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A review by revanchists
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
3.0
It was ok, at least it's not a complete waste of time. It was just nothing remarkable.
-The characters were fine, I guess. Although Alina the MC, the plain orphan with extraordinary power, bugged me sometimes when she complained and ignored social protocol. There were archetypal beautiful but eeevil girls, bullies, a token woman friend, an unnatural, dark, handsome guy, and a childhood best friend.
-The setting was unique (in the YA genre anyway), but it failed to be a living, dynamic place you can see yourself in. There were Russian words and talk of tsars here and there, but overall it felt like generic fantasy. Taverns, kings, and vague references to the government and military, made only slightly interesting with the inclusion of the Grisha. But since 40% of the book is held in court, we never truly see how they work and how these 'Masters of the Small Science' came to be and how they affect everyone else. The Darkling wasn't much of a help either. I just see them as color-coded people with a specific magic ability. I've also read here in GR that the author didn't bother having a 10-second google search when it comes to names and liquor and such. So that's sad.
-I already said that 40% of the book is about Alina looking pretty, going to parties, talking with the guy, thinking about the guys, with the occasional anxiety about saving the world. She attended classes I think. I literally finished this book a few minutes ago and I can't remember most of it anymore.
-The plot was ok, but I wish it was more 'spiced up' because a lot of its elements have been seen before. A plain-looking orphan/street kid/nobody that has extreme power has to fight for it lest she becomes a weapon by someone powerful already? Then along the way she's swept away by extravagant balls and baths and library domes? Yeah okay. There are many novels like that, but once in a while a book ([b:The Final Empire|68428|The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)|Brandon Sanderson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1437254833s/68428.jpg|66322]) punches its way out of the said template and becomes something awesome.
-Thank goodness it was easy to read, because I don't want to endure pretentious prose if it's not conveying anything meaningful.
Overall, I just didn't get excited the whole time I was reading it. It wasn't horrible, just disappointing. 2.75-3/5
-The characters were fine, I guess. Although Alina the MC, the plain orphan with extraordinary power, bugged me sometimes when she complained and ignored social protocol. There were archetypal beautiful but eeevil girls, bullies, a token woman friend, an unnatural, dark, handsome guy, and a childhood best friend.
-The setting was unique (in the YA genre anyway), but it failed to be a living, dynamic place you can see yourself in. There were Russian words and talk of tsars here and there, but overall it felt like generic fantasy. Taverns, kings, and vague references to the government and military, made only slightly interesting with the inclusion of the Grisha. But since 40% of the book is held in court, we never truly see how they work and how these 'Masters of the Small Science' came to be and how they affect everyone else. The Darkling wasn't much of a help either. I just see them as color-coded people with a specific magic ability. I've also read here in GR that the author didn't bother having a 10-second google search when it comes to names and liquor and such. So that's sad.
-I already said that 40% of the book is about Alina looking pretty, going to parties, talking with the guy, thinking about the guys, with the occasional anxiety about saving the world. She attended classes I think. I literally finished this book a few minutes ago and I can't remember most of it anymore.
-The plot was ok, but I wish it was more 'spiced up' because a lot of its elements have been seen before. A plain-looking orphan/street kid/nobody that has extreme power has to fight for it lest she becomes a weapon by someone powerful already? Then along the way she's swept away by extravagant balls and baths and library domes? Yeah okay. There are many novels like that, but once in a while a book ([b:The Final Empire|68428|The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)|Brandon Sanderson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1437254833s/68428.jpg|66322]) punches its way out of the said template and becomes something awesome.
-Thank goodness it was easy to read, because I don't want to endure pretentious prose if it's not conveying anything meaningful.
Overall, I just didn't get excited the whole time I was reading it. It wasn't horrible, just disappointing. 2.75-3/5