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3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
I found it really hard to connect to the writing style. It felt a little disjointed, and like I was thrown into the deep end of world building without doing some transition first.
Seems more like a personal taste thing than the fault of the book
Seems more like a personal taste thing than the fault of the book
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Oof, this was a slog. I really admire the world-building, the magic, the societies, and especially the animal perspectives in this story. The writing is confident, and there are some genuinely beautiful moments.
But. But but but: I never knew what was happening. Sometimes I took the trouble to go back and reread transitional scenes and figured out what was going on, but sometimes certain events or arrangements came out of nowhere. For example, one of our characters, Djola, gets exiled until he can accomplish a Task, and spends a lot of time on a pirate ship. It's never fully clear what his status is on the ship: is he a prisoner, because he was exiled? Is he a willing partner, since he seems to direct the choice of piratical activity to aid his own ends in accomplishing his task? Is he simply a passenger, and his passage on the pirate ship was arranged by the emperor who exiled him, thinking that a private transport might be a convenient way to aid him in his task? This is never made clear, because the moment when he gets put on the pirate ship happens as an aside in a chapter told from the perspective of an elephant, who isn't really alive to the minutiae of the negotiations.
And then, much later, suddenly there is some discussion between Djola and the pirate captain about some debt, as if Djola can't leave the pirate ship until he's paid off his debt. Debt? What debt? When did he incur a debt?
The whole book is like this: Things happen when you're not watching, and you're always running to play catch up with how they came about and what their significance is for the plot. Sometimes it becomes clear later, but sometimes it doesn't, which means you can't just sit back and trust the author to eventually explain everything, because sometimes she doesn't explain it, and you're left confused. I still don't understand, for example . . .
-The ecological status of the empire: Everyone is all in a tizzy because some ecological disaster is destroying entire cities and rendering land barren and deadly. It's called poison sand--except when it's called void smoke (and seemed quite cool; I would have liked more details about what it was and how it worked). But there still seems to be a lot of trade, shipping, and no refugee crisis despite all the dead cities that are basically all we see, wherever we go.
-The economic status of the empire: in addition to the poison desert crisis, pirate ships are devastating entire cities and destroying trade with impunity, but it doesn't seem to be stopping the merchant ships from carrying on with their trade. Who are they trading with? The empire is dying, except for the part where it isn't.
-The political governance of the empire: Our main characters get themselves involved in a revolution or rebellion of sorts, yet the climax of the book involves persuading a ruling council to do a Thing, and the threat of open insurrection never gets mentioned.
-The political stability of the empire: The emperor is simultaneously so weak that he is forced by his councillors to exile one of his high-up officials, yet strong enough that he can avoid replacing that official's seat for literally <i>years</i> while he waits for the official to complete his task. And all the while the ecology is collapsing, pirates are ravaging trade and destroying cities, and apparently a rebellion is brewing--yet no one even considers the possibility that he might be overthrown? How does this government work?
-How the magic works. One character spends years, at enormous cost, finding a particular spell that can fix things by ??pulling future events into the present in a way that ???turns things into gemstones??? except when it destroys them with fire??? And then he needs to use this spell as a kind of dance during the climax---a spell that remember took him years to find---but he's accompanied by a young woman who has never spent a moment of her life looking for this spell, yet she knows it well enough to dance it with him. What, exactly, were they doing? How did the magic work? How did it fix things? What's going on with the gemstones?
These are not oversights, I don't think. I get the impression that they are narrative decisions to focus on certain elements of the book and not bother fleshing out others. But without fleshing out these really important narrative components, I spent far too much time being confused about how this world worked to focus on the things that Hairston considered more important. I don't see myself reading more of her books, because I don't trust her to tell me a story that I can follow.
But. But but but: I never knew what was happening. Sometimes I took the trouble to go back and reread transitional scenes and figured out what was going on, but sometimes certain events or arrangements came out of nowhere. For example, one of our characters, Djola, gets exiled until he can accomplish a Task, and spends a lot of time on a pirate ship. It's never fully clear what his status is on the ship: is he a prisoner, because he was exiled? Is he a willing partner, since he seems to direct the choice of piratical activity to aid his own ends in accomplishing his task? Is he simply a passenger, and his passage on the pirate ship was arranged by the emperor who exiled him, thinking that a private transport might be a convenient way to aid him in his task? This is never made clear, because the moment when he gets put on the pirate ship happens as an aside in a chapter told from the perspective of an elephant, who isn't really alive to the minutiae of the negotiations.
And then, much later, suddenly there is some discussion between Djola and the pirate captain about some debt, as if Djola can't leave the pirate ship until he's paid off his debt. Debt? What debt? When did he incur a debt?
The whole book is like this: Things happen when you're not watching, and you're always running to play catch up with how they came about and what their significance is for the plot. Sometimes it becomes clear later, but sometimes it doesn't, which means you can't just sit back and trust the author to eventually explain everything, because sometimes she doesn't explain it, and you're left confused. I still don't understand, for example . . .
-The ecological status of the empire: Everyone is all in a tizzy because some ecological disaster is destroying entire cities and rendering land barren and deadly. It's called poison sand--except when it's called void smoke (and seemed quite cool; I would have liked more details about what it was and how it worked). But there still seems to be a lot of trade, shipping, and no refugee crisis despite all the dead cities that are basically all we see, wherever we go.
-The economic status of the empire: in addition to the poison desert crisis, pirate ships are devastating entire cities and destroying trade with impunity, but it doesn't seem to be stopping the merchant ships from carrying on with their trade. Who are they trading with? The empire is dying, except for the part where it isn't.
-The political governance of the empire: Our main characters get themselves involved in a revolution or rebellion of sorts, yet the climax of the book involves persuading a ruling council to do a Thing, and the threat of open insurrection never gets mentioned.
-The political stability of the empire: The emperor is simultaneously so weak that he is forced by his councillors to exile one of his high-up officials, yet strong enough that he can avoid replacing that official's seat for literally <i>years</i> while he waits for the official to complete his task. And all the while the ecology is collapsing, pirates are ravaging trade and destroying cities, and apparently a rebellion is brewing--yet no one even considers the possibility that he might be overthrown? How does this government work?
-How the magic works. One character spends years, at enormous cost, finding a particular spell that can fix things by ??pulling future events into the present in a way that ???turns things into gemstones??? except when it destroys them with fire??? And then he needs to use this spell as a kind of dance during the climax---a spell that remember took him years to find---but he's accompanied by a young woman who has never spent a moment of her life looking for this spell, yet she knows it well enough to dance it with him. What, exactly, were they doing? How did the magic work? How did it fix things? What's going on with the gemstones?
These are not oversights, I don't think. I get the impression that they are narrative decisions to focus on certain elements of the book and not bother fleshing out others. But without fleshing out these really important narrative components, I spent far too much time being confused about how this world worked to focus on the things that Hairston considered more important. I don't see myself reading more of her books, because I don't trust her to tell me a story that I can follow.
I DNF’ed this about 200 pages in. Not sure what wasn’t working with me for this book. The characters were very interesting – although we were held at a distance. The world was fascinating. Perhaps it was the plot, as things were happening to the characters, but the characters didn’t seem to be moving forward with any direction. Maybe someday I’ll go back and try this, but probably not.
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
a brilliant and expansively imaginative book that does much to challenge colonial assumptions about storytelling and the environment. i sometimes struggled with the inconsistencies in pacing, choppy prose, and complex worldbuilding -- but having the patience to pull through with these aspects is well worth the time and thought.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
- Liked: world building, Black fantasy, climate change elements
- Stopped because: I was 50 pages in, had met many characters but didn't have a connection with the them. Also, the writing felt choppy, like sentences were missing to explain and transition one paragraph to another
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Interesting concepts and setting, but I found this very hard to follow.