence, and Confinement
Moderate: Xenophobia and Animal death
Minor: Sexual violence, Miscarriage, and Sexual content
triftwizened's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Violence, Blood, and Gore
booksthatburn's review
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
LUCK IN THE SHADOWS is a slow burn series of heists and cons carried out in the name of spywork and finding out the truth of a murderous conspiracy as Alec slowly gets to know Seregil, his enigmatic rescuer, and the rest of his comrades.
Much of the story is Seregil introducing Alec to people and places. The reader is constantly in Alec's position in terms of information, as Seregil is pretty cagey about most things. He has a lot of secrets and is good at keeping them. I like the group who eventually emerge as the main point-of-view characters in addition to Alec and Seregil.
A lot of the worldbuilding is in the form of stories exchanged on the road, and explanations to Alec as he's being introduced to new situations (usually but not only with Seregil doing the explaining). For as much as Alec is being bombarded with new people, places, and information, for the reader each individual explanation is very low stakes. You don't need to remember everything Seregil said in order to understand the general flow of the story. I love books driven by banter, exploration, and heists, so this was a perfect balance for me.
One little thing which was frustrating is that a pair of shady characters are described in terms of their large size and relative lack of intelligence in ways that seemed designed to make it clear that they weren't the masterminds of the nefarious acts they were involved in. Since few other characters were described in terms of body type, it stood out as unusual in addition to being fatphobic and ableist.
I didn't have much of a sense of where the story was headed until about halfway through. The story begins when Seregil and Alec, strangers to one another, are both imprisoned and Seregil breaks them both out. They begin by traveling in the general direction of Seregil's home, but along the way Seregil becomes ill and Alec has to get them the rest of the way while trying to keep Seregil alive. Once they arrive, Alec becomes immersed in Seregil's world of magic and cons as Seregil continues his education. The focus of the story is on the relationships between the characters, with any one activity feeling incidental much of the time. Along they way they start tryin to get to the bottom of a murderous political conspiracy which falsely implicates Seregil, trying to find the true perpetrators and clear Seregil's name.
I had a great time reading this and intend to continue with the series. Because of the slow pacing, a lot of my favorite things are mid- or late-book spoilers. The world and characters clearly have a lot more to offer and I'm excited to see where things will go from here.
Much of the story is Seregil introducing Alec to people and places. The reader is constantly in Alec's position in terms of information, as Seregil is pretty cagey about most things. He has a lot of secrets and is good at keeping them. I like the group who eventually emerge as the main point-of-view characters in addition to Alec and Seregil.
A lot of the worldbuilding is in the form of stories exchanged on the road, and explanations to Alec as he's being introduced to new situations (usually but not only with Seregil doing the explaining). For as much as Alec is being bombarded with new people, places, and information, for the reader each individual explanation is very low stakes. You don't need to remember everything Seregil said in order to understand the general flow of the story. I love books driven by banter, exploration, and heists, so this was a perfect balance for me.
One little thing which was frustrating is that a pair of shady characters are described in terms of their large size and relative lack of intelligence in ways that seemed designed to make it clear that they weren't the masterminds of the nefarious acts they were involved in. Since few other characters were described in terms of body type, it stood out as unusual in addition to being fatphobic and ableist.
I didn't have much of a sense of where the story was headed until about halfway through. The story begins when Seregil and Alec, strangers to one another, are both imprisoned and Seregil breaks them both out. They begin by traveling in the general direction of Seregil's home, but along the way Seregil becomes ill and Alec has to get them the rest of the way while trying to keep Seregil alive. Once they arrive, Alec becomes immersed in Seregil's world of magic and cons as Seregil continues his education. The focus of the story is on the relationships between the characters, with any one activity feeling incidental much of the time. Along they way they start tryin to get to the bottom of a murderous political conspiracy which falsely implicates Seregil, trying to find the true perpetrators and clear Seregil's name.
I had a great time reading this and intend to continue with the series. Because of the slow pacing, a lot of my favorite things are mid- or late-book spoilers. The world and characters clearly have a lot more to offer and I'm excited to see where things will go from here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Mental illness, Violence, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Gore, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Vomit, Grief, Sexism, Infertility, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Fatphobia, Miscarriage, Sexual harassment, Excrement, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Ableism, and Child death
teaful's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Body horror and Stalking
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