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amyvbxx's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
fast-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
I really loved this book as a speed read. T. Kingfisher does an excellent job setting up their worlds in a very limited space. It really allows you to fully emerse yourself within the world even with so few pages to work with.
Oliver is a loveable character and having an armadillo as a familiar adds an oddity that really makes this book memerable
Oliver is a loveable character and having an armadillo as a familiar adds an oddity that really makes this book memerable
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse and Murder
starlitpage's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse and Child abuse
Moderate: Violence, Blood, and Kidnapping
Minor: Injury/Injury detail and Dementia
bexi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Blood, Cannibalism, Child death, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, and Child abuse
Minor: Dementia
emily_mh's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
This was a well-crafted novella. Kingfisher knows how to write a quest narrative! Often I find these to be filled with nonsensical obstacles thrown in to extend the story, but Kingfisher’s always serve a purpose beyond creating tension, and they also are tied up in who the characters are. The narrative was also well-structured, with the right amount of time spent at each stage of the quest.
I appreciated that Kingfisher actually acknowledged that traumatic events, such as being sent on a quest as a child by yourself, has an impact on a person. This is a concept rarely explored in fantasy.
There were a couple negatives. Oliver is our main character and while he undergoes development in regard to his confidence as a mage, I just wasn’t compelled by him as a person. As he is the one the story is focussed on, this was problematic for my enjoyment.
Another criticism is that the most interesting aspect of the world-building, the cloud herders, only comes in at the very end, so the world unfortunately feels bland up until that point.
While I do have these two critiques, I enjoyed my time with this novella overall.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Cannibalism, Murder, Gore, Physical abuse, Death, and Blood
Minor: Vomit, Dementia, Excrement, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Torture, Ableism, Fire/Fire injury, and Confinement
Major: drought Minor: loss of a loved one, earthquake, drowning, capital punishment, imprisonmentsurdiablo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Ah yes, the children's book with cannibalism that I have always wanted to read!
Well not really, the book is much more wholesome than that. It's a well written teen / children's story with the right amount of horror, humor and happiness. We got a minor mage who barely knows any spells but quite likeable, with a cute snarky armadillo as a sidekick. The story follows their adventure to bring back rain to their village and the scary encounters they face along the way. I don't necessarily think its unsuitable for children but I can see how some concepts would make people frown(view spoiler) but hey, there's definitely books scarier than this out there, like Coraline. The banter was pretty good and story itself was alright, albeit a bit slow in the beginning. I believe kids can read this without being traumatized for life :D
Well not really, the book is much more wholesome than that. It's a well written teen / children's story with the right amount of horror, humor and happiness. We got a minor mage who barely knows any spells but quite likeable, with a cute snarky armadillo as a sidekick. The story follows their adventure to bring back rain to their village and the scary encounters they face along the way. I don't necessarily think its unsuitable for children but I can see how some concepts would make people frown(view spoiler) but hey, there's definitely books scarier than this out there, like Coraline. The banter was pretty good and story itself was alright, albeit a bit slow in the beginning. I believe kids can read this without being traumatized for life :D
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Kidnapping, and Body horror
Minor: Child abuse and Bullying
rainstormdragon's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Murder, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, and Body horror
Minor: Blood, Death, Child abuse, Child death, Pedophilia, and Torture
Nonhuman creatures (ghuls) that eat people, references to a serial killer who targets little girls (with the implication that he does various worse things to them before killing them), fights in which people die, bandits who kill people and hold people for ransom, a magician who makes bone harps from murdered people
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