Scan barcode
A review by vinayvasan
Hope and Red by Jon Skovron
4.0
Equal parts charming and gritty, Hope & Red is easily one of the most enjoyable reads of the year from a storytelling perspective (even if the origins of the title of the book is a bit lazy if you will)
There is nothing that excites one as much as a tale of revenge. Therein lies the hook of this story, as we find Hope who as a young girl, found her entire village slaughtered by one of the Emperor's magicians (to use a simpler word) and swears vengeance. Adopted by a member of an order of monks, who are deadly warriors, Hope becomes a warrior of her own. The other side of the revenge coin is the heist artist. Something that Scott Lynch made very popular and in this case, we have Red, a thief, a con-artist and a charmer who makes his living by being as dishonest as possible until he runs into Hope
The storytelling as mentioned before is brilliant. Its quite an easy if a charming read that does nothing to detract from some of the grittiest scenes in the book. There is violence but kept short and not as detailed as some of the gritty actioners. While there are enough coincidences and storytelling contrivances (clunky and obvious hints), the end product is a remarkably deft piece that moves fast enough that you dont realize that this is a 400+ pager. Given this is the first book in a trilogy, the ending does leave things unresolved if interestingly poised, guaranteed to make you pick up the next installment
There is nothing that excites one as much as a tale of revenge. Therein lies the hook of this story, as we find Hope who as a young girl, found her entire village slaughtered by one of the Emperor's magicians (to use a simpler word) and swears vengeance. Adopted by a member of an order of monks, who are deadly warriors, Hope becomes a warrior of her own. The other side of the revenge coin is the heist artist. Something that Scott Lynch made very popular and in this case, we have Red, a thief, a con-artist and a charmer who makes his living by being as dishonest as possible until he runs into Hope
The storytelling as mentioned before is brilliant. Its quite an easy if a charming read that does nothing to detract from some of the grittiest scenes in the book. There is violence but kept short and not as detailed as some of the gritty actioners. While there are enough coincidences and storytelling contrivances (clunky and obvious hints), the end product is a remarkably deft piece that moves fast enough that you dont realize that this is a 400+ pager. Given this is the first book in a trilogy, the ending does leave things unresolved if interestingly poised, guaranteed to make you pick up the next installment