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3.23 AVERAGE
3.23 AVERAGE
i hope this is a prequel because i have so many questions.
4 stars. A very good and very quick fantasy novella! Can't wait to see more from Fran Wilde.
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
"An epic fantasy in miniature" is the perfect description of this book. It's a carefully conceived world, a kingdom with obvious and brilliantly worked out magic. In the hands of a different author, it would be 500 pages long and it could probably support that size narrative. What Wilde does with it instead is equally fascinating.
It also has the short story tendency towards spareness and elegance in the face of exuberance. I wish I knew more.
It also has the short story tendency towards spareness and elegance in the face of exuberance. I wish I knew more.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was so interesting as a tiny snapshot into the world – though I was left slightly disappointed by the amount of story we got. It felt like we were thrown mid story into a world that was fully functional, which I always love, but then that the story never actually...finished. It might be because the narrative is split between the travel guide from years in the future and the character perspectives, which technically does fill in the gaps, but I still felt like it cut off suddenly. I'll forgive it for that, though, as I loved guide inserts being used so much in this novella format.
If you can go with a different version, don't pick up the audiobook version of this. While the narrator is pretty good, the publisher has not paid enough attention to the editing. There's quite a few sentences that are just repeated for seemingly no reason. If this is also in the text, then I'll take my words back, but I'd also knock off a star as it's incredibly jarring.
If you can go with a different version, don't pick up the audiobook version of this. While the narrator is pretty good, the publisher has not paid enough attention to the editing. There's quite a few sentences that are just repeated for seemingly no reason. If this is also in the text, then I'll take my words back, but I'd also knock off a star as it's incredibly jarring.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Violence, Kidnapping
Moderate: Forced institutionalization
adventurous
fast-paced
Strong character development:
No
The audiobook could use some work there were often repeated sentences that didn't sound like they were meant to be repeated, and it happened quite frequently
I have difficulty getting into Fran Wilde's style of writing. But this was a very good short story.
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I picked this out as a palate cleanser in the midst of a massive book but it didn't click for me. I liked the narrator's voice but the audiobook had so many repeated phrases, I couldn't tell if they were part of the text or just not edited out correctly. I couldn't flip back to important contextual scenes at the beginning so I didn't understand the magic and decisions at the end. Cool concept but the format didn't work out for me.
I have never been more annoyed by the words Jewel and Lapidary then I am now after reading this. I understand that they are titles but holy moly were they used a lot. At one point I got Sima and Lin confused because I couldn’t tell which father was being referred too since apparently their fathers were Jewel/Lapidary partners as well.
The world building was meh for me, we got a small glimpse into this world protected by Jewels and Lapidaries but it didn’t really explain the point of a Jewel, unless I missed it. Lapidaries could speak to gems which was really neat and I loved that part, and you could tell some research was done in regards to what gems match what emotions.
It jumped straight into the story which was a plus and in a novella is needed for their length but it still somehow fell slightly flat. A whole type of people completely wiped out expect for 2 and then bam kid from other area has he same abilities. And I feel like the story behind him was kind of an after thought, and the villain was just your typical power hungry villain with no real back story.
It was mildly paced, confusing at times, and a bit on the annoying side with the title references and rules referenced to the lapidaries to follow (which some just didn’t feel like they connected when Sima referenced them at some points)
It’s a 3.5 for me just because I like the idea behind the Lapidaries and had this been more fleshed out it could have been really great.
The world building was meh for me, we got a small glimpse into this world protected by Jewels and Lapidaries but it didn’t really explain the point of a Jewel, unless I missed it. Lapidaries could speak to gems which was really neat and I loved that part, and you could tell some research was done in regards to what gems match what emotions.
It jumped straight into the story which was a plus and in a novella is needed for their length but it still somehow fell slightly flat. A whole type of people completely wiped out expect for 2 and then bam kid from other area has he same abilities. And I feel like the story behind him was kind of an after thought, and the villain was just your typical power hungry villain with no real back story.
It was mildly paced, confusing at times, and a bit on the annoying side with the title references and rules referenced to the lapidaries to follow (which some just didn’t feel like they connected when Sima referenced them at some points)
It’s a 3.5 for me just because I like the idea behind the Lapidaries and had this been more fleshed out it could have been really great.