Reviews

The House of Binding Thorns by Aliette de Bodard

spacedlaw's review

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

frasersimons's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense 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

3.25

I still really like the setting in this, and it only gets more interesting in this one. I didn’t really remember the first book, other than it had a fun murder mystery, which this did not have, relying on the intrigue between houses and other powers to drive the narrative. It mostly succeeds at doing so, but does also have some dragging points, for me, since I was not that interested in that angle of the setting. 

emilyrandolph_epstein's review against another edition

5.0

An excellent follow-up to The House of Shattered Wings that builds, expands, and deepens the story, characters and mythology the first book established. I can't wait to read more in this series.

irobarte's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

sarabz's review against another edition

4.0

Even better than the first book in the series, this was a lot of fun. You get to spend a lot of time in the dragon kingdom, which was so cool. And I especially liked the complexity in portrayals of good and bad - I don't think there were any characters that were good or evil in a unqualified way. Some were more sympathetic than others, but de Bodard uses the mutiple perspectives in the story very effectively to show the ways in which individual actions affect others, often in ways the actors aren't thinking about.

eol's review

dark emotional sad 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

the_discworldian's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

4.75

azu's review against another edition

4.0

Finished this one with the imperative need to read the next instalment in this series so yeah, I liked it. I was bored by Madeleine's POV but I'm super fond of Thuan.

daniewho's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

joy6ish's review against another edition

4.0

Wow. Im impressed.
I didn't expect to love thuan as much as i did.

I already had a niggling interest in Asmodeus but i must say he's my favorite in spite of his flaws.

Madeline is a less irritating Character now. Im proud of her and her growth.

Did not give a fuck about philippe, he's always irritated me. But i am glad he found his happy ending.

All in all this book exceeded my expectations which were brought low due to book 1.

The conclusion was satisfactory.
Some twists i didn't expect.

Looking forward to reading more works by this author.

Also i love Asmodeus. Did i mention i love Asmodeus? More Asmodeus in the next book please. Especially his relationship with thuan. Here's hoping...