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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
I really enjoyed this book, I was confused at times and everything only came together at the end but all in all very good.
I liked the fact that a fantasy book/series had rifles and cannons and a full military aspect about it, it was very refreshing contained to most of usual stuff I read.
The magic system doesn't make much sense to me still from what I can gather it's the taking of a spirit inside the person and each one does something different rather than the standard throwing fire and lightning about.
I will definitely be reading the next book in the series.
I liked the fact that a fantasy book/series had rifles and cannons and a full military aspect about it, it was very refreshing contained to most of usual stuff I read.
The magic system doesn't make much sense to me still from what I can gather it's the taking of a spirit inside the person and each one does something different rather than the standard throwing fire and lightning about.
I will definitely be reading the next book in the series.
Not sure what to make of it - the writing is really good, but the story was not my favorite. I felt like it dragged on, even if it was very action packed.
Read this on recommendation from io9.com. An excellent read and an intriguing story. Can't wait for the next one.
This is definitely a slow-burn, fantasy novel. It is different from anything I've read before In the fantasy genre. Really liked that the female characters are strong and intelligent and that one of the main POV characters is a female soldier.
The characters and setting for this book are great. It didn't get too bogged down in military jargon and was enjoyable throughout. From here, the series really expands greatly and evolves into something different so if this wasn't 100% your cup of tea, don't try the next book and see if you get hooked in. The magic system in this series is very interesting and plays a bigger role as the series progresses. I finished all four published books over the course of a month and they aren't exactly short!
Monstrous Regiment has completely ruined my ability to take the "girl dresses up like a boy to join the military" trope seriously at all. I'm sure this book is fine, but any second I expected for some coffee-addicted vampires to show up and explain why Christianity is bad.
"Upon my oath, I am not a violent man" - Fucking Marcus, Probably.
"Upon my oath, I am not a violent man" - Fucking Marcus, Probably.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The Vordani empire keeps an army in Khandar just to install or maintain power over their chosen puppet monarch, and after the Khandar people revolt against the stupid and venal prince, the Vordani colonial army is sent in to break the revolution. Marcus d'Ivoire and Winter Ihrenglass both serve in the Vordani empire's colonial army. Marcus came to Khandar to accompany his old military academy friend, and has actually created a good life for himself. Winter is in Khandar because it's as far as she could get from the workhouse she escaped from, and no one here suspects she's a woman. They both assume their orders to restore the Khandar prince are impossible and they'll soon return to the Vordani empire. But then Count Colonel Janus bet Vhalnich sails in, takes control of the colonial army, and restarts a war everyone thought was over. Marcus and Winter each strategize to keep their respective forces alive while fumbling toward understanding of Janus's true purpose.
I really liked this for a few hundred pages, until I realized that Khandar was never going to be anything more than the coded-Middle-East ~exotic~ setting in which desert nomads ambush the heroes and practice a terrifying religion. (The Vordani empire has a terrifying religion of their own, equally blatantly coded Western European Christian.) The two Khandar characters I thought were view point main characters like Marcus and Winter actually aren't--they get 1-2 chapters in total and otherwise exist entirely in the background of the white Vordani characters' arcs. Even if I could put aside the uncomfortable feelings of colonialism and racism, I was frustrated with how Marcus was written. I think I was supposed to think he and Janus had this great beginning of a sort of Holmes&Watson friendship, but I was just endlessly frustrated with Marcus missing obvious things likeAdrecht being awful, every single one of Janus's plans, and Jen manipulating him and how the narrative kept telling me that Janus was super brilliant/inscrutable/impressive/smart/the best swordsman/so sophisticated/blah blah blah. After the first three hundred pages the only thing that kept me reading was Winter, who (unlike Marcus or Janus) we actually see be a good strategist and actually seems like a good person. In the end she gets magic! So that's cool.
I really liked this for a few hundred pages, until I realized that Khandar was never going to be anything more than the coded-Middle-East ~exotic~ setting in which desert nomads ambush the heroes and practice a terrifying religion. (The Vordani empire has a terrifying religion of their own, equally blatantly coded Western European Christian.) The two Khandar characters I thought were view point main characters like Marcus and Winter actually aren't--they get 1-2 chapters in total and otherwise exist entirely in the background of the white Vordani characters' arcs. Even if I could put aside the uncomfortable feelings of colonialism and racism, I was frustrated with how Marcus was written. I think I was supposed to think he and Janus had this great beginning of a sort of Holmes&Watson friendship, but I was just endlessly frustrated with Marcus missing obvious things like
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation
Minor: Rape
adventurous
dark
slow-paced