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A review by readwkit
A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft
4.0
I loved the storytelling in this book! It was woodlandesque, cozy and low-stakes while also having modern elements in it. The slow burn was very entertaining, and the characters were developed in a nicely-packaged complex and layered format. They had their separate motivations, inhibitions, character-quirks and insecurities. It gave a nice touch of realness to the main characters in a way that made them easy to root for. The outward pretences versus inner conflicts dichotomy is done very well for the two leads as well. Their transition to unlikely allies to friends to lovers was also done seamlessly. They learned how to lean on each other over time and that just made their relationship more plausible???? I think?????
The book is definitely far more character-driven than plot-driven. While that’s not a complaint for me at all , the pacing didn’t spread evenly across the book. The last 45 pages felt extremely rushed, and considering that it was dealing with the essential plotlines of the book—the hunt, and the aftermath—it seemed a little unfair to be over with it so quickly. By cutting down the action scene to merely 20 pages when 300 pages had been leading up to that moment made me, as a reader, feel cheated of my time (still loved the rest of the book though). I really wish we could’ve gotten 100 pages more to spread out the plot in a coherent manner that was akin to the pacing of the first 300 pages.
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SPOILER INCOMING
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Another critique I had was that of the magical animal: hala. There was so much potential for the magical component to create a major obstacle for our characters beyond moral dilemma. The author made several notable mentions of how the hala was somehow connected to Maggie, but never went ahead with that plotline. The ending became somewhat anti-climatic, and their moral dilemma over killing the godly creature was also done away with within 3 pages or so. Once again, I think the pacing of the book was off-kilter at the end and the unexplored hala plotline has much to do with it.
Nevertheless, I think having a reading thread for the book really helped me gather my thoughts and savour the book in a way I haven’t done for light fantasy books in a long time.
The book is definitely far more character-driven than plot-driven. While that’s not a complaint for me at all , the pacing didn’t spread evenly across the book. The last 45 pages felt extremely rushed, and considering that it was dealing with the essential plotlines of the book—the hunt, and the aftermath—it seemed a little unfair to be over with it so quickly. By cutting down the action scene to merely 20 pages when 300 pages had been leading up to that moment made me, as a reader, feel cheated of my time (still loved the rest of the book though). I really wish we could’ve gotten 100 pages more to spread out the plot in a coherent manner that was akin to the pacing of the first 300 pages.
-
-
SPOILER INCOMING
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Another critique I had was that of the magical animal: hala. There was so much potential for the magical component to create a major obstacle for our characters beyond moral dilemma. The author made several notable mentions of how the hala was somehow connected to Maggie, but never went ahead with that plotline. The ending became somewhat anti-climatic, and their moral dilemma over killing the godly creature was also done away with within 3 pages or so. Once again, I think the pacing of the book was off-kilter at the end and the unexplored hala plotline has much to do with it.
Nevertheless, I think having a reading thread for the book really helped me gather my thoughts and savour the book in a way I haven’t done for light fantasy books in a long time.