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armedwithabook's review against another edition
3.0
The Wrack offers an in-depth look at the different key players in such dangerous times, adding in the aspect of religion whose narrative is not as prevalent in our media. The book starts off on an ominous tone and this continues throughout the story. Through multiple characters, whether it is the priests, the healers, the king and queen, the courtiers, children of the common people or captain of a ship – everyone is affected by the Wrack in some form and this book is the story of their confusion and survival. A journey into facing the mayhem head on and finding a way to defeat it. At times I found the religious groups, their differences, the animosity towards them hard to grasp, but overall, through the characters and the settings, the story did a good job of bringing it all together.
Reading Experience:
It takes a lot of imagination to look at a widespread pandemic situation from so many different angles. The Wrack is a commendable story and there is no doubt about the hard work that went into it! My only regrets – with the plethora of characters spread over a vast area, it was hard for me to connect with them. I wish I could have been on a longer journey with some characters. I also found the pace a bit slow and the conclusion a little bit hurried.
How close does this come to COVID, you may be wondering. It isn’t the same level and we aren’t living in that world. So, it really won’t be that terrifying a read! If you are looking for a light quick Fantasy, The Wrack is not the book for you. If you want to dive deep into the human psyche and what happens when a pandemic no one understand unleashes out of nowhere, then do pick up this book!
Many thanks to the author for providing a complimentary review copy of the book as part of blog tour organized by Storytellers on Tour.
Reading Experience:
It takes a lot of imagination to look at a widespread pandemic situation from so many different angles. The Wrack is a commendable story and there is no doubt about the hard work that went into it! My only regrets – with the plethora of characters spread over a vast area, it was hard for me to connect with them. I wish I could have been on a longer journey with some characters. I also found the pace a bit slow and the conclusion a little bit hurried.
How close does this come to COVID, you may be wondering. It isn’t the same level and we aren’t living in that world. So, it really won’t be that terrifying a read! If you are looking for a light quick Fantasy, The Wrack is not the book for you. If you want to dive deep into the human psyche and what happens when a pandemic no one understand unleashes out of nowhere, then do pick up this book!
Many thanks to the author for providing a complimentary review copy of the book as part of blog tour organized by Storytellers on Tour.
nick_borrelli's review against another edition
4.0
First of all, let's get to the elephant in the room shall we? This book is about a plague that ravages a city, an empire, and the land that surrounds it. Interesting timing to say the least, but one that we cannot fault the author for. He himself even comments on the awkward coincidence of releasing his book during these awful and uncertain times. Be that as it may, it has no bearing on the story itself once you immerse yourself in the fantasy world that John Bierce has created. Honestly, as I got deeper and deeper into the book, I found myself not even making the connection anymore and was able to just settle in and focus on this solidly crafted tale.
This book is obviously brutal when it comes to the subject matter. A story about a plague isn't really going to be a barrel of laughs. As we follow the plague known as the Wrack and its devastating effects on the populace, I was a little detached at times just because we never really get to become too invested in any particular character before we move on to the next grisly death. This is where I wished the book would have been a little longer as I feel like the short length really made it difficult to flesh the characters out and I would have liked more depth. However, I thought that the writing was excellent and the descriptions of every pain and convulsion that the Wrack brought down upon its victims was vividly detailed. So the prose was a definite plus for me.
Another of the major strengths was the world-building in my opinion. The setting of Lothain and its surrounding environs was exceptionally conceived and a suitably dark background for the high body count tale that plays out on its stage. The magic was also quite good, especially how the communication network between cities was handled through the use of semaphores. These are not the traditional semaphores that you are familiar with, I can guarantee that. And the method of conveying these messages was something that was very original and added a mystical element that strengthened the overall story.
Ultimately, I very much enjoyed THE WRACK despite a couple of minor issues that I had. It delivered a satisfying story that kept me turning the pages. Yes it is a dark book and not for the faint of heart, but there are also some touching and very human moments that make this more than just a one-trick pony. I look forward to revisiting this world in future books (should there be more) and also checking out some of John's other works.
This book is obviously brutal when it comes to the subject matter. A story about a plague isn't really going to be a barrel of laughs. As we follow the plague known as the Wrack and its devastating effects on the populace, I was a little detached at times just because we never really get to become too invested in any particular character before we move on to the next grisly death. This is where I wished the book would have been a little longer as I feel like the short length really made it difficult to flesh the characters out and I would have liked more depth. However, I thought that the writing was excellent and the descriptions of every pain and convulsion that the Wrack brought down upon its victims was vividly detailed. So the prose was a definite plus for me.
Another of the major strengths was the world-building in my opinion. The setting of Lothain and its surrounding environs was exceptionally conceived and a suitably dark background for the high body count tale that plays out on its stage. The magic was also quite good, especially how the communication network between cities was handled through the use of semaphores. These are not the traditional semaphores that you are familiar with, I can guarantee that. And the method of conveying these messages was something that was very original and added a mystical element that strengthened the overall story.
Ultimately, I very much enjoyed THE WRACK despite a couple of minor issues that I had. It delivered a satisfying story that kept me turning the pages. Yes it is a dark book and not for the faint of heart, but there are also some touching and very human moments that make this more than just a one-trick pony. I look forward to revisiting this world in future books (should there be more) and also checking out some of John's other works.
intotheheartwyld's review
2.0
When I initially picked this up, the idea and the plot synopsis caught my attention, a plague is running rampant in this fantasy world, and people are dying at tremendous speeds.
I'm going to be honest here, I started skipping chapters, I got bored, this became a literal chore for me to read. I very quickly lost interest the minute the plot stopped focusing on the plague and started heavily focusing on the world building. Only one other time have I ever felt like i was being burdened by too much world building. It got to the point where so many of the chapters just felt disconnected with the overall story, because they didn't mention the wrack at all.
There was no actual main character, a few came back a few times, but no one was ever around long enough to really build any liking towards. So I started thinking, ahh the main character is suppose to be the plague, this Wrack, but then that took a back seat as well, with all the unnecessary world building. I understand that Bierce was more then liking trying to get me to understand how this was affecting the world, but it just got to much.
Chapter two made zero sense to me, I have no clue how Semaphores work or what they actually look like, it was so confusing. Chapter 14 was the most annoying chapter to read, with all the titles of Illana being stated for paragraphs at a time, and it was done numerous times. There was so many instances where it just felt like there was a stretch for word count being done and it made frustrating. It was pretty much after this chapter that I started skipping pages and chapters.The only chapter that I enjoyed, and I say this lightly, was the chapter with the 3 individuals who were going around gathering names of the dead. It was the only actual dark and emotionally pulling chapter.
Ultimately the reveal of what the Wrack was also very disappointing. It was lackluster and honestly made the journey through the story not worth it for me. It honestly makes me feel less bad about skipping so much in the story.
The idea had so much potential, but so much got lost in over building the world and losing focus on the actual plague. The one super good thing, is that Cover, that its a gorgeous cover!
I'm going to be honest here, I started skipping chapters, I got bored, this became a literal chore for me to read. I very quickly lost interest the minute the plot stopped focusing on the plague and started heavily focusing on the world building. Only one other time have I ever felt like i was being burdened by too much world building. It got to the point where so many of the chapters just felt disconnected with the overall story, because they didn't mention the wrack at all.
There was no actual main character, a few came back a few times, but no one was ever around long enough to really build any liking towards. So I started thinking, ahh the main character is suppose to be the plague, this Wrack, but then that took a back seat as well, with all the unnecessary world building. I understand that Bierce was more then liking trying to get me to understand how this was affecting the world, but it just got to much.
Chapter two made zero sense to me, I have no clue how Semaphores work or what they actually look like, it was so confusing. Chapter 14 was the most annoying chapter to read, with all the titles of Illana being stated for paragraphs at a time, and it was done numerous times. There was so many instances where it just felt like there was a stretch for word count being done and it made frustrating. It was pretty much after this chapter that I started skipping pages and chapters.The only chapter that I enjoyed, and I say this lightly, was the chapter with the 3 individuals who were going around gathering names of the dead. It was the only actual dark and emotionally pulling chapter.
Ultimately the reveal of what the Wrack was also very disappointing. It was lackluster and honestly made the journey through the story not worth it for me. It honestly makes me feel less bad about skipping so much in the story.
The idea had so much potential, but so much got lost in over building the world and losing focus on the actual plague. The one super good thing, is that Cover, that its a gorgeous cover!
malorie's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
3.0
I want to begin by first acknowledging how truly eerie it must have been to be writing and releasing a book in tandem with the beginnings of an actual global pandemic. I can only imagine how strange that must have been.
And while this book is about a global epidemiological event, the Wrack itself is not a virus but a zoonotic parasite. We can take comfort in the thin veil of separation that this difference provides! All joking aside, this was an engaging read not just for its correlation with real-world events, but because of the way in which it is written—ideas that are captivating and unique coupled with a structure that is unconventional and that sometimes gets in the narrative’s way.
The Wrack follows no one person or perspective. In twenty-five chapters, we follow fifteen or so different characters from their perspective. I must admit that I lost count only because it became difficult to be emotionally invested in any of the characters immersed in this event because this novel is not about the characters at all—it is a story that centers wholly on the Wrack (the plague). This approach is unusual, and it does serve to propel an aspect of the plot into prominence as a character in its own right. However, it felt like I, as the reader, was continually being held at a distance to the story.
In having so many different small glimpses into various characters’ circumstances, the book felt more like reading a series of vignettes compiled into a montage than a cohesive narrative. Characters introduced early in the story—that were even sent off on seemingly important missions—were never picked up again. And, without giving too much away, characters introduced at the very end of the narrative wound up being instrumental to the resolution causing a sort of whiplash.
This narrative structural choice aside, the way The Wrack played out is intriguing. As we are experiencing now globally, pandemics are frequently periods of panic until suddenly a seemingly random breakthrough occurs that is truthfully the result of thousands of hours of dedicated research hidden from the public eye and, ultimately, the mythos that results. I do think that there is some reflection on that in the overall arc of the plague. However, I also found that because I could not connect to any of the characters, I didn’t necessarily have any emotional connection to the conclusion.
Keeping the reader at a distance is a persistent issue and is only compounded by the fact that we are removed entirely from the present action of the story in the final chapters. Throughout, we are following the course of the Wrack and the characters entrenched within it. Everything is happening in the present, and it is captivating even with the issues that I describe above! Yet, in the final chapters, we come to a resolution spoken as though it is the past tense, something that happened that is related to the reader from no particular point of view. It completely pulled me out of the emotional tension that could have been by grounding the narrative in the present action and making the reader privy to what was happening from the perspective of characters already involved.
Let me pause for a moment to say I am so detailed in these criticisms simply because the ideas present in this book are so good. I give it three stars because, while many of my complaints would have warranted a lower rating for me in many other books, there was also much to praise. The system of magic present with the Seers and Healers, and how gemstone eyes are used and transferred out to view different currents in the spirit realm, was fascinating. I would read a whole book centered on that system, and I looked at the author’s other work to see if this took place in the same universe just to see if I could! The semaphore towers that utilized these same currents to transmit messages was also an excellent piece of world-building. The Moonsworn and their gifted healing/seeing and the storytelling surrounding them in places reminded me a bit of the Orogenes in N. K. Jemison’s The Broken Earth trilogy (one of my favorite series).
The politics in the world are only hinted at, but what we are given is fascinating. The Empress’s throne of wires that transmits the vibrations of sound to echo through her kingdom was delightful, and there are glimpses into complex global politics of which I would have genuinely liked to see more. I think that there are ideas in this book that could have been fleshed out to joining the ranks of profoundly political fantasy like The Priory and the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon and The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson. I also believe that the Wrack itself could have loomed even larger had the politics of the people affected been shown to be absolutely ineffective and even farcical. Because what institution can stand in abstracted power alone against an unknown contagion that kills thousands with impunity?
So, here I am, with a bifurcated review filled with soaring praise and penetrating criticism. Three stars felt like an appropriate rating for me, and I will say that I am glad to have read this book! It is clever in its ideas, the prose is solid, and I read through the book at a fast pace. I was interested in what happened despite the things that I did not like. I think that anyone interested in immersive fantasy worlds will find something to love about this book. Beyond that, people engaged in fantasy that explores darker themes, particularly as it is very topically relevant, will also enjoy this book. It is worth picking up and spending time in the world, and, I think, to reflect on the present moment in our own.
And while this book is about a global epidemiological event, the Wrack itself is not a virus but a zoonotic parasite. We can take comfort in the thin veil of separation that this difference provides! All joking aside, this was an engaging read not just for its correlation with real-world events, but because of the way in which it is written—ideas that are captivating and unique coupled with a structure that is unconventional and that sometimes gets in the narrative’s way.
The Wrack follows no one person or perspective. In twenty-five chapters, we follow fifteen or so different characters from their perspective. I must admit that I lost count only because it became difficult to be emotionally invested in any of the characters immersed in this event because this novel is not about the characters at all—it is a story that centers wholly on the Wrack (the plague). This approach is unusual, and it does serve to propel an aspect of the plot into prominence as a character in its own right. However, it felt like I, as the reader, was continually being held at a distance to the story.
In having so many different small glimpses into various characters’ circumstances, the book felt more like reading a series of vignettes compiled into a montage than a cohesive narrative. Characters introduced early in the story—that were even sent off on seemingly important missions—were never picked up again. And, without giving too much away, characters introduced at the very end of the narrative wound up being instrumental to the resolution causing a sort of whiplash.
This narrative structural choice aside, the way The Wrack played out is intriguing. As we are experiencing now globally, pandemics are frequently periods of panic until suddenly a seemingly random breakthrough occurs that is truthfully the result of thousands of hours of dedicated research hidden from the public eye and, ultimately, the mythos that results. I do think that there is some reflection on that in the overall arc of the plague. However, I also found that because I could not connect to any of the characters, I didn’t necessarily have any emotional connection to the conclusion.
Keeping the reader at a distance is a persistent issue and is only compounded by the fact that we are removed entirely from the present action of the story in the final chapters. Throughout, we are following the course of the Wrack and the characters entrenched within it. Everything is happening in the present, and it is captivating even with the issues that I describe above! Yet, in the final chapters, we come to a resolution spoken as though it is the past tense, something that happened that is related to the reader from no particular point of view. It completely pulled me out of the emotional tension that could have been by grounding the narrative in the present action and making the reader privy to what was happening from the perspective of characters already involved.
Let me pause for a moment to say I am so detailed in these criticisms simply because the ideas present in this book are so good. I give it three stars because, while many of my complaints would have warranted a lower rating for me in many other books, there was also much to praise. The system of magic present with the Seers and Healers, and how gemstone eyes are used and transferred out to view different currents in the spirit realm, was fascinating. I would read a whole book centered on that system, and I looked at the author’s other work to see if this took place in the same universe just to see if I could! The semaphore towers that utilized these same currents to transmit messages was also an excellent piece of world-building. The Moonsworn and their gifted healing/seeing and the storytelling surrounding them in places reminded me a bit of the Orogenes in N. K. Jemison’s The Broken Earth trilogy (one of my favorite series).
The politics in the world are only hinted at, but what we are given is fascinating. The Empress’s throne of wires that transmits the vibrations of sound to echo through her kingdom was delightful, and there are glimpses into complex global politics of which I would have genuinely liked to see more. I think that there are ideas in this book that could have been fleshed out to joining the ranks of profoundly political fantasy like The Priory and the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon and The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson. I also believe that the Wrack itself could have loomed even larger had the politics of the people affected been shown to be absolutely ineffective and even farcical. Because what institution can stand in abstracted power alone against an unknown contagion that kills thousands with impunity?
So, here I am, with a bifurcated review filled with soaring praise and penetrating criticism. Three stars felt like an appropriate rating for me, and I will say that I am glad to have read this book! It is clever in its ideas, the prose is solid, and I read through the book at a fast pace. I was interested in what happened despite the things that I did not like. I think that anyone interested in immersive fantasy worlds will find something to love about this book. Beyond that, people engaged in fantasy that explores darker themes, particularly as it is very topically relevant, will also enjoy this book. It is worth picking up and spending time in the world, and, I think, to reflect on the present moment in our own.
jakeofonline's review
5.0
A powerful and troubling read. I enjoyed Bierce's other works a lot, but they didn't prepare me for how great a story this would be. He's truly stepped up his game. This tale of a mysterious pandemic comes at an interesting time, and I'm curious as to whether it will be a net positive or negative for the book that it releases during our own pandemic. For me, it helped provide an extra emotional punch.
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