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A review by heisiiri
Sang by Elina Pitkäkangas
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
There's a lot to love about Sang. It has fantastic storytelling, and I enjoyed the writing style. The world it showcases is a fascinating mix between sci-fi dystopia and fantasy elements. The characters are very believable and flawed in a good way. Also, when it makes sense for the story, I love to see queer romances in settings where homophobia isn't one of the issues that the couple faces, and we get different kinds of conflict instead. This book does that.
However, as I progressed through the novel, it started to annoy me that the main character felt so passive in the story. He didn't go after what he wanted, he was just tossed around in the narrative by other people. This book doesn't really have a traditional adventure story structure or any sort of quest. Plot twist after plot twist threw the main character into new situations, but his own choices rarely drove the story. Yes, there are some moments where he makes huge decisions, but if anything, they just felt jarring and out of character for a boy who spent most of the story being very passive and simply experiencing events dictated by other people. I would perhaps enjoy reading about a protagonist like this in some contemporary fiction novel, but I did not find him to be a compelling fantasy protagonist.
This book is very sad and very violent. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, just something to take into consideration. It seems like whenever there's a happy scene, something very quickly goes wrong, and the overwhelming tone of suffering and melancholy takes over again. I like my fantasy and sci-fi stories more when they're emotional rollercoasters where you get a bit of everything.
However, as I progressed through the novel, it started to annoy me that the main character felt so passive in the story. He didn't go after what he wanted, he was just tossed around in the narrative by other people. This book doesn't really have a traditional adventure story structure or any sort of quest. Plot twist after plot twist threw the main character into new situations, but his own choices rarely drove the story. Yes, there are some moments where he makes huge decisions, but if anything, they just felt jarring and out of character for a boy who spent most of the story being very passive and simply experiencing events dictated by other people. I would perhaps enjoy reading about a protagonist like this in some contemporary fiction novel, but I did not find him to be a compelling fantasy protagonist.
This book is very sad and very violent. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, just something to take into consideration. It seems like whenever there's a happy scene, something very quickly goes wrong, and the overwhelming tone of suffering and melancholy takes over again. I like my fantasy and sci-fi stories more when they're emotional rollercoasters where you get a bit of everything.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture and Violence
Moderate: Animal death and Death of parent