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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
It’s kind of hard not to call this a perfect book. There are definitely some ways the circumstances around my personal reading experience could have lessened the quality of the book in my eyes, but despite those, I think this book is brilliant. I’m not sure what else I can say. Bujold has done an excellent job here, and I’m sure I’ll be reading more of her books. I’m also sure (though it’s not often that I’ll think this about a book I’ve read) that I will be reading this book again. I can guarantee that.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
3.95/5-This novel is introspective and heavy on court intrigue. It’s slow to build and low on action, so readers will likely either love or hate those aspects. While this is primarily a character-driven story, I found myself wishing some of the characters weren’t so clearly black-and-white or overly perfect. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the world-building, especially the religion and the low-magic. This can be read as a standalone, but I believe it’s part of a series, and I’ll definitely be reading book two one day
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
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
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I absolutely loved this story even though I usually prefer fantasy with multiple points of view, but it was an absolute pleasure to inhabit Cazaril's head, and his journey from beginning to end is not so much transformative but rather revelatory, as he learns who he has been all along and what fruit his hard choices have born. A rather philosophical fantasy for all it has the requisite magical elements, it was a throughly enjoyable read, the audio has a lovely narrator and had the ending given us just a bit more detail and spent longer allowing the reader to enjoy the satisfying conclusion, it would have been a perfect book.
I don’t think I have the patience for this sort of writing anymore. It was good, but it also dragged along sometimes.
I loved it. How's that for a review?
Ok, a few other notes. To those who will try to read it, don't go in expecting some classic high fantasy. This book has no dragons or epic quests, well at least not of the typical hero journey variety. It has been compared to Jane Austin and quite aptly. This is a story about people, about courts, about relationships, blood, titles, hopes and survival. The characters all have a wonderful firmness to them. One might say--if I venture an inside joke for those who have read it--they are all made of matter.
Read it and enjoy the smile it leaves you in the end.
Ok, a few other notes. To those who will try to read it, don't go in expecting some classic high fantasy. This book has no dragons or epic quests, well at least not of the typical hero journey variety. It has been compared to Jane Austin and quite aptly. This is a story about people, about courts, about relationships, blood, titles, hopes and survival. The characters all have a wonderful firmness to them. One might say--if I venture an inside joke for those who have read it--they are all made of matter.
Read it and enjoy the smile it leaves you in the end.