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A review by betwixt_the_pages
Seeker by Arwen Elys Dayton
2.0
Quin Kincaid has been put through years of brutal training for what she thinks is the noble purpose of becoming a revered ‘Seeker’.
Only when it’s too late does she discover she will be using her new-found knowledge and training to become an assassin. Quin's new role will take her around the globe, from a remote estate in Scotland to a bustling, futuristic Hong Kong where the past she thought she had escaped will finally catch up with her.
Rating: 2/5 Stars
Quick Reasons: intriguing and unique ideas/world; very small amount of world-building; lots of unanswered questions/missed opportunities; cop-outs; nice cast of characters
I was so, SO excited about this book. I started hearing about it on tumblr, and I thought--I REALLY need to read that! I need to read that right now!
And then I started reading. I think it's safe to say this book fell a bit flat for me in the most important ways.
First off: I noticed, about the halfway point, that there were a LOT more questions about this world/its magic than answers for it. In my mind, at halfway through the book, we ought to know AT LEAST these things: 1. Who the characters are; 2. What their goals/dreams/destinies are; 3. What the world is like/how the magic of said world works/EVERYTHING TO DO with world-building.
The world-building of this book? Pretty much nonexistant. I made the following comment on a buddy read thread here about the halfway mark:
I feel as if...Arwen Elys Dayton has a lot of great ideas going on in this book...but they might be one too many to handle. Shes' trying to get a LOT done in just over 400 pages, and I don't think she quite hits the mark.
The prose is beautiful, the details we're given--particularly about the surroundings--do well to ALMOST bring this story to life. But. BUT. I didn't form a connection with the characters--not really--until about 100 pages from the end. Which is bad. I didn't SEE the characters really, either; I feel like she was striving so hard to make this story come to life for her readers, to make all the little details fit together just so, that she missed out on some of the finer points of writing. I don't know what the Dreads are, or where they come from, or why they exist, or how they do what they do, or...pretty much anything about them. I didn't really get a sense of "knowing" any of the other characters, either--save John, our antagonist.
The writing is so, so pretty, though, and while it took probably a smidge too long, I DID find myself rooting for the characters--particularly Quin and Shinobu, though seeing as they're related, this feels wrong to me on some level or other. I enjoyed the read...but it's not one of my favorites. Hopefully the second book will answer some of my questions...and perhaps be better at building this world for me to fall into.
Overall, I'm disappointed. On to other things.
Only when it’s too late does she discover she will be using her new-found knowledge and training to become an assassin. Quin's new role will take her around the globe, from a remote estate in Scotland to a bustling, futuristic Hong Kong where the past she thought she had escaped will finally catch up with her.
Rating: 2/5 Stars
Quick Reasons: intriguing and unique ideas/world; very small amount of world-building; lots of unanswered questions/missed opportunities; cop-outs; nice cast of characters
I was so, SO excited about this book. I started hearing about it on tumblr, and I thought--I REALLY need to read that! I need to read that right now!
And then I started reading. I think it's safe to say this book fell a bit flat for me in the most important ways.
First off: I noticed, about the halfway point, that there were a LOT more questions about this world/its magic than answers for it. In my mind, at halfway through the book, we ought to know AT LEAST these things: 1. Who the characters are; 2. What their goals/dreams/destinies are; 3. What the world is like/how the magic of said world works/EVERYTHING TO DO with world-building.
The world-building of this book? Pretty much nonexistant. I made the following comment on a buddy read thread here about the halfway mark:
Spoiler
"I feel like there's a lot of world-building NOT going on in this book. We have the general gist...but what ARE Seekers? We still don't know. What do they DO (aside from...murdering people? What did they START with, when they first started out? What was their original design and how did it stray so far off that mark in the years?) What/who are the Dreads? What do THEY do (aside from oversee and decide justice?) How are they "stretched" through time? WHY are they stretched through time? They are meant to stand apart, but it seems they're doing a lot more in the way of helping Briac than of being distanced. There's a sense of magic to this world, but where does it come from? How is it used? I am just...really confused, and feel like we're missing large chunks of back story that we need to understand what's going on. I'm still not sure, also, what exactly athames and lightning rods do or how they work. Also, defusers or whatever that weapon is called--it shoots out sparks and "messes up" a person if they're hit with it, but...why? how? what IS it?!"I feel as if...Arwen Elys Dayton has a lot of great ideas going on in this book...but they might be one too many to handle. Shes' trying to get a LOT done in just over 400 pages, and I don't think she quite hits the mark.
The prose is beautiful, the details we're given--particularly about the surroundings--do well to ALMOST bring this story to life. But. BUT. I didn't form a connection with the characters--not really--until about 100 pages from the end. Which is bad. I didn't SEE the characters really, either; I feel like she was striving so hard to make this story come to life for her readers, to make all the little details fit together just so, that she missed out on some of the finer points of writing. I don't know what the Dreads are, or where they come from, or why they exist, or how they do what they do, or...pretty much anything about them. I didn't really get a sense of "knowing" any of the other characters, either--save John, our antagonist.
The writing is so, so pretty, though, and while it took probably a smidge too long, I DID find myself rooting for the characters--particularly Quin and Shinobu, though seeing as they're related, this feels wrong to me on some level or other. I enjoyed the read...but it's not one of my favorites. Hopefully the second book will answer some of my questions...and perhaps be better at building this world for me to fall into.
Overall, I'm disappointed. On to other things.