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briang213's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
connorrooke's review against another edition
1.0
I could not finish this book. I certainly intended to, but after beating my head against just over 300 pages of clunky language, poor pacing, insufficient attention given to important events, excessive attention given to unimportant ones, all events simply being incredibly uninteresting, characters who I really, really don't care about in the slightest, I finally took the advice of several friends and have called it quits.
I was really looking forward to this book. It has some rave reviews. I don't understand how it received them.
A blurb on the back of the hardcover breathlessly declares that this book is "the Wuxia version of Game of Thrones" and I am bitterly forced to say that this is completely wrong.
A Game of Thrones succeeds in what it does because Martin takes the time to fully craft the world and the people in it. He puts the legwork in. His novels take the time to lay the groundwork for the twists and turns that follow. You meet the characters and become invested in them, you learn what they want, and see what they can and will do to get it. As you watch schemes unfold and see the characters act and react to the world around them, Martin plants seeds to direct your expectations and then either fulfills or subverts them in spectacular fashion. He EARNS every single epic moment and emotional twist.
The Grace of Kings does not.
The author is very clearly aiming for a grand, epic feel to the story but doesn't seem to understand how that is achieved. For example, one character, Mata, is over 8 feet tall and has two weapons he gives bombastic names but when he fights, there is no excitement. He just kills people. There's no choreography. There's no spark of emotion, no flair to the battle. He's just big and strong and kills people, because he's bigger and stronger than they are.
When big moments DO happen, when events that COULD feel grand and epic occur, the author rushes straight through them. A character encounters a giant snake and, in a rush of unaccustomed bravery, kills it. A bandit raid goes poorly and some people die and a leader feels bad. The gods themselves manifest before a mortal and it feels dull. Those of you who are reading this before reading the book, I assure you, in summing up these events I have provided exactly as much excitement and emotion as you would derive from reading them in the book itself.
There is no suspense. There is no build-up. Things happen and none of them matter. Cities are conquered and liberated and infiltrated, duels are fought, kingdoms won and lost, and I didn't feel anything.
The worldbuilding feels slapdash as well. There are seven nations vying with one another and there is little thought put into each of them. Attempts are made a fleshing out the social expectations and cultural attachments of the world, but they are perfunctory and hampered by the author's poor judgement in his use of language - an issue that plagues the book throughout. I understand that the use of fabricated languages and words can be used to provide a convincing atmosphere to a world, but it helps if these words aren't clunky and awkward. Further, there is zero benefit to providing fantasy words for things which already exist - "thakrido" is an unwieldy word that at least describes a concept unique to this world; a style of sitting that carries connotations of social superiority and power, but "tunoa" just means "grapes".
Further, I feel that the editor who allowed the use of the phrase "mano-a-mano" to appear in a fantasy novel that does not even have a Spanish language stand-in must have been asleep at the wheel. When I read that, I lost what little immersion in the world I'd had and I never got it back.
Adding in the additional bad choices that litter the way (a main character and protagonist orders hundreds of civilians buried alive, a sixteen foot long horse exists for some reason, etc), this book left a bad taste in my mouth and a regret for the time I wasted on it.
People say that to write successfully, you should show and not tell. The Grace of Kings tells you it's epic and exciting, but never shows you anything to prove it.
I was really looking forward to this book. It has some rave reviews. I don't understand how it received them.
A blurb on the back of the hardcover breathlessly declares that this book is "the Wuxia version of Game of Thrones" and I am bitterly forced to say that this is completely wrong.
A Game of Thrones succeeds in what it does because Martin takes the time to fully craft the world and the people in it. He puts the legwork in. His novels take the time to lay the groundwork for the twists and turns that follow. You meet the characters and become invested in them, you learn what they want, and see what they can and will do to get it. As you watch schemes unfold and see the characters act and react to the world around them, Martin plants seeds to direct your expectations and then either fulfills or subverts them in spectacular fashion. He EARNS every single epic moment and emotional twist.
The Grace of Kings does not.
The author is very clearly aiming for a grand, epic feel to the story but doesn't seem to understand how that is achieved. For example, one character, Mata, is over 8 feet tall and has two weapons he gives bombastic names but when he fights, there is no excitement. He just kills people. There's no choreography. There's no spark of emotion, no flair to the battle. He's just big and strong and kills people, because he's bigger and stronger than they are.
When big moments DO happen, when events that COULD feel grand and epic occur, the author rushes straight through them. A character encounters a giant snake and, in a rush of unaccustomed bravery, kills it. A bandit raid goes poorly and some people die and a leader feels bad. The gods themselves manifest before a mortal and it feels dull. Those of you who are reading this before reading the book, I assure you, in summing up these events I have provided exactly as much excitement and emotion as you would derive from reading them in the book itself.
There is no suspense. There is no build-up. Things happen and none of them matter. Cities are conquered and liberated and infiltrated, duels are fought, kingdoms won and lost, and I didn't feel anything.
The worldbuilding feels slapdash as well. There are seven nations vying with one another and there is little thought put into each of them. Attempts are made a fleshing out the social expectations and cultural attachments of the world, but they are perfunctory and hampered by the author's poor judgement in his use of language - an issue that plagues the book throughout. I understand that the use of fabricated languages and words can be used to provide a convincing atmosphere to a world, but it helps if these words aren't clunky and awkward. Further, there is zero benefit to providing fantasy words for things which already exist - "thakrido" is an unwieldy word that at least describes a concept unique to this world; a style of sitting that carries connotations of social superiority and power, but "tunoa" just means "grapes".
Further, I feel that the editor who allowed the use of the phrase "mano-a-mano" to appear in a fantasy novel that does not even have a Spanish language stand-in must have been asleep at the wheel. When I read that, I lost what little immersion in the world I'd had and I never got it back.
Adding in the additional bad choices that litter the way (a main character and protagonist orders hundreds of civilians buried alive, a sixteen foot long horse exists for some reason, etc), this book left a bad taste in my mouth and a regret for the time I wasted on it.
People say that to write successfully, you should show and not tell. The Grace of Kings tells you it's epic and exciting, but never shows you anything to prove it.
thfh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? Yes
4.75
duriens's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
2.5
bgil789's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? Yes
4.0
rocketdea's review against another edition
Me rindo. Y me jode porque de verdad quería que me flipara.
Me gusta la historia, pero la forma en que se cuenta hace que pierda todo el interés. Si estuviera narrado de otra manera estoy seguro de que me encantaría, porque de verdad que el argumento me gusta mucho, pero el cómo simplemente no es para mí.
Me gusta la historia, pero la forma en que se cuenta hace que pierda todo el interés. Si estuviera narrado de otra manera estoy seguro de que me encantaría, porque de verdad que el argumento me gusta mucho, pero el cómo simplemente no es para mí.
mlkelly14's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
annchen_23's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
chiaseedreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5