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A review by xoa
The Stone in the Skull by Elizabeth Bear
3.0
It's nice to read something that has more than one trans person in it as well as fairly fleshed-out considerations of how different people relate to gender in-universe!
For me this felt like unremarkable middle of the road fantasy, which itself was nice; it's easy and fun to read. Narrative elements are well-balanced. The pacing is good, the world building is good, the characterization is good. All the characters are distinct and memorable while still retaining nuance. The worldbuilding is given just enough time without feeling boring or distracting from the story. Solid!
The writing was a bit uneven in places - it seemed like it couldn't quite keep establish a consistent voice - but not disruptively so. There's a tendency towards sort of unnecessarily wordy turns of phrase in an attempt to make it sound historical, but that's almost universal in fantasy fiction and doesn't distract too much and certainly isn't the worst culprit of that.
I'm not totally in love with the book, but I liked it and feel generally warm and positive about it. I'll probably read more stuff from the author! I'm invested enough in the story to want to know how it turns out for sure. I'll probably even buy more of their books.
A nice read, definitely a solid pick for anybody who likes fantasy. Vaguely reminds me of Tamora Pierce? I think Brenna might like it.
For me this felt like unremarkable middle of the road fantasy, which itself was nice; it's easy and fun to read. Narrative elements are well-balanced. The pacing is good, the world building is good, the characterization is good. All the characters are distinct and memorable while still retaining nuance. The worldbuilding is given just enough time without feeling boring or distracting from the story. Solid!
The writing was a bit uneven in places - it seemed like it couldn't quite keep establish a consistent voice - but not disruptively so. There's a tendency towards sort of unnecessarily wordy turns of phrase in an attempt to make it sound historical, but that's almost universal in fantasy fiction and doesn't distract too much and certainly isn't the worst culprit of that.
I'm not totally in love with the book, but I liked it and feel generally warm and positive about it. I'll probably read more stuff from the author! I'm invested enough in the story to want to know how it turns out for sure. I'll probably even buy more of their books.
A nice read, definitely a solid pick for anybody who likes fantasy. Vaguely reminds me of Tamora Pierce? I think Brenna might like it.