Reviews

Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K.J. Parker

videoglee's review

3.0

It's probably a bit higher than 3 stars. The writing / storytelling style got a bit old at the end. I liked the historical framing and the unreliability.
I feel like the historical fantasy aspects in combination with the racist themes were underexplored

mrlmnop's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

janefstevens's review

lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Very strange world building. Part political commentary, part re-hash of medieval engineering ideas. 

meecespieces's review

adventurous dark funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Death, and War

arashi17's review

funny tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

stevematt's review against another edition

funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

cultofshezmu's review against another edition

adventurous funny inspiring lighthearted tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

jrlagace's review against another edition

adventurous funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

readerworm28's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny tense 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? Yes

4.25

itsfreelancer's review

4.0

4.5 rounding down.
I didn't think I'd like this as much as I did.

Bloody hell, this was brilliantly done. What happens when you have an engineer in charge of your bloody defence? Specially when he lies, gambles and does everything not to do what people expect. Yep, you're in for a ride.

They're under siege. They're trapped.
But they have an unconventional hero.

Read the synopsis of book 2 and welp, the character changes. But hey if that's as good as this one, that shouldn't be a problem. You can read this as a standalone and if you like it as much as I did, go for the trilogy.