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vaporization's review against another edition
3.0
It was all right. The world was cool but I didn't feel attached to any of the characters. The biggest flaw was that it was boring.
mhmissey's review against another edition
4.0
I really do not like most of the main characters but the story is worth it.
esdeecarlson's review against another edition
4.0
[This book was provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review]
4 stars
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book! The beginning was a rather slow start, but the story just keeps building and building in a way that slowly sucked me into the narrative, so that by the halfway mark I was hooked.
This is a sweeping epic fantasy, which will particularly excite those who enjoy long-term macro-plots weaving together across leagues of space. Those who enjoy political machinations in their fantasy will have a very good time with the five queendoms presented here, and the way their interactions change when a natural (magical) disaster occurs and girls, inexplicably, stop being born.
I also really enjoyed the characters, each of whom I felt was a fully realized person and not merely a cog in the enormous machine of this plot.
My only real gripe is that the climax felt strangely rushed after the slow but delicious buildup that was the meat of the novel. Perhaps this is intended to set up a twist at the start of the sequel, where new point-of-view chapters will reveal new information to us, because I was left feeling as though something was missing.
I definitely recommend this book to fans of epic fantasy, and I’m very curious to see where the series goes from here.
4 stars
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book! The beginning was a rather slow start, but the story just keeps building and building in a way that slowly sucked me into the narrative, so that by the halfway mark I was hooked.
This is a sweeping epic fantasy, which will particularly excite those who enjoy long-term macro-plots weaving together across leagues of space. Those who enjoy political machinations in their fantasy will have a very good time with the five queendoms presented here, and the way their interactions change when a natural (magical) disaster occurs and girls, inexplicably, stop being born.
I also really enjoyed the characters, each of whom I felt was a fully realized person and not merely a cog in the enormous machine of this plot.
My only real gripe is that the climax felt strangely rushed after the slow but delicious buildup that was the meat of the novel. Perhaps this is intended to set up a twist at the start of the sequel, where new point-of-view chapters will reveal new information to us, because I was left feeling as though something was missing.
I definitely recommend this book to fans of epic fantasy, and I’m very curious to see where the series goes from here.
kirstencholewa's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent
greenteabookme's review against another edition
I tried really hard to get into Scorpica as I loved the premise, and the strong female led world that GR Macallister created but I just couldn’t get hooked / into the story. The writing dragged and felt a little flat for my tastes and I read about 15% of the book and decided not to finish.
vesybele's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
malimaan's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
fermqs's review against another edition
2.0
Scorpica is a epic fantasy that folllows a matriarchal society. There are five queendoms that were at peace until one day no other girls were born.
I really don't get the comparison to Circe aside from being from the focus on powerful female main characters. Whilst Circe works as a character study that we really get to know her, to empathize with her, and see her reclaim her worth and her fate, in Scorpica we follow already established female characters that don't go through any sort of development. The characters are already well-formed and they don't really deviate from how they were in the beginning; the challenges that they have to face don't really impact them as people, nor change their trajectory. There are, in theory, Big Things happening but I couldn't really see the effects in their lives and in the plot itself. I really didn't felt compelled by any of the characters and there were some events that just came and went and nothing happened because of them; it seemed the author just wanted to show how ruthless some characters were and wanted to throw some plot twists but it just felt out of place. The main "antagonist" was kept away from the main threads until it was convenient and this character just felt like an one dimensional mustache twirling villain that was extremely power hungry, just to be power hungry.
The world is extremely interesting but we don't get to see much of it; we mainly follow 2 out of the 5 queendoms. I liked what we got to see from Arca and Scorpica, even though I found Arca extremely more interesting than Scorpica. I wonder if the author is going to explore the other queendoms in the next novels. And if the threads that were completely abandoned are going to be picked up again.
By the end of it, even though I liked what we got to see from the world, I couldn't care about the characters and I found the plot really lackluster.
Thank you Netgalley, author, and publisher for the ARC.
I really don't get the comparison to Circe aside from being from the focus on powerful female main characters. Whilst Circe works as a character study that we really get to know her, to empathize with her, and see her reclaim her worth and her fate, in Scorpica we follow already established female characters that don't go through any sort of development. The characters are already well-formed and they don't really deviate from how they were in the beginning; the challenges that they have to face don't really impact them as people, nor change their trajectory. There are, in theory, Big Things happening but I couldn't really see the effects in their lives and in the plot itself. I really didn't felt compelled by any of the characters and there were some events that just came and went and nothing happened because of them; it seemed the author just wanted to show how ruthless some characters were and wanted to throw some plot twists but it just felt out of place. The main "antagonist" was kept away from the main threads until it was convenient and this character just felt like an one dimensional mustache twirling villain that was extremely power hungry, just to be power hungry.
The world is extremely interesting but we don't get to see much of it; we mainly follow 2 out of the 5 queendoms. I liked what we got to see from Arca and Scorpica, even though I found Arca extremely more interesting than Scorpica. I wonder if the author is going to explore the other queendoms in the next novels. And if the threads that were completely abandoned are going to be picked up again.
By the end of it, even though I liked what we got to see from the world, I couldn't care about the characters and I found the plot really lackluster.
Thank you Netgalley, author, and publisher for the ARC.
agameofbooksblog's review against another edition
4.5
This epic fantasy tale shares similarities with others in its genre; however, it distinguishes itself by presenting a fascinating world where women hold dominion and establish Queendoms instead of Kingdoms. I was absorbed by the intricate world and dove right into the lives of the different queens. While this book takes us on a journey across various Queendoms, its primary focus is on land of Scorpia. As the series continues, I'm anticipating further exploration into the remaining regions. For the next book I hope there’s more character development. At times, it was a little challenging to keep track of the numerous perspectives presented, but the overall enchantment of the story kept me captivated.