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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
DNF after 85 pages. I had trouble connecting with characters but I will give it a second chance som eother time.
This was such a refreshing fantasy read for me. The concept of magic creating a deadly, cancerous plant to sprout with every spell cast was a cool idea. The universe had a great selection of characters, settings, and your typical fantastical elements like war, intrigue, and magic.
What I found disappointing and unexpected was that the novel is broken up into a handful of short stories. It's not one cohesive tale, although some characters are mentioned or overlap in someways across the text. I would've preferred this to be one tale, as I felt things weren't neatly tied up, and left me wondering what happened to a lot of these characters.
I would still recommend if you're looking for something a bit out of the ordinary.
What I found disappointing and unexpected was that the novel is broken up into a handful of short stories. It's not one cohesive tale, although some characters are mentioned or overlap in someways across the text. I would've preferred this to be one tale, as I felt things weren't neatly tied up, and left me wondering what happened to a lot of these characters.
I would still recommend if you're looking for something a bit out of the ordinary.
Genre: Fantasy, Environmental fiction
Overall Feeling: This book wasn’t what I was expecting. It was a series of 4 short stories set in the same world. I enjoyed all 4 of the stories independently and appreciated the messages they were sending about over using a resource (in this case magic) so much that it destroyed civilizations. I really enjoyed the world and the characters. The stories are quite depressing, but most get a relatively happy ending.
Before I start my review I just want to take a moment to appreciate the beautiful cover~~ This is one of my favorite covers of 2018!
World
I’m doing this review a little differently than normal. Since this is pretty much a bind up of 4 different stories, I decided I’d first discuss the world and then review each story independently.
So all 4 stories are set in the city of Khaim, at least partly. The world and all of its grand majestic empires have fallen thanks to the overuse of magic which has caused a deadly weed known as bramble to spread across the land with no way to eliminate it. It kills on contact and is extremely hardy, even if burned its seeds remain and can continue the spread. When touched by bramble, many people fall into bramble sleep, which makes them basically like sleeping beauty with no hope of ever waking up. Since bramble is spread by magic the mayor of Khaim has outlawed it and anyone caught with the scent of magic is immediately executed, except the court archmage who uses magic freely causing more bramble. It is a brutal society where most live in abject poverty with little food and healthcare as most was done by magic previously.
The world Buckell and Bacigalupi have created is vibrant in its horror and destruction. It definitely was expanded on in each story and made this anthology an interesting read. The ideas of habitat destruction and violence of a shattered empire seems all to real and relevant in our own none magical world. These stories were hard to read at times as the all deal with pain, loss, and captivity as well as people who horde the wealth and those who have absolutely nothing. These stories speak to the world we might have one day, and its is terrifying.
The Alchemist
The first story revolves around an alchemist who lives in poverty after the nobility stopped needing his trade. He lives with his daughter and maid. He is working on a huge project to save not only his family, but also all of Khaim. He is creating a device that will destroy the bramble for good and he succeeds! The question is how will the mayor and the archmage use his device. Let me tell you, not for anything good….
This was my second favorite story, I read through this one super quickly. It is the only story that dealt with both the mayor and the archmage. We got to see their greed and violence up close. This viciousness of the world shined in this story, despite it not being the most violent of the bunch. We were first introduced to the plight of the bramble and the resulting pains it caused the people who remained. It was a moving story and it was easy to sympathize with our protagonist.
The Executioness
This is a story about a mother seeking revenge for the theft of her children. In this story our protagonist, Tana, takes the place of her father as an executioness in Khaim. As I have stated, anyone using magic is killed and she takes on the job albeit briefly to make money for her family. While she is returning home one day she finds her home destroyed and her sons stolen by raiders from another city, Paika, who believe everyone outside of Paika is responsible for the bramble. Tana with her axe goes on a hunt for her children and becomes known as the Executioness for her use of an axe the legend that she took down 4 Paikans at once. She amasses of other widows and sets siege to Paika.
This story has very obvious feminist vibes. It deals with the patriarchy in the world and of a mother’s love. It pushes the point that anyone can accomplish great things regardless of age or gender. It also has religious undertones as Khaim and Paika also have very different religions. I enjoyed this story a lot. Though I do wish Paika was better built as a world, it was pretty flat, which made it hard to see them as villains.
The Children of Khaim
In this story two sibling refugees from a city destroyed by bramble work in Khaim for a noble to destroy bramble on his property. Our main character’s little sister is kissed by the bramble and falls into bramble sleep. He refuses to make the mercy cut and loses his sister in the process and spends the story searching for her body and keeping it safe.
This story was the hardest to read as it dealt with the worst of humanity. We learn what happens to bodies that are kissed by bramble, you can imagine that it is not good. This story definitely needs a trigger warning to rape. Our main character is so desperate to save his sister he even uses magic that leads him into so much trouble. This story was my least favorite out of the bunch due its poor character development.
The Blacksmith’s Daughter
In this story a family of blacksmiths are commissioned to make armor for a son of a noble to mask his use of magic. The family spend everything they have to make this suit in hopes it will bring them an income to be able to feed themselves. The nobles aren’t pleased and punish the parents of our protagonist. She spends most of the story trying to save her parents and escape the strict hierarchy that places her and her family as the scum of the earth just because they were born poor, but talented, blacksmiths.
I loved this story, it is my favorite. It was heartbreaking and also difficult to read. It dealt with the class disparity that faces the people of Khaim. It’s a good juxtaposition to The Executioness in my opinion because it deals with a daughter trying to save her parents instead of a mother trying to save her children. Our protagonist has to deal with the cruelty that comes from people of wealth and privilege while also trying to survive. The family was not given enough to complete the project and when they produced something that was beautiful and much better than the noble deserved, they were punished because of it. I loved how the daughter fought, despite the odds being against her, she was smart and did whatever she could to save her family even if it meant putting herself in harms way. I fell in love with this protagonist. She was strong when she could’ve just ran away, she stayed because she loved her family immensely, which can not be said about the noble family that’s for sure.
Conclusion
I wish I was told these were short stories going in, but despite that I loved this collection. These stories were so different yet it all weaved a better picture of a broken world with people just trying their best to survive despite all odds. This is not an easy collection to read by any means, it covers human depravity, but also human hope. It was an interesting concept, and if you are in for a read that will leave you questioning humanity, maybe check this one out!
Overall Feeling: This book wasn’t what I was expecting. It was a series of 4 short stories set in the same world. I enjoyed all 4 of the stories independently and appreciated the messages they were sending about over using a resource (in this case magic) so much that it destroyed civilizations. I really enjoyed the world and the characters. The stories are quite depressing, but most get a relatively happy ending.
Before I start my review I just want to take a moment to appreciate the beautiful cover~~ This is one of my favorite covers of 2018!
World
I’m doing this review a little differently than normal. Since this is pretty much a bind up of 4 different stories, I decided I’d first discuss the world and then review each story independently.
So all 4 stories are set in the city of Khaim, at least partly. The world and all of its grand majestic empires have fallen thanks to the overuse of magic which has caused a deadly weed known as bramble to spread across the land with no way to eliminate it. It kills on contact and is extremely hardy, even if burned its seeds remain and can continue the spread. When touched by bramble, many people fall into bramble sleep, which makes them basically like sleeping beauty with no hope of ever waking up. Since bramble is spread by magic the mayor of Khaim has outlawed it and anyone caught with the scent of magic is immediately executed, except the court archmage who uses magic freely causing more bramble. It is a brutal society where most live in abject poverty with little food and healthcare as most was done by magic previously.
The world Buckell and Bacigalupi have created is vibrant in its horror and destruction. It definitely was expanded on in each story and made this anthology an interesting read. The ideas of habitat destruction and violence of a shattered empire seems all to real and relevant in our own none magical world. These stories were hard to read at times as the all deal with pain, loss, and captivity as well as people who horde the wealth and those who have absolutely nothing. These stories speak to the world we might have one day, and its is terrifying.
The Alchemist
The first story revolves around an alchemist who lives in poverty after the nobility stopped needing his trade. He lives with his daughter and maid. He is working on a huge project to save not only his family, but also all of Khaim. He is creating a device that will destroy the bramble for good and he succeeds! The question is how will the mayor and the archmage use his device. Let me tell you, not for anything good….
This was my second favorite story, I read through this one super quickly. It is the only story that dealt with both the mayor and the archmage. We got to see their greed and violence up close. This viciousness of the world shined in this story, despite it not being the most violent of the bunch. We were first introduced to the plight of the bramble and the resulting pains it caused the people who remained. It was a moving story and it was easy to sympathize with our protagonist.
The Executioness
This is a story about a mother seeking revenge for the theft of her children. In this story our protagonist, Tana, takes the place of her father as an executioness in Khaim. As I have stated, anyone using magic is killed and she takes on the job albeit briefly to make money for her family. While she is returning home one day she finds her home destroyed and her sons stolen by raiders from another city, Paika, who believe everyone outside of Paika is responsible for the bramble. Tana with her axe goes on a hunt for her children and becomes known as the Executioness for her use of an axe the legend that she took down 4 Paikans at once. She amasses of other widows and sets siege to Paika.
This story has very obvious feminist vibes. It deals with the patriarchy in the world and of a mother’s love. It pushes the point that anyone can accomplish great things regardless of age or gender. It also has religious undertones as Khaim and Paika also have very different religions. I enjoyed this story a lot. Though I do wish Paika was better built as a world, it was pretty flat, which made it hard to see them as villains.
The Children of Khaim
In this story two sibling refugees from a city destroyed by bramble work in Khaim for a noble to destroy bramble on his property. Our main character’s little sister is kissed by the bramble and falls into bramble sleep. He refuses to make the mercy cut and loses his sister in the process and spends the story searching for her body and keeping it safe.
This story was the hardest to read as it dealt with the worst of humanity. We learn what happens to bodies that are kissed by bramble, you can imagine that it is not good. This story definitely needs a trigger warning to rape. Our main character is so desperate to save his sister he even uses magic that leads him into so much trouble. This story was my least favorite out of the bunch due its poor character development.
The Blacksmith’s Daughter
In this story a family of blacksmiths are commissioned to make armor for a son of a noble to mask his use of magic. The family spend everything they have to make this suit in hopes it will bring them an income to be able to feed themselves. The nobles aren’t pleased and punish the parents of our protagonist. She spends most of the story trying to save her parents and escape the strict hierarchy that places her and her family as the scum of the earth just because they were born poor, but talented, blacksmiths.
I loved this story, it is my favorite. It was heartbreaking and also difficult to read. It dealt with the class disparity that faces the people of Khaim. It’s a good juxtaposition to The Executioness in my opinion because it deals with a daughter trying to save her parents instead of a mother trying to save her children. Our protagonist has to deal with the cruelty that comes from people of wealth and privilege while also trying to survive. The family was not given enough to complete the project and when they produced something that was beautiful and much better than the noble deserved, they were punished because of it. I loved how the daughter fought, despite the odds being against her, she was smart and did whatever she could to save her family even if it meant putting herself in harms way. I fell in love with this protagonist. She was strong when she could’ve just ran away, she stayed because she loved her family immensely, which can not be said about the noble family that’s for sure.
Conclusion
I wish I was told these were short stories going in, but despite that I loved this collection. These stories were so different yet it all weaved a better picture of a broken world with people just trying their best to survive despite all odds. This is not an easy collection to read by any means, it covers human depravity, but also human hope. It was an interesting concept, and if you are in for a read that will leave you questioning humanity, maybe check this one out!
(Disclaimer: I received this free book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
I was so impressed by this book. Bacigalupi and Buckell's team synergy is only more apparent as the book continues. There's a distinct sense of when these short stories end, but as a whole the overall story continues. This is a book about the setting, the lands of Khaim, and the people who inhabit this setting. The world building aspect of this book was phenomenal. Each element was not only well described, but also wonderfully important. The stories allowed enough space for development, emotional turmoil, and, most importantly, hope.
full review: https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/review-tangled-lands-paolo-bacigalupi-tobias-s-buckell/
I was so impressed by this book. Bacigalupi and Buckell's team synergy is only more apparent as the book continues. There's a distinct sense of when these short stories end, but as a whole the overall story continues. This is a book about the setting, the lands of Khaim, and the people who inhabit this setting. The world building aspect of this book was phenomenal. Each element was not only well described, but also wonderfully important. The stories allowed enough space for development, emotional turmoil, and, most importantly, hope.
full review: https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/review-tangled-lands-paolo-bacigalupi-tobias-s-buckell/
DNF. CW: r*pe.
Well Holeeee Shit. This was bad. Very bad. I was assured by my co-workers that this here was a young adult author who was well known for nice fantasy and I should be spared the usual trap of r*pe that happens in most adult fiction. This was horrible and disgusting.
You basically have a sickness that is like a permanent sleep, from what I understand - so the person is still living, but asleep. I say this because there was a reference that you used to be able to kiss them awake (like Sleeping Beauty or Snow White, I guess). Now, the bodies sometimes get maggots if you don't mercy kill them. The story is in four parts. I got as far as part three, pg 180, and then I threw the book down in disgust (I'm exaggerating; it's a library book, I wouldn't throw it, but I was quite disgusted).
The first story is an alchemist who makes a thing that fights back the bramble (what causes the sleeping sickness), but his invention is perverted by the muckety-mucks and used to execute magic users (the reason the bramble expands). The muckety-mucks use TONS of magic, but they've deemed it legal for them to do it, execution worthy if others do. Good, right, that seems accurate. The second story is an executioness who takes up the axe to help her family eat; her family is kidnapped by a raiding party while she's executing, and she spends the story trying to get to the kidnappers, but runs into problems, and ends up leading an army of women who also had their children stolen to destroy the raiders only to find that the raiders' methods had some merit. Okay, I like me some women revenging against men. Still with you. There was a near r*pe I could have done without (and it's super weird that the women then turned around and joined their would be r*pists, but okay, it was written by a man, maybe they haven't had the experience).
Then the third story. Honestly, it seemed like the two authors might have been having a challenge off of how disgusting and horrible they could be to the reader (they switched off writing these parts). I heard the fourth story is even worse. Maybe that's how men enjoy themselves? I don't know. But I guess we shouldn't expect a fantasy land to be free of men who r*pe if we can't even expect men who write not to make r*pe a plot point. So, you have two kids - they're introduced as children, I pictured them very young, maybe they weren't meant to be - and the girl gets the bramble sickness and falls asleep. The boy doesn't want to mercy kill her, so he makes a plan to come back for her body with a wheelbarrow in the night to carry her somewhere safe. He looks and looks for her body and can't find it. Then he goes to a fucking r*pe den - they're calling it a pleasure house - where tons of these girls who are asleep (called "dolls" of all things) are r*ped horribly because they can't stop it from happening! I quit reading. And set down the library book carefully, in disgust.
I don't know what the fuck it is about adult novels, especially those written by men, where it always has to include the most horrific r*pe. I feel like that's the line. PG13 movies draw the line at a certain amount of "fucks" or whatever; adult books are like, "now we can put all the r*pe in it!"
Anywho. I'm going to have to get some young adult fiction to cleanse my palate of this horrible book.
Well Holeeee Shit. This was bad. Very bad. I was assured by my co-workers that this here was a young adult author who was well known for nice fantasy and I should be spared the usual trap of r*pe that happens in most adult fiction. This was horrible and disgusting.
You basically have a sickness that is like a permanent sleep, from what I understand - so the person is still living, but asleep. I say this because there was a reference that you used to be able to kiss them awake (like Sleeping Beauty or Snow White, I guess). Now, the bodies sometimes get maggots if you don't mercy kill them. The story is in four parts. I got as far as part three, pg 180, and then I threw the book down in disgust (I'm exaggerating; it's a library book, I wouldn't throw it, but I was quite disgusted).
The first story is an alchemist who makes a thing that fights back the bramble (what causes the sleeping sickness), but his invention is perverted by the muckety-mucks and used to execute magic users (the reason the bramble expands). The muckety-mucks use TONS of magic, but they've deemed it legal for them to do it, execution worthy if others do. Good, right, that seems accurate. The second story is an executioness who takes up the axe to help her family eat; her family is kidnapped by a raiding party while she's executing, and she spends the story trying to get to the kidnappers, but runs into problems, and ends up leading an army of women who also had their children stolen to destroy the raiders only to find that the raiders' methods had some merit. Okay, I like me some women revenging against men. Still with you. There was a near r*pe I could have done without (and it's super weird that the women then turned around and joined their would be r*pists, but okay, it was written by a man, maybe they haven't had the experience).
Then the third story. Honestly, it seemed like the two authors might have been having a challenge off of how disgusting and horrible they could be to the reader (they switched off writing these parts). I heard the fourth story is even worse. Maybe that's how men enjoy themselves? I don't know. But I guess we shouldn't expect a fantasy land to be free of men who r*pe if we can't even expect men who write not to make r*pe a plot point. So, you have two kids - they're introduced as children, I pictured them very young, maybe they weren't meant to be - and the girl gets the bramble sickness and falls asleep. The boy doesn't want to mercy kill her, so he makes a plan to come back for her body with a wheelbarrow in the night to carry her somewhere safe. He looks and looks for her body and can't find it. Then he goes to a fucking r*pe den - they're calling it a pleasure house - where tons of these girls who are asleep (called "dolls" of all things) are r*ped horribly because they can't stop it from happening! I quit reading. And set down the library book carefully, in disgust.
I don't know what the fuck it is about adult novels, especially those written by men, where it always has to include the most horrific r*pe. I feel like that's the line. PG13 movies draw the line at a certain amount of "fucks" or whatever; adult books are like, "now we can put all the r*pe in it!"
Anywho. I'm going to have to get some young adult fiction to cleanse my palate of this horrible book.
This review first appeared on my blog.text
The Tangled Lands is made up of four distinct short stories, tied together by a common land and a common problem. Calling The Tangled Lands a novel is a bit misleading and left me somewhat disappointed in the end result. The four stories are loosely tied together by place and problem, but not character. Each story has distinct characters, and while each story was very good, the overall novel doesn't seem to have accomplished much. At the end of the book, I was a little let down. Each story contained loss and victories, but those losses and victories didn't seem to add up to a cumulative effect.
My issue with the structure aside, the stories were well written and fit together thematically and in style.
The idea of an environmental effect from the use of magic is an interesting metaphor for energy usage in the world today. The use of magic creates bramble infestations in the world, and bramble is a nasty, murderous plant that kills those that it touches. Small magics hinder larger magics because the effect is compounded. This is a thoughtful and powerful comparison to using energy that doesn't come from "clean" sources. The more we use "unclean" energy, the more damage we do to our environment and eventually what we're left with will be deadly and have a devastating effect on our world.
I received an eARC from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
The Tangled Lands is made up of four distinct short stories, tied together by a common land and a common problem. Calling The Tangled Lands a novel is a bit misleading and left me somewhat disappointed in the end result. The four stories are loosely tied together by place and problem, but not character. Each story has distinct characters, and while each story was very good, the overall novel doesn't seem to have accomplished much. At the end of the book, I was a little let down. Each story contained loss and victories, but those losses and victories didn't seem to add up to a cumulative effect.
My issue with the structure aside, the stories were well written and fit together thematically and in style.
The idea of an environmental effect from the use of magic is an interesting metaphor for energy usage in the world today. The use of magic creates bramble infestations in the world, and bramble is a nasty, murderous plant that kills those that it touches. Small magics hinder larger magics because the effect is compounded. This is a thoughtful and powerful comparison to using energy that doesn't come from "clean" sources. The more we use "unclean" energy, the more damage we do to our environment and eventually what we're left with will be deadly and have a devastating effect on our world.
I received an eARC from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
It was okay. Depressing, because nothing ended the way I usually hope.
The world as created was quite interesting, and I did enjoy that.
The world as created was quite interesting, and I did enjoy that.
The Tangled Lands by Paolo Bacigalupi (The Water Knife) and Tobias S. Buckell (Arctic Rising) is a multi-layered fantasy about the economic and environmental devastation wrought by magic. Four connected novellas show acts of rebellion toward tyrants manipulating a geopolitical crisis.
In and around the city of Khaim, overuse of magic created an environmental catastrophe. Bramble, a plant that buries everything, puts those who touch it into a deep and ultimately deadly "bramble-kissed" coma, and use of magic releases a toxin that causes it to spread with horrifying speed. In this world, even a benign spell--soothing an infant's colic, for example--is outlawed. Soldiers kill anyone who uses magic. Against this backdrop, Duke Malabaz exploits an alchemist who has discovered how to destroy bramble, allowing magic to be "a monopoly held tight in the fist of the man who lived far above them all."
The resistance forms with Tana, who with the fury of "angry, venomous mothers" forms a woman's army to search for kidnapped children; Sofija, a blacksmith's daughter whose defiance and strength help her survive; and Mop, a boy who desperately tries to save his bramble-kissed sister from sexual exploitation.
Bacigalupi and Buckell have individually explored the effect of mankind's disastrous relationship with the environment in other speculative novels. Together in The Tangled Lands, they create a damaged world that is frightening in its implications for human suffering. Readers looking for dystopian fantasy with strong female characters will devour the stories of this world and eagerly wait for more.
-reviewed for Shelf Awareness 3/20/18
In and around the city of Khaim, overuse of magic created an environmental catastrophe. Bramble, a plant that buries everything, puts those who touch it into a deep and ultimately deadly "bramble-kissed" coma, and use of magic releases a toxin that causes it to spread with horrifying speed. In this world, even a benign spell--soothing an infant's colic, for example--is outlawed. Soldiers kill anyone who uses magic. Against this backdrop, Duke Malabaz exploits an alchemist who has discovered how to destroy bramble, allowing magic to be "a monopoly held tight in the fist of the man who lived far above them all."
The resistance forms with Tana, who with the fury of "angry, venomous mothers" forms a woman's army to search for kidnapped children; Sofija, a blacksmith's daughter whose defiance and strength help her survive; and Mop, a boy who desperately tries to save his bramble-kissed sister from sexual exploitation.
Bacigalupi and Buckell have individually explored the effect of mankind's disastrous relationship with the environment in other speculative novels. Together in The Tangled Lands, they create a damaged world that is frightening in its implications for human suffering. Readers looking for dystopian fantasy with strong female characters will devour the stories of this world and eagerly wait for more.
-reviewed for Shelf Awareness 3/20/18
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes