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4.43 AVERAGE
4.43 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I loved all of the characters in this book, and especially all of the strong female characters. Tunuva's point of view was so refreshing, as it's so rare for an older woman's perspective to be included in fantasy! I also really appreciated that so many of the characters were lgbtqia+.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
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
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
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:
Complicated
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
This is Shannon's most ambitious novel to date, & one in which her decade of steady writing & publishing has greatly paid off. The growth from Priory to this is clear; sentences are sharper, characterizations & general arcs of growth fuller & more defined. It's a behemoth of a book, with four main perspectives to juggle (& several more on the side), & yet it still feels balanced, each main throughline crafted well enough to stand on its own, even as they brush up against one another & intersect.
There are some pacing issues, & even in an epic fantasy there are things that could be cut or trimmed, but I found myself less bothered by them than I was with Priory. There's a greater sense that Shannon knows what she's doing here, in a way she did not in the previous installment of the Roots of Chaos series, & so I was far more likely to let myself enjoy the journey. A good thing, considering the journey in question is well over 200k words....
(Sidenote: I read ADoFN via audiobook, which certainly aided in my generally positive experience with this novel; the audio production is lush, & each perspective is narrated by its own distinct voice actor, with their own distinct portrayal of their character(s). This succeeded in not feeling like a gimmick, but instead a genuinely smart & necessary choice in bringing the story alive.)
TL;DR: while I fought my way through Priory just to say that I had, there was no such difficulty with ADoFN. It's a more defly crafted novel as a whole, & left me honestly looking forward to the next installment in the series. Sometimes that's about all you can ask for.
♾️⭐️
I am going to be honest… I do not have the words to describe how much I loved this book. I thought The Priory of the Orange Tree was a masterpiece (still do) but somehow this book was even better. It takes a lot for me to rank a book 5 stars, it means it is perfect in my eyes and there is nothing I would change. Infinite stars means there is nothing I would change and I wish there was more, which is saying a lot for a book already so large (I only have three infinite stared books in my lifetime) The world building and magic system are so unlike anything I have read before. The depth of the characters, the character’s development, the found family, everything was absolute perfection. I haven’t cried from a book in a long time and this book had me bawling my eyes out a few times. Samantha Shannon has now become an auto-buy author for me and I will be reading the Bone Season series soon.
If you are looking for a book that is a true epic fantasy with intricate woven threads between its characters and magic I would HIGHLY recommend this series. The world building and dictionary are a bit complex, but I tabbed mine for when I was reading to review when I was confused.
I am going to be honest… I do not have the words to describe how much I loved this book. I thought The Priory of the Orange Tree was a masterpiece (still do) but somehow this book was even better. It takes a lot for me to rank a book 5 stars, it means it is perfect in my eyes and there is nothing I would change. Infinite stars means there is nothing I would change and I wish there was more, which is saying a lot for a book already so large (I only have three infinite stared books in my lifetime) The world building and magic system are so unlike anything I have read before. The depth of the characters, the character’s development, the found family, everything was absolute perfection. I haven’t cried from a book in a long time and this book had me bawling my eyes out a few times. Samantha Shannon has now become an auto-buy author for me and I will be reading the Bone Season series soon.
If you are looking for a book that is a true epic fantasy with intricate woven threads between its characters and magic I would HIGHLY recommend this series. The world building and dictionary are a bit complex, but I tabbed mine for when I was reading to review when I was confused.