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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
I need to let this sink for a bit but let me tell you I was not disappointed!
Okay... I'm ready...
So... I loved this. After finishing the Air Awakens series I was wondering if Elise Kova could write another series with characters that I would love as much as that cast. And against my expectations, I did! I fell in love with these characters slower than with Air Awakens but I definitely fell in love with them.
The story is told from multiple point of views and all of them have their own personality and voices that truly resonate throughout the whole book. No character is the same, each and every one of them has their own (hidden) agenda and have a different line that they will draw when things go to far.
Ari, one of our main characters, totally reminds me a bit of Celaena from the Throne of Glass series. She is a woman who knows what she wants, who knows what her talents are and is willing to use them to reach her goals. I prefer this type of character a lot more than the ''Oh-I-am-oh-so-talented-but-I-will-not-recognise-this-and-deny-it-even-though-I-must-use-my-talents-to-do-this-or-that''. They bug the hell out of me. But not Ari! Ari has a lot of mystery surrounding her and I can't wait to find out what she is hiding (EVA?!).
Flor is adorable. She is the kind of girl that I would love to have as my baby sister. She is kind, strong, optimistic and smart. Absolutely wonderful (and very creative with certain powders, love!).
Cvareh... Well let's just say that I wasn't on his side at the beginning. After reading the first Leona POV chapter I thought that he must be a d*ck. And seeing how Ari viewed dragons, that also didn't help his case with me. But then we got to know him a bit better and I started to like him.
This book is a great start I think to this series. There are still so many questions left unanswered and we have seen so little of this new world that Elise Kova has build. I can't wait to discover it all! The thing that I loved the most about this world as of right now are the guilds and their history. They sound so awesome!
Which is another reason why I'm really looking forward to all the Guild Games rewards that will be unlocked. My most anticipated one? Hopefully a character profile of one of the dragon characters. I as of right now imagine them as colourful dragons without wings and a bit humanoid but I have no clue if I'm right or not.
If you want to join the Guild Games you can check out this website to find out more: http://elisekova.com/the-guild-games/
I can highly recommend all the 5 guilds but possibly the Revolver one a bit more because I'm the Vicar Revolver ;) (https://www.facebook.com/groups/RevolversGuild)
I shall now quit the gushing, I think you all get the point. I loved this book. Please read it when it comes out.
A lovely twist on the normal fantasy world with creatively original creatures that are not the normal humdrum of fantasy. And although there are creatures named dragons in the book, they are certainly not dragons in the normal sense of the word.
As an engineer, I admit I may be a bit biased in my love of the science and engineer-inspired storyline and universe. It was so well made, with great worldbuilding and original and inspired things going on, that were well thought through.
The plot revolves around the clash between the societies of the two different species of humanoids: The Fenthri and the Dragons.
The Dragons who live on floating islands in the sky above the clouds. They have a feudal system that focuses on the right of might, it is very brutal with fights even between family members being the norm. Their society is build up around their family names, and their name is their badge of honor. Also, the dragons have magic abilities and the power of the magic can be passed on through ingestion of flesh and blood.
The Fenthri live on the ground on Loom below the layer of clouds that rarely let even a single ray of sun through. They place much value on logic and science, and the society is build up around five guilds being the basis of their groupings, family are less important than the guild you belong to.
The five guilds are:
* Rivets (engineering), Ravens (transport), Revolvers (weapons), Harvesters (siphon magic from dragon flesh), and Alchemists (medicine/chemistry).
The large conflict which the plot revolves around is that the Dragon King has taken control of the Fenthri society and tried to make it more logical in his view as a Dragon, than it was when the Fenthri themselves had built it up around what fit the worldview of the Fenthri. The Fenthri now can only be born into one guild depending on which one their parents belong to, and if they do not pass tests proving they are skilled in the learnings of their guild they are killed.
The Dragons have a slightly bigotted view of the Fenthri society and see as a backward people that are weak. They see it as their right to exploit the Fenthri, who have found ways to manipulate the magic of the Dragons and create machines that the Dragons themselves never thought of.
Arianna is a Chimera; a Fenthri infused with dragon magic, and therefore able to manipulate it. Furthermore, she is a master Rivet, with skills in thieving and she sees all the Dragons as her enemies.
Down from the Dragon kingdom comes Chaeve with plans of gettings his family's house on top in Dragon society, and both he and Arianna are in for a bit of education regarding each other's societies and their biased worldviews which was a wonderful thing to read, and the reader learns about the two respective worlds through their eyes.
The characters are wonderfully complex with inconsistencies in their behavior, due to conflicts within themselves that make them very real with flaws and strengths aplenty.
At times Arianna was a LITTLE too good for her own good, but in the end it makes sense WHY as you will know by the end of the book and how everything falls in to place.
Some similes were used that were a little silly to me which I also noted one too many times, but other than that, Kova did a GREAT job building a very detailed world. The characters were lovely and Kova is not afraid of killing characters, showing violence and having great action scenes. I will definitely be reading the next two books this month.
The dragons and chimera and what they can do was a lot of fun.
From my understanding, the main character is Bi, which I liked. I hope more is talked about that if I keep reading.
