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jwells's review
adventurous
emotional
I enjoyed this romance mixed with suspense and intrigue in a fictional ancient world. The protagonist is a decent guy, which I appreciate, in a world of alpha-male asshole characters. The love interest character is not what he first appears to be, in some respects, which is fun.
Having gone to philosophy grad school, I laughed at and liked the idea of philosophy student villains. It's all too plausible that they could prioritize Ideas over people.
I did feel like there were a ton of minor characters, who were difficult to keep straight and perhaps not all necessary. As long as Aradne wasn't edited out though; she was fantastic.
Having gone to philosophy grad school, I laughed at and liked the idea of philosophy student villains. It's all too plausible that they could prioritize Ideas over people.
I did feel like there were a ton of minor characters, who were difficult to keep straight and perhaps not all necessary. As long as Aradne wasn't edited out though; she was fantastic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Minor: Torture
crystalisreading's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
tense
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Homophobia, Classism, Transphobia, Violence, and Slavery
Minor: Rape, Murder, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Sexism, Torture, and Trafficking
cathepsut's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
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? Yes
3.75
Interesting world. Names sound Greek, the architecture sounds a little more Roman. And the far away land of Zash reminds me a bit of Persia, maybe the hanging gardens of Babylon made an indirect appearance?
Damiskos, the main character, is a likeable fellow. Former soldier, not a terribly exciting job, gets sent to the countryside to make a deal about buying fish sauce for the troops. Fishy things start to happen, not just sauce-related.
“Terza’s head, what a lot of ghastly people Nione seemed to have gathered around herself. Did he really have to stay out the week?“
Apparently he did. If Agatha Christie had ever written Fantasy, this is probably what it would have looked like. The requisite body might or might not have turned up. Damiskos gets support from unexpected quarters and has to pretend to be romantically inclined to towards the sword-dancing eunuch. Things do not go as planned. Do they ever?
Thrown in were some rather odd philosophers, some violence, a little not too graphic sex and various shenanigans. I liked the underhanded humour. Oh yes, and there were some serious topics woven into the narrative, about gender identity, equal rights, racism, power over and perception of others—nicely done.
This is not quick, the pace is rather sedate. Damiskos and the story take their time. It is well plotted though.
The world has potential for some more sweeping stories and there are two more books in this series. Recommended, if you are looking for a relaxed mystery with some action, light humour and a little m/m romance.
„… a dizzying week of intrigue, assassinations, and a fake love affair that—maybe—turned real.“
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Murder and Torture
buttermellow's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual violence, Murder, Slavery, Confinement, Homophobia, Torture, Xenophobia, and Violence
Minor: Misogyny
toobendy's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Very, very cool. The romance was great and so was the action (not the sexy kind but that now that I'm on it yes that was great too)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Torture, Slavery, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexism, and Murder
helen's review against another edition
3.0
Meh. Not sure I’ll carry on with the series.
The author didn’t make me care about the intrigue plot, and didn’t really deliver on the fake relationship or soldier/spy tropes, but I cared about Dami and Varazda and their soft romance, which was full of lightness and tenderness.
I appreciated the fact that Varazda’s non-binary-ness is unrelated to the fact that he’s a eunuch. And that both things were handled with sensitivity and not fetishized.
Other thoughts: the anachronistic dialogue didn’t really work for me and it could’ve done with a map.
The author didn’t make me care about the intrigue plot, and didn’t really deliver on the fake relationship or soldier/spy tropes, but I cared about Dami and Varazda and their soft romance, which was full of lightness and tenderness.
I appreciated the fact that Varazda’s non-binary-ness is unrelated to the fact that he’s a eunuch. And that both things were handled with sensitivity and not fetishized.
Other thoughts: the anachronistic dialogue didn’t really work for me and it could’ve done with a map.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture, Slavery, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Xenophobia
noslowregard's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture, Slavery, and Sexual assault
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