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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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 is going in my top 5… I’m absolutely staggered by this book that I picked up on a whim.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The series has tremendous heart and this opening introduces us to a vibrant and incredibly fleshed out world - not to mention it's inhabitants. It's a cruel world but the layers are literally deep, and Barker does a wonderful job of balancing the tone.
In Crua, you have a dessicated world lorded over by warring quasi-vampiric sorcerors who view the ruled as livestock. But through both the woods itself, and the main protagonists, there is a sense of awe and hope to accompany the desperate and downtrodden. In particular, Udinny is such a relentless bright spot - I'd read about their many lives if Barker kept going lol.
A dark and mysterious woods, strange magic, webs of roots and fungal networks carrying energy, and odd creatures. You'll love it, probably.
In Crua, you have a dessicated world lorded over by warring quasi-vampiric sorcerors who view the ruled as livestock. But through both the woods itself, and the main protagonists, there is a sense of awe and hope to accompany the desperate and downtrodden. In particular, Udinny is such a relentless bright spot - I'd read about their many lives if Barker kept going lol.
A dark and mysterious woods, strange magic, webs of roots and fungal networks carrying energy, and odd creatures. You'll love it, probably.
Unique fantasy book with the whole "mother of earth" concept. I had fun reading this book for the most part, but there were also a lot of dry spots in his book. Especially when they were in the forest for like half the book lol. I don't see myself reading the next book in this series.
slow-paced
This book had some things going for it, but it needed to be cut in half. It doesn't earn it's length, nor does it use it well, considering how poorly developed most of the characters are.
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Probably 3.5 stars.
I like how this author thinks through the setting and ecosystem of his world. The forests in this book hark back to the ancient times when forests were alien and deadly to those who lived outside them and scraped a living from the forest dregs. This world felt post-apocalyptic, like something horrible had happened and the survivors were using the snippets of knowledge from a former civilization to try to have any power or control, without truly understanding what they were doing.
It's not a pleasant world, and we don't meet pleasant people. Morality doesn't seem to have to do much with the church or gods. Instead rival gods strive for power and people worship whichever god and their followers have carried the day. Preaching seems limited to "obey this god or else". Nothing about how to live well or correctly.
Cahan, our main character, is interesting. He's come across a god somewhere along the way that taught him the concept of empathy and connection with others. But he's clanless himself and can't make inroads with the village he has settled near. Cahan also struggles with power that was bestowed upon him that he doesn't really understand or want to use, since he was only ever taught to destroy with that power.
I can see where this series might be going. However, I'm not sure if I'm going to make the journey. This was a slow-paced book and the stakes haven't even come into play yet. I loved the author's Tide Child series and that's what would make me continue if I decide to do that.
I like how this author thinks through the setting and ecosystem of his world. The forests in this book hark back to the ancient times when forests were alien and deadly to those who lived outside them and scraped a living from the forest dregs. This world felt post-apocalyptic, like something horrible had happened and the survivors were using the snippets of knowledge from a former civilization to try to have any power or control, without truly understanding what they were doing.
It's not a pleasant world, and we don't meet pleasant people. Morality doesn't seem to have to do much with the church or gods. Instead rival gods strive for power and people worship whichever god and their followers have carried the day. Preaching seems limited to "obey this god or else". Nothing about how to live well or correctly.
Cahan, our main character, is interesting. He's come across a god somewhere along the way that taught him the concept of empathy and connection with others. But he's clanless himself and can't make inroads with the village he has settled near. Cahan also struggles with power that was bestowed upon him that he doesn't really understand or want to use, since he was only ever taught to destroy with that power.
I can see where this series might be going. However, I'm not sure if I'm going to make the journey. This was a slow-paced book and the stakes haven't even come into play yet. I loved the author's Tide Child series and that's what would make me continue if I decide to do that.
Enjoyed this! A Little slow, but i feel alot of it was because its build up for the rest of the trilogy. Excited for the next book!
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The world building is interesting and fun to read, but the characters lacked any real agency in the ending, which made the back half of the book feel like a slog.
medium-paced