Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
rlly sad abt this cuz i spent like $9 on this book but yeah its honestly rlly boring. Things happen just to progress the plot. Certain characters get together just so plot progresses like we met her 50 pages ago why r yall suddenly in love...? Yeah I felt i could spend my time reading better stuff icl. Besides since I bought it i can return any time tbh
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
I’m sure there were plot holes large enough to put my hand through. But I had a good time, I didn’t guess all the plot twists. When the focus changed to a different character I never thought “oh no not you again” . And I never thought “I wish the editor had just deleted that whole chapter it was totally unnecessary”. Maybe my standards are just low at the moment haha.
This is one of the best 1st in a series I’ve read in awhile. In depth story and world, lots of moving parts but well put together.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
It’s an interesting story but so many things just happen, no explanation or build up. The storyteller is not up to the story.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
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:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
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
One of my favorite new fantasy and sci-fi authors to date. Reading this trilogy to fill the gap where my heart wants to be with The Strength of the Few, coming in Nov of 2025
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I think that this start to the Licanius Trilogy was incredibly ambitious, but did not always execute those ambitions satisfactorily for me. In general, I think there was just way too much information thrown in at once, and you were expected to care about the characters from the very beginning, which just didn’t feel earned to me. I actually quite enjoyed the first third or so, which I found exciting and interesting, and was looking forward to the rest of the story. However, from there, things went downhill for me. There are a lot of “debut author” quirks of the writing that just didn’t appeal to me, and ultimately my biggest complaint with the writing is I felt that the sense of place/setting wasn’t strong enough. I had a really difficult time visualizing what was going on throughout, which meant that things didn’t have the impact I wanted them to. Then, towards the end, several things happen that are clearly plot conveniences/devices that didn’t feel natural to the story, which really annoyed me.
I will be continuing with the trilogy, because I do think there are some potentially interesting concepts and arcs being set up here, and I’ll be interested to see if Islington can bring it all together in a satisfying way.
I will be continuing with the trilogy, because I do think there are some potentially interesting concepts and arcs being set up here, and I’ll be interested to see if Islington can bring it all together in a satisfying way.
adventurous
dark
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes