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A review by linark
Blade of Tyshalle by Matthew Woodring Stover
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
4.0
Heedless discussion of spoilers below.
Heroes Die was in my opinion basically the perfect book, as far as action goes. I like to characterise these books as a step beyond action pulp. Or gritty action with philosophy. I really really like the combination because the ideas are so clever and imaginative. I like that he connects this universe to our own, to real world concepts, and doesn't just handwave all of it off with magic explanations that he pulls out of his ass. The sci-fi aspect makes it so much cooler and elevates it a tier above pure fantasy worldbuilding. I do love the ideas. The way he encapsulates the greed and selfishness and brutality of our Earth goes from vivid enough to be a character of its own to actually literally becoming a character: the Blind God, the divine personification of humanity's less noble urges. Cool, awesome. The main conflict stems from this intangible creature attempting to conquer Overworld.
A large part of the story was a lot of metaphysical hocus pocus though. It kinda lost me. A lot of the narrative was very convoluted and bloated. It's a large part as to why I did not like Blade of Tyshalle as much as I expected to.
But my favourite part was the characters. One of the things I adore about these books is the absolute intolerance for cardboard characters. Stover always surprises me with the realism and depth of even the less important characters, the variety of perspectives presented. It's all done in such a grounded manner. It's easy to make a character simply evil to fit the plot but there is true skill in crafting characters that contain true depth and still cannot reconcile themselves with each others' creeds and causes; the conflict that ensues is genuine and compelling.
Chris Hansen (lmao such a choice set of names) was a great addition. I love him and Caine. But then also nothing is more freeing than realising your own autonomy and taking a path outside of the previously set precedents because it is what feels right for you. I feel that.
My favourite part is the insight into Caine. His POV was the most enjoyable part of the book. He's happy as long as he is running far away from his childhood of horrors. His character development was magnificent. You can be pushed beyond your breaking point and come out the other side inexplicably alive and standing but put together with the broken pieces of your former self. It's a marvel. This is really a deeply optimistic book. It articulates the random chaos of existence. The chance occurances and events that coincide and turn out unexpected. Meaning is found only looking back. You just gotta cope.
Also best case ending for Pallas and Caine honestly. Fucking sad that they were so utterly incompatible, but this ending with Pallas joining the river and Caine getting closure from her is probably the best ending for them, long term. Perfect. I wanna see what bullshit he gets up to in the next book, having embraced himself and what he really wants out of life. The only truly fucked casualty is Faith. I have a bad feeling about her; magically traumatised children usually turn out pretty weird. Her character was also shittier, basically a walking plot device--but it's not that glaring so I won't complain.
A large part of the story was a lot of metaphysical hocus pocus though. It kinda lost me. A lot of the narrative was very convoluted and bloated. It's a large part as to why I did not like Blade of Tyshalle as much as I expected to.
But my favourite part was the characters. One of the things I adore about these books is the absolute intolerance for cardboard characters. Stover always surprises me with the realism and depth of even the less important characters, the variety of perspectives presented. It's all done in such a grounded manner. It's easy to make a character simply evil to fit the plot but there is true skill in crafting characters that contain true depth and still cannot reconcile themselves with each others' creeds and causes; the conflict that ensues is genuine and compelling.
Chris Hansen (lmao such a choice set of names) was a great addition. I love him and Caine. But then also nothing is more freeing than realising your own autonomy and taking a path outside of the previously set precedents because it is what feels right for you. I feel that.
My favourite part is the insight into Caine. His POV was the most enjoyable part of the book. He's happy as long as he is running far away from his childhood of horrors. His character development was magnificent. You can be pushed beyond your breaking point and come out the other side inexplicably alive and standing but put together with the broken pieces of your former self. It's a marvel. This is really a deeply optimistic book. It articulates the random chaos of existence. The chance occurances and events that coincide and turn out unexpected. Meaning is found only looking back. You just gotta cope.
Also best case ending for Pallas and Caine honestly. Fucking sad that they were so utterly incompatible, but this ending with Pallas joining the river and Caine getting closure from her is probably the best ending for them, long term. Perfect. I wanna see what bullshit he gets up to in the next book, having embraced himself and what he really wants out of life. The only truly fucked casualty is Faith. I have a bad feeling about her; magically traumatised children usually turn out pretty weird. Her character was also shittier, basically a walking plot device--but it's not that glaring so I won't complain.