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reddeddy's review
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Death, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Trafficking, Blood, Classism, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Body horror, Gore, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Slavery, Xenophobia, Racism, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and War
Moderate: Grief, Misogyny, Confinement, Cursing, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Animal death, Alcohol, Bullying, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Genocide, Animal cruelty, Dysphoria, Racial slurs, and Sexism
Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Infidelity, Child death, Outing, Homophobia, Sexual harassment, Torture, Child abuse, Biphobia, Antisemitism, Chronic illness, Police brutality, Drug use, Sexual assault, Cultural appropriation, Body shaming, Islamophobia, Infertility, Physical abuse, and Rape
cutiemuffin23's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Torture, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Colonisation, Slavery, War, Xenophobia, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Sexism
Minor: Emotional abuse, Cultural appropriation, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Antisemitism, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Infidelity, Infertility, Biphobia, Homophobia, Grief, Confinement, Child death, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Incest, and Alcohol
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
This generally avoids infodumps by making sure that, when exposition is necessary, it comes in the form of telling someone information that’s truly new to them. Sometimes that’s a briefing for an unfamiliar situation, other times it’s a story around the fire. A lot of these explanations happen early on, and it seemed like a bit much at first (there are a lot of tribes, for one), but the main narrative only demands consistent recognition of three or four tribal names so it wasn't overwhelming once the story got going. The two main characters have very different lives and knowledge bases, and that works together to give the reader a fuller picture of the world and the secondary characters.
I love the political wrangling and intrigue. Ali is pretty blunt, surrounded by much more subtle players with complicated aims, and there are a few places where people use insider terms to tell him what’s going on but he doesn’t realize that a double meaning is involved. Later when Mahri becomes immersed in it she's a much savvier player with the information she does have, and I'm looking forward to how she handles things as the the trilogy progresses. I love heists and thieves, so having Mahri the con artist as a protagonist is a treat. She's self confident but wary of the situation, and that blend of prowess and uncertainty is truly delightful. There's something great about taking a person highly skilled in one arena and dropping them into a wholly different one that brings out their known and unknown strengths in intriguing ways. Dara isn't a point of view character, and I think that's because he knows too much to be a good narrator. The story is so much richer for his presence, but he's stingy with information, doling it out only when he thinks Mara needs to know something, which is often well after he's acted on the knowledge. This leaves her to pick up the pieces each time, in turns fond of and exasperated by him as he drifts in and out of the scene.
The ending is rather shocking, managing grief and triumph as Mahri and Ali have to deal with sudden changes in the last chapters. It's not a twist of plot as much of the inevitability of consequence, as things that had been a little bit wrong for a while suddenly get out of control. I'm excited for the next one, I need to know what happens now.
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Torture, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Grief, Xenophobia, Racism, Colonisation, Genocide, Child abuse, Child death, Slavery, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Self harm, Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, and Death of parent
Minor: Antisemitism, Excrement, and Rape
CW for major character death (graphic).