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A review by yevolem
The Wall of Storms by Ken Liu
5.0
With this second book, this series is establishing itself as my second favorite fantasy series, behind only A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones). It's to be seen whether it can maintain that distinction over all four books. I don't know how many others would be able to say the same though. Should you read this? You may as well try.
The author has labeled this series as "silkpunk", though I'd also call it science fantasy, with a particular focus how science works in this fantasy world. As with the first book, various technologies are developed and described in detail. This may be off-putting for general fantasy readers. I found their usage ingenious and uncommon which led to a rather unconventional form of warfare.
The first third of the novel is relatively peaceful and filled with philosophical musings of all sorts. It examines society, the people, and their institutions in detail. I found it surprisingly relatable to modern concerns. Many of the ideas found in the author's short fiction are represented here. I found it particularly interesting how the gods in this setting respond to worship. They're who they're believed to be and are geographically bound. I wouldn't have minded if the entire novel had continued as such.
The latter half of the novel is war. The war differs rather a lot from how it was conducted it in the first book, as this time it's a foreign invasion. Much time is spent trying to understand the other side as well. A significant portion is the actual warfare itself. No one is safe. Anyone can die. A character notes that any piece can be sacrificed if doing so will bring about victory. The rest of the series seems that it will continue from the idea of the invasion, which isn't what I would prefer, but will still probably be immensely enjoyable.
The book has its problems as well, though they weren't enough to detract from my overall enjoyment in any meaningful way. At times the plot, especially near the end, relies too much on coincidence to set up narrative tension for future plot lines. It was also questionable that the climatic action at the end is interspersed with flashbacks of how a specific technology was developed. There are various other concerns, but again, nothing that mattered much to my personal enjoyment.
I had put off reading this until it was much closer to the release of the third book, so that there would be less chance of me forgetting much. Whenever I experience something so emotionally powerful, it takes me a while to recover, so I have to account for that as well. Maybe waiting until all the books were released would be better, but that's not something I'm capable of doing when I've enjoyed myself so much.
The author has labeled this series as "silkpunk", though I'd also call it science fantasy, with a particular focus how science works in this fantasy world. As with the first book, various technologies are developed and described in detail. This may be off-putting for general fantasy readers. I found their usage ingenious and uncommon which led to a rather unconventional form of warfare.
The first third of the novel is relatively peaceful and filled with philosophical musings of all sorts. It examines society, the people, and their institutions in detail. I found it surprisingly relatable to modern concerns. Many of the ideas found in the author's short fiction are represented here. I found it particularly interesting how the gods in this setting respond to worship. They're who they're believed to be and are geographically bound. I wouldn't have minded if the entire novel had continued as such.
The latter half of the novel is war. The war differs rather a lot from how it was conducted it in the first book, as this time it's a foreign invasion. Much time is spent trying to understand the other side as well. A significant portion is the actual warfare itself. No one is safe. Anyone can die. A character notes that any piece can be sacrificed if doing so will bring about victory. The rest of the series seems that it will continue from the idea of the invasion, which isn't what I would prefer, but will still probably be immensely enjoyable.
The book has its problems as well, though they weren't enough to detract from my overall enjoyment in any meaningful way. At times the plot, especially near the end, relies too much on coincidence to set up narrative tension for future plot lines. It was also questionable that the climatic action at the end is interspersed with flashbacks of how a specific technology was developed. There are various other concerns, but again, nothing that mattered much to my personal enjoyment.
I had put off reading this until it was much closer to the release of the third book, so that there would be less chance of me forgetting much. Whenever I experience something so emotionally powerful, it takes me a while to recover, so I have to account for that as well. Maybe waiting until all the books were released would be better, but that's not something I'm capable of doing when I've enjoyed myself so much.