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_forestofpages's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I wanted to like this because it's written by one of my favorite authors, but this was just not the book for me. I am fully aware this was a debut, but I was so utterly disappointed by this book, I must rant, just a little...
reasons why I didn't like this book (strap in, it's not a short journey)
- the characters were fairly 1-dimensional (Ehiru's entire personality is his religion; Nijiri is basically the same and he is wildly naïve, and Sunandi is supposed to be a spy but is the most temperamental and rigid of all of them)
- the villain was boring and predictable (as were their motivations)
- the world building was interesting, but unfortunately the descriptions left a lot to be desired, specifically the environments. I couldn't picture anything because Gujareeh (where you spend the majority of the book) is never really described in any kind of detail.
- the society is absolutely sexist, classist, racist and ableist and none of these issues are ever challenged by the characters or even seen as wrong. It's just part of the world building. The main societal issue that is addressed is if killing is bad
- adding on to the last bit ^^ the morality in this is absolutely black and white for the characters until the end where some of them go "oh I guess I can see where you are coming from, even though I have been an absolute nightmare toward you and hoped you would die since I've known you" and then two pages later they are at each others throats again. (I just really don't like a black and white morality system in anything I read, I find it boring, but if you like that you might enjoy the characters more than I did.)
- the age-gap crush really made me ill; not because the character who is underage was crushing on someone twice their age, that happens sometimes, but because the crush (the man in this scenario who is in his 50s, and the mentor and father figure of this teenager) knew the kid had a crush on him and allowed it, didn't talk to him about it and even had a line where he said he was being selfish but he wanted to accept that "love" from this teenager because he had no one else to love him. Which is somewhat understandable until you remember that this CHILD spends half the book calling him his father figure and his lover in the same breath?? no thank you.
- the hypocrisy of the characters
the things I liked:
- the writing itself, the prose (minus the strange lack of description)
- the world-building (names, the magic which was kinda cool, but not very original)
- the fact this was standalone, because despite the fact there is a second book it's not following these characters
- the tension and intrigue of the first act, which was honestly great, it just fell apart after that
in summation:
- I was constantly expecting a deeper meaning, a deeper more interesting conversation, a lesson or something, and it never happened
- overall this was just disappointing
reasons why I didn't like this book (strap in, it's not a short journey)
- the characters were fairly 1-dimensional (Ehiru's entire personality is his religion; Nijiri is basically the same and he is wildly naïve, and Sunandi is supposed to be a spy but is the most temperamental and rigid of all of them)
- the villain was boring and predictable (as were their motivations)
- the world building was interesting, but unfortunately the descriptions left a lot to be desired, specifically the environments. I couldn't picture anything because Gujareeh (where you spend the majority of the book) is never really described in any kind of detail.
- the society is absolutely sexist, classist, racist and ableist and none of these issues are ever challenged by the characters or even seen as wrong. It's just part of the world building. The main societal issue that is addressed is if killing is bad
- adding on to the last bit ^^ the morality in this is absolutely black and white for the characters until the end where some of them go "oh I guess I can see where you are coming from, even though I have been an absolute nightmare toward you and hoped you would die since I've known you" and then two pages later they are at each others throats again. (I just really don't like a black and white morality system in anything I read, I find it boring, but if you like that you might enjoy the characters more than I did.)
- the age-gap crush really made me ill; not because the character who is underage was crushing on someone twice their age, that happens sometimes, but because the crush (the man in this scenario who is in his 50s, and the mentor and father figure of this teenager) knew the kid had a crush on him and allowed it, didn't talk to him about it and even had a line where he said he was being selfish but he wanted to accept that "love" from this teenager because he had no one else to love him. Which is somewhat understandable until you remember that this CHILD spends half the book calling him his father figure and his lover in the same breath?? no thank you.
- the hypocrisy of the characters
the things I liked:
- the writing itself, the prose (minus the strange lack of description)
- the world-building (names, the magic which was kinda cool, but not very original)
- the fact this was standalone, because despite the fact there is a second book it's not following these characters
- the tension and intrigue of the first act, which was honestly great, it just fell apart after that
in summation:
- I was constantly expecting a deeper meaning, a deeper more interesting conversation, a lesson or something, and it never happened
- overall this was just disappointing
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexism, Violence, Classism, Racism, Ableism, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Adult/minor relationship, and Child death
hannahr's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-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
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Grief, Murder, Rape, Violence, and Ableism
pastelwriter's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Let me start off this review by saying I am far too illiterate for N.K. Jemisin. I legitimately felt dumb while listening to this as an audiobook. I know for sure the author was trying to tackle the concept of euthanasia in a fantastical setting, but this was all my brain could offer in terms of my intellectual prowess. That being said, I think this is an excellent novel. It does not surprise me at all now why people love Jemisin so much.
First and foremost, the world of this novel was incredibly rich. I was a bit lost in the beginning of the novel as I got my bearings, but eventually I felt like I knew this world and knew it well. I'm not usually big on world-building--I'm still not--but I can appreciate when it is well done.
Characters are usually what I read books for, and I think this book delivered on that front as well. Although I don't think everyone will love the three main characters of this book, I really did. Sunandi, Ehiru, and Nijiri all came to grow on me. They were all distinct and impossible to confuse. I could understand their motivations and their perspective on issues. I especially liked Ehiru and Nijiri because of their commitment to their faith. I tend to be a sucker for characters, especially male characters, who are devout. This is particularly so when I can understand their faith and their practices.
Still. There's a reason this book is getting four and not five stars. One of the reasons is the whole dynamic between Ehiru and Nijiri. Let me get this straight. At no point does Ehiru lead Nijiri on, but everyone acknowledges that Nijiri sees Ehiru not only as an older brother figure but also as a potential lover...and it just made me so many levels of uncomfortable. This is because Nijiri is sixteen years old and Ehiru is a forty year old man. Gross. Just gross. I understand that teenagers get crushes on older people. Trust me. I do. But when others are low-key encouraging his feelings? That's when shit doesn't fly for me.
The other reason this book got four stars is that the antagonist was just...lackluster. He was interesting in theory, but in reality I didn't find him believable. I didn't get or buy into his reason for why he did what he did. He fell just short of just being your average run of the mill antagonist. It just made me feel very meh.
Nevertheless, I'm happy I picked up this book. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel and seeing how this story really ends.
First and foremost, the world of this novel was incredibly rich. I was a bit lost in the beginning of the novel as I got my bearings, but eventually I felt like I knew this world and knew it well. I'm not usually big on world-building--I'm still not--but I can appreciate when it is well done.
Characters are usually what I read books for, and I think this book delivered on that front as well. Although I don't think everyone will love the three main characters of this book, I really did. Sunandi, Ehiru, and Nijiri all came to grow on me. They were all distinct and impossible to confuse. I could understand their motivations and their perspective on issues. I especially liked Ehiru and Nijiri because of their commitment to their faith. I tend to be a sucker for characters, especially male characters, who are devout. This is particularly so when I can understand their faith and their practices.
Still. There's a reason this book is getting four and not five stars. One of the reasons is the whole dynamic between Ehiru and Nijiri. Let me get this straight. At no point does Ehiru lead Nijiri on, but everyone acknowledges that Nijiri sees Ehiru not only as an older brother figure but also as a potential lover...and it just made me so many levels of uncomfortable. This is because Nijiri is sixteen years old and Ehiru is a forty year old man. Gross. Just gross. I understand that teenagers get crushes on older people. Trust me. I do. But when others are low-key encouraging his feelings? That's when shit doesn't fly for me.
The other reason this book got four stars is that the antagonist was just...lackluster. He was interesting in theory, but in reality I didn't find him believable. I didn't get or buy into his reason for why he did what he did. He fell just short of just being your average run of the mill antagonist. It just made me feel very meh.
Nevertheless, I'm happy I picked up this book. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel and seeing how this story really ends.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Death
Minor: Ableism
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