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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
At first I didn't like this because the writing could have been cleaner. For example, on the first page, the author wrote, "She buried her toes in the sand, cold from the night, and she wrapped her father's goatskin cloak tight around her shoulders." I thought this sentence could have used less pronouns...but that's just me.
Anyway, I got over it and actually enjoyed the story very much.
Anyway, I got over it and actually enjoyed the story very much.
This is a book with a lot of potential and it did make use of it. The writing was melodic, fitting with the desert setting, and I liked the fact that the author did not shy away from brutal scenes. (Did those worms remind anyone of the King Kong movie? Eww...) There were two things that bothered me though. First, I felt that the love triangle, quadrilateral was unnecessary -
The other was the rushed ending. There was too much going on towards the end of the book and too much information thrown at the reader at once. Maybe the author could have avoided the useless visit to the Falcon clan or made it shorter and had the emperor and Liyana meet faster. Other than this, it was beautiful book and I enjoyed the humor, especially in the scenes where the vessels and Korbyn act like normal teenagers and bicker. I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys fantasy and YA.
Spoiler
Korbyn and Liyana needn't have fallen in love for the plot to work. They could have remained friends and Jarlath could have kept his role. Or forget Jarlath and have Korbyn leave for a bittersweet ending. Either way the whole Liyana, Korbyn, Jarlath and Bayla thing made me feel like I was in one of those sandstorms that are so common in the book.The other was the rushed ending. There was too much going on towards the end of the book and too much information thrown at the reader at once. Maybe the author could have avoided the useless visit to the Falcon clan or made it shorter and had the emperor and Liyana meet faster. Other than this, it was beautiful book and I enjoyed the humor, especially in the scenes where the vessels and Korbyn act like normal teenagers and bicker. I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys fantasy and YA.
liyana is awesome. also that ending….really didn't see that coming….a bit sad, but it makes sense. (kind of reminds of The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson, except set in the deserts of Africa)
This is an absolutely brilliant STAND ALONE fantasy (which we almost never see these days). Totally lived up to the hype. Read the full review at Slatebreakers: http://slatebreakers.com/2013/02/11/review-vessel-by-sarah-beth-durst/
I had read this all the way back in September and just found the time to write this review and say what I wanted to say. Between college and personal problems going on in my life I feel bad for putting off this review until now and I feel bad as well for the delay to Sarah Beth Durst for providing this fantastic fantasy novel for me to read and review last year. Now I can sway you lovely viewers of this astoundingly written world of Vessel.
Captivating and hot like the sands in the world of Vessel, I could not get enough of the essence of Liyana, a vessel for the goddess, and the hardships she has to endure after the failed attempt of completing her tribe's ritual. With not just her own goddess missing, but five other tribes as well and vessels that could be in danger because of the misplaced gods and goddesses, Liyana and the trickster god, Korbyn, journey across the desert to find and save the rest of the gods in order for prosperity to be restored to the lands and the tribes.
The world of Vessel flourished along the pages despite that the tribes are all becoming haggard without the essential human cravings that are needed to survive (i.e., water) in the desert terrain. The world-building was the most depth-defying element of this entire novel, with the mythology coming in with a close second.
Read the rest of this review at RONDO OF A POSSIBLE WORLD
Captivating and hot like the sands in the world of Vessel, I could not get enough of the essence of Liyana, a vessel for the goddess, and the hardships she has to endure after the failed attempt of completing her tribe's ritual. With not just her own goddess missing, but five other tribes as well and vessels that could be in danger because of the misplaced gods and goddesses, Liyana and the trickster god, Korbyn, journey across the desert to find and save the rest of the gods in order for prosperity to be restored to the lands and the tribes.
The world of Vessel flourished along the pages despite that the tribes are all becoming haggard without the essential human cravings that are needed to survive (i.e., water) in the desert terrain. The world-building was the most depth-defying element of this entire novel, with the mythology coming in with a close second.
Review yet to come...
**UPDATE**
Liyana has trained her entire life to be the vessel of a goddess. She will dance and summon her tribe's deity, who will inhabit Liyana's body and use magic to bring rain to the desert. But when the dance ends, Liyana is still there. Her tribe is furious--and sure that it is Liyana's fault. Abandoned by her tribe, Liyana expects to die in the desert. Until a boy walks out of the dust in search of her.
Korbyn is a god inside his vessel, and a trickster god at that. He tells Liyana that five other gods are missing, and they set off across the desert in search of the other vessels. The desert tribes cannot survive without the magic of their gods. But the journey is dangerous, even with a god’s help. And not everyone is willing to believe the trickster god’s tale.
The closer she grows to Korbyn, the less Liyana wants to disappear to make way for her goddess. But she has no choice--she must die for her tribe to live. Unless a trickster god can help her to trick fate--or a human girl can muster some magic of her own.
Okay, I was convinced that Vessel was going to get a five star rating from me, but the ending just killed me.
It went from unbelivable to down right silly. (in my opinion)
Though the prose, the immersion into another kind of culture, and not having to read about the same "white girl" drama, was a breath of fresh air. No offense.
On another possitive note, Liyana (our main heroine) was splendid!
She was strong, determinded, sassy, and made a god and an Emperor fall for her!
But the ending really messed up everything for me...not a waste of time but not worthy of a five star rate.
**UPDATE**
Liyana has trained her entire life to be the vessel of a goddess. She will dance and summon her tribe's deity, who will inhabit Liyana's body and use magic to bring rain to the desert. But when the dance ends, Liyana is still there. Her tribe is furious--and sure that it is Liyana's fault. Abandoned by her tribe, Liyana expects to die in the desert. Until a boy walks out of the dust in search of her.
Korbyn is a god inside his vessel, and a trickster god at that. He tells Liyana that five other gods are missing, and they set off across the desert in search of the other vessels. The desert tribes cannot survive without the magic of their gods. But the journey is dangerous, even with a god’s help. And not everyone is willing to believe the trickster god’s tale.
The closer she grows to Korbyn, the less Liyana wants to disappear to make way for her goddess. But she has no choice--she must die for her tribe to live. Unless a trickster god can help her to trick fate--or a human girl can muster some magic of her own.
Okay, I was convinced that Vessel was going to get a five star rating from me, but the ending just killed me.
It went from unbelivable to down right silly. (in my opinion)
Though the prose, the immersion into another kind of culture, and not having to read about the same "white girl" drama, was a breath of fresh air. No offense.
On another possitive note, Liyana (our main heroine) was splendid!
She was strong, determinded, sassy, and made a god and an Emperor fall for her!
But the ending really messed up everything for me...not a waste of time but not worthy of a five star rate.
5/5stars! + added to Favorite Standalones!
WOW. I have loved every Sarah Beth Durst book so far but this took the cake by a landslide. This was absolutely FABULOUS, I can't believe I was going to push off reading this one!!
Sarah Beth Durst is a wonderful little wizard. She crafts beautiful worlds with characters that are incredibly unique and defined and distinguishable throughout her stories. She always has a pretty weird idea to a story to begin with, and it always gets even weirder as you read - which is one of the many charms of her books: you NEVER know what's coming!
This story follows a young girl named Liyana who has trained her whole life to be a vessel for her Clan's goddess - which means she would die so the goddess Bayla could take over her body and bring water and food to her people. But when Bayla does not come after their ceremony, Liyana and her people know something is wrong - so they exile Liyana and leave her to die in the desert. But along comes Korbyn - a god who has taken on his vessel's body - with news that several of the Gods have been kidnapped.
Along this adventure we meet just a wonderful array of characters - Pia, the blind little princess perfect, Fennick, a hot-head horse tamer, Raan, a defiant vessel, as well as each of their god counterparts: Oyri, a perfect little princess who is not very pleased with having a blind body, Sendar, the leader, and Maara, the drunk. And the amazing thing was how Sarah Beth Durst really gave each character a voice.
I also just ADORED the stories she wove into this story. It was incredibly that she basically made up a whole new religion for her characters and a whole bunch of stories about their gods and their creation story and everything!
I also enjoy the emperor and the whole fight at the end, I thought it jazzed things up a bit. But I did wish that the end would have been a little more family oriented than boy oriented. I did like how the end was sort of sad, but also kind of happy - it was a nice mix.
Highly, HIGHLY, recommend picking this one up!!
WOW. I have loved every Sarah Beth Durst book so far but this took the cake by a landslide. This was absolutely FABULOUS, I can't believe I was going to push off reading this one!!
Sarah Beth Durst is a wonderful little wizard. She crafts beautiful worlds with characters that are incredibly unique and defined and distinguishable throughout her stories. She always has a pretty weird idea to a story to begin with, and it always gets even weirder as you read - which is one of the many charms of her books: you NEVER know what's coming!
This story follows a young girl named Liyana who has trained her whole life to be a vessel for her Clan's goddess - which means she would die so the goddess Bayla could take over her body and bring water and food to her people. But when Bayla does not come after their ceremony, Liyana and her people know something is wrong - so they exile Liyana and leave her to die in the desert. But along comes Korbyn - a god who has taken on his vessel's body - with news that several of the Gods have been kidnapped.
Along this adventure we meet just a wonderful array of characters - Pia, the blind little princess perfect, Fennick, a hot-head horse tamer, Raan, a defiant vessel, as well as each of their god counterparts: Oyri, a perfect little princess who is not very pleased with having a blind body, Sendar, the leader, and Maara, the drunk. And the amazing thing was how Sarah Beth Durst really gave each character a voice.
I also just ADORED the stories she wove into this story. It was incredibly that she basically made up a whole new religion for her characters and a whole bunch of stories about their gods and their creation story and everything!
I also enjoy the emperor and the whole fight at the end, I thought it jazzed things up a bit. But I did wish that the end would have been a little more family oriented than boy oriented. I did like how the end was sort of sad, but also kind of happy - it was a nice mix.
Highly, HIGHLY, recommend picking this one up!!
I thoroughly enjoyed Vessel, and that was largely due to the world building and Liyana. Durst did an excellent job of creating a desert-dwelling culture, and the book was sprinkled with fun details about the tents, clothing, animals, critters, and food. (I will admit that the food wasn’t always fun, but I suppose eating snakes is a better alternative to starving.) This attention to detail—from the embroidery on Liyana’s dress to the preparations our heroes take for incoming sandstorms—grounds the world and makes it feel lived in. This is especially helpful since there’s a bunch of mystical stuff going on. In addition to Korbyn, the tribes have magicians of their own, and this world is one filled with wolves made of sand, dragons made of not-actually-glass, monstrous silkworms, and the Dreaming (afterlife/world of gods). Some of these mystical elements and their impact on the plot are more fuzzy/arbitrary than I’d like, but I could accept them.
Liyana and Korbyn, and even the Emperor to some extent, make the world even richer through the sharing of fairytale-esque stories (which, since this is a fantasy book, are not entirely made up). Many of the stories are about the desert gods, but some are about the empire’s gods or even mortals. Some of them were pure indulgence; others revealed characters, world building, or history; and yet others were used by the characters to teach or debate within the book. I loved these stories.
Durst spends a lot of time on the nature of the vessels and their sacrifice, and these moments are particularly poignant. Some vessels are fanatically devoted to their god and their tribe; others are terrified and don’t want to die. Liyana falls along “the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few” line—she’s not thrilled to die, but she knows that her tribe needs her goddess, Beyla, in order to survive the Great Drought. It’s particularly wrenching when Liyana says goodbye to her family or whenever she thinks about the extra time she’s been given only because her goddess has disappeared.
I have one major complaint about the book, and that would be the last moment romantic rival—and it’s not even really a rivalry as Durst avoids any competition/jealousy between the boys. Much of the book is devoted to the kind-of-sort-of-not-vocalized romance between Liyana and Korbyn. (Things are complicated—Korbyn is Beyla’s lover, but a mutual attraction between him and Liyana grows over the course of the book.) I was taken by surprise when a certain character expressed interest in Liyana, though that plotline won me over by the end due to a combination of 1) already enjoying that character and 2) the sheer practicality of it all.
Recommendation: Get it soon. Liyana, Korbyn, and the other main characters are an enjoyable and complicated ensemble, and the world they inhabit is as magical as it is dangerous. I loved the world, and the story was a solid quest with fun characters, lots of peril, a not-too-angsty romance, and occasional armies.
Liyana and Korbyn, and even the Emperor to some extent, make the world even richer through the sharing of fairytale-esque stories (which, since this is a fantasy book, are not entirely made up). Many of the stories are about the desert gods, but some are about the empire’s gods or even mortals. Some of them were pure indulgence; others revealed characters, world building, or history; and yet others were used by the characters to teach or debate within the book. I loved these stories.
Durst spends a lot of time on the nature of the vessels and their sacrifice, and these moments are particularly poignant. Some vessels are fanatically devoted to their god and their tribe; others are terrified and don’t want to die. Liyana falls along “the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few” line—she’s not thrilled to die, but she knows that her tribe needs her goddess, Beyla, in order to survive the Great Drought. It’s particularly wrenching when Liyana says goodbye to her family or whenever she thinks about the extra time she’s been given only because her goddess has disappeared.
I have one major complaint about the book, and that would be the last moment romantic rival—and it’s not even really a rivalry as Durst avoids any competition/jealousy between the boys. Much of the book is devoted to the kind-of-sort-of-not-vocalized romance between Liyana and Korbyn. (Things are complicated—Korbyn is Beyla’s lover, but a mutual attraction between him and Liyana grows over the course of the book.) I was taken by surprise when a certain character expressed interest in Liyana, though that plotline won me over by the end due to a combination of 1) already enjoying that character and 2) the sheer practicality of it all.
Recommendation: Get it soon. Liyana, Korbyn, and the other main characters are an enjoyable and complicated ensemble, and the world they inhabit is as magical as it is dangerous. I loved the world, and the story was a solid quest with fun characters, lots of peril, a not-too-angsty romance, and occasional armies.