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An unexpected mix between the Farseer Triology and The Ranger’s Apprentice that, unfortunately, missed the mark for me.
I had a few issues reading the book:
1. The strange mix of characters’ perspectives felt stilted and stopped the flow of the narrative. Please, pick a perspective. I don’t want to jump into Touchstone’s head – or a random general’s head. It’s either consistently limited third person or consistently omniscient third person. You can’t have it both ways.
2. I never felt Sabriel had the skill set to complete the quest. Her character arc wasn’t drastic enough for me to invest any emotion into her plight; I fully expected the anti-climatic ending. Of course her combat and magical skills weren’t enough to defeat her opponent!
3. This flows on from my second gripe; my detachment from her journey stemmed from her poor characterisation. The plot is heavily driven by action – this happened, then this, then this etc. I was never given an opportunity to get to know Sabriel, beyond her one-dimensional relationships with her father and Touchstone.
Ultimately, I feel like I wasn’t the target audience for this book, and as a result, I failed to connect to it.
I had a few issues reading the book:
1. The strange mix of characters’ perspectives felt stilted and stopped the flow of the narrative. Please, pick a perspective. I don’t want to jump into Touchstone’s head – or a random general’s head. It’s either consistently limited third person or consistently omniscient third person. You can’t have it both ways.
2. I never felt Sabriel had the skill set to complete the quest. Her character arc wasn’t drastic enough for me to invest any emotion into her plight; I fully expected the anti-climatic ending. Of course her combat and magical skills weren’t enough to defeat her opponent!
3. This flows on from my second gripe; my detachment from her journey stemmed from her poor characterisation. The plot is heavily driven by action – this happened, then this, then this etc. I was never given an opportunity to get to know Sabriel, beyond her one-dimensional relationships with her father and Touchstone.
Spoiler
Which made the ‘I love yous’ between Touchstone and Sabriel completely jarring. I mean, come on.Ultimately, I feel like I wasn’t the target audience for this book, and as a result, I failed to connect to it.
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
I actually enjoyed the insane adventurous pace and the like not-slow-burn and simple, sorta understated romantic subplot. Sabriels character was cool and Mogget, the sassy demonic cat/all powerful crackling energetic force was the best
adventurous
dark
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
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
inspiring
reflective
fast-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:
No
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-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
adventurous
dark
inspiring
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
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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
A fun and fast story from Nix which follows a young woman suddenly thrust into a quest and role she's not prepared for and has to figure out on the way. The overarching plot of the dead coming to invade the living gives a feeling of both horror and fantasy, but in a way that's very YA.
I found myself at odds with the pacing at some points, probably a consequence of being used to doorstoppers, and wished there was more time spent at some of the locations. It also felt like information was given without much acknowledgement from the characters, or information would be known by some characters without explanation, which is line with its pacing but would take me out of being immersed in the story a bit.
Despite that, Nix does a good job of writing a compelling quest-like story and gives us main characters you want to root for. The concepts and inspirations for his magic systems are also really interesting, and I'll look forward to seeing them expanded on in later entries.
I found myself at odds with the pacing at some points, probably a consequence of being used to doorstoppers, and wished there was more time spent at some of the locations. It also felt like information was given without much acknowledgement from the characters, or information would be known by some characters without explanation, which is line with its pacing but would take me out of being immersed in the story a bit.
Despite that, Nix does a good job of writing a compelling quest-like story and gives us main characters you want to root for. The concepts and inspirations for his magic systems are also really interesting, and I'll look forward to seeing them expanded on in later entries.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No