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hawkeyegough's review
adventurous
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Like all of Belcher's Golgotha books, this was exceptionally well-written and engaging. I found it to be addicting and creative, especially with the visual imagery and the attention to detail (for example a ship suddenly transitions from seawater to fresh water and dips in the water because seawater makes the craft more buoyant).
I was initially slightly off-put by the fact that the book didn't appear to intersect with many of the characters or the even the location from the previous books (despite having that location as the series name). However, while I think this book would've worked really well as a spinoff I came to enjoy it a lot despite my initial trepidation.
This book is technically fantasy, but when several folks asked me what it was about I had a difficult time describing it because the scope is vast. It included a sort of magic certainly, but it also included a wide variety of mystical theologies and philosophies. I think that this lent to the richness of the world as historical concepts and historical figures are brought into the scenes. It added a real sense of authenticity to the world that I feel is very difficult to capture in this genre due to how fantastical some of the events and characters can be (no exception here, there are gods & goddesses and primordial, ancient beings who are more concept than individual).
I recommend this book to folks who enjoy excellent world-building, fantastical plotlines, adventure, and just a hint of philosophical depth. I'll definitely follow the author into the next book because I'm along for this ride.
I was initially slightly off-put by the fact that the book didn't appear to intersect with many of the characters or the even the location from the previous books (despite having that location as the series name). However, while I think this book would've worked really well as a spinoff I came to enjoy it a lot despite my initial trepidation.
This book is technically fantasy, but when several folks asked me what it was about I had a difficult time describing it because the scope is vast. It included a sort of magic certainly, but it also included a wide variety of mystical theologies and philosophies. I think that this lent to the richness of the world as historical concepts and historical figures are brought into the scenes. It added a real sense of authenticity to the world that I feel is very difficult to capture in this genre due to how fantastical some of the events and characters can be (no exception here, there are gods & goddesses and primordial, ancient beings who are more concept than individual).
I recommend this book to folks who enjoy excellent world-building, fantastical plotlines, adventure, and just a hint of philosophical depth. I'll definitely follow the author into the next book because I'm along for this ride.
dengelke's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
stacydodds's review
adventurous
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.0
oofrie's review against another edition
2.0
This book was ok. A little out there, but well written. I loved Anne's character. Maude...well, not as much.
I don't think it helped that this is the first book I've read of the series but it is not the first book in the series.
I don't think it helped that this is the first book I've read of the series but it is not the first book in the series.
iam_griff's review against another edition
4.0
Still love this series! This novel focuses on 1 of the guardians of Golgotha, Maude Stapleton. Due to the events of “The Shotgun Arcana” caused Maude to come back to South Carolina to fight for her daughter & inheritance in a world where women are treated as little more than emotional children. Concurrently we learn the history of Maude’s great great great great great grandma pirate Queen Anne Bonney & her journey to become a Daughter of Lilith.
Graphic Audio does an amazing job bring R.S. Belcher’s book to life with “a movie in your mind”. The story just keeps getting better in development of the world & myths that go in Belcher’s world.
Graphic Audio does an amazing job bring R.S. Belcher’s book to life with “a movie in your mind”. The story just keeps getting better in development of the world & myths that go in Belcher’s world.
nuevecuervos's review
4.0
The Queen of Swords is a fantastic example of my favorite kind of fiction-- women everywhere, doing stuff in the world because it needs doing, and even when the world is awash in bullshit condescending patriarchy, these women do indeed get shit done. They're imperfect, and they're not uniformly heroic, and I loved it. The wtf-quotient is again stellar even though we don't spend a whole lot of time in Golgotha proper, and the characters are entertaining and fascinating, and interact in many nonstandard ways. Recommended for those of you who enjoy the batshittery inherent in the other Shotgun Arcana books, only as applied to a cast involving lots of female characters.
As a side note, Maude and Anne both get their asses kicked within an inch of death more often than you might be comfortable with, and frankly I wonder if it's a device that's overused (for context, I say that about the Dresden Files too, and I'm a rabid fangirl); it's not that I'm uncomfortable with violence, it's that after a while, I feel like we become inured to it.
As a side note, Maude and Anne both get their asses kicked within an inch of death more often than you might be comfortable with, and frankly I wonder if it's a device that's overused (for context, I say that about the Dresden Files too, and I'm a rabid fangirl); it's not that I'm uncomfortable with violence, it's that after a while, I feel like we become inured to it.
karireads's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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? No
3.0
I absolutely loved the first two books in this series, but this one wasn't as good. The plot was split between two time lines and within each time line there seemed to be multiple plots and the jumps between them felt randomly interspersed. Now the first two weren't exactly tightly focused single narratives, and the multiple plots and viewpoints were part of their strengths. But this book took that too far and went from "detailed and intricate" to "complicated and distracting." Which is really too bad, because I thought I would love learning more about the Daughters of Lilith.
There was a bit of a white savior thing going on with Anne Bonny at the end of her plot line, which is obviously disappointing.
All in all, bit of a let down after the first two.
There was a bit of a white savior thing going on with Anne Bonny at the end of her plot line, which is obviously disappointing.
All in all, bit of a let down after the first two.
chaoticquill's review
5.0
The latest Golgotha book has a rocky start, but it quickly stabilizes and becomes an amazing adventure that delves into some fairly complex issues with, if not the most unique view, a still refreshing one for weird fiction. The he majority of this cast is female, and all (including the returning characters Maude and Constance) are portrayed with a depth and complexity of character that is all too rare in novels written by men, especially in genre fiction.
hornyforbooks's review
3.0
This is a really good book and also a rather problematic book.
You've got two white saviors that travel into Africa to save the world and magically have the right skills, personality, and drive that is somehow missing from every other woman trained in the arts they learned all over the world.
The book does a decent job talking a bit about how brutal and disgusting the slave trade was and how Europe and America pillaged and abused people in all of Africa. It does a really good job talking about women's rights and how much women were controlled property in the United States and some European law.
This is also a really interesting book intertwining the travels and lives of two characters at different times and how their decisions and experiences relate. Its a good book. Its worth reading. It's also important to be aware of some of the issues with it and maybe search out books by Nnedi Okarafor and N.K. Jemisin too.
You've got two white saviors that travel into Africa to save the world and magically have the right skills, personality, and drive that is somehow missing from every other woman trained in the arts they learned all over the world.
The book does a decent job talking a bit about how brutal and disgusting the slave trade was and how Europe and America pillaged and abused people in all of Africa. It does a really good job talking about women's rights and how much women were controlled property in the United States and some European law.
This is also a really interesting book intertwining the travels and lives of two characters at different times and how their decisions and experiences relate. Its a good book. Its worth reading. It's also important to be aware of some of the issues with it and maybe search out books by Nnedi Okarafor and N.K. Jemisin too.
arirashkae's review
4.0
I picked this up off my library's New Book shelf, not realizing until I got home that it was part of a series. Even so, I found it to be a very enjoyable read. I have no doubt that I would have appreciated it more if I'd read the previous books, but I never felt like I *had* to have read the previous books to follow along. I had a little bit of difficulty with the two timelines at first, byt that's probably due more to my attention span than anything else.
(The Night Vale reference near the beginning was a fun touch, and that alone was enough to make me want to read the others.)
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(The Night Vale reference near the beginning was a fun touch, and that alone was enough to make me want to read the others.)
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