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A review by lanidon
Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan
4.0
This is a very ambitious book and I really appreciate the big swing it took. The opening was so strong that I simply had to see it through, but unfortunately it lost me, just a bit, when we actually get deep in the fantasy world
There are three different types of perspective in this book:
There are three different types of perspective in this book:
- Passages from the actual story as published on earth when the mc read them
- the characters who are native to this world and do not know of the universe travelers
- the mc and other universe travelers, who have knowledge of the larger story and also of Earth, slang, jokes, etc
This creates a very strange element to reading it where the sections are ALL third person POV with a similar voice BUT just different enough for it to feel jarring when switching between. The writing is not consistent enough to create a smooth transition NOR varied enough to feel like unique sections. The mc POV sections are noticeably jokier, which I enjoyed, yet it makes the other sections feel a little dull and uptight in juxtaposition. I think I could actually use a first person POV to really immerse in the dual character study of the mc. Perhaps the author thought that would be too much, but you're already doing so much so might as well go all the way. I honestly would have even enjoyed some short second person sections that describe the brief life of more universe travelers. I think the book could go even bigger
Which brings me to my next point, a large part of this book IS the exact thing the mc complained about when reading it herself: it is a dense, slow, fantasy with too many characters who all have multiple names. The author is doing something very bold with the meta narrative, but the majority of the book is taken up with telling a less interesting story. The core story is just a fairly run of the mill big chunky political fantasy with the interesting multi dimensional timeline shifting intrigue and key character elements at the edges. I understand how hard it must've been to craft a story like this when we, the audience, do not know the world like the in universe Earth characters do; you must explain it to us, but the balance is just tipped a little too far for my taste. I wanted more of the struggles of the universe travelers and their memories of Earth and how they are trying to shift key plotlines or trying to hide from the narrative entirely. I think we got bits of that but not enough to dig it's claws in
Overall, I did really enjoy this book and I have faith that the next can work out some of these kinks since the world is now established. I loved the mc, I wanted more of her, I wanted more of her mental state, I wanted more of her humor, and more of her fears. I do recommend it if you enjoy BOTH political fantasies and very quirky, unique, meta narratives.
Which brings me to my next point, a large part of this book IS the exact thing the mc complained about when reading it herself: it is a dense, slow, fantasy with too many characters who all have multiple names. The author is doing something very bold with the meta narrative, but the majority of the book is taken up with telling a less interesting story. The core story is just a fairly run of the mill big chunky political fantasy with the interesting multi dimensional timeline shifting intrigue and key character elements at the edges. I understand how hard it must've been to craft a story like this when we, the audience, do not know the world like the in universe Earth characters do; you must explain it to us, but the balance is just tipped a little too far for my taste. I wanted more of the struggles of the universe travelers and their memories of Earth and how they are trying to shift key plotlines or trying to hide from the narrative entirely. I think we got bits of that but not enough to dig it's claws in
Overall, I did really enjoy this book and I have faith that the next can work out some of these kinks since the world is now established. I loved the mc, I wanted more of her, I wanted more of her mental state, I wanted more of her humor, and more of her fears. I do recommend it if you enjoy BOTH political fantasies and very quirky, unique, meta narratives.