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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
I just have to say THANK YOU Jay KRistoff for writing this amazing book, I know the first book is not officialy out yet, but I'm already eagerly awaiting the second bok in this series.
Literally couldn't put this book down.
Great read. It does nothing new in terms of story telling or plot devices, but it does it very very well.
Can't wait for the next one in the series
Great read. It does nothing new in terms of story telling or plot devices, but it does it very very well.
Can't wait for the next one in the series
http://www.thebookbag.co.uk/reviews/index.php?title=Stormdancer_by_Jay_Kristoff
DNF
This is a great book. The writing is so beautiful and detailed and vivid. It is just too slow for me right now. At 50 pages in, I'm still not grabbed. Maybe I'll get back to it someday!
This is a great book. The writing is so beautiful and detailed and vivid. It is just too slow for me right now. At 50 pages in, I'm still not grabbed. Maybe I'll get back to it someday!
A book wrapped in mythology and tyranny, gods and magical creatures, in a world dying through pollution and corruption.
This is a very detailed read, the world building is amazing and really immerses you into the environment so much you can almost taste the foul air. Our heroine is stubborn, outspoken and dangerous, yet she has that spark needed for all revolutions. I enjoyed her character arc; how events around her changed her view point, how speaking to others made her think more about her own position. She has a good growth throughout the story, it's not all saved for the next book in the series, which I find very frustrating.
I was wrapped up in this world, the story playing out, wishing those success in their endeavours, wanting to see the madness wiped from the land, and everything healed. The mixture of mythical creatures, and gods in this world is well done; a balance between the two played out very cleverly, that the mythical world is just as real as the one the reader find themselves in.
I highly recommend this tale for lovers of Eastern culture, mythology and uprising stories. It's not an easy read; the first part is very slow and full of information, and others have pointed out language mistakes, and possible issues of cultural appropriation. That's for you to decide. I read it as a fantasy story. There is a sequel.
This is a very detailed read, the world building is amazing and really immerses you into the environment so much you can almost taste the foul air. Our heroine is stubborn, outspoken and dangerous, yet she has that spark needed for all revolutions. I enjoyed her character arc; how events around her changed her view point, how speaking to others made her think more about her own position. She has a good growth throughout the story, it's not all saved for the next book in the series, which I find very frustrating.
I was wrapped up in this world, the story playing out, wishing those success in their endeavours, wanting to see the madness wiped from the land, and everything healed. The mixture of mythical creatures, and gods in this world is well done; a balance between the two played out very cleverly, that the mythical world is just as real as the one the reader find themselves in.
I highly recommend this tale for lovers of Eastern culture, mythology and uprising stories. It's not an easy read; the first part is very slow and full of information, and others have pointed out language mistakes, and possible issues of cultural appropriation. That's for you to decide. I read it as a fantasy story. There is a sequel.
Although this book felt quite slow to me, it was still full of a beautiful story that had me wanting more. I both can't wait to start the next book but I am also dreading it because BURRUU FUCKING DIES!!!!! WTF I don't think I'd be able to stand that.. but... ugh...
Anywho.. great characters and a great story line! Everything was perfect! Though.. did not feel anything when Yukiko's father Masaru and his lover Kasumi died is that terrible?
Anywho.. great characters and a great story line! Everything was perfect! Though.. did not feel anything when
I liked this book, but the ending and epilogue left a lot of loose ends. I hope the sequel clears up some of my questions.
THIS WAS A FIERCE RIDE OF BLOODY EPICNESS
This is the kind of book that I live to discover and devour. It is stunningly written, with poetic, sprawling descriptions of a fascinating world heavily inspired by feudal Japan. BUT WITH MAGIC!!! AND CHAINSAW KATANAS!!! AND EPIC BATTLES!!! AND THUNDER TIGERS!!! AND FANTASTIC WORLD-BUILDING!!! AND STRONG CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!!! AND AN INTENSE PLOT!!!
Kristoff is such a visual writer that from the first sentence I was sucked head-over-heels into this massive, lotus-choked world of war and hidden magic. There is just SO MUCH that happens in this book and yet all of these events play out in such a way that you don't realize exactly how much has happened until the nerve-wracking end when you're sitting there breathless, desperate for the sequel. At least that's how I was!! BECAUSE THIS IS SO CINEMATIC AND WONDERFULLY WRITTEN AND EVERYTHING I NEVER THOUGHT I NEEDED UNTIL I READ IT!!!
However, there was something that irked me:
The misuse of Japanese language like, okay, so you're writing a fantasy book influenced by Japan, so there really isn't a great need to be completely cultural accurate, I suppose . . . . except everyone is supposed to be speaking a form (or forms???) of Japanese, and yet a lot of descriptory phrases describe or define the Japanese terms/words as if they were English words???
Uhm, I think not!! They are two separate languages, so if a little time had been taken to match the writing to the influential country you've based this fantasy world on, that would have been so, so much better. It would have heightened the authentic Japanese feel that was, except for this one point, met very well in my opinion. There was also the annoying misuse of several words (most prominently "sama" & "hai") that made me and my meager knowledge of the Japanese language frown in annoyance. So much research was seemingly put into this book to craft the world, so why, why, whyyyyyy wasn't a little bit more of that research put towards the language use???
ANYWAYS
Except for the above annoyance(s), the rest of this book was a marvelous, action-and-plot packed ride! There was a bit of info-dumping in the first part of the book, but I was fascinated by everything that I really didn't mind. I grabbed everything this book threw at me like the greedy fantasy lover that I am. And the somewhat wordy descriptions were written in such a quirky style that also made me not mind the little rambling parts or page-long scenery descriptions. I just wanted to crawl into these pages and live in this story.
AND NOW COMES THE PART WHEN I FLAIL OVER THE CHARACTERS because boy-oh-boy is there a lot that I love about them!! This is written in a multiple perspective view, which at first threw me a little because I expected this to be told only through Yukiko's eyes?? But the large cast quickly grabbed my interest, and I really enjoyed how the different perspective really crafted the story and added to the cinematic, visual style of Kristoff's writing that I really, really, really enjoy. Reading this was like watching a movie and yes, please, give me those kind of books all the time!!
(Actually don't, because I like discovering new styles, but you know what I mean . . .)
The relationship between Yukiko and Buruu is the lifeblood of this book but there is also tons of other equally intricate relationships that just really make this book even more stunning than it is just by the world-building and writing style alone. I could flail about these characters and their development for literal hours. Like Yukiko and her father, Masuru; Masaru and his crew; the villainous, mad ShÅgun Yorimoto and everyone . . . and then he and his sister; YUKIKO AND KIN; Buruu and everyone else . . . ahhhhhh just so many great things!! So many.
ANOTHER GREAT STRENGTH OF THIS BOOK IS THE SUPER CINEMATIC BATTLES AND ACTION SCENES like I lived these scenes, turning the pages like a fiend. This was the same style that kept me glued to the pages with the Illuminae trilogy. The pacing is just SO GOOD in these scenes, the descriptions are beautifully bloody and fierce, painting a sweeping picture of everything that is happening in such an intense way that I was not reading at that moment, I was utterly immersed.
Also, the romance in here was NOT what I was expecting . . . and that was the best part. Because the initial interest seemed bland, and then along came the one that as soon as they interacted, I was like "yes, this. I would like this, please" and that is what I shall ship until the end, because I doubt a better character will come along to replace the one I want Yukiko to desire ahahaha
So, basically I think this book is one of THE BEST and everyone should read it. There is a unique appeal to it, and it's not just because it's Japanese steampunk . . . though that was a huge draw for me. It's because it's written kind of in-between age ranges--it can be anywhere from YA to standard adult fantasy . . . and it's not really graphic, either. Sure there is a lot of bloody scenes and vicious action, as well as blurred innuendos, but it was all done in such a way that it wasn't blatant on any level. And I really liked that. Plus, the plot was AMAZING and the writing was AMAZING . . . EVERYTHING WAS AMAZING, OKAY???
This is the kind of book that I live to discover and devour. It is stunningly written, with poetic, sprawling descriptions of a fascinating world heavily inspired by feudal Japan. BUT WITH MAGIC!!! AND CHAINSAW KATANAS!!! AND EPIC BATTLES!!! AND THUNDER TIGERS!!! AND FANTASTIC WORLD-BUILDING!!! AND STRONG CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!!! AND AN INTENSE PLOT!!!
Kristoff is such a visual writer that from the first sentence I was sucked head-over-heels into this massive, lotus-choked world of war and hidden magic. There is just SO MUCH that happens in this book and yet all of these events play out in such a way that you don't realize exactly how much has happened until the nerve-wracking end when you're sitting there breathless, desperate for the sequel. At least that's how I was!! BECAUSE THIS IS SO CINEMATIC AND WONDERFULLY WRITTEN AND EVERYTHING I NEVER THOUGHT I NEEDED UNTIL I READ IT!!!
However, there was something that irked me:
The misuse of Japanese language like, okay, so you're writing a fantasy book influenced by Japan, so there really isn't a great need to be completely cultural accurate, I suppose . . . . except everyone is supposed to be speaking a form (or forms???) of Japanese, and yet a lot of descriptory phrases describe or define the Japanese terms/words as if they were English words???
Uhm, I think not!! They are two separate languages, so if a little time had been taken to match the writing to the influential country you've based this fantasy world on, that would have been so, so much better. It would have heightened the authentic Japanese feel that was, except for this one point, met very well in my opinion. There was also the annoying misuse of several words (most prominently "sama" & "hai") that made me and my meager knowledge of the Japanese language frown in annoyance. So much research was seemingly put into this book to craft the world, so why, why, whyyyyyy wasn't a little bit more of that research put towards the language use???
ANYWAYS
Except for the above annoyance(s), the rest of this book was a marvelous, action-and-plot packed ride! There was a bit of info-dumping in the first part of the book, but I was fascinated by everything that I really didn't mind. I grabbed everything this book threw at me like the greedy fantasy lover that I am. And the somewhat wordy descriptions were written in such a quirky style that also made me not mind the little rambling parts or page-long scenery descriptions. I just wanted to crawl into these pages and live in this story.
AND NOW COMES THE PART WHEN I FLAIL OVER THE CHARACTERS because boy-oh-boy is there a lot that I love about them!! This is written in a multiple perspective view, which at first threw me a little because I expected this to be told only through Yukiko's eyes?? But the large cast quickly grabbed my interest, and I really enjoyed how the different perspective really crafted the story and added to the cinematic, visual style of Kristoff's writing that I really, really, really enjoy. Reading this was like watching a movie and yes, please, give me those kind of books all the time!!
(Actually don't, because I like discovering new styles, but you know what I mean . . .)
The relationship between Yukiko and Buruu is the lifeblood of this book but there is also tons of other equally intricate relationships that just really make this book even more stunning than it is just by the world-building and writing style alone. I could flail about these characters and their development for literal hours. Like Yukiko and her father, Masuru; Masaru and his crew; the villainous, mad ShÅgun Yorimoto and everyone . . . and then he and his sister; YUKIKO AND KIN; Buruu and everyone else . . . ahhhhhh just so many great things!! So many.
ANOTHER GREAT STRENGTH OF THIS BOOK IS THE SUPER CINEMATIC BATTLES AND ACTION SCENES like I lived these scenes, turning the pages like a fiend. This was the same style that kept me glued to the pages with the Illuminae trilogy. The pacing is just SO GOOD in these scenes, the descriptions are beautifully bloody and fierce, painting a sweeping picture of everything that is happening in such an intense way that I was not reading at that moment, I was utterly immersed.
Also, the romance in here was NOT what I was expecting . . . and that was the best part. Because the initial interest seemed bland, and then along came the one that as soon as they interacted, I was like "yes, this. I would like this, please" and that is what I shall ship until the end, because I doubt a better character will come along to replace the one I want Yukiko to desire ahahaha
So, basically I think this book is one of THE BEST and everyone should read it. There is a unique appeal to it, and it's not just because it's Japanese steampunk . . . though that was a huge draw for me. It's because it's written kind of in-between age ranges--it can be anywhere from YA to standard adult fantasy . . . and it's not really graphic, either. Sure there is a lot of bloody scenes and vicious action, as well as blurred innuendos, but it was all done in such a way that it wasn't blatant on any level. And I really liked that. Plus, the plot was AMAZING and the writing was AMAZING . . . EVERYTHING WAS AMAZING, OKAY???