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sarahmariaq's review
adventurous
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
5.0
jesslynh's review
5.0
Better than its predecessor
These books were already on my auto-buy list, they've also been added to the 'I'll be rereading multiple times' list as well. Great work Ms. Gilman.
These books were already on my auto-buy list, they've also been added to the 'I'll be rereading multiple times' list as well. Great work Ms. Gilman.
suzemo's review
5.0
This is the continuation of the story of Isobel née Lacayo Távora, the Devil's Left Hand from Silver on the Road.
I still really enjoy this series, and I'm a little annoyed with myself for not reading it earlier. It's a great set up with great alternate world building. Like, but not quite like, our land. And definitely not quite like our history.
Izzy is still traveling the Road with Gabriel as her mentor. In this book, something terrible has happened, and while she is still the Devil's Left Hand, it's not his power talking to her to tell her to dispense justice. She has to discover what it is that's causing the illness in the land (death, earthquakes) and deal with all of the parties involved.
There is some light political intrigue involving the Americans (particularly Jefferson), and I think it's interesting and vague enough to keep me wondering what is coming without being too obvious about where the story is going to go.
The world building is great - using real information and making it shift, just a bit. It's our world, but not. And while I can see how people may not like the pacing, it makes traveling the Road seem more tangible (I mean, wouldn't it be slow?). Adding all of that and you realize that Iz is a 16 year old, and this is also a coming of age story while being a fantasy, alternative landscape. It's fun.
I am looking forward to the last book in the Trilogy, and somewhat saddened that it is only a trilogy.
I still really enjoy this series, and I'm a little annoyed with myself for not reading it earlier. It's a great set up with great alternate world building. Like, but not quite like, our land. And definitely not quite like our history.
Izzy is still traveling the Road with Gabriel as her mentor. In this book, something terrible has happened, and while she is still the Devil's Left Hand, it's not his power talking to her to tell her to dispense justice. She has to discover what it is that's causing the illness in the land (death, earthquakes) and deal with all of the parties involved.
There is some light political intrigue involving the Americans (particularly Jefferson), and I think it's interesting and vague enough to keep me wondering what is coming without being too obvious about where the story is going to go.
The world building is great - using real information and making it shift, just a bit. It's our world, but not. And while I can see how people may not like the pacing, it makes traveling the Road seem more tangible (I mean, wouldn't it be slow?). Adding all of that and you realize that Iz is a 16 year old, and this is also a coming of age story while being a fantasy, alternative landscape. It's fun.
I am looking forward to the last book in the Trilogy, and somewhat saddened that it is only a trilogy.
qalminator's review
5.0
Very good addition to the series. I love Gilman's version of an alternate, magical wild west, with the Territory having its own special rules. It's also good to see characters fail now and then, only to come back stronger.
Additionally, Isobel and Gabriel are well-crafted characters who continually delight and surprise. It's refreshing to have a book where the main protagonists are a male and a female, where there is no real sign of romance. There are occasional hints that something _could_ develop, but I might just be seeing those because it's where that sort of setup usually goes. They could just as easily come to think of each other as near-siblings, and those bits would still make sense. It's not that I dislike romantic subplots; I just get tired of them being in EVERYthing.
We find out a bit more about the America of their time in this one. Jefferson is president, so it's around the time, in our west, of the Louisiana Purchase. Most of that area, if not all, is part of the Territory, so acquiring it is not a simple matter of negotiation with the French. No, the Devil controls the Territory, and the Americans will go to problematic lengths to try and take it from him.
Additionally, Isobel and Gabriel are well-crafted characters who continually delight and surprise. It's refreshing to have a book where the main protagonists are a male and a female, where there is no real sign of romance. There are occasional hints that something _could_ develop, but I might just be seeing those because it's where that sort of setup usually goes. They could just as easily come to think of each other as near-siblings, and those bits would still make sense. It's not that I dislike romantic subplots; I just get tired of them being in EVERYthing.
We find out a bit more about the America of their time in this one. Jefferson is president, so it's around the time, in our west, of the Louisiana Purchase. Most of that area, if not all, is part of the Territory, so acquiring it is not a simple matter of negotiation with the French. No, the Devil controls the Territory, and the Americans will go to problematic lengths to try and take it from him.
skybalon's review against another edition
4.0
This is a review of the trilogy as a whole. It is an interesting alternate history/magical historical realism type tale that almost but doesn't completely deliver on its promises. But it delivers on enough of them that it is still well worth the read.
eric_conrad's review
4.0
A worthy successor to the first book in the trilogy as Isobel and Gabriel continue their journey through the Territory.
midrel's review
3.0
Though it is generally something I am well aware of, some books keenly remind me that there is no such thing as objective reviews. We all can only judge mostly from where we stand, from the vantage point of what we like. Fiction is not poetry (unless it is) where you can grab ahold of things like meter and the like to help yourself as you feel along the perceived boons and faults of a piece.
This is one such book for me. The slow travail of Isobel through the Road, the detailed description of fields and valleys, of sunsets and sundows and campfire cooking-I could well see there are some people who would be utterly enthralled, willing to soak in and simmer in it all, delighting, like Gabriel, in every moment without demanding the next.
Thats me, too. But only to a point. There were many instances in which this, like its predecesor, felt too meandering, too happy to simply loll about. What other people would have enjoyed, I found an active deterrent to my own enjoyment. And yet I could not put the book away, because to some degree the Territory had entrapped me too. As mentioned in the last entry, I still find the Worldbuilding fascinating, the idea of a magic's up Wild West, and I want to know how will Isobel come out looking at the end of it all.
Inevitably, I will look up the third installment at some point, fully knowing that it, like this entry, will hold a delight for many but that for me it will be half-treat and half-struggle.
And yet somehow still very much worth every moment of it.
This is one such book for me. The slow travail of Isobel through the Road, the detailed description of fields and valleys, of sunsets and sundows and campfire cooking-I could well see there are some people who would be utterly enthralled, willing to soak in and simmer in it all, delighting, like Gabriel, in every moment without demanding the next.
Thats me, too. But only to a point. There were many instances in which this, like its predecesor, felt too meandering, too happy to simply loll about. What other people would have enjoyed, I found an active deterrent to my own enjoyment. And yet I could not put the book away, because to some degree the Territory had entrapped me too. As mentioned in the last entry, I still find the Worldbuilding fascinating, the idea of a magic's up Wild West, and I want to know how will Isobel come out looking at the end of it all.
Inevitably, I will look up the third installment at some point, fully knowing that it, like this entry, will hold a delight for many but that for me it will be half-treat and half-struggle.
And yet somehow still very much worth every moment of it.
hoperu's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars. This one is very much a middle book - not a lot of character development compared to the first book, the plot is a bridge to something coming. Not bad, just a little less captivating than the first one.
mandygris's review
3.0
2.5 stars. I will read the third novel because I am very curious to see what happens and the author has left us with a fair share of questions which MUST be answered!
Book 2 did have its share of problems - mostly with pacing and repetition. I wonder if some of the lengthy periods of "nothing happening" on the road was for realistic effect; I don't really mind the quiet moments because Gilman's descriptions are evocative and immersive. Though I'm bored of our lovely protagonist sticking her hand to the ground in problem situations and then spiralling into the earth. It reminded me of using the same move every time in a turn-based RPG - busy work.
Maybe I'm just a in a book-funk lately. I've been a bit of a grump. What do you think? Is it just the grump, or am I on to something here?
Book 2 did have its share of problems - mostly with pacing and repetition. I wonder if some of the lengthy periods of "nothing happening" on the road was for realistic effect; I don't really mind the quiet moments because Gilman's descriptions are evocative and immersive. Though I'm bored of our lovely protagonist sticking her hand to the ground in problem situations and then spiralling into the earth. It reminded me of using the same move every time in a turn-based RPG - busy work.
Maybe I'm just a in a book-funk lately. I've been a bit of a grump. What do you think? Is it just the grump, or am I on to something here?