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A review by oddroad
Symphony of the Wind by Steven McKinnon
5.0
I got this book through TBRindR which means I got it for free which means nothing as I still will write whatever the fuck I want
Normally I’d start by telling you what kind of book I just read. Here I’d say “Oh that’s a fantasy-book” or maybe I would be more specific and while Symphony of the Wind clearly belongs to some sort of fantasy I’m not so sure on what label to put on it exactly but for now I’ll go with “Fantasy-Resident Evil-Spy Thriller with some Science Fiction”
This probably sounds weird and some of it may be just because of my exposure to certain media but that’s what it felt like.
Here I have to say that the world-building probably too much for some people in the beginning but as soon as that’s out of the way the story starts to pick up speed and never really slows down afterward. So yes the beginning can be overwhelming, confusing and be a bit to much but that allows the rest to breathe a little easier.
As I said too much for some people, I personally like when the world feels like it has a history and thus is a real place I can visit and that is the case here. Dalthea (hope I wrote that right) where most of the book takes place feels real and stays that way except maybe for the Resident Evil inspired stuff. Also I love airships (or ships in any form) in books.
Some of the things the characters (and the reader) knows or get told in the beginning gets challenged throughout the story and I found it very well written as I got that sense of “Aha!” or “Oh crap!” the same way as the characters.
There is very little magic in the story and it only really gets on full display in the final moments as such the magic is very soft and throughout the book you’re sometimes led to believe there is no magic and yes most of it is explained by science and someone never explained why they lead a mage guild and then there is a little bit of magic in the end.
With a book this length (and in this genre) there are quite a few characters so let’s start with something I didn’t like.
The main antagonist never really struck me with a reason as to why he is doing everything or at least I don’t feel as it’s explored enough. He has no pov-chapters but is featured in the conclusion to the book and just seems so off in the midst of all the other characters which are well written (or at least don’t need exploring) and I guess the reasoning of the villain will be enough for some people but I just like my evil a little more human than here.
Serena as one of the main characters happens to be also my favourite in the book. She is an orphan and clearly with green hair born to lead a book but I always felt like she reacted like a real person to events that happened to her. Most of the interactions by characters that are not trained fighters/assassins/military felt very possible an well written (and the others felt like an action movie or game). Serena starts out as a finished character there is little character growth with here but it fits her. She is a resilient girl that can take anything thrown at here and still go on. Throughout the story her view of herself gets challenged and I’d love seen that explored more in the sequel, I don’t want to spoil but not building on her new sense of self or how certain knowledge impacts here would make her feel more shallow than she deserves.
Gallows and Damien are bounty hunters and both deal with their own devils. The problems they face may be typical of male characters in need of growth in fantasy stories but both don’t really feel forced (okay maybe Damien). Especially Gallows while a typical problem to overcome is well written as his hurdles are written in the history of the country and don’t feel so arbitrary because of that.
Most of the side characters are some shade of “tough guy/gal” as you mostly deal with soldiers of some sort or other professions where I can see this type of person working or seeking out that form of employment.
That leaves us with a sometimes pulpy book I can’t put a label on with great characters if the author keeps writing in this way and maybe one tough guy too much that I really enjoyed and I love the mix of different genres I can see inspiring this book.
Normally I’d start by telling you what kind of book I just read. Here I’d say “Oh that’s a fantasy-book” or maybe I would be more specific and while Symphony of the Wind clearly belongs to some sort of fantasy I’m not so sure on what label to put on it exactly but for now I’ll go with “Fantasy-Resident Evil-Spy Thriller with some Science Fiction”
This probably sounds weird and some of it may be just because of my exposure to certain media but that’s what it felt like.
Here I have to say that the world-building probably too much for some people in the beginning but as soon as that’s out of the way the story starts to pick up speed and never really slows down afterward. So yes the beginning can be overwhelming, confusing and be a bit to much but that allows the rest to breathe a little easier.
As I said too much for some people, I personally like when the world feels like it has a history and thus is a real place I can visit and that is the case here. Dalthea (hope I wrote that right) where most of the book takes place feels real and stays that way except maybe for the Resident Evil inspired stuff. Also I love airships (or ships in any form) in books.
Some of the things the characters (and the reader) knows or get told in the beginning gets challenged throughout the story and I found it very well written as I got that sense of “Aha!” or “Oh crap!” the same way as the characters.
There is very little magic in the story and it only really gets on full display in the final moments as such the magic is very soft and throughout the book you’re sometimes led to believe there is no magic and yes most of it is explained by science and someone never explained why they lead a mage guild and then there is a little bit of magic in the end.
With a book this length (and in this genre) there are quite a few characters so let’s start with something I didn’t like.
The main antagonist never really struck me with a reason as to why he is doing everything or at least I don’t feel as it’s explored enough. He has no pov-chapters but is featured in the conclusion to the book and just seems so off in the midst of all the other characters which are well written (or at least don’t need exploring) and I guess the reasoning of the villain will be enough for some people but I just like my evil a little more human than here.
Serena as one of the main characters happens to be also my favourite in the book. She is an orphan and clearly with green hair born to lead a book but I always felt like she reacted like a real person to events that happened to her. Most of the interactions by characters that are not trained fighters/assassins/military felt very possible an well written (and the others felt like an action movie or game). Serena starts out as a finished character there is little character growth with here but it fits her. She is a resilient girl that can take anything thrown at here and still go on. Throughout the story her view of herself gets challenged and I’d love seen that explored more in the sequel, I don’t want to spoil but not building on her new sense of self or how certain knowledge impacts here would make her feel more shallow than she deserves.
Gallows and Damien are bounty hunters and both deal with their own devils. The problems they face may be typical of male characters in need of growth in fantasy stories but both don’t really feel forced (okay maybe Damien). Especially Gallows while a typical problem to overcome is well written as his hurdles are written in the history of the country and don’t feel so arbitrary because of that.
Most of the side characters are some shade of “tough guy/gal” as you mostly deal with soldiers of some sort or other professions where I can see this type of person working or seeking out that form of employment.
That leaves us with a sometimes pulpy book I can’t put a label on with great characters if the author keeps writing in this way and maybe one tough guy too much that I really enjoyed and I love the mix of different genres I can see inspiring this book.