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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
dark
tense
fast-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:
Yes
This was an interesting take on a magical story. It's about the use of magic over many years and it now has terrible consequences of use in what's called bramble. This is a 4 part story told from 4 different perspectives, each one about how the bramble has affected them and how they will try to get away from the bramble covered cities.
I found it interesting that it was split into 4 very different parts, all told from a different perspective. I found myself really intrigued especially with the 1st and 2nd parts, but the last 2 parts were okay. Each part told its side about the city of Khaim and this person's part, or their families part. 1st part was about father and daughter, 2nd part about an executioners family, 3rd part about 2 kids that came from a higher known city of Alacan, and how everyone in Khaim despised the Alacaners, and 4th part about a blacksmith's family. Each part of the story only slightly tied in aspects of the other parts of the story. Ultimately, I found myself wanting more from each part of the story. I did really enjoy the book overall. I found myself able to read a couple pages but thinking about the story for hours after.
I found it interesting that it was split into 4 very different parts, all told from a different perspective. I found myself really intrigued especially with the 1st and 2nd parts, but the last 2 parts were okay. Each part told its side about the city of Khaim and this person's part, or their families part. 1st part was about father and daughter, 2nd part about an executioners family, 3rd part about 2 kids that came from a higher known city of Alacan, and how everyone in Khaim despised the Alacaners, and 4th part about a blacksmith's family. Each part of the story only slightly tied in aspects of the other parts of the story. Ultimately, I found myself wanting more from each part of the story. I did really enjoy the book overall. I found myself able to read a couple pages but thinking about the story for hours after.
Four novellas all set in the world of Khaim where magic has created an untenable situation as bramble grows with each new spell destroying land and creating potential death with its stinging needles. I liked the world building and the characters, but felt that nothing was really resolved, so I am hoping that there is another book that will bring some of the characters together.
This rating is entirely based in the fact that I did not realize that these were novellas. I expected the stories to join at some point because it is as described as being told in 4 parts. Had I realized I feel like I would have had a much better experience but I domt feel like I would have given this any more than 3 stars even with that being said.
It felt like these novellas wanted to go somewhere, but they didn't. They were just bleak.
Got to page 39 and gave up. Usually a fan of Bacigalupi but this.... just didn’t work.
Overall, I thought it was a tale of a fascinating land and political structure. But it seemed that the four parts of the story had more to with the land that the characters found themselves in rather than the characters themselves.
I really enjoyed the cause/effect nature that magic had on the world and the richness of the world is where the book is the most compelling. But a story where the setting takes center-stage left me wanting more. I thought each part was well written and interesting. The Executioness was awesome. Part 3 being the exception, which I thought was well written but uninteresting.
I liked the lack of closure you get from the parts of the story and I think that the way that they split up the book was a very creative way to tell a story. But there was only the tiniest of threads from the first part to tie them all together. And there is something about that that I found jarring.
I really enjoyed the cause/effect nature that magic had on the world and the richness of the world is where the book is the most compelling. But a story where the setting takes center-stage left me wanting more. I thought each part was well written and interesting. The Executioness was awesome. Part 3 being the exception, which I thought was well written but uninteresting.
I liked the lack of closure you get from the parts of the story and I think that the way that they split up the book was a very creative way to tell a story. But there was only the tiniest of threads from the first part to tie them all together. And there is something about that that I found jarring.
A collection of a few shorter stories (novellas maybe?) by two authors whose previous work I have enjoyed. The stories are set in the same world which has interesting magic system that is obviously analogous to current climate change issues (but not exactly the same, it's a metaphor -- while obvious, it's not too heavy handed or preachy). The stories touch on each other but don't have recurring main characters. Good world building, characters that have some differences to them. A couple of the stories were written years ago, a couple are newer.
I bought this book without really knowing anything about it, so I didn't know it was 4 short stories instead of one long novel. I don't generally read short stories and definitely wouldn't have bought it if I had known. However, in this case, my lack of knowledge did me a good service. I enjoyed it immensely. This is extremely well written, especially as it is by two authors. Their writing style complements each other, to the extent I couldn't tell the stories were written by two different people when reading it. The pace and the character development is good, with their immediate fates grabbing my attention. The world building was excellent, with a ton of potential. But they are short stories. The reason I don't read short stories is that I always want more. I want to know about the past history. I want to know what happened to cause the situation in the first place. I want to know what happens afterwards. I'm not going to add any details because that would be spoilers (which I'm also not keen on) but at least two of the four stories left me very frustrated. It felt like I had left half of the story unread; like half of my book was missing. As if i had left half way through a conversation. Don't get me wrong. I did enjoy thoroughly what was there to be read and if I had all I wanted, it would have been four full blown novels. But it left me wanting more and, for that, it lost some of its appeal. If you like short stories, it is definitely worth a read. If they leave you cold and frustrated, it is probably worth reading anyway but be warned!
dark
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:
Yes