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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
I feel like I just finished my homework. That was a slog of a first book. And I thought I knew what boring fantasy was. I don't think this undeniably monotonous tone was generated solely by the pacing. It was a combination of long winded prose, dense world building, pointless dialogue, and an unlikable protagonist.
I did like the world, even though it was presented in a dry manner. It felt like an Arthurian tale mixed with Lord of the Rings. I admire its ambition and execution, but that doesn't mean I can't rant about it.
Most traditional fantasy works to build and mature a protagonist at the beginning of his adventure. Simon starts and ends as a whiny piece of milquetoast in this first book. His mentors and friends are failing him. Simon, supposedly, is incredibly inquisitive to the point of annoyance, asking so many questions other characters tell him to stop. However, to my mind and to the reader, he isn't asking enough questions or the right ones. It feels like he's just along for the ride. I found it incredibly frustrating.
I enjoyed Tad's sci-fi epic, Otherland, quite a bit, so I'm going to continue this series despite my reservations. I am curious to see where this will go, especially since this series has a newer follow-up trilogy, The Last King of Osten Ard, that just finished up in 2024. It would be nice if this clicked at some point. We will see.
I did like the world, even though it was presented in a dry manner. It felt like an Arthurian tale mixed with Lord of the Rings. I admire its ambition and execution, but that doesn't mean I can't rant about it.
Most traditional fantasy works to build and mature a protagonist at the beginning of his adventure. Simon starts and ends as a whiny piece of milquetoast in this first book. His mentors and friends are failing him. Simon, supposedly, is incredibly inquisitive to the point of annoyance, asking so many questions other characters tell him to stop. However, to my mind and to the reader, he isn't asking enough questions or the right ones. It feels like he's just along for the ride. I found it incredibly frustrating.
I enjoyed Tad's sci-fi epic, Otherland, quite a bit, so I'm going to continue this series despite my reservations. I am curious to see where this will go, especially since this series has a newer follow-up trilogy, The Last King of Osten Ard, that just finished up in 2024. It would be nice if this clicked at some point. We will see.
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Really impressive world building and characters but the pacing of the book took off almost a whole star because it was so slow and could be hard to follow.
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:
No
I wanted to love this so much, but I cared neither for the plot nor for the protagonist. I do not mind slow pacing, but I need to like the characters. I also was not convinced by the necessity of getting the three swords . This came out of nowhere.
adventurous
dark
emotional
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:
Yes
This is definitely a slow paced book but I promise you it is worth it! I really enjoyed the world building, I feel though that there is still so much to discover in the world of Osten Ard. Just a heads up for some readers there is an appendix in the back of the book that was helpful (I didn’t realize until the end!)
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
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:
Yes