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A review by imaginary_space
Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Let me start off with the two most important things:
Since Kings of the Wyld is inspired by the rock bands of the 70s, and Bloody Rose is inspired by those of the 80s, I simultaneously hope and and dread that Nicholas Eames will one day write a book inspired by the bands of the 90s. I would be here for that trainwreck and he is probably one of the few people who could pull it off with at least some of their dignity still intact at the end.
Yeah, the 90s were weird.
Also, you can totally read this as a standalone. You will learn who lives and dies in Kings of the Wyld, but if old men reliving their days of glory is not your thing, you probably won't mind anyway.
Now, on to the review.
I like this more and less than Kings of the Wyld. Overall, I like that Bloody Rose has a different focus and doesn't try to imitate its predecessor. But because of that, some of the things I liked in the first book were missing.
In Bloody Rose, we followStevie Nicks Tam Hashford, who is on the edge of seventeen, and wants to join a band to become a famous bard, just like her mother was. She joins the most famous of bands and thus we get an interesting choice for a narrator, because she's part of the band, but as the newbie, she has enough emotional distance to provide us with some interesting observations. And she doesn't know shit, so we don't, too.
The band is a colourful mix of characters who are more diverse than the ones in the first book, and have more fleshed-out background stories. They all have their story arcs, so we get to see a lot more of the world, which is great, but because their stories are all so very different, I didn't build an emotional connection to any of them that was as strong as in the first book. So - good and bad. Not better or worse, just different.
In this book, the women are definitely the protagonists, and all characters have more depth.
It's obvious Nicholas Eames is not happy until he has incorporated at least one uber-edgy character in a novel. But it fits the overall mix, so I don't complain. I personally didn't need this particular kind of backstory in Cura. It helps that most of the time, just when you think he's going to pull out some overused trope, he takes that trope and smashes you around the head with it. But again ... I didn't need Cura's. It was a little disappointing, to be honest, because I didn't expect that kind of lazy storytelling. Apart from that, 14-year-old me would have loved her edginess.
Overall I think this one is more serious, not as silly. It does have its silly moments, but it also asks more questions, and there are more consequences, which I generally like better. What surprised me was that it deals a lot with different parent-child-relationships, something I only realized a few days after having read it.
I enjoyed it. It was fun and adventurous and it's good entertainment.
Since Kings of the Wyld is inspired by the rock bands of the 70s, and Bloody Rose is inspired by those of the 80s, I simultaneously hope and and dread that Nicholas Eames will one day write a book inspired by the bands of the 90s. I would be here for that trainwreck and he is probably one of the few people who could pull it off with at least some of their dignity still intact at the end.
Yeah, the 90s were weird.
Also, you can totally read this as a standalone. You will learn who lives and dies in Kings of the Wyld, but if old men reliving their days of glory is not your thing, you probably won't mind anyway.
Now, on to the review.
I like this more and less than Kings of the Wyld. Overall, I like that Bloody Rose has a different focus and doesn't try to imitate its predecessor. But because of that, some of the things I liked in the first book were missing.
In Bloody Rose, we follow
The band is a colourful mix of characters who are more diverse than the ones in the first book, and have more fleshed-out background stories. They all have their story arcs, so we get to see a lot more of the world, which is great, but because their stories are all so very different, I didn't build an emotional connection to any of them that was as strong as in the first book. So - good and bad. Not better or worse, just different.
In this book, the women are definitely the protagonists, and all characters have more depth.
It's obvious Nicholas Eames is not happy until he has incorporated at least one uber-edgy character in a novel. But it fits the overall mix, so I don't complain. I personally didn't need this particular kind of backstory in Cura. It helps that most of the time, just when you think he's going to pull out some overused trope, he takes that trope and smashes you around the head with it. But again ... I didn't need Cura's. It was a little disappointing, to be honest, because I didn't expect that kind of lazy storytelling. Apart from that, 14-year-old me would have loved her edginess.
Overall I think this one is more serious, not as silly. It does have its silly moments, but it also asks more questions, and there are more consequences, which I generally like better. What surprised me was that it deals a lot with different parent-child-relationships, something I only realized a few days after having read it.
I enjoyed it. It was fun and adventurous and it's good entertainment.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse