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A review by sol_journal
The Soul of Chaos by Gregory Wunderlin
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
**Thank you NetGalley and Black Rose Writing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!**
Posted to: NetGalley, Goodreads, and The StoryGraph
Posted on: 24 October 2023
3 out of 5 stars.
You know when there’s books written for certain audiences? I don’t think I was the target audience for this one. I dove too deep into a fantasy section instead of wading, and I ended up here with ‘The Soul of Chaos’. It was so different than the fantasy style I normally read (granted I’ve been more in the YA/NA area but I’ve been slowly reaching out recently like with ‘The Sun and The Void’ but I digress) and I think that was the start to why I couldn’t really click with this read.
The writing style was 50/50 for me. I loved it in some scenes like the more action ones, but other times I didn’t vibe with it. It’s not my favorite overall. I don’t think there’s a set time period it’s supposed to be in, but the setting and the speaking kind of clash to me- but that’s just a personal dislike. It may work for others, it may not.
The characters were… there for sure. I was worried that with the way Arkalis was being written, she’d turn out to be another Lou from ‘Serpent and Dove’ which luckily she began to change more. I agree with another reviewer that I disliked the way she was sexualized immediately and a little often in her chapters. I really liked her character though, and wish she wouldn’t have fallen in that typical trope for women in fantasy. Rurik was also a bit blander for me. I think his chapters were just moving a little slower and introducing a whole lot more of the world than Arkalis’s. There was a character in his little ragtag group too that I have a bone to pick with- Feral. There isnt a skin tone mentioned for her that I can remember, but she’s mentioned to have ‘elegant dreadlocks’, has more broken speech compared to the others, and is a character that like- other characters aren’t fond of being ‘manhandled’ and talked down on by. I’m not sure if this character is meant to be poc, but the dreadlocks threw me off (as a hairstyle most common in the black community and having origin ties in Africa) paired with the way she’s written- it gave me the ick. The word ‘savage’ is also used way too much for her character for my liking (as mentioned in my ‘Savage Beasts’ review, I have no voice on the usage of this word as I’m not in the community it affects, but those who deserve the platform to speak on it have stated their views already).
There’s also this torture scene that I dunno, I didn’t like it. Again, I’m not entirely used to this end of the pool though so maybe it just caught me by surprise?
I DNF’d this read at 57% in the end and leave it at 3 stars for being a very neutral read for me. I fell out of the desire to read it- just don’t know if it was because I entered a slump, because I just wasn’t used to this writing style and fantasy setting, or just didn’t like the things that happened in the story. Maybe it was a little mix of everything. I wanted to like it though! Arkalis was growing on me and I wanted the story to unravel somehow. I got a little confused with where everything was going though, what was happening and what everything is. I thought maybe it’s connected to another already-established setting and magic system that I didn’t know of, but there wasn’t really a clear and understandable path IMO. Again, though, this may be a story that works for some people and doesn’t work for others. I’m on the latter half of that statement- it just didn’t work too well for me.
Posted to: NetGalley, Goodreads, and The StoryGraph
Posted on: 24 October 2023
3 out of 5 stars.
You know when there’s books written for certain audiences? I don’t think I was the target audience for this one. I dove too deep into a fantasy section instead of wading, and I ended up here with ‘The Soul of Chaos’. It was so different than the fantasy style I normally read (granted I’ve been more in the YA/NA area but I’ve been slowly reaching out recently like with ‘The Sun and The Void’ but I digress) and I think that was the start to why I couldn’t really click with this read.
The writing style was 50/50 for me. I loved it in some scenes like the more action ones, but other times I didn’t vibe with it. It’s not my favorite overall. I don’t think there’s a set time period it’s supposed to be in, but the setting and the speaking kind of clash to me- but that’s just a personal dislike. It may work for others, it may not.
The characters were… there for sure. I was worried that with the way Arkalis was being written, she’d turn out to be another Lou from ‘Serpent and Dove’ which luckily she began to change more. I agree with another reviewer that I disliked the way she was sexualized immediately and a little often in her chapters. I really liked her character though, and wish she wouldn’t have fallen in that typical trope for women in fantasy. Rurik was also a bit blander for me. I think his chapters were just moving a little slower and introducing a whole lot more of the world than Arkalis’s. There was a character in his little ragtag group too that I have a bone to pick with- Feral. There isnt a skin tone mentioned for her that I can remember, but she’s mentioned to have ‘elegant dreadlocks’, has more broken speech compared to the others, and is a character that like- other characters aren’t fond of being ‘manhandled’ and talked down on by. I’m not sure if this character is meant to be poc, but the dreadlocks threw me off (as a hairstyle most common in the black community and having origin ties in Africa) paired with the way she’s written- it gave me the ick. The word ‘savage’ is also used way too much for her character for my liking (as mentioned in my ‘Savage Beasts’ review, I have no voice on the usage of this word as I’m not in the community it affects, but those who deserve the platform to speak on it have stated their views already).
There’s also this torture scene that I dunno, I didn’t like it. Again, I’m not entirely used to this end of the pool though so maybe it just caught me by surprise?
I DNF’d this read at 57% in the end and leave it at 3 stars for being a very neutral read for me. I fell out of the desire to read it- just don’t know if it was because I entered a slump, because I just wasn’t used to this writing style and fantasy setting, or just didn’t like the things that happened in the story. Maybe it was a little mix of everything. I wanted to like it though! Arkalis was growing on me and I wanted the story to unravel somehow. I got a little confused with where everything was going though, what was happening and what everything is. I thought maybe it’s connected to another already-established setting and magic system that I didn’t know of, but there wasn’t really a clear and understandable path IMO. Again, though, this may be a story that works for some people and doesn’t work for others. I’m on the latter half of that statement- it just didn’t work too well for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture, Death of parent, Dementia, and Violence
Minor: Alcoholism and Alcohol