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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
Beautiful, creepy, thick and tangled. The imagery, the imagination, the setting and the leads are all expertly woven into this fantasy. The sub-villains become a bit too one-dimensional and the magic system suffers from scattered-about inconsistency, but these faults can be forgiven, and easily at that. A must for fans of [a:Patricia McKillip|25|Patricia A. McKillip|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1220752490p2/25.jpg] and [a:Robin McKinley|5339|Robin McKinley|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/f_50x66-6a03a5c12233c941481992b82eea8d23.png]--reads like a slightly lighter-in-writing if darker-in-theme version of their writing. Uprooted leaves your head trapped and swirling in its fantasy world long after you finish reading.
Oh my god, I loved this book. I really enjoyed her Temeraire series but there was a level of...remove, maybe? Like even when intense things were happening, I didn't feel intensely about it--maybe because Laurence is sort of a stiff, emotionally reserved main character, even when dramatic stuff is happening. Anyway...but THIS book! I was so emotionally drawn in right away and stayed intensely focused on it throughout--the stakes felt enormous and real and emotionally resonant throughout. I loved the main character and her journey. She felt real and raw and true and I believed in her throughout. I was very sorry it was over!
I was not expecting so much political intrigue, but I didn't hate it. What I did hate was the romance- no chemistry and kidnapping adjacent. At least it was a small part of the story so it didn't ruin it for me.
I loveee a classic magic fantasy - especially loved the characters, magic system and setting of this book. loved the ending as well, genuinely could not predict how they would heal/handle the Wood and so I sped through the book trying to figure out what would happen. naomi novik your writing never disappoints <3
my only (slight) complaint is that I didn’t feel like it was necessary for the dragon and Nieshka to have a romantic entanglement, their platonic bond felt meaningful enough to me - but the romance wasn’t a major focus of the book regardless so it wasn’t too bad :’)
my only (slight) complaint is that I didn’t feel like it was necessary for the dragon and Nieshka to have a romantic entanglement, their platonic bond felt meaningful enough to me - but the romance wasn’t a major focus of the book regardless so it wasn’t too bad :’)
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Uprooted is a high fantasy tale, with lots of references to Polish folklore. I'm glad I listened to the audio, as I wouldn't have known how to pronounce the many names and spells. In the kingdom of Polnya, a darkly enchanted wood threatens those who live near it, and a reclusive wizard protects the people. For payment, he takes a girl from the villages, every ten years. The world is vividly drawn, there are epic, magical battles, significant girl power, and some romance (of the type where people who are never nice to each other fall in love).
Nicely written, the overall template is superb and well thought out. My first fantasy book since many years and I really liked it. As refreshing as the tales of Alvin maker by orson scott card
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Let's just say ....underdeveloped, but I liked reading a modern fairytale rehash pulling from the Slavic tradition.
[SPOILERS AHEAD]
While I enjoyed the world she created and the problem that needed to be solved was an interesting one, I had some problems with how the protagonist Agnieszka ends up in the relationship with the Dragon. He is in a position of great power over her, basically kidnaps her from her family and then treats her horribly, grooming her in a way, to be subservient to him. I felt that she was never really in a position to give proper consent to a relationship which seems to be a trend with this author as I read Spinning Silver after and found a similar story line.
While I enjoyed the world she created and the problem that needed to be solved was an interesting one, I had some problems with how the protagonist Agnieszka ends up in the relationship with the Dragon. He is in a position of great power over her, basically kidnaps her from her family and then treats her horribly, grooming her in a way, to be subservient to him. I felt that she was never really in a position to give proper consent to a relationship which seems to be a trend with this author as I read Spinning Silver after and found a similar story line.