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3.1 AVERAGE
3.1 AVERAGE
I didn't have high hopes for this after the first 50 pages or so. It's wasn't quite info dumpy, but so many new terms were introduced without much explanation that I wasn't feeling it. I'm so glad I kept going though! I saw some of the twists at the end coming a mile away, but some of them I wasn't quite expecting. I'm really looking forward to the next one!
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Racism, War
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Death of parent
Bloodprint had a lot of potential for me to enjoy it: set on a fantasy Silk Road, strong female protagonists, religion, culture and magic intertwining.
But it failed to deliver on a lot of these promises.
Firstly the female main character spends the entire time either thinking about men, talking to men or lusting after men. She then proceeds to blush and/ or be cowed every time a man talks to her, which is so not my ideal for an interesting and enjoyable reading experience. Given that in the story she has been killing slave traders for the past decade either alone or with one other person I’d expect her to actually have a spine. Also, given that it’s a book that contains an all female council and two women leads- I can’t remember a single piece of dialogue or scene where men aren’t the subject of discussion or focus of the plot. It is annoying and fucking unrealistic ((this was written by a woman as well! I just don’t get it)). Either that or the women are being pitted against each other by how desirable they are to men.
Another note that irritated me, was the either unrealistic speed of travel or condensed cultures of Asia. They are in roughly the Middle East, and get to what Mongolia/ China so so so so so fast before quickly nipping up into Russia (?) for the finale. This is a journey that’d have taken months on horseback and foot and they make it in mere weeks from the way it’s portrayed. There’s a little bit of cultural mish mashing that’s taken place as well - for example the combo of living a ger and having the left army and right army- but I can live with that in fantasy, I only wish bigger changes had been made so it didn’t feel like such an awkward representation of actual places.
Adding to that was some of the unoriginality in the names and conflicts: Talisman= Taliban; the Authoritarian= an evil dictator (what a fucking surprise!). But that’s more cosmetic than anything.
I was really not liking the writing at the beginning, but I powered on and it grew on me by the end. Unfortunately I can’t say the same for the plot. Sadly can’t recommend this one.
But it failed to deliver on a lot of these promises.
Firstly the female main character spends the entire time either thinking about men, talking to men or lusting after men. She then proceeds to blush and/ or be cowed every time a man talks to her, which is so not my ideal for an interesting and enjoyable reading experience. Given that in the story she has been killing slave traders for the past decade either alone or with one other person I’d expect her to actually have a spine. Also, given that it’s a book that contains an all female council and two women leads- I can’t remember a single piece of dialogue or scene where men aren’t the subject of discussion or focus of the plot. It is annoying and fucking unrealistic ((this was written by a woman as well! I just don’t get it)). Either that or the women are being pitted against each other by how desirable they are to men.
Another note that irritated me, was the either unrealistic speed of travel or condensed cultures of Asia. They are in roughly the Middle East, and get to what Mongolia/ China so so so so so fast before quickly nipping up into Russia (?) for the finale. This is a journey that’d have taken months on horseback and foot and they make it in mere weeks from the way it’s portrayed. There’s a little bit of cultural mish mashing that’s taken place as well - for example the combo of living a ger and having the left army and right army- but I can live with that in fantasy, I only wish bigger changes had been made so it didn’t feel like such an awkward representation of actual places.
Adding to that was some of the unoriginality in the names and conflicts: Talisman= Taliban; the Authoritarian= an evil dictator (what a fucking surprise!). But that’s more cosmetic than anything.
I was really not liking the writing at the beginning, but I powered on and it grew on me by the end. Unfortunately I can’t say the same for the plot. Sadly can’t recommend this one.
Exceptionally original fantasy. Wonderful writing, a fantastic group of characters and an absolutely cracking story - highly recommended to everyone ever!
DNF, so no star rating.
Tried really hard but difficult to sustain interest in the story. The author's bio is impressive and I find that people who lead interesting lives write interesting books. So the incongruity was puzzling and maybe it's just a writing style. I liked the premise of the story. It's natural to wonder: is the Talisman the Taliban? How does the Voice work? Things did happen - the heroines free slaves, find treasure, have exciting fights, re-acquaint with old flames, deal with politics. So I'm at a loss to explain why it was less than a page-turner. Perhaps I'll get back to it another time and give it another try.
Tried really hard but difficult to sustain interest in the story. The author's bio is impressive and I find that people who lead interesting lives write interesting books. So the incongruity was puzzling and maybe it's just a writing style. I liked the premise of the story. It's natural to wonder: is the Talisman the Taliban? How does the Voice work? Things did happen - the heroines free slaves, find treasure, have exciting fights, re-acquaint with old flames, deal with politics. So I'm at a loss to explain why it was less than a page-turner. Perhaps I'll get back to it another time and give it another try.
Up until the last couple of chapters, I respected this book a lot more than I actually liked it. Khan's world building is excellent, with the confluence she creates between original ideas and historical interpretation yielding a rich and detailed backdrop against which the central plot of the novel takes place. Moreover, Khan's writing is heavenly in the evocations of even the most minute intricacies of the world she has created, and several passages are as wondrous to read as what they describe. However for most of the novel the "where" seemed more riveting than the "what" or "who".
The protagonist herself, Arian, is a compelling hero with enough dimension and complexity to make her still interesting to read about - not always the case with an unambiguously heroic and noble character, which she is. However, the rest of the cast could certainly use some development, especially as we mostly tend to view them as Arian does herself. On another note, Sinnia's characterisation starts and stops with being "the black best friend" with unfortunate implications. Furthermore, whilst the villains are undeniably cruel and apocalyptic in their scope, the solid delineation between good and evil (as well as the generalisation of entire groups) does harken back to the days when the fantasy genre was less developed in terms of characterisation. On a note of traditional fantasy (which, as a story inspired by historically Muslim countries, as well as aspects of the Islamic faith itself, this novel ultimately isn't- shoutout to diverse fantasy in general and this book for doing it well), there is a touch of preachiness to how the novel's internal mythology and dogma is presented, and while the philosophy espoused is largely positive, it may rub a few readers the wrong way- although I appreciated the clear inspirations to a religious tradition I had grown up in.
However, as the novel picks up pace, and especially as it gets closer to the end, the novel became exponentially more gripping, with the final chapters resolving the established arcs in a beautifully twisted fashion, making it impossible to resist picking up the next book in the series, in spite of the novel's flaws. I would definitely recommend it for those interested in fantasy, diverse storytelling, as well as Islamic and Middle Eastern/Central Asian history, given how the novel roots itself within it.
The protagonist herself, Arian, is a compelling hero with enough dimension and complexity to make her still interesting to read about - not always the case with an unambiguously heroic and noble character, which she is. However, the rest of the cast could certainly use some development, especially as we mostly tend to view them as Arian does herself. On another note, Sinnia's characterisation starts and stops with being "the black best friend" with unfortunate implications. Furthermore, whilst the villains are undeniably cruel and apocalyptic in their scope, the solid delineation between good and evil (as well as the generalisation of entire groups) does harken back to the days when the fantasy genre was less developed in terms of characterisation. On a note of traditional fantasy (which, as a story inspired by historically Muslim countries, as well as aspects of the Islamic faith itself, this novel ultimately isn't- shoutout to diverse fantasy in general and this book for doing it well), there is a touch of preachiness to how the novel's internal mythology and dogma is presented, and while the philosophy espoused is largely positive, it may rub a few readers the wrong way- although I appreciated the clear inspirations to a religious tradition I had grown up in.
However, as the novel picks up pace, and especially as it gets closer to the end, the novel became exponentially more gripping, with the final chapters resolving the established arcs in a beautifully twisted fashion, making it impossible to resist picking up the next book in the series, in spite of the novel's flaws. I would definitely recommend it for those interested in fantasy, diverse storytelling, as well as Islamic and Middle Eastern/Central Asian history, given how the novel roots itself within it.
The Bloodprint is the start to a new epic fantasy series with Middle Eastern cultural influences.
Arian’s homeland has been overtaken by the Talisman, a new organization that promotes an ideology of fear, ignorance, hatred of difference, and misogyny. As Companions of Hira, Arian and her friend Sinna are some of the few who openly fight the Talisman. They’ve spent the last decade traveling Talisman territory and freeing women from slave chains, but their efforts have not been enough to slow the Talisman’s rise. Then the leader of the Companions of Hira gives Arian a new quest: to locate and retrieve the Bloodprint, an ancient text that has the power to defeat the Talisman once and for all.
The heart of the Companions of Hira’s power lies in their knowledge of the Claim, the magical words of a sacred scripture. However, I kept wishing that I knew more about the Claim and the religion and magic of the world. For a book where the religion is so central to the plot, we sure don’t know much about it. For instance, who even was Hira? Where did the Companions come from? I’d guess that the author has much of this worked out, but it didn’t come across while I was reading The Bloodprint, which created problems with the world building. Another example would be how the narrative casually mentions about halfway through that the Companions of Hira are supposed to be celibate. This was after we’d already seen at least two Companions of Hira having sex. Why didn’t we find this out earlier?
Structure wise, The Bloodprint is basically a treasure hunt. Treasure hunt plot lines can be a ton of fun, but I generally think they need pretty snappy pacing. The Bloodprint dragged for over the first half and didn’t really pick up until Arian and her friends were beyond the Wall and in the dangerous lands beyond. I also kept feeling like Arian wasn’t driving the plot but was being driven along by it; she kept being manipulated and directed by other characters. Ending on a cliffhanger didn’t help the issues I had with The Bloodprint‘s structure, and it prevented the book from feeling like it had a plot arc of its own. I feel like this is part of a larger manuscript which was cut into pieces to make individual books.
On the topic of structure, I needed for The Bloodprint to have a stronger emotional heart. I would have liked to see more focus on Arian’s relationship to her missing sister (which is a major factor of her character motivation) or with her friend Sinna. Or how is her forming a friendship with Sinna disrupted by the trauma of her missing family? The Bloodprint had a lot of potential for a strong, emotional heart to the story, but I felt like none of them were ever fully developed. The closest it came was with the romance subplot.
I did not like the romance subplot. If you’ve been following my reviews for a while, you’ll know that I’m a hard sell when it comes to romance subplots. Often I’m just indifferent to them, but I hated this one. The love interest was so controlling! And he keeps saying that Arian “betrayed” him but then it turns out her “betrayal” was that she wasn’t willing to give up her position as a Companion of Hira. I was so done with this guy.
But back to the topic of Sinna. I had some concerns about her character. She’s basically Arian’s sidekick and she’s the only black character in the novel. I was sort of worried that she’d fall into the stereotype of black best friend/sidekick and never move beyond that. I wanted her to have her own distinct character arc and a tangible effect on the plot. She had neither. In fact, she disappeared towards the end and Arian didn’t seem to care much? It felt like everyone kind of forgot about her.
There were also a couple of minor villains who fell into stereotypical tropes. One’s an evil albino, although there’s a couple of other (even more minor) albino characters who aren’t portrayed in a negative light. Another is a man who molests and murders boys. I really hope the idea behind him is that “gay people = child molesters” but with the lack of queer characters, it’s hard to tell. Anyway, it gave me flashbacks to Dune and not in a good way.
One of the most interesting elements about The Bloodprint was how the Talisman had parallels to the Taliban; I don’t think it’s an influence I’ve ever seen in fantasy before. I do love how this story is centered around a female character who’s resisting patriarchal authority, although I did chafe at reading about such a violently patriarchal world where the heroines were under the constant threat of rape and brutalization.
Probably the most frustrating thing about The Bloodprint is that I could see the shape of a truly great fantasy novel within it, but the story wasn’t quite there yet and might have benefited from another round of edits.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
I received an ARC in exchange for a free and honest review.
Arian’s homeland has been overtaken by the Talisman, a new organization that promotes an ideology of fear, ignorance, hatred of difference, and misogyny. As Companions of Hira, Arian and her friend Sinna are some of the few who openly fight the Talisman. They’ve spent the last decade traveling Talisman territory and freeing women from slave chains, but their efforts have not been enough to slow the Talisman’s rise. Then the leader of the Companions of Hira gives Arian a new quest: to locate and retrieve the Bloodprint, an ancient text that has the power to defeat the Talisman once and for all.
The heart of the Companions of Hira’s power lies in their knowledge of the Claim, the magical words of a sacred scripture. However, I kept wishing that I knew more about the Claim and the religion and magic of the world. For a book where the religion is so central to the plot, we sure don’t know much about it. For instance, who even was Hira? Where did the Companions come from? I’d guess that the author has much of this worked out, but it didn’t come across while I was reading The Bloodprint, which created problems with the world building. Another example would be how the narrative casually mentions about halfway through that the Companions of Hira are supposed to be celibate. This was after we’d already seen at least two Companions of Hira having sex. Why didn’t we find this out earlier?
Structure wise, The Bloodprint is basically a treasure hunt. Treasure hunt plot lines can be a ton of fun, but I generally think they need pretty snappy pacing. The Bloodprint dragged for over the first half and didn’t really pick up until Arian and her friends were beyond the Wall and in the dangerous lands beyond. I also kept feeling like Arian wasn’t driving the plot but was being driven along by it; she kept being manipulated and directed by other characters. Ending on a cliffhanger didn’t help the issues I had with The Bloodprint‘s structure, and it prevented the book from feeling like it had a plot arc of its own. I feel like this is part of a larger manuscript which was cut into pieces to make individual books.
On the topic of structure, I needed for The Bloodprint to have a stronger emotional heart. I would have liked to see more focus on Arian’s relationship to her missing sister (which is a major factor of her character motivation) or with her friend Sinna. Or how is her forming a friendship with Sinna disrupted by the trauma of her missing family? The Bloodprint had a lot of potential for a strong, emotional heart to the story, but I felt like none of them were ever fully developed. The closest it came was with the romance subplot.
I did not like the romance subplot. If you’ve been following my reviews for a while, you’ll know that I’m a hard sell when it comes to romance subplots. Often I’m just indifferent to them, but I hated this one. The love interest was so controlling! And he keeps saying that Arian “betrayed” him but then it turns out her “betrayal” was that she wasn’t willing to give up her position as a Companion of Hira. I was so done with this guy.
But back to the topic of Sinna. I had some concerns about her character. She’s basically Arian’s sidekick and she’s the only black character in the novel. I was sort of worried that she’d fall into the stereotype of black best friend/sidekick and never move beyond that. I wanted her to have her own distinct character arc and a tangible effect on the plot. She had neither. In fact, she disappeared towards the end and Arian didn’t seem to care much? It felt like everyone kind of forgot about her.
There were also a couple of minor villains who fell into stereotypical tropes. One’s an evil albino, although there’s a couple of other (even more minor) albino characters who aren’t portrayed in a negative light. Another is a man who molests and murders boys. I really hope the idea behind him is that “gay people = child molesters” but with the lack of queer characters, it’s hard to tell. Anyway, it gave me flashbacks to Dune and not in a good way.
One of the most interesting elements about The Bloodprint was how the Talisman had parallels to the Taliban; I don’t think it’s an influence I’ve ever seen in fantasy before. I do love how this story is centered around a female character who’s resisting patriarchal authority, although I did chafe at reading about such a violently patriarchal world where the heroines were under the constant threat of rape and brutalization.
Probably the most frustrating thing about The Bloodprint is that I could see the shape of a truly great fantasy novel within it, but the story wasn’t quite there yet and might have benefited from another round of edits.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
I received an ARC in exchange for a free and honest review.
