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kumquats87's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and War
Moderate: Child death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
art_books_chemistry's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Upfront, my biggest issue with Strike the Zither was that as soon as the book started, I felt as if I was jumping into the middle of a story which was already halfway to it's conclusion. I became quite lost and it took awhile for me to really connect to the characters because I felt like I was playing catch-up trying to keep several moving pieces straight. I also found it hard to visualize where various meetings and battles were taking place. Part of this is because I listened to it as an audiobook, a map that would normally be found in a visual book would have made this easier.
The other reason I took off some star points is due to me being unable to connect to the characters. I found them very superficial for the most part. In this regard, the writing became better towards the end of the book. There was some introspective moments from the main character but the rest of the cast is still not developed as well as I would hope after over 10 hours of audio.
This leads me into my next point which is that I found the plot to be overall straightforward until the second "part". The introduction of the god subplot threw the main plot into utter confusion. I do like that it was a twist I didn't see coming but it could have been integrated much more cohesively into the main plot. Between this and the aforementioned character development issues, I think the author would have been better off making this two books: one for the first "part" of the book and one for the second "part". This would have allowed for more in depth background and development of not just the characters but also the geography and magic of the novel. I was severely lacking the connection with playing a zither from the first half of the book, though some of that was explained later on.
Although I personally did not enjoy this novel overall, I'm sure it would still appeal to others who like fantasy.
The other reason I took off some star points is due to me being unable to connect to the characters. I found them very superficial for the most part. In this regard, the writing became better towards the end of the book. There was some introspective moments from the main character but the rest of the cast is still not developed as well as I would hope after over 10 hours of audio.
This leads me into my next point which is that I found the plot to be overall straightforward until the second "part". The introduction of the god subplot threw the main plot into utter confusion. I do like that it was a twist I didn't see coming but it could have been integrated much more cohesively into the main plot. Between this and the aforementioned character development issues, I think the author would have been better off making this two books: one for the first "part" of the book and one for the second "part". This would have allowed for more in depth background and development of not just the characters but also the geography and magic of the novel. I was severely lacking the connection with playing a zither from the first half of the book, though some of that was explained later on.
Although I personally did not enjoy this novel overall, I'm sure it would still appeal to others who like fantasy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Violence, Chronic illness, and Death
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
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