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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I broke my "e-book only" rule and ordered this because it looked like I would really enjoy it, and I did indeed! It has a great epic fantasy feel to it, but the characters are very well fleshed out and enjoyable. The conceit of these extremely dis-compassionate and capricious immortal figures was very intriguing, and all the "king-capades" (as I like to call this genre) were interesting because the characters aren't totally cookie-cutter. Will read the next two for sure! (FOR SOME REASON 2 and 3 ARE PURCHASABLE IN E-BOOK! GRR!)
adventurous
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A thoroughly silly, but strangely entertaining read. Lovable characters, acceptable dramatic arc, and generally good language and writing. A book that is difficult to take seriously, but very easy to like.
I say this as an avid fan of Jennifer Fallon. I hated this book. The only reason I waited until almost the end to call it quits is because her series’ always get better after the first book. But never before have I given any of her books a rating under 3 stars.
The queer rep is terrible, in that literally only the people we’re supposed to dislike are queer, and it’s not portrayed very well at all, on so many levels.
We get one bisexual character who is a douchebag, and not with any real motivations, just to have a villain of some kind in the story. He is definitely the worst queer representation I’ve ever seen.
We also have a gay character whose wife knows he’s gay, is basically his beard, and tries to do what she can to get him to have a child with her for appearance’s sake. But he is so grossed out by women that he can’t even hold hands with one, & literally can’t. Even though she is his friend.
Misogynistic societal grossness aside, this is not how being gay works.
The women are treated horribly. I’m used to reading a lot of adult fantasy and historical fiction, so I’m pretty desensitized to the misogyny so rampant in those genres. But this is the literal worst I’ve ever seen.
The worst part is a young teenage girl who flirts with older men every chance she gets. She doesn’t have a POV, we just get the POV of the men, who slut-shame her nonstop in their internal monologue.
But this is far from the only mistreatment of female characters.
There is a lot of rape that is treated very insensitively. It’s not just the fact that there is rape, it’s the fact that even the heroes of the story seem to think rape is good for the woman like it is for the man.
The one time someone stands up for a woman being raped, it’s treated like a heroic act that no one had thought of before, when really it’s just...being a decent human.
This also has the most insensitive exploration of the theme of slavery I have ever encountered. There is a whole race of animal people who were brought into existence specifically to be slaves, and they’re enslaved for thousands of years. Even if it weren’t equating slaves to literal animals, the way it is portrayed would be insensitive.
Jennifer Fallon writes about slavery in her other books as well, and it’s nowhere near as insensitive as this is.
Also, there is a mention of beastiality. It happens off-scene and is just mentioned, but it’s SO GROSS.
Also, there are a lot of plot holes, POVs that are not needed, and a lot of boring backstory that adds nothing to the plot. The world building and the magic system are horribly arbitrary, and this book just sucked overall.
I’m not even going to read the rest of the series now, because even if the 2nd book is fantastic, it’s not really a good recommendation for my booktube audience unless someone wants to slog through this one and all of its insensitive commentary first.
The queer rep is terrible, in that literally only the people we’re supposed to dislike are queer, and it’s not portrayed very well at all, on so many levels.
We get one bisexual character who is a douchebag, and not with any real motivations, just to have a villain of some kind in the story. He is definitely the worst queer representation I’ve ever seen.
We also have a gay character whose wife knows he’s gay, is basically his beard, and tries to do what she can to get him to have a child with her for appearance’s sake. But he is so grossed out by women that he can’t even hold hands with one, & literally can’t. Even though she is his friend.
Misogynistic societal grossness aside, this is not how being gay works.
The women are treated horribly. I’m used to reading a lot of adult fantasy and historical fiction, so I’m pretty desensitized to the misogyny so rampant in those genres. But this is the literal worst I’ve ever seen.
The worst part is a young teenage girl who flirts with older men every chance she gets. She doesn’t have a POV, we just get the POV of the men, who slut-shame her nonstop in their internal monologue.
But this is far from the only mistreatment of female characters.
There is a lot of rape that is treated very insensitively. It’s not just the fact that there is rape, it’s the fact that even the heroes of the story seem to think rape is good for the woman like it is for the man.
The one time someone stands up for a woman being raped, it’s treated like a heroic act that no one had thought of before, when really it’s just...being a decent human.
This also has the most insensitive exploration of the theme of slavery I have ever encountered. There is a whole race of animal people who were brought into existence specifically to be slaves, and they’re enslaved for thousands of years. Even if it weren’t equating slaves to literal animals, the way it is portrayed would be insensitive.
Jennifer Fallon writes about slavery in her other books as well, and it’s nowhere near as insensitive as this is.
Also, there is a mention of beastiality. It happens off-scene and is just mentioned, but it’s SO GROSS.
Also, there are a lot of plot holes, POVs that are not needed, and a lot of boring backstory that adds nothing to the plot. The world building and the magic system are horribly arbitrary, and this book just sucked overall.
I’m not even going to read the rest of the series now, because even if the 2nd book is fantastic, it’s not really a good recommendation for my booktube audience unless someone wants to slog through this one and all of its insensitive commentary first.