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A review by clyssandre
All the Windwracked Stars by Elizabeth Bear
3.0
All the Windwracked Stars left me with mix feelings. I did enjoy its world, story and characters, but on the other hand I really struggled through it. It felt long and slow, all the way up to the end.
What caught me in the first pages was Kasimir, the beautiful valraven you can see on the book cover. I found him an original creature, partly horse, partly deer, partly bird, with two head, one male and one female. He is the wisdom in this book, a model of faithfulness and supportiveness, and he's telepathic (which is cool). I really wanted to know more about him. Unfortunately, the novel doesn't focus too much on him and his people and this was a bit disappointing to me.
On the contrary, the story revolves mainly around the character of Muire, the last Waelcyrge, burned with guild and shame after she run away from the battlefield and thus became the only survivor of her Kind. Muire's personal conflicts were interesting (and understandable), but I couldn't really connect with her. She seemed cold and distant, and her feelings somewhat muffled. Therefore I found it hard to sympathize with her. I didn't exactly understand her attitude toward the Wolf and Cahey. Sometimes it felt like she hated/loved them both, even though it didn't feel like it was supposed to be the case. I just got confused.
Every single page I turned, I hoped to learn more about the world, about this dying Valdyrgard and the city of Eiledon, and the people in it, and how precisely it went all so bad. Even though the book does provide some explanation, it's really scarce and not enough to quench my thirst on that aspect.
On the one hand, there is certainly something mesmerizing about how Elizabeth Bear describes Valdyrgard world. It's very visual, poetic, and really brings you to a magical world. There are some very original elements to it. On the other hand, I got bored in it.
The story lacked of intensity for me. I didn't feel a climax anywhere in the book. It was slow and slightly melancholic the whole way. I got interested in the book, but I didn't get excited. I got interested in Muire and all the other creatures, especially the Valraven and the Moreaux, but I didn't particularly connect with them. I was not surprised at the end. I didn't feel there was any element of suspense, surprise or unexpected twists. The end was rather predictable.
I guess that was the issue for me. Everything was nice: Eilendor, the mix of magic and technology, the peculiar topography of Eilendon and its strange mixed population, but everything was always too slow and quiet for me.
What caught me in the first pages was Kasimir, the beautiful valraven you can see on the book cover. I found him an original creature, partly horse, partly deer, partly bird, with two head, one male and one female. He is the wisdom in this book, a model of faithfulness and supportiveness, and he's telepathic (which is cool). I really wanted to know more about him. Unfortunately, the novel doesn't focus too much on him and his people and this was a bit disappointing to me.
On the contrary, the story revolves mainly around the character of Muire, the last Waelcyrge, burned with guild and shame after she run away from the battlefield and thus became the only survivor of her Kind. Muire's personal conflicts were interesting (and understandable), but I couldn't really connect with her. She seemed cold and distant, and her feelings somewhat muffled. Therefore I found it hard to sympathize with her. I didn't exactly understand her attitude toward the Wolf and Cahey. Sometimes it felt like she hated/loved them both, even though it didn't feel like it was supposed to be the case. I just got confused.
Every single page I turned, I hoped to learn more about the world, about this dying Valdyrgard and the city of Eiledon, and the people in it, and how precisely it went all so bad. Even though the book does provide some explanation, it's really scarce and not enough to quench my thirst on that aspect.
On the one hand, there is certainly something mesmerizing about how Elizabeth Bear describes Valdyrgard world. It's very visual, poetic, and really brings you to a magical world. There are some very original elements to it. On the other hand, I got bored in it.
The story lacked of intensity for me. I didn't feel a climax anywhere in the book. It was slow and slightly melancholic the whole way. I got interested in the book, but I didn't get excited. I got interested in Muire and all the other creatures, especially the Valraven and the Moreaux, but I didn't particularly connect with them. I was not surprised at the end. I didn't feel there was any element of suspense, surprise or unexpected twists. The end was rather predictable.
I guess that was the issue for me. Everything was nice: Eilendor, the mix of magic and technology, the peculiar topography of Eilendon and its strange mixed population, but everything was always too slow and quiet for me.