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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book was a slog at times. The writing can be confusing, the plot is complex, and there is little exposition. I don’t love that the magic system has no bounds, but the story is fun regardless. The times where the story weaves together and you start seeing connections is very satisfying. The rest of the time you just need to look up the chapter summary.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
a lot of interesting components but nothing that really snared me. still very curious about where erikson is going with all the worldbuilding so I'll probably pick up the second at some point
adventurous
dark
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
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Really refreshing to read, it's really nice to read speculative fiction that doesn't hold your hand, especially in the era where young adult (and not even very good young adult) fiction reigns supreme, and it seems that throughout media in general there tends to be so much reluctuance to let the audience discover and explore concepts for themselves.
No idea why this is constantly told to be super challenging though? Sure, it doesn't directly tell you exactly what a word means, or how the magic works exactly when it happens in the text but if you read the book generally within the next few pages, or at a push chapters, you will find the answer to the question you have. The world is interesting from what we see and I loved the ambiguity Erickson allows, though there really isn't as much of it as I had hoped.
This is probably the biggest dissapointment of the book to me, it's still a pretty generic fantasy novel in plot and world so far, it's clearly someones TTRPG campaign. The characters are fine to good (though all a bit single minded) and the writing style of the book can lead to perspectives feeling muddled in a way that isn't clever, just a bit irriating.
But, and this is a big but, there is a shape of something brilliant in the pages, prose, world and characters here. I've heard this is the weakest of the series and I hope it moves away from the TTRPG stuff and more into the big concept stuff it starts to touch on here: the "rules" of narrative conflict, the folly of empire, the boredom and dread of immortality among others. From what I've heard I'm in for a treat and excited to move onto the next one.
No idea why this is constantly told to be super challenging though? Sure, it doesn't directly tell you exactly what a word means, or how the magic works exactly when it happens in the text but if you read the book generally within the next few pages, or at a push chapters, you will find the answer to the question you have. The world is interesting from what we see and I loved the ambiguity Erickson allows, though there really isn't as much of it as I had hoped.
This is probably the biggest dissapointment of the book to me, it's still a pretty generic fantasy novel in plot and world so far, it's clearly someones TTRPG campaign. The characters are fine to good (though all a bit single minded) and the writing style of the book can lead to perspectives feeling muddled in a way that isn't clever, just a bit irriating.
But, and this is a big but, there is a shape of something brilliant in the pages, prose, world and characters here. I've heard this is the weakest of the series and I hope it moves away from the TTRPG stuff and more into the big concept stuff it starts to touch on here: the "rules" of narrative conflict, the folly of empire, the boredom and dread of immortality among others. From what I've heard I'm in for a treat and excited to move onto the next one.
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
I've come to realize that I am bored. Also got mildly spoiled w there being no "main character". Might pick up again later.