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4.34 AVERAGE
4.34 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
reflective
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:
Complicated
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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
I loved reading this book. Much more than I expected. I loved the story, the characters, the writing, the insight, the perspective, whatever. I could hardly put it down. It felt intelligent, well thought-out, and cohesive. It feels like a team put a lot of care into making this happen. It's given me so much to think about.
I hesitated to pick up this book for so long because of its criticisms. So I want to comment on my thoughts there, in case anyone would want further insight.
I hesitated to pick up this book for so long because of its criticisms. So I want to comment on my thoughts there, in case anyone would want further insight.
- Yes, this book is incredibly direct about what it is trying to tell you, but I don't think that's a bad thing, nor do I think sugar coating things would have made the book better. I think if the message is too uncomfortable, or if you've already heard it a lot as someone who already subscribes to it, or if you are already disliking the book for other completely valid reasons, you will probably find it excessive.
- No, this is not difficult to read. Kuang's writing is effortless to digest, there is much, much worse. And similarly, the footnotes weren't annoying. They were great and interesting and gave additional detail and context that I enjoyed. It's not Tolkien (bless his rambling heart) - Don't let the page count intimidate you.
- Yes, I agree that aspects of the book fail to reach specific expectations of the fantasy genre on worldbuilding, and I cannot blame people from getting the wrong idea from the marketing. It's more of a historically-inspired fiction novel with a bit of magic to enable it. You will not be amazed at a complex and juicy magic system and a cool alternate world. The book indeed could have been made even better through that - I just think it wasn't necessary, and would have made for a longer book, or perhaps even a distraction from its real purpose.
- Yes, I agree that an overwhelming amount of characters part of a targeted group are "bad" in some way, shape or form. However, I don't think they're all evil. I think there is a lot of nuance and variety into how the "bad" manifests itself. In my opinion, I don't think "bad" characters can only be made complex or interesting by injection of good. They definitely could have been more good, but I don't think it was at odds with the storytelling. They were certainly all human.
I think if you already liked another of Kuang's books, you will like this one. I came to this from having enjoyed The Poppy War and from wanting to be up to date on her repertoire before going into Katabasis - I am reading Yellowface next. I think you will especially like Babel if you have an interest in foreign languages and linguistics overall.
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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
dark
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
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
I really liked this book's premise. I can't decide if I'm happy it was just one book or if I wish it had been a series to give the events more time to unfold and readers more time to get to know the characters, but it was an enjoyable read regardless.