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inkoffallenstars's review
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Overall I thought it was a lot of excellent ideas, but not the best execution.
I loved the main characters, particularly Brivar—in the first section, he was honestly the only reason I kept reading—and the way their arcs were handled. The characters are flawed and are portrayed as such, but are incredibly relatable. The complexity of the cast, their backstories, and their relationships was gripping and made this a fascinating read.
The world-based conflict was also fascinating. While the setting is a rather standard medieval fantasy, the illness the plot is based around is such an interesting topic. I love the way it is set up and developed, though I wish this had been more consistently paced throughout. There were some things I as a reader would have liked to learn more about, particularly the religious side. And as much as I loved the illness, the book is a book about a fantasy disease with a doctor as a main PoV, so I was anticipating delving into that a little more. (This may just be because I was raised by a doctor and am going into medical editing if I can, so take this with a grain of salt.)
This book is very slow to get going, however. The beginning drags due to a combination of several things:
Consistently throughout the book, there are places where events are summarized rather than written out in scenes. In the beginning (and somewhat at the end), these summaries are events that would have been less confusing if written out as scenes, or omitted entirely. There's also places where it's the inverse—scenes that dragged and would have been more effective as summaries. This mostly happens in the beginning, and I was considering DNFing at several points until I hit part two.
After part two, things look up pacing-wise. This section acts on the setup of the first part (which was too long, in my opinion) and starts solving the problem. So the plot takes an incredibly long time to get moving, though once it's moving it's exciting. (I was up late for several nights in a row reading it.) The end felt like it could have been expanded on, and there were some parts that were too fast for me to keep up with, but it wasn't critical.
Some of the thematic elements of the story felt heavy-handed to me. Not exactly overemphasized, but not as well integrated as they could have been. Especially in the third section, honestly where I started feeling like things were rushed. There were also some plot points that felt like they were there for shock value, which rubbed me the wrong way. They certainly increased the stakes and forwarded the plot, but they didn't necessarily sit well with me personally.
Overall I enjoyed it! Would read another book by this author, especially to see if the problems are because of when this book was written (don't know if it's early or late in writing career or is a one-off), but probably not going to be a favourite any time soon
I loved the main characters, particularly Brivar—in the first section, he was honestly the only reason I kept reading—and the way their arcs were handled. The characters are flawed and are portrayed as such, but are incredibly relatable. The complexity of the cast, their backstories, and their relationships was gripping and made this a fascinating read.
The world-based conflict was also fascinating. While the setting is a rather standard medieval fantasy, the illness the plot is based around is such an interesting topic. I love the way it is set up and developed, though I wish this had been more consistently paced throughout. There were some things I as a reader would have liked to learn more about, particularly the religious side. And as much as I loved the illness, the book is a book about a fantasy disease with a doctor as a main PoV, so I was anticipating delving into that a little more. (This may just be because I was raised by a doctor and am going into medical editing if I can, so take this with a grain of salt.)
This book is very slow to get going, however. The beginning drags due to a combination of several things:
Consistently throughout the book, there are places where events are summarized rather than written out in scenes. In the beginning (and somewhat at the end), these summaries are events that would have been less confusing if written out as scenes, or omitted entirely. There's also places where it's the inverse—scenes that dragged and would have been more effective as summaries. This mostly happens in the beginning, and I was considering DNFing at several points until I hit part two.
After part two, things look up pacing-wise. This section acts on the setup of the first part (which was too long, in my opinion) and starts solving the problem. So the plot takes an incredibly long time to get moving, though once it's moving it's exciting. (I was up late for several nights in a row reading it.) The end felt like it could have been expanded on, and there were some parts that were too fast for me to keep up with, but it wasn't critical.
Some of the thematic elements of the story felt heavy-handed to me. Not exactly overemphasized, but not as well integrated as they could have been. Especially in the third section, honestly where I started feeling like things were rushed. There were also some plot points that felt like they were there for shock value, which rubbed me the wrong way. They certainly increased the stakes and forwarded the plot, but they didn't necessarily sit well with me personally.
Overall I enjoyed it! Would read another book by this author, especially to see if the problems are because of when this book was written (don't know if it's early or late in writing career or is a one-off), but probably not going to be a favourite any time soon
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Classism, Cursing, Mental illness, and Suicide
Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Genocide
Deals with themes of classism and epidemic control. Surgery mention. A main point of view character is a doctor who treats injuries (mostly minor) and the fantasy illness that the book is about. A character is pregnant and gives birth. A point of view character experiences mental illness. Elements of this mental illness are close to addiction, but externally are briefly described similarly to psychosis. A significant backstory character committed suicide, which continues to affect the characters. Contains a moderate amount of cursing. Sex is mentioned and implied, but not shown.
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