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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
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:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I struggled through the first 450 pages. Something after that clicked though and I really enjoyed the rest of the story and became really invested in the characters.
I think when the story began, the setup of their adventure wasn't all that exciting because there really wasn't much setup as to what was actually happening. I also thought the characters were not that distinct. As the story went on though, the characters developed their own voices and the story started to become interesting.
I really enjoyed the last 200 or so pages, but the first 450 were a real slog for me. So though it's tempting to give it four stars based on loving the last third, the first two thirds knock this down to three stars for me.
I've ordered book 2 and will hopefully get to it later in the year.
I think when the story began, the setup of their adventure wasn't all that exciting because there really wasn't much setup as to what was actually happening. I also thought the characters were not that distinct. As the story went on though, the characters developed their own voices and the story started to become interesting.
I really enjoyed the last 200 or so pages, but the first 450 were a real slog for me. So though it's tempting to give it four stars based on loving the last third, the first two thirds knock this down to three stars for me.
I've ordered book 2 and will hopefully get to it later in the year.
adventurous
fast-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
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-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:
Complicated
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
WOWWWW. That was a lot. Wow. Mouth was wide open for that whole epilogue. Wowww.
It’s clear that this book (the whole series, I’m sure) was intricately planned out and thought through, and I really enjoyed that sense of stepping into something vast, whose boundaries I cannot even BEGIN to grasp. I still don’t really know a lot of what’s going on to be honest, but hey, this story is incredibly unique and interesting as hell, so at the end of the day, I’m having fun. Reading this book was like being in a room full of locked and shuttered windows, and veryyy slowly, one by one, they open and show you a small glimpse of where you are and this vast, breathtaking landscape you had no idea was surrounding you. Fantastique.
My one complaint with that (and my biggest complaint with the book in general) is that I wish a few of these windows were opened sooner. For the first 40% or so, I felt like question after question was being thrown at me, and while that’s all fun and good, I didn’t feel like I was receiving nearly enough answers in return and that imbalance did mildly irritate me, if I’m being honest. You’ve gotta have a balanced give and take, a push and pull, there was just a lot of taking and pulling for awhile. I really just had to trust the process through that first leg. With all the names and places and faces thrown out here, I’m embarrassed to say Kindle X-ray feature saved my ass multiple times, but that’s less of a mark against the book and more against me and the fact that the part of my brain used to reading and processing fantasy information is filled with cobwebs. We’re airing her out though, don’t worry.
Though I guess hindsight is, in fact, 20/20, and after finishing the book I take back of lot of the negative things I had to say around the balance of information during the middle sector. We still have a lot of big picture issues left unresolved that I’m sure we’ll at least start to tackle in #2, but I feel completely fine sitting with that confusion now since I do feel like most other minor questions were answered. And even if some things aren’t fully resolved until #3 (like that damn ring and Malshash—who is you??), at the very least I know that payoff will be satisfying as hell.
I’ll rate that first leg a strong 3.5—points off for everything I mentioned previously, and because, unfortunately, I do think there were a couple of debut novel writing pitfalls he fell into, notably quite a few breaths we didn’t know we were holding. But I truly didn’t mind it all that much, and I can’t really hate on that when I see how much his writing improved in the absolute banger that is Hierarchy. Solid 4 in the end after the battle at Ilin Ilan (Did I finish this book two minutes ago? Yes. Did I have to refer to the map to remember the name of Ilin Ilan, also known as where the hell we’ve been for the last few chapters? Also yes. There’s like 5 other named places within Ilin Ilan, ok? I’m cutting myself some slack; you should too) and all that jazz, but I think that rating could be variable depending on the direction of #2. Disappointed the gang is splitting up, but genuinely really excited to see where this goes!
It’s clear that this book (the whole series, I’m sure) was intricately planned out and thought through, and I really enjoyed that sense of stepping into something vast, whose boundaries I cannot even BEGIN to grasp. I still don’t really know a lot of what’s going on to be honest, but hey, this story is incredibly unique and interesting as hell, so at the end of the day, I’m having fun. Reading this book was like being in a room full of locked and shuttered windows, and veryyy slowly, one by one, they open and show you a small glimpse of where you are and this vast, breathtaking landscape you had no idea was surrounding you. Fantastique.
My one complaint with that (and my biggest complaint with the book in general) is that I wish a few of these windows were opened sooner. For the first 40% or so, I felt like question after question was being thrown at me, and while that’s all fun and good, I didn’t feel like I was receiving nearly enough answers in return and that imbalance did mildly irritate me, if I’m being honest. You’ve gotta have a balanced give and take, a push and pull, there was just a lot of taking and pulling for awhile. I really just had to trust the process through that first leg. With all the names and places and faces thrown out here, I’m embarrassed to say Kindle X-ray feature saved my ass multiple times, but that’s less of a mark against the book and more against me and the fact that the part of my brain used to reading and processing fantasy information is filled with cobwebs. We’re airing her out though, don’t worry.
Though I guess hindsight is, in fact, 20/20, and after finishing the book I take back of lot of the negative things I had to say around the balance of information during the middle sector. We still have a lot of big picture issues left unresolved that I’m sure we’ll at least start to tackle in #2, but I feel completely fine sitting with that confusion now since I do feel like most other minor questions were answered. And even if some things aren’t fully resolved until #3 (like that damn ring and Malshash—who is you??), at the very least I know that payoff will be satisfying as hell.
I’ll rate that first leg a strong 3.5—points off for everything I mentioned previously, and because, unfortunately, I do think there were a couple of debut novel writing pitfalls he fell into, notably quite a few breaths we didn’t know we were holding. But I truly didn’t mind it all that much, and I can’t really hate on that when I see how much his writing improved in the absolute banger that is Hierarchy. Solid 4 in the end after the battle at Ilin Ilan (Did I finish this book two minutes ago? Yes. Did I have to refer to the map to remember the name of Ilin Ilan, also known as where the hell we’ve been for the last few chapters? Also yes. There’s like 5 other named places within Ilin Ilan, ok? I’m cutting myself some slack; you should too) and all that jazz, but I think that rating could be variable depending on the direction of #2. Disappointed the gang is splitting up, but genuinely really excited to see where this goes!
adventurous
mysterious
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