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A review by bookshelfmonkey
The Sun and the Void by Gabriela Romero Lacruz
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I was shocked by how low this book's rated on goodreads & storygraph. Like, I know it isn't perfect, but damn.
The main issue with this book (and pretty much the only criticism I agree with) is the pacing. It does get off to a good start: the first few chapters did a great job of getting me invested in the plot, laying out the basic worldbuilding, and introducing the characters. After that, I admit that it does stall somewhat. It took me longer than usual to get through this book (although this was partially due to other things unrelated to the book itself) but I didn't feel like I was struggling through it per se. Instead, I enjoyed taking things slowly as I absorbed everything about the world and the character dynamics. Sure, it could have maybe done with some editing down, but it was nice to have some time to get used to the world and everything in the status quo instead of having everything thrown at me at once. Once it did get going it was great. I could never fully predict how it was going to turn out with all the different characters holding their agendas and the ending hit that perfect balance of being surprising but also making total sense within the context of all I'd seen up to that point.
The characters were messy, but compelling. Sure, they frustrated me a lot of the time, but that's definitely a lot better than them not making me feel anything. Their naivety and... questionable moral judgements all made perfect sense within the context of the book, which sometimes made everything even more frustrating, but in a way that felt intentional. There was also a lot of character development which meant that these frustrating elements were often realised and confronted by the characters themselves, which made for more significant growth. I particularly enjoyed how the interactions between the main four female characters led to them all growing as people and confronting their flaws and learning to communicate better.
The romantic relationships were... messy. There was incest, which, as always, begged the question of "at what point does this become unacceptable?" and, maybe this is my bad, but I didn't realise that two of the people involved didn't know that they were related, so I am going less harshly on that criticism. Honestly, in this aspect it just felt like a lot of darker fantasies that do have some morally dubious elements but don't condone them, in the same way that it doesn't condone the abuse in some of the other relationships.
Honestly, although the pacing was a bit of an issue, I really enjoyed this book and the worldbuilding felt really original. I definitely need more of this in fantasy.
The main issue with this book (and pretty much the only criticism I agree with) is the pacing. It does get off to a good start: the first few chapters did a great job of getting me invested in the plot, laying out the basic worldbuilding, and introducing the characters. After that, I admit that it does stall somewhat. It took me longer than usual to get through this book (although this was partially due to other things unrelated to the book itself) but I didn't feel like I was struggling through it per se. Instead, I enjoyed taking things slowly as I absorbed everything about the world and the character dynamics. Sure, it could have maybe done with some editing down, but it was nice to have some time to get used to the world and everything in the status quo instead of having everything thrown at me at once. Once it did get going it was great. I could never fully predict how it was going to turn out with all the different characters holding their agendas and the ending hit that perfect balance of being surprising but also making total sense within the context of all I'd seen up to that point.
The characters were messy, but compelling. Sure, they frustrated me a lot of the time, but that's definitely a lot better than them not making me feel anything. Their naivety and... questionable moral judgements all made perfect sense within the context of the book, which sometimes made everything even more frustrating, but in a way that felt intentional. There was also a lot of character development which meant that these frustrating elements were often realised and confronted by the characters themselves, which made for more significant growth. I particularly enjoyed how the interactions between the main four female characters led to them all growing as people and confronting their flaws and learning to communicate better.
The romantic relationships were... messy. There was incest, which, as always, begged the question of "at what point does this become unacceptable?" and, maybe this is my bad, but I didn't realise that two of the people involved didn't know that they were related, so I am going less harshly on that criticism. Honestly, in this aspect it just felt like a lot of darker fantasies that do have some morally dubious elements but don't condone them, in the same way that it doesn't condone the abuse in some of the other relationships.
Honestly, although the pacing was a bit of an issue, I really enjoyed this book and the worldbuilding felt really original. I definitely need more of this in fantasy.