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a_ab 's review for:
A Taste of Gold and Iron
by Alexandra Rowland
4.5*s. This book was so enjoyable, it was nearly perfect: a delightful writing style with sparkling humor, a fascinating world with interesting social norms, which are shown and explored on page, a political drama full of intrigues and intricate machinations, a mystery around state crimes and regular crimes, which have strong political implications, and, more importantly than all that, — complex characters entangled in complicated relationships, conflicting loyalties and difficult choices, all of them growing in natural believable ways.
The only problem: it was too long. There is enough going on to explain such length, but not to fully justify it. A stronger focus and tighter prose in some places would have served the story better. Making the villains/criminals less incompetent and stupid would have also improved the pace and cut some filler. This sagging of the plot and fuzzy mystery dynamics are the biggest obstacle to the book's rereadability.
The only problem: it was too long. There is enough going on to explain such length, but not to fully justify it. A stronger focus and tighter prose in some places would have served the story better. Making the villains/criminals less incompetent and stupid would have also improved the pace and cut some filler. This sagging of the plot and fuzzy mystery dynamics are the biggest obstacle to the book's rereadability.