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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
Hm. I don't know what to say about this book. Because though I did like it, whoo-boy does it have some problems.
Many others have spoken intelligently about a lot of it already, so I won't go into a ton of depth, but what is with the Japanese vocabulary this book has going? It reminds me of when I was fourteen writing anime fanfic with a bunch of phonetic Japanese thrown in for "authenticity". It's downright painful to reread more than a decade later. And I'll admit, the first few times it came up in the narrative I actually had to stop reading and ask, "Really? We're really doing this? Okay?" out loud.
Kristoff's writing otherwise is definitely atmospheric. The attention he pays to detail makes it easy to envision the scene, but I'll admit that once I got the hang of his style I did a lot of skimming the lengthy passages. Let's pick up the pace a little, hey?
And speaking of pacing, how is it that it took 30 pages to even get the book rolling but then we skimmed over all the cool planning and secrecy in the palace in the book's back pages? I wanted more of that! And then to kill off camera with half a sentence? Uncool. More ladies helping ladies. UGH.
The end fell prey to the increasingly common "rocks fall, everyone dies" excuse for a climax. And each successive death just made me roll my eyes a bit. And what was with that 11th hour love triangle drama? No thank you.
I am being harsh here. I still did like this book. And I'm being harsh because I liked it. But it does have its problems. (Again, check out some other reviews for other critical responses.) And I will pick up the rest of the series. I just probably won't be buying it.
Many others have spoken intelligently about a lot of it already, so I won't go into a ton of depth, but what is with the Japanese vocabulary this book has going? It reminds me of when I was fourteen writing anime fanfic with a bunch of phonetic Japanese thrown in for "authenticity". It's downright painful to reread more than a decade later. And I'll admit, the first few times it came up in the narrative I actually had to stop reading and ask, "Really? We're really doing this? Okay?" out loud.
Kristoff's writing otherwise is definitely atmospheric. The attention he pays to detail makes it easy to envision the scene, but I'll admit that once I got the hang of his style I did a lot of skimming the lengthy passages. Let's pick up the pace a little, hey?
And speaking of pacing, how is it that it took 30 pages to even get the book rolling but then we skimmed over all the cool planning and secrecy in the palace in the book's back pages? I wanted more of that! And then to kill
Spoiler
AishaThe end fell prey to the increasingly common "rocks fall, everyone dies" excuse for a climax. And each successive death just made me roll my eyes a bit. And what was with that 11th hour love triangle drama? No thank you.
I am being harsh here. I still did like this book. And I'm being harsh because I liked it. But it does have its problems. (Again, check out some other reviews for other critical responses.) And I will pick up the rest of the series. I just probably won't be buying it.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
I thought I was going to absolutely love this, but it turned out being just okay for me. The world portrayed here is neat, but at the same time I feel like it was oversaturated in Japanese culture. It's kind of like a weeaboo's wet dream. The writing is beautiful, but at times I felt like it was a chore to read through. I found myself just skimming through passages of descriptions just to get to the meat of the story. I liked the relationship between Buruu and Yukiko, but I felt like it progressed too quickly. They went from hating each other to having a strong emotional bond without much warning. I didn't care about the love triangle at the end of the book at all and I'm thankful that the book didn't focus on it too much.
I am going to continue reading the series because I bought all the books in advance. At least the covers are really cool.
I am going to continue reading the series because I bought all the books in advance. At least the covers are really cool.
First off, this book IS NOT about feudal Japan, but the author borrows heavily from its culture. Judging from some reviews, he also picked and chose what events to use, taking elements from other Asian cultures and throwing them in the mix, to the ire of some.
*shrug*
It didn't bother me because it's a steampunk/dystopian/fantasy novel, not historical fiction.
The steampunk elements were interesting...rather than the technology being this wonderous thing, the mechanics and the fuel are literally killing the land and its people.
After the rather laborious world building in the first 100 pages or so, the action picks up when Yukiko saves the thunder tiger that she thought didn't exist.
The heroine, Yukiko, is described as "kick ass" in a bunch of reviews, and yeah, she's string and stuff, but the whole side story of her lusting the samurai with the "sea green eyes" seemed pointless--it seemed to just serve the purpose of her being betrayed to the Shogun later and makes her seem weak.
*shrug*
It didn't bother me because it's a steampunk/dystopian/fantasy novel, not historical fiction.
The steampunk elements were interesting...rather than the technology being this wonderous thing, the mechanics and the fuel are literally killing the land and its people.
After the rather laborious world building in the first 100 pages or so, the action picks up when Yukiko saves the thunder tiger that she thought didn't exist.
The heroine, Yukiko, is described as "kick ass" in a bunch of reviews, and yeah, she's string and stuff, but the whole side story of her lusting the samurai with the "sea green eyes" seemed pointless--it seemed to just serve the purpose of her being betrayed to the Shogun later and makes her seem weak.
Stormdancer was really good once I got my teeth into it. Jay Kristoff has created a wonderful world mixing Steampunk with a mythical saga.
The Lotus crisis which threatens Shims is not unlike the palm oil crises which many of the world's rainforests really do suffer. It's easy to translate the what it's to our world and back Yokiko, empathise with her struggle.
At times I didn't like Yukiko, and my one criticism is that she never felt to me like the 16 year old she was purported to be. At times she felt 12 or 13, at other times she felt like she was in her early 20's. She was at once too worldly and too childish, but it's a minor criticism.
The reason I struggled to get my teeth into this book is a fault which lies with me and not with the story. Reading mythical, fantastical stories is something I do as easily as breathe, but they are all mirrors of a westernised culture, with western names and western environments. At times I found myself struggling to envisage the places, but mostly I found myself struggling with the loopnames. Yokiko, Masuru, Akihito, Yoritomo, even Arashitora are all names I stumbled over. They fumbled in my head and dragged me to a stop. The sounds they make are unfamiliar to me, and perhaps they hint that I should read more of other ethnic origins. I consider myself widely read, but this story has had its worth most of all in that in many ways it falls within my normal narrow constraints, but still it forces me to examine them.
The Lotus crisis which threatens Shims is not unlike the palm oil crises which many of the world's rainforests really do suffer. It's easy to translate the what it's to our world and back Yokiko, empathise with her struggle.
At times I didn't like Yukiko, and my one criticism is that she never felt to me like the 16 year old she was purported to be. At times she felt 12 or 13, at other times she felt like she was in her early 20's. She was at once too worldly and too childish, but it's a minor criticism.
The reason I struggled to get my teeth into this book is a fault which lies with me and not with the story. Reading mythical, fantastical stories is something I do as easily as breathe, but they are all mirrors of a westernised culture, with western names and western environments. At times I found myself struggling to envisage the places, but mostly I found myself struggling with the loopnames. Yokiko, Masuru, Akihito, Yoritomo, even Arashitora are all names I stumbled over. They fumbled in my head and dragged me to a stop. The sounds they make are unfamiliar to me, and perhaps they hint that I should read more of other ethnic origins. I consider myself widely read, but this story has had its worth most of all in that in many ways it falls within my normal narrow constraints, but still it forces me to examine them.
Die 16-jährige Yukiko lebt allein mit ihrem Vater. Eines Tages erhalten die beiden den unmöglichen Auftrag des Shoguns, ihm einen Arashitora zu fangen – ein lang ausgestorbenes Mischwesen aus Adler und Tiger. Um ihren Herrscher nicht zu erzürnen, brechen sie auf und werden in einem gewaltigen Sturm tatsächlich fündig. Yukiko spürt sofort eine Verbindung, denn sie hat die Gabe, mit Tieren zu kommunizieren und ihren Geist mit ihnen zu verschmelzen. Und was sie von dem Arashitora Buuru lernt, soll ihr ganzes Leben über den Haufen werfen.
Grundsätzlich mag ich die Bücher von Jay Kristoff sehr, doch hier war ich vorsichtig, denn „Stormdancer“ ist der Auftakt zu seiner allerersten Trilogie. Und tatsächlich ist sie mit seinen späteren Werken nicht zu vergleichen. Die Handlung braucht sehr lange, bis sie in Schwung kommt, der Schreibstil ist repetitiv und manchmal unbeholfen. Einige Ausdrücke wirken schief und unpassend, was aber auch an der Übersetzung liegen mag. Erst als Yukiko auf Buuru trifft und durch seine Augen die Welt auf einmal anders sieht, beginnt der interessante Teil der Geschichte.
Mit Yukiko ist dem Autor immerhin eine vielschichtige Protagonistin gelungen. In ihrem jungen Alter hat sie bereits Mutter und Bruder verloren, das Verhältnis zum Vater und dessen Geliebter ist schwierig. Noch dazu ist das Überleben im Kaiserreich Shima nicht einfach, denn die Menschen haben durch jahrelangen Raubbau und Kriege das Land nahezu vernichtet, die Luft ist voll giftiger Gase. Somit ist der Roman eine Mischung aus japanischer Mythologie, Umweltdystopie und Steampunk-Abenteuer – vielleicht hätte der Autor sich hier besser auf ein Element fokussiert.
Die obligatorische Liebesgeschichte gibt es natürlich (leider) auch, im Zentrum steht jedoch ganz klar die Beziehung zwischen Yukiko und Buuru. Im Verlauf der Handlung nähern sich die beiden in Denken und Handeln immer mehr an – bis sie füreinander wie Bruder und Schwester sind. Das ist definitiv der zentrale Teil der Geschichte und tröstet über so manche Schwäche hinweg. Dennoch bin unsicher, ob ich der Trilogie noch weiter folgen möchte.
Grundsätzlich mag ich die Bücher von Jay Kristoff sehr, doch hier war ich vorsichtig, denn „Stormdancer“ ist der Auftakt zu seiner allerersten Trilogie. Und tatsächlich ist sie mit seinen späteren Werken nicht zu vergleichen. Die Handlung braucht sehr lange, bis sie in Schwung kommt, der Schreibstil ist repetitiv und manchmal unbeholfen. Einige Ausdrücke wirken schief und unpassend, was aber auch an der Übersetzung liegen mag. Erst als Yukiko auf Buuru trifft und durch seine Augen die Welt auf einmal anders sieht, beginnt der interessante Teil der Geschichte.
Mit Yukiko ist dem Autor immerhin eine vielschichtige Protagonistin gelungen. In ihrem jungen Alter hat sie bereits Mutter und Bruder verloren, das Verhältnis zum Vater und dessen Geliebter ist schwierig. Noch dazu ist das Überleben im Kaiserreich Shima nicht einfach, denn die Menschen haben durch jahrelangen Raubbau und Kriege das Land nahezu vernichtet, die Luft ist voll giftiger Gase. Somit ist der Roman eine Mischung aus japanischer Mythologie, Umweltdystopie und Steampunk-Abenteuer – vielleicht hätte der Autor sich hier besser auf ein Element fokussiert.
Die obligatorische Liebesgeschichte gibt es natürlich (leider) auch, im Zentrum steht jedoch ganz klar die Beziehung zwischen Yukiko und Buuru. Im Verlauf der Handlung nähern sich die beiden in Denken und Handeln immer mehr an – bis sie füreinander wie Bruder und Schwester sind. Das ist definitiv der zentrale Teil der Geschichte und tröstet über so manche Schwäche hinweg. Dennoch bin unsicher, ob ich der Trilogie noch weiter folgen möchte.
Japanese Steampunk. Not words I ever really thought I would see together, let alone the basis of a book I would be reading. I picked it up on the recommendation of one of my favorite authors (Kevin Hearne - Iron Druid Series. The best. Get immediately.), more out of curiosity than anything else. I started reading yesterday, and had to peel myself away to go to bed at Chapter 24. I almost yelled at the lady behind me who was talking entirely too loud while I was waiting for my kids at the dentist's office. And I just about blew off dinner for the family to finish the story. It's that good. The writing has a few fits and starts, but the story is enough to wipe that away as you read. It's really well put together - I got it from the library, and it's one of the rare books that I want to purchase anyway. The only down side to having read this? It just came out. It's part one in a trilogy. I have a LONG wait until I can get my hands on part two.
My dissatisfactions with this may be yet another case of not-my-thing, I think. I'm never sure in cases like this. I mean, I want more complexity in the storyline, greater intricacy of character lines and interactions, but this is obviously and firstly a YA story, and is the simplicity a strength for that market? I just don't know. I really wanted more richness of detail and depth of world - especially more scattered throughout the prose, not clumped into the occasional page of "now I'm going to be descriptive" - but a) is that not suitable for the audience? and b) I've been so spoiled by my recent reading of Daniel Abraham and his succulent world-showing.
The story moved me to misty-eyed emotion at multiple points in the finale sequence. The heroine underwent excellent growth through personal challenge. The griffin is pretty darn great. And Lady Aisha rocks the casbah, except
A good, fun YA fantasy, in a non-European setting (yay) though I can't help feeling this is a Japanese-esque setting infected with Western concepts. Still, interesting, even if it never really gains the strength to shoulder out of its YA confines (for me).
The story moved me to misty-eyed emotion at multiple points in the finale sequence. The heroine underwent excellent growth through personal challenge. The griffin is pretty darn great. And Lady Aisha rocks the casbah, except
Spoiler
then she just disappears? Er... what happened there? She was the best bit! She can't just quietly die off-camera!A good, fun YA fantasy, in a non-European setting (yay) though I can't help feeling this is a Japanese-esque setting infected with Western concepts. Still, interesting, even if it never really gains the strength to shoulder out of its YA confines (for me).