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4.26 AVERAGE
4.26 AVERAGE
I’ve read, and enjoyed, plenty of bad books before, and it’s not like I went into this expecting it to be the pinnacle of literature, so perhaps I’m just not in the right mood for this book at the moment. But the writing is just so bad it’s stressing me out trying to read it.
The prologue was sort of promising. I liked the storyteller and the atmosphere. But when the main story started I just didn’t enjoy it. I kept hoping it would get better, and it sort of did around chapter 7, but it wasn’t enough to keep me reading.
The world building was clumsy and irritating. It relied heavily on telling rather than showing, so the first few chapters felt like the author kept throwing in bits of a rather dry history lesson that just kept pulling me out of the story. It was particularly annoying that the author kept directly explaining things to the reader that really didn’t need so much explanation. I became aware a few chapters in that the notes I was making had turned into editor’s notes - pointing out bits that should’ve been cut, or parts that would’ve been a great opportunity to introduce an aspect of the world by showing it, if only the author hadn’t already directly explained it to the reader several pages ago for no good reason. It really felt like the author didn’t respect her readers at all and was worried they wouldn’t be able to pick up on the world building if she didn’t spell it out. A good editor could’ve fixed that, but I’m just left wondering whether it was even edited at all.
It also felt like no consideration was given to how people would actually behave in such a society. We’re told that the people are horrifically oppressed and the ruling classes are incredibly cruel - they cut off children’s hands and literally rip people apart for minor crimes. But then we’re being shown a character who has the freedom to wander around making trouble with little consequence. Sylah can apparently get away with messing up at her jobs constantly, carrying contraband, and mouthing off at guards and all she gets is a punch in the stomach and a threat. It makes no sense. You keep telling me it’s oppressive but you’re not making it feel oppressive.
I really hope it’s later revealed that they all secretly knew who Sylah was all along and were under instructions to be lenient to her, or something like that. I also hope that it turns out the ghostings need their hands to do some sort of super powerful magic, because otherwise cutting the hands off your servant class just reads as incredibly stupid. It feels like it was a cheap attempt at shock value, with little thought towards realism.
I actually started to wonder whether it was supposed to be a parody of young adult dystopian fiction when we were told that Sylah knew all 3 forms of martial arts and had mastered them at the age of 10. And she’s so good at fighting that she never gets a cut or bleeds at all in front of anyone, despite regularly competing in an underground fighting ring.
Honestly, there were so many rubbish bits. The weird way Sylah gives herself a little lesson on pronouns when a musawa is introduced, instead of just using the correct pronoun. The way Jond was introduced at the last minute with a strangely bland flashback and a brief explanation that he was dead, followed by him immediately showing up and an abrupt shift into Sylah thinking about how hot he is. The annoyingly pointless move of calling it a ‘runegun’ which would be a great, self-explanatory name, just to immediately explain what it is in the same sentence, making it seem unnecessarily clunky. The way the idea of gender affirming treatment being available was introduced, again with a little lecture instead of just showing us organically through the storytelling. The repetition of some bits of world building, like the fact that ghostings don’t get an education, or that dusters are educated until age 10, or that runes only release for the person whose blood they are written in. As if the author thinks we’ll be unable to understand the rest of the book if we miss even the tiniest detail. The completely unnecessary explanation of body protectors - this one definitely felt like the author was taking the mick.
I don’t like DNFing a book club book, but right now it feels like I’m carrying this weight around that prevents me from doing anything else because I’m supposed to be reading the book, but progress is painstakingly slow because I’m having to force myself to pick it up each time. I just want it gone.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Racism, Slavery
Moderate: Classism
adventurous
lighthearted
tense
adventurous
dark
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:
Yes
Okay, wow. There's a lot to talk about with this book, but as just a heads up, this will contain spoilers. I will do my best to spoiler tag, but realistically you should read the book before my review (that means you, Lewis).
So, I really liked this book! I will admit that I found it slow at the start, and picked it up and put it down a few times before it really gripped me. It started to grip me around whenAnoor gets introduced (and honestly, the whole scene of a high Sylah getting domed TWICE by essentially a comic book nerd is very fun) which is thankfully quite early in the book (I want to say around chapter 9).
I felt like the character growth of all the characters was nice to see, and I felt like the addicition was handled well (although I cannot perfectly comment on how real or sensitive the topic was handled, as it isn't something I can directly relate to).I do think that towards the end Jond became bland? But maybe he always was idk. I felt like the character growth tied in really nicely to represent how not everything is black and white, even under systematic oppression (which I felt was presented very well and incredibly realistically).
I also enjoyed the times that the book subverted expectations or some of the twists.Having Sylah act as a mess after learning the truth about being the daughter of the Warden of Strength felt nice and different from the traditional cliche of "okay I'm ready now" kinda thing. Also the twist of there being a mainland wasn't as subtle, but I felt it was done nicely (was very reminicent of AoT). All of Hassa's scenes and the Ghostlings became some of my favourite, and ultimately I didn't predict that Loot was the leader of The Sandstorm, that he had different colour blood, OR that Sylah ISN'T actually the daughter of the Warden of Strength.
I very much enjoyedwhen Anoor and Sylah FINALLY got together, that felt so satisfying to read (and then sad for them to be separated), and honestly all of the diverse representation felt just really nice to read, and generally very natural in the world.
I will admit, not a massive fan ofbooks that setup other books in the series, which this book ultimately does. I found it less egregious than some other books as it was established fairly early into the read that there is a "outside world" other plot, versus there being a sudden twist at the end of the book.
Equally, I felt that some of thesecondary characters maybe weren't as fleshed out as they could've been (which might be why I found Jond bland, but in particular I'm referencing Gorn who I felt should've had more about her and her relation to Anoor, Kwame, and to an extent Lio and Marigold).
Lastly,the book does start out pretty heavy regarding Sylah's addiction. I found it hard to read (which is why I think I didn't get gripped until we were a bit beyond that), and although I do think it was handled well, I wouldn't be surprised if others found it off putting (which I fully think is the point of spending some much time on it, and how controlling addiction is).
I'm not sure if I'll read the other books in this series, but I do think this book is worth a read. All of the characters felt real to me, and it wasn't too hard to imagine characters or political figures acting like they did in this book.
So, I really liked this book! I will admit that I found it slow at the start, and picked it up and put it down a few times before it really gripped me. It started to grip me around when
I felt like the character growth of all the characters was nice to see, and I felt like the addicition was handled well (although I cannot perfectly comment on how real or sensitive the topic was handled, as it isn't something I can directly relate to).
I also enjoyed the times that the book subverted expectations or some of the twists.
I very much enjoyed
I will admit, not a massive fan of
Equally, I felt that some of the
Lastly,
I'm not sure if I'll read the other books in this series, but I do think this book is worth a read. All of the characters felt real to me, and it wasn't too hard to imagine characters or political figures acting like they did in this book.
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
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:
No
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I did enjoy this book and found the world intriguing! However, I think I have just read way too many fantasy books that are based around trials which might be why I didn’t love this book…
What I did enjoy:
What I did enjoy:
- The 3 POV characters were captivating and all had unique voices and perspectives that I loved
- The giant lizards! That was so much fun and I wish we saw more of them!
- The world is unique and there were some great reveals about the magic system that I am excited to learn more about throughout the series
- Very cute romance
What I didn’t enjoy as much:
- So many fantasy books are based around trials and I just didn’t feel that this book really stood out…
- The pacing was a bit tough to keep up with at times and clunky
- Although the main characters were fleshed out and interesting, I thought this book lacked depth to the secondary characters
Overall I did enjoy this so will keep reading the series!