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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
hopeful
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:
Yes
Very interesting premise, and parts of it definitely felt magical. Just wasn’t what I was looking for at this time.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I DNF this book at around the 35% mark. Normally I'm all up for some dense world-building, but this one just did not land for me because it felt like nothing was ever being clarified or revealed in a way that you could actually grasp what it meant. Around the 20% mark I was ready for the quest to start already. Around the 30% mark I started wondering if I even understood what the point of the book was because the quest still wasn't underway yet. At around the 35% mark I realized that I was more hate reading to see if anything good happened than reading because I was interested. Instead, I was supremely bored and tired of the opaqueness of the world. After reading a few more reviews that confirmed the reluctant hero would not really start the quest for the majority of the novel, I just accepted this book was not for me. The world was far too dark, dense, and bleak for me to enjoy at this time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Gore, Violence, Religious bigotry, War
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Trafficking
There is a third gender who, while accepted as normal in society, are treated poorly in this book and this time in the world. It might be upsetting for readers to realize that while the "trans" representation is normalized it's got some pretty negative aspects.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Overall, I walk away from this book feeling good about it, but it was a bit of an uphill battle. I struggled with pacing for most of the book, until the last third of it which I ate up in one sitting. What it does well is give us an interesting world with a lot of thought, detail, and intrigue, the action scenes are great, and the finale is very well executed. What it does less well is that the worldbuilding is often delivered in a way that leads to confusion, and I found some of the characters were a bit flat and almost frustrating at times, I did not find myself loving them like I normally would. I do think the sequel has a lot of potential from what I am seeing, so I hope I like the next one a bit more.
3 for being OK overall, +0.5 for a compelling finale
3 for being OK overall, +0.5 for a compelling finale
Posle Barkerove poslednje trilogije, postao sam mu tzv Day 1 čitalac. Hrabar, neretko sklon nekonvencionalnoj strukturi, stilu, i posebno građenju sekundarnog sveta. Tako je i ovde - atipična struktura koja poprimi oblik tek pri kraju romana, čudan čudan svet koji klikne tek nakon par stotina stranica. Likovi, interesantni, no ipak više arhetipi nego protagonisti prethodne trilogije (Tide Child uzgred budi rečeno, debela preporuka). Jedino što ovde manjka je narativ da spoji svu tu 'jedinstvenost' koju Barker ovde sipa; nedostaje spona priče koja je više od niza događaja koja spaja zanimljive scene/vinjete. Vredno čitanja doduše, zahtevnije nego prosek, i siguran sam povratnik kada se jednom pojavi drugi deo.
4-
4-
dark
emotional
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:
Complicated
Oddly paced novel that spends about 2/3 of its length setting up a LOT of frequently unpleasant backstory -- and man did I hate those incessant flashbacks, all of which basically were the same -- before taking a sharp turn to something I'd describe as "Seven Samurai + ents". Notable for a well-drawn and compelling nonbinary character who demonstrates what it takes to be true to oneself in a situation with no good options.
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
Absolutely brilliant, top tier fantasy. Ignore at your peril.