You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
When you finish a book with a long breath that you unconsciusly had been holding, you know it's a good one.
A great tapestry, with many interesting, colourful and intricate threads. I'll definitely suggest frinds to read it
A great tapestry, with many interesting, colourful and intricate threads. I'll definitely suggest frinds to read it
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Re-read this favorite. Researched historical event for more insight into the story. Enjoyed!
Entertaining. Book one is five star, but then it becomes more pedestrian. Even so, Kay combines actual history with some fantasy elements, throws in a taste of the machinations of court life in one of the Chinese eras, and by following a dozen characters has an interesting book. I think the story lost strength in the last Book because the author decided to divert attention from his fictionalized history into an authorial voice discussing the uncertainty of history when trying to put together the facts from historical documents, and then continued into a quick The End. It felt like Kay got tired of writing this particular book and wanted to move on, plus the historical document discussion was unnecessary.
Am I the only reader who thinks these patrimony-based societies truly suck? Whenever I read anything regarding male-dominated societies, historically true or not, where male 'honor' is involved, it always is about being respected for how much fear and violence a man can project because that is how his place in society is determined. That sound you hear is me gagging.
Am I the only reader who thinks these patrimony-based societies truly suck? Whenever I read anything regarding male-dominated societies, historically true or not, where male 'honor' is involved, it always is about being respected for how much fear and violence a man can project because that is how his place in society is determined. That sound you hear is me gagging.
The start was fabulous. As more characters were introduced and the story expanded, things began to unravel. Still pretty good, but the last two thirds of the book don't live up to the promise of the first.
Dang! I gave the second novel in this series ("River of Stars") 5 stars, and this one (the first in the series) is much better, but there are no more stars! This one gets going much faster, so you don't have to read 300 pages before anything happens. The story is simpler in a way, it's all about the 250 horses (but with all the palace intrigue and complexity of the second). This one is much more of a page turner. So six stars.
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
I enjoyed this book, although it did get off to a slow start (may have been partly my mood). A somewhat intricate story line at times. I wasn't sure I totally liked the ending though. It felt partly like yes, this part of the character's story is done, so this is where the book ends. On the other hand, the way the epilogue gave hints about the rest of the characters lives made it feel a little like her just got to the point where he decided the book was long enough, this was a good point to stop, and told the rest of the story in a matter of a few pages. If you like historical-ish fiction though, you'd probably like this book.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
GGK has powerful prose, and knows well how to develop theme while leaving the reader to chew on those interesting ideas. However, and I get he's writing based on certain historical periods, he could stand to write his women with more agency (or just more character).