Scan barcode
laura_trap's review against another edition
1.0
well. We all knew this was going to happen one way or the other. This book was awful. Just, terrible. It had such potential, which always makes it seem worse in the end. Life is too short to continue reading bad books and this was a pile of word vomit. The writing was clunky, so m.a.n.y typos. So many, and the dialogue was pure crap. Crap written by a ten year old. If someone told me that the author's pre-teen son was the actual author of this, I would be more impressed. It reads like a terrible D&D campaign, with immature, not well rounded, or interesting stories.
There is no emotion to this book and the world building (my favorite part of a fantasy novel) was sloppy, unrefined, and often times didn't connect well as the story went on. I made it 200 pages into this book before I said enough and decided to give my brain a reprieve from the jumble of words on the page. The characters were boring, one dimensional, and I hated how so often, the author told me, didn't show me. It's impossible to connect.
The plot line does some interesting, but the writing is so atrocious it doesn't keep my attention. I'm distracted by the rest of the bad in this book. I wanted to like this book, honest to goodness, I did, but I couldn't find anything enjoyable about it. They go on these mini-quests, without much explanation of how they get from here to there. Apparently boats move so fast that within the span of a half-assed sentence someone falls over board, drowns, and the boat has moved beyond reach. What? There is no flow, no genuine emotion anywhere in the book, and if I had to read another page I think I'd scream. The whole two paragraphed section of one of our heroes, Narky, finding out that women menstruate was just cringe worthy.
What the author adds and what he doesn't makes no sense. Like they travel vast distances without any mention of the travel, he barely gives his characters personalities. He randomly adds in facts about his group or that group without explanation. Just no. i don't have time for this type of nonsense, for sloppy writing, for poor characterization, for plot holes or even parts of a plot that just simply end for no discernible reason. I'm mad at this book, because I wanted it to get better and so I kept reading, hoping, for something redeeming, some change in the writing or the style or that suddenly the dialogue didn't seem so fake or forced, but it just kept on being bad. This entire book is a disappointment and I could not in good faith not warn the general public. Dude, get a fucking editor.
"Phaedra bowed her head and didn't say anymore. Bandu was glad. She didn't want to talk to Psander anymore. It was a good thing the talking was over."
Read that out loud and tell me if that flows. Trust me, it doesn't. This book is a mess. I couldn't end this without an example, not a great one, but to do that you'd have to read the first 200 pages of this book and that's 200 pages of my life I won't get back. Christ.
There is no emotion to this book and the world building (my favorite part of a fantasy novel) was sloppy, unrefined, and often times didn't connect well as the story went on. I made it 200 pages into this book before I said enough and decided to give my brain a reprieve from the jumble of words on the page. The characters were boring, one dimensional, and I hated how so often, the author told me, didn't show me. It's impossible to connect.
The plot line does some interesting, but the writing is so atrocious it doesn't keep my attention. I'm distracted by the rest of the bad in this book. I wanted to like this book, honest to goodness, I did, but I couldn't find anything enjoyable about it. They go on these mini-quests, without much explanation of how they get from here to there. Apparently boats move so fast that within the span of a half-assed sentence someone falls over board, drowns, and the boat has moved beyond reach. What? There is no flow, no genuine emotion anywhere in the book, and if I had to read another page I think I'd scream. The whole two paragraphed section of one of our heroes, Narky, finding out that women menstruate was just cringe worthy.
What the author adds and what he doesn't makes no sense. Like they travel vast distances without any mention of the travel, he barely gives his characters personalities. He randomly adds in facts about his group or that group without explanation. Just no. i don't have time for this type of nonsense, for sloppy writing, for poor characterization, for plot holes or even parts of a plot that just simply end for no discernible reason. I'm mad at this book, because I wanted it to get better and so I kept reading, hoping, for something redeeming, some change in the writing or the style or that suddenly the dialogue didn't seem so fake or forced, but it just kept on being bad. This entire book is a disappointment and I could not in good faith not warn the general public. Dude, get a fucking editor.
"Phaedra bowed her head and didn't say anymore. Bandu was glad. She didn't want to talk to Psander anymore. It was a good thing the talking was over."
Read that out loud and tell me if that flows. Trust me, it doesn't. This book is a mess. I couldn't end this without an example, not a great one, but to do that you'd have to read the first 200 pages of this book and that's 200 pages of my life I won't get back. Christ.
detailsandtales's review against another edition
I'm not going to assign this one a star rating because I want to give it a 2.5, and I feel like there's a huge difference between a 2 (which feels really negative) and a 3 (which feels completely neutral).
Part of the reason for my hesitation is that there were times when I was ready to put down the book and not come back, but I gave it a chance, and other parts did make me want to keep reading.
The good: I liked that there were five different characters, each with their own goals, conflicts and weaknesses. There were a few I really began to care about.
The bad: Unfortunately, the writing style felt very much like that of a Middle Grades book, in that the characters spent a lot of time explicitly thinking things through. I would have preferred less telling and more showing. Not only did all of this thinking slow down the plot, it also made the characters feel even younger than they were in some ways, which was jarring against some of the other story elements. I was also bothered by the fact that it felt like the characters kept repeating the same mistakes, and kept trusting a character they all knew was not trustworthy. It also seemed like they had no real direction beyond whatever their next destination happened to be.
Part of the reason for my hesitation is that there were times when I was ready to put down the book and not come back, but I gave it a chance, and other parts did make me want to keep reading.
The good: I liked that there were five different characters, each with their own goals, conflicts and weaknesses. There were a few I really began to care about.
The bad: Unfortunately, the writing style felt very much like that of a Middle Grades book, in that the characters spent a lot of time explicitly thinking things through. I would have preferred less telling and more showing. Not only did all of this thinking slow down the plot, it also made the characters feel even younger than they were in some ways, which was jarring against some of the other story elements. I was also bothered by the fact that it felt like the characters kept repeating the same mistakes, and kept trusting a character they all knew was not trustworthy. It also seemed like they had no real direction beyond whatever their next destination happened to be.
middlekmissie's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
A pretty good ensemble cast epic quest Fantasy, like reading an account of a really good D & D campaign. However, I would have rated this much higher, if it didn't excuse intimate partner violence.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Child death
timofeev's review against another edition
I'm really disappointed in this book. I was really intrigued by the premise and the first few chapters (introducing the characters) were really interesting. But now....the momentum is dragging and there doesn't seem to be any direction. I'll probably give this book another go later on but for now, its back to the shelf.
ryter89's review against another edition
4.0
It was good. The characters made this book. I hope the gods play a bigger roll in the next book, though. They are really interesting so I want to know more about them.
emilythesmelly's review
4.0
I felt like it was time that I checked out this novel by a fellow Hampshire alum. I think I really liked this book. There's a part of me that's still not quite sure how to feel, and there's a part of me that's remembering things I didn't like about it, but for the most part, I think that there was enough good in it and that I spent enough time thinking about it while not reading that I must have liked it.
So, the story has five protagonists: Narky, Phaedra, Hunter, Bandu, and Criton. One of the things I really didn't like about the book was Narky, and the novel begins by introducing him, and that kinda set me in a bad mood for a while. Also, while I don't like Narky on the whole, the handful of times this book made me laugh were all because of him, so *shrug emoji*. Criton started out as my favorite. I mean, dragon boy? Sign me up. However, though it's Criton's quest around which the plot revolves, really, he as a character grows remarkably little. I liked him less and less as the story went on, and that's a shame. I'm hoping that he takes some significant steps in the other two books. I also really liked Phaedra at the beginning of the novel, and while I don't dislike her now, her flaws became more and more apparent as the story progressed. As far as storytelling/craft goes, that's great and it was well done, but as I reader I like to like characters, so again *shrug emoji*. I found Bandu very grating at the beginning, but the more time you spend with her the clearer it is that, despite her honestly feral upbringing and lack of any sort of study/learning, she's incredibly clever. I've come to really appreciate Bandu, and I also really appreciated that Bandu and Phaedra, the only girls in the bunch, were close friends instead of rivals. Female friendship is in, female rivalry is out. Hunter was just fine to me at the start of the story, but he grew on me a whole lot. Like Narky, I expected much more alpha male behavior from him based on how he's characterized at the start, but he's not that at all. He's a follower, and he's shy, and he's unsure, and none of this makes him less badass it just makes him not the leader of the group, and I think that was a really cool and thoughtful choice.
So, character thoughts aside, I was also interested in the plot and worldbuilding. I think there are a lot of interesting things being said about the fantasy quest, about religion, about academia, about prophecy. There were so many ideas and concepts that I was really drawn to, so many things I highlighted because they made me go hmm or YES, and that was awesome.
However, I think that, for one novel, it was maybe too much. There were so many gods and so many places (I would have killed for a map!) that I quickly gave up trying to situate myself on the continent and trying to remember godly family ties/allegiances/rivalries. I also found that the plot did not have a satisfying narrative arc. It was back and forth and roaming and meandering, and while the individual narrative beats were all pretty satisfying in their own rights, the way that they were put together wasn't ideal.
All that being said, I'm definitely coming back for the next book (after I get through some more books that I actually already own lol), and I'm excited to find out how these dragons do.
So, the story has five protagonists: Narky, Phaedra, Hunter, Bandu, and Criton. One of the things I really didn't like about the book was Narky, and the novel begins by introducing him, and that kinda set me in a bad mood for a while. Also, while I don't like Narky on the whole, the handful of times this book made me laugh were all because of him, so *shrug emoji*. Criton started out as my favorite. I mean, dragon boy? Sign me up. However, though it's Criton's quest around which the plot revolves, really, he as a character grows remarkably little. I liked him less and less as the story went on, and that's a shame. I'm hoping that he takes some significant steps in the other two books. I also really liked Phaedra at the beginning of the novel, and while I don't dislike her now, her flaws became more and more apparent as the story progressed. As far as storytelling/craft goes, that's great and it was well done, but as I reader I like to like characters, so again *shrug emoji*. I found Bandu very grating at the beginning, but the more time you spend with her the clearer it is that, despite her honestly feral upbringing and lack of any sort of study/learning, she's incredibly clever. I've come to really appreciate Bandu, and I also really appreciated that Bandu and Phaedra, the only girls in the bunch, were close friends instead of rivals. Female friendship is in, female rivalry is out. Hunter was just fine to me at the start of the story, but he grew on me a whole lot. Like Narky, I expected much more alpha male behavior from him based on how he's characterized at the start, but he's not that at all. He's a follower, and he's shy, and he's unsure, and none of this makes him less badass it just makes him not the leader of the group, and I think that was a really cool and thoughtful choice.
So, character thoughts aside, I was also interested in the plot and worldbuilding. I think there are a lot of interesting things being said about the fantasy quest, about religion, about academia, about prophecy. There were so many ideas and concepts that I was really drawn to, so many things I highlighted because they made me go hmm or YES, and that was awesome.
However, I think that, for one novel, it was maybe too much. There were so many gods and so many places (I would have killed for a map!) that I quickly gave up trying to situate myself on the continent and trying to remember godly family ties/allegiances/rivalries. I also found that the plot did not have a satisfying narrative arc. It was back and forth and roaming and meandering, and while the individual narrative beats were all pretty satisfying in their own rights, the way that they were put together wasn't ideal.
All that being said, I'm definitely coming back for the next book (after I get through some more books that I actually already own lol), and I'm excited to find out how these dragons do.
myxomycetes's review
4.0
A smarter, savvier Dragonlance.
Confused over-reaching teenage protagonists that read as confused over-reaching teenagers.
A setting where gods exist, select champions, and generally make nuisances of themselves by meddling in human affairs, and the utter preoccupation with theology, prophecy, and destiny such a world would create.
Confused over-reaching teenage protagonists that read as confused over-reaching teenagers.
A setting where gods exist, select champions, and generally make nuisances of themselves by meddling in human affairs, and the utter preoccupation with theology, prophecy, and destiny such a world would create.
More...