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bzliz's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is a re-read and I loved it just as much as I did the first time. Now that I know the twists and reveals, I can spot hints of them in the lead-up which would seem completely innocuous to first time readers.
This installment is largely focused on the travel portion of their quest which I personally enjoyed but I can understand how some readers wouldn’t enjoy that. Gen is such a delightful little scamp and a lot of major players in future books are laid out in this one. I’m so excited to start the second book again.
This installment is largely focused on the travel portion of their quest which I personally enjoyed but I can understand how some readers wouldn’t enjoy that. Gen is such a delightful little scamp and a lot of major players in future books are laid out in this one. I’m so excited to start the second book again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Physical abuse, Classism, and Bullying
Minor: Death of parent
kingcrookback's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I get the sense that readers might find Eugenides more annoying than charismatic/charming the way Turner intended (God knows I did at times), but I couldn't help doing some research while I was in the middle of the book and he's apparently about 15 at the time this book is set. Explains a lot. And while it's pretty clear that he's somewhere in his adolescence, my major complaint about this book is probably that I'd have liked to have a clearer idea of Eugenides' age.
That aside, I'm fascinated by this world Turner's constructed. It took me until about a third of the way through to realize that this world is less medieval fantasy like I'd--completely baselessly--assumed but more of an early modern fantasy. (Guns exist. They're not as accurate as crossbows, so firearm technology can't be said to be very advanced, but guns do very much exist. As do compasses.) Also--and this is not me saying I have a wide breadth of knowledge on this subject--I don't think I've ever read a fantasy story that was written fairly recently where the gods are both transcendent and immanent. The way they impact the world and the characters is super interesting.Even when they're (ostensibly) present, they're ethereal and a little uncanny. But when they do show traces of humanity, like when Eugenides the thief realizes that Eugenides the god carries a burden of grief for the brother who hated him, it's rather impactful. I think Turner also did a good job of seeding the plot twists along the way. This story is much more than a simple fetch quest, and while the pacing definitely isn't for everybody, some patience and attention to detail will end up paying off.
Will be checking out the next book after I've taken a bit of a break from the world.
That aside, I'm fascinated by this world Turner's constructed. It took me until about a third of the way through to realize that this world is less medieval fantasy like I'd--completely baselessly--assumed but more of an early modern fantasy. (Guns exist. They're not as accurate as crossbows, so firearm technology can't be said to be very advanced, but guns do very much exist. As do compasses.) Also--and this is not me saying I have a wide breadth of knowledge on this subject--I don't think I've ever read a fantasy story that was written fairly recently where the gods are both transcendent and immanent. The way they impact the world and the characters is super interesting.
Will be checking out the next book after I've taken a bit of a break from the world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, and Violence
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Blood
Minor: Death of parent
mandkips's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Bullying, and Violence
Moderate: Physical abuse, Death, and Blood
Minor: Death of parent
azrah786's review
2.5
**I was provided with a copy of the book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, blood, injury, murder, death, death of parent, confinement, torture, physical abuse
--
You know those moments when you feel like you’ve read a different book to everyone else… this is one of those for me. After seeing so many raving reviews for this series over the years I was really excited to finally get a chance to read it but it was such a disappointment.
To put it short this book is SO SLOW!
The characters are travelling for half of the book but alongside the leading protagonist getting dragged along on this quest he doesn’t do much else other than eating and sleeping. Some history of the world and a couple of folk tales are shared between the characters every now and again but other than that nothing happens?
It took me way over a month to get to the half way point - keep in mind this book is less than 250 pages - and then I took to skim reading the rest even when the slightly better parts kicked in.
I did start to find myself a bit more fond of the protagonist in the second half of the book but I had got to the point where I just wanted to see the end that even the big reveal didn’t wow me. In fact I feel like I half guessed it would be the case.
Debating on whether I should still give the next book a chance so if you’ve read it and would say it’s better than book 1 feel free to convince me.
Final Rating – 2.5/5 Stars
CW: violence, blood, injury, murder, death, death of parent, confinement, torture, physical abuse
--
You know those moments when you feel like you’ve read a different book to everyone else… this is one of those for me. After seeing so many raving reviews for this series over the years I was really excited to finally get a chance to read it but it was such a disappointment.
To put it short this book is SO SLOW!
The characters are travelling for half of the book but alongside the leading protagonist getting dragged along on this quest he doesn’t do much else other than eating and sleeping. Some history of the world and a couple of folk tales are shared between the characters every now and again but other than that nothing happens?
It took me way over a month to get to the half way point - keep in mind this book is less than 250 pages - and then I took to skim reading the rest even when the slightly better parts kicked in.
I did start to find myself a bit more fond of the protagonist in the second half of the book but I had got to the point where I just wanted to see the end that even the big reveal didn’t wow me. In fact I feel like I half guessed it would be the case.
Debating on whether I should still give the next book a chance so if you’ve read it and would say it’s better than book 1 feel free to convince me.
Final Rating – 2.5/5 Stars
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, Confinement, and Torture
silver_valkyrie_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I'm glad I looked at some other reviews when I was ready to DNF at the halfway point, because it does get more interesting in the second half, but I still didn't really love it until the last chapter. Which leaves me understanding why people love this book so much, but also having NOT loved most of the reading experience, and not really inspired to continue the series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Violence
Minor: Death of parent
deckledlens's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
If you liked Throne of Glass, you will like this! The main character is similarly designed, and we are introduced to the world using a similar fish-eye lens technique. Turner made the complicated high fantasy very digestible. Sometimes as the scenery is laid, the plot becomes a little slow, but it's all a means to an end. I found myself using the book's map very often. By the end, I really looked forward to cracking open the sequel. The characters are all very likable, even when they do unlikable things.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement
Minor: Death of parent
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