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iono's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War, and Colonisation
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Trafficking, Body horror, Xenophobia, Slavery, Murder, Torture, Racism, Kidnapping, and Death
Minor: Bullying, Death of parent, Rape, Sexual content, and Misogyny
misterwisp's review
adventurous
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? No
4.0
It's long but worth the time I think. The strengths are the characters and creative world. It's a large group of people but they all come across as having their own strengths and weaknesses and arcs that will keep playing out in the rest of the series. Nobody felt like a cliche stock fantasy character. I'm left interested to see what happens to the majority of them.
Insects are the dominant world building aspect and it works unexpectedly well. The different people across the map are grouped by whatever insect shapes their ancestry/abilities/race. There are intriguing hints as to how this all works although it's never laid out specifically. It was just an interesting approach I haven't seen before that doesn't seem explicitly based on anything else.
It has a bit of a WW2 vibe at times. There is this growing threat that only a small number of people recognize and are willing to take seriously. The world has mechanical technology and machines as well as a specific version of magic so there is a fun steampunk aspect to the setting too.
It starts out a little slow and gets a little slow in a few sections but I found myself increasingly drawn in as the tension built throughout the book and things reached a satisfying conclusion. I'm absolutely picking up the next book, so in my opinion this one does a lot of things right.
Insects are the dominant world building aspect and it works unexpectedly well. The different people across the map are grouped by whatever insect shapes their ancestry/abilities/race. There are intriguing hints as to how this all works although it's never laid out specifically. It was just an interesting approach I haven't seen before that doesn't seem explicitly based on anything else.
It has a bit of a WW2 vibe at times. There is this growing threat that only a small number of people recognize and are willing to take seriously. The world has mechanical technology and machines as well as a specific version of magic so there is a fun steampunk aspect to the setting too.
It starts out a little slow and gets a little slow in a few sections but I found myself increasingly drawn in as the tension built throughout the book and things reached a satisfying conclusion. I'm absolutely picking up the next book, so in my opinion this one does a lot of things right.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Confinement, Slavery, Violence, and War
Moderate: Blood, Classism, and Physical abuse
Minor: Sexual assault
jaedia's review against another edition
adventurous
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, War, Xenophobia, Blood, Colonisation, Confinement, and Misogyny
Moderate: Abandonment, Body shaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Murder, Torture, and Trafficking
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