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avatarslayoshi 's review for:
The Black Tides of Heaven
by Neon Yang
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
What a cool book!
I love any story that can make me feel like I really *know* the main character by the end. Here, I really felt like I was inside Akeha's head. I got to know them and what drives their actions, which I appreciate more than a lot of other things in a novel. To me, that shows that the author knows their characters very well.
And the world that this is set in! I really felt like I was in it. The inspiration came through vividly to me, and maybe that's from my experience with Avatar, but I was in love with all of the imagery I was getting. The magic only enhanced this, to the point that it felt so natural every time it was described. Sometimes it can sound too complicated or the wording pulls me out of what I'm reading while my brain tries to make sense of the words.
I like the concept of the royal children being gender neutral when they are children, but having to choose specifically male or female at a certain age was a little... odd. I was hoping that there was a gender neutral option that would come about. Regardless, Akeha's inner struggle with Mokoya choosing to be a woman (aka different than how he feels) was still an interesting part of this story to read through. Yang captured the pain of not feeling like you belong in a certain way perfectly.
Immediately after I finished this, I bought the collection of 4 stories all as one novel. Can't wait to read the rest of them!
I love any story that can make me feel like I really *know* the main character by the end. Here, I really felt like I was inside Akeha's head. I got to know them and what drives their actions, which I appreciate more than a lot of other things in a novel. To me, that shows that the author knows their characters very well.
And the world that this is set in! I really felt like I was in it. The inspiration came through vividly to me, and maybe that's from my experience with Avatar, but I was in love with all of the imagery I was getting. The magic only enhanced this, to the point that it felt so natural every time it was described. Sometimes it can sound too complicated or the wording pulls me out of what I'm reading while my brain tries to make sense of the words.
I like the concept of the royal children being gender neutral when they are children, but having to choose specifically male or female at a certain age was a little... odd. I was hoping that there was a gender neutral option that would come about. Regardless, Akeha's inner struggle with Mokoya choosing to be a woman (aka different than how he feels) was still an interesting part of this story to read through. Yang captured the pain of not feeling like you belong in a certain way perfectly.
Immediately after I finished this, I bought the collection of 4 stories all as one novel. Can't wait to read the rest of them!