Reviews

Rereading this in 2024, my perspective has definitely shifted. The Madame's eccentric place, while still over the top, strikes me as more of a comical set design now. The constant twists and turns felt excessive at times, and the characters remain emotionally distant. On the other hand, the core ideas resonate more clearly.

__________________________
Here, the plot thickens. Oh boy, how it thickens. We still follow the crisis in this utopian 25th century world, where conspiracy upon conspiracy is unveiled.

This is a book with many surprises, and surprises upon surprises - like some kind of perverted matryoshka doll of fucked up leaders, messy communication, and alien way of thinking. Main points of the story are nicely resolved, albeit I still don't buy some of the concepts. For example, in my opinion, if something is oppressed (as gender and religion are here), it is bound to find more than one way of expressing itself. Concentrating it all in one place is... improbable. Also, it's a pity I didn't connect to any of the characters - they are still like puppets in some play where the pupeeter is really overdoing it. I mean, one of the major characters dies... and I couldn't care less. The death doesn't seem real.

Albeit the characters are still unlikable, the plot was easier to follow, and I found this book much easier to digest than the first one. It is a wild ride, one I intend to follow to its end. It was quite some time a book containing gore and full of characters I don't much care about managed to grab me!

cynicalplankton's review

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

ef109's review

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adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

ryan_reads_fantasy's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Review to come.

bridgett's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

albon's review

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3.0

2018 review:

it's so frustrating because this series has so much potential! all the good elements a book needs is in there! but the cast of characters is so large, and it's impossible to keep them all straight, and that unfortunately ruins a lot the experience. and as i mentioned in my review of the first book, this story doesn't need that many characters. it needs a big cast, but not as many as it has. the story could be told with half the characters and it would've been the same story.

so at the end of the day, despite how inspiring i find the world ada palmer has created, and how great her writing is, the story never really makes sense for me, and i don't love it as much as i know i could.

READING PROGRESS

October 30, 2018 – Started Reading

October 30, 2018 – Shelved

October 31, 2018 –
page 111 30.41%

November 1, 2018 –
page 198 54.25% "«You’re angry because I slept with your brother? Your husband sleeps with your brother. Everyone sleeps with your brother. That’s what your brother is for!»

this book just gets weirder every time i turn the page"

November 3, 2018 –
page 283 77.53%

November 11, 2018 – Finished Reading

timcooper99's review

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challenging reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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