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cbalbera's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? No
4.75
sanjj_1999's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
valereads2105's review against another edition
hopeful
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
2.0
C- 3
There weren't enough female characters. Most of the important ones were introduced around the page 400 mark, meaning they weren't present for 2/3 of the book. They also are mainly there to serve men rather than to exist in their own right.
Jia was introduced quite early on but was rarely 0n the page, except to have and raise children. She very suddenly became jealous of Risana for no reason even though they'd got on fine before that point, which to me just says that the author thinks women are constantly fighting to be better recognised by men and that they don't respect one another.
Gin is quite cool, however she doesn't seem to actually value women. She is a good enough fighter to lead the army, yet she doesn't let other women join in either a strategic or fighting position because she sees them as too weak, even though they could increase the army's numbers which would be useful. Instead they just take caregiver roles, involving nursing, cooking, sewing and painting. Even in a military setting women are only viewed as domestic for some inexplicable reason. She's also introduced at around page 400 so she's not there for most of the book.
Risana is also introduced very late into the book, around a similar time to Gin. She almost immediately gets married and becomes pregnant and her magic or whatever it is is never explored except to help further Kuni's career. After we first meet her we almost exclusively see her through a male gaze, rather than her own perspective, and when it's not through Kuni or another man it's through Jia's jealousy.
Soto seemed interesting but actually who was she. She was only there because of her connection to Mata and really wasn't needed for the plot.
Mira's character really frustrated me. Her whole existence revolves around her brother and Mata and she does basically nothing for herself. The only thing she does for herself is cook, clean and sew because she's bored. She falls in love for seemingly no reason and then commits suicide. What a waste of a female character. She deserved better. She was also added around page 400.
Kikomi is similar to Mira. She acts as a seductress and then commits suicide. What fun. She deserved better.
There are goddesses but they hardly count. They just confused me.
Also at one point, a town rebels and there's a line that's something like "For once the poor celebrated while the rich were scared." But the men rebelling didn't free the women from the brothels. They used those women just as the rich had before and there's no commentary on this. The only women who really get any improvement in situation are richer. It's never mentioned whether prostitution is abolished or if anything is done to prevent the exploitation of women.
A- 4
The author heard "Show don't tell" and then decided wouldn't it be cool if he subverted that. It sometimes worked but it felt like we missed out on a bunch of important things because they were just vaguely described to us. This caused the book to drag.
W- 3.5
P- 3
It was so repetitive. It did not need to be this long. It just kept going on and on about the same things.
I- 2
L- 2
The betrayals didn't make much sense. They weren't convincing and were only there to make the book even more painfully long rather than because they were necessary.
E- 2
There weren't enough female characters. Most of the important ones were introduced around the page 400 mark, meaning they weren't present for 2/3 of the book. They also are mainly there to serve men rather than to exist in their own right.
Jia was introduced quite early on but was rarely 0n the page, except to have and raise children. She very suddenly became jealous of Risana for no reason even though they'd got on fine before that point, which to me just says that the author thinks women are constantly fighting to be better recognised by men and that they don't respect one another.
Gin is quite cool, however she doesn't seem to actually value women. She is a good enough fighter to lead the army, yet she doesn't let other women join in either a strategic or fighting position because she sees them as too weak, even though they could increase the army's numbers which would be useful. Instead they just take caregiver roles, involving nursing, cooking, sewing and painting. Even in a military setting women are only viewed as domestic for some inexplicable reason. She's also introduced at around page 400 so she's not there for most of the book.
Risana is also introduced very late into the book, around a similar time to Gin. She almost immediately gets married and becomes pregnant and her magic or whatever it is is never explored except to help further Kuni's career. After we first meet her we almost exclusively see her through a male gaze, rather than her own perspective, and when it's not through Kuni or another man it's through Jia's jealousy.
Soto seemed interesting but actually who was she. She was only there because of her connection to Mata and really wasn't needed for the plot.
Mira's character really frustrated me. Her whole existence revolves around her brother and Mata and she does basically nothing for herself. The only thing she does for herself is cook, clean and sew because she's bored. She falls in love for seemingly no reason and then commits suicide. What a waste of a female character. She deserved better. She was also added around page 400.
Kikomi is similar to Mira. She acts as a seductress and then commits suicide. What fun. She deserved better.
There are goddesses but they hardly count. They just confused me.
Also at one point, a town rebels and there's a line that's something like "For once the poor celebrated while the rich were scared." But the men rebelling didn't free the women from the brothels. They used those women just as the rich had before and there's no commentary on this. The only women who really get any improvement in situation are richer. It's never mentioned whether prostitution is abolished or if anything is done to prevent the exploitation of women.
A- 4
The author heard "Show don't tell" and then decided wouldn't it be cool if he subverted that. It sometimes worked but it felt like we missed out on a bunch of important things because they were just vaguely described to us. This caused the book to drag.
W- 3.5
P- 3
It was so repetitive. It did not need to be this long. It just kept going on and on about the same things.
I- 2
L- 2
The betrayals didn't make much sense. They weren't convincing and were only there to make the book even more painfully long rather than because they were necessary.
E- 2
x0pherl's review against another edition
4.0
This didn't quite live up to my high expectations based on [b:The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories|24885533|The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories|Ken Liu|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1457285085s/24885533.jpg|44534169].
I'm not sure whether this stemmed from my early confusion about characters, or if it's simply that the span and scope of this Epic Fantasy series is far different than the intimacy of Liu's short stories. Often, it read almost like a translation of an old myth, which I imagine is intentional.
Definitely good enough to continue with the series.
I'm not sure whether this stemmed from my early confusion about characters, or if it's simply that the span and scope of this Epic Fantasy series is far different than the intimacy of Liu's short stories. Often, it read almost like a translation of an old myth, which I imagine is intentional.
Definitely good enough to continue with the series.
searobin's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
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
4.0
This was really engaging, though I did have some issues keeping everyone straight (ADHD + large casts will do that). I had a few issues with pacing, but overall, this was really good!
mastersnorlax's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-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
4.5
jpmoral1's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-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? It's complicated
3.0
kenziekuma's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
thehungrylittlebookworm's review against another edition
I was starting to get super confused with all the names of the places and people that when someone betrayed someone else I had to be like “who is that again?” Which made it not surprising to me because I was lost already.
The writing wasn’t bad and actually had a few quotes I liked but I just couldn’t get the names and places straight enough for me to really enjoy the story
The writing wasn’t bad and actually had a few quotes I liked but I just couldn’t get the names and places straight enough for me to really enjoy the story