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A review by verymom
Flamecaster by Cinda Williams Chima
4.0
2021 re-read:
Spoilers herein.
Okay, well. I wasn't sure about how I'd feel about re-reading this after my husband died. I knew what was coming and I still cried my head off when. Like, wracking can't-get-enough-air sobs. And I had to set the audiobook aside for a while.
I went back to it, but had to do something else while listening, like play solitaire on my phone.
I will say that Chima handles death, grief, and how profound loss impacts a character MUCH better than most. I'd even guess that she's been through this in some way or another and gets it. However, there are a lot of things about Han's death that are absolutely enraging, especially if you start Flamecaster right after finishing the Seven Realms.
1. It happens SO EARLY. You are barely getting to know your favorite characters as parents, and BLAM.
2. Because it's so early on, it FEELS like a cheap shot at a plot device. I know from what I remember about how this series shakes out, that it doesn't end up being like that, but even reading it the second time, it feels like a cheap plot device all over again.
3. The way Adrian bolts makes me angry for the rest of his grieving family. Even if his death ends up being more than a cheap plot device, this part hits different on this side of (my own) catastrophic loss.
It's worth mentioning, I think, that my kids who love the original series are still PISSED OFF at this series. And now that their dad has died? None of them are interested in revisiting The Shattered Realms. Canon for them, ends with [b:The Crimson Crown|8069828|The Crimson Crown (Seven Realms, #4)|Cinda Williams Chima|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1345041697l/8069828._SX50_.jpg|12770588]. I suppose, on some level, I appreciate this kind of loss reflected in a series I really love. I still hate it, but I also hate that my husband died. And yet, losing people close to you is actually part of life, even if no one wants to talk about it. So, I don't know. Mixed feelings.
Anyway, I was listening to the audiobook this time and I don't know if that made the grief sucker punches better or worse.
About the narration: Having gone through the process of having an audiobook made, I know how much work it is for the narrator and everyone involved on the production end. It even makes work for the author in that sometimes the audiobook production process highlights errors and typos that got missed during editing. Narrators are amazing people who put in long hours bringing our favorite books to life in new and different ways. Narration is also really, really important to my kids with dyslexia. Reading with your ears is a valid way to read and I don't want to be trampling over any of that.
That said, both the Seven Realms narrator, Carol Monda and the Shattered Realms narrator, Kim Mai Guest are Americans with American-English accents. And both try, with varying degrees of success, to give the characters British/Scottish/Irish accents. Both give poorer "street rats" an approximation of Cockney or brogue and try to give the royal or upper crust families posh sounding accents. None of it sounds native. I think one might get used to the accents if the entire book was narrated like this, but both narrators use their American-English accents for the expository bits.
There are a LOT of characters in these series, and I know the different accents helps keep characters straight, but neither series handles this very well. The narration for [b:A Skinful of Shadows|34213608|A Skinful of Shadows|Frances Hardinge|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1499835692l/34213608._SY75_.jpg|55262066] by [a:Frances Hardinge|119830|Frances Hardinge|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1616619207p2/119830.jpg] (another favorite author of mine) was ruined in a similar way.
So, you know, since best-selling authors and big five publishers regularly read my reviews (haha), take note: If you want European accents, hire someone European. But seriously, just FYI for future listeners. It might drive you nuts. Guest is also a very breathy narrator with a higher pitch, which is a little jarring after coming from Mondo's work.
If you love these series as much as I do, the stories carry themselves and I was able to look past the narration (at least so far with the Shattered Realms). I am also a speed listener (1.5 - 2x speed) which helps.
Narration aside, I'm waiting to feel the love that I felt the first time I read this. It's good. I'm happy to be back in this world. But it's different. Last time there was a lot of time/space between reading the Seven Realms and finding this book on display at Costco and bringing it home. This time, I went directly from the OG series to this one. There are new people, faves that you don't get to see as much of, whole new territories, and (now that I've started [b:Shadowcaster|30253091|Shadowcaster (Shattered Realms, #2)|Cinda Williams Chima|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1483546794l/30253091._SY75_.jpg|50721926]) there's a jolt of moving from one POV to another where the original series mostly just starred Han and Raisa.
Original review:
After reading the Abhorsen series by [a:Garth Nix|8347|Garth Nix|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1207583754p2/8347.jpg], I had a bit of trouble getting into something new. I ended up listening to podcasts, mostly, while I half-heartedly tried to find a new book that would spark that same kind of interest for me. Does anyone else get this way after a great series? It's kind of like a mourning period, I think. Sort of a depression that it's over.
In the middle of this unfortunate dearth of reading, my 12 year old son and I were at Costco the day before Flamecaster was set to be released, and there it was, lying on the book table. We almost missed it, someone had set a cookbook on top of the stack. But we finally noticed it and snatched it up, our eyes wide.
I read the [b:Seven Realms Series|17860841|The Seven Realms Box Set|Cinda Williams Chima|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1370928257l/17860841._SX50_.jpg|25004840] to my kids last year and they loved it just as much as I did. My 11, now 12 year old went on to read the series on his own six times.
We decided to read Flamecaster as a read aloud too. I have a 14 year old, 12 year old, and 10 year old absolutely riveted... but we nearly abandoned the whole book after the 2nd chapter.
Six paragraphs of spoiler:
We paused and talked about how authors are instructed to "kill their darlings" and why. We also talked about real-life war and losses and how sometimes being willing to kill off a beloved character makes for a better book.
But we also talked about the unwritten rule that an author has an obligation to honor an established series. Remember when JK Rowling said she might have made a mistake in pairing Hermione with Ron? Some serious shizz hit the fan. Fans were upset, angry even. She'd written seven beloved books, she'd ended the series with a very clear, happy ever after finality - fans could ship different characters, but canon had been written. Decided. Printed. For an author to go back and erase or try to rewrite canon can feel like a betrayal to many.
So there's definitely a feeling of betrayal here. And so soon, so early in the book, before we even had the chance to fall in love with our old favorites all over again. We LOVE Han. And we were so excited to revisit this realm, this world -- we were warned that it was going to be about the next generation, but we hoped we'd catch glimpses of our favorites from afar.
In the end, we blew our noses, wiped our eyes, and decided to reserve further judgement. Maybe there is a really good reason Han needed to die (THERE BETTER BE). Something beyond just shock value or 'getting him out of the way' because it seems like there might be better, less painful ways to set Adrian up for adventures of his own.
We pressed on, and while my kids are still tender-hearted about it, and I have my own feelings of devastation and loss, we soon became involved in the new story.
I'll pause here and say that this book feels a little different from the previous Seven Realms book in a couple of different ways:
1. Chima's voice is noticeably different. I don't know if this is just the natural evolution of an author, or outside influences, the fact that she's with a new publisher, or even a mindful choice to make this new series stand on its own. It's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just something I noticed.
2. This book feels older, more adult than the Seven Realms series. In Seven Realms there were some mild adult themes, some light references to sex, and only world-specific made up swearing.
In this book, the passionate scenes are quite a bit more descriptive and I need to do more editing for my younger listeners. The swearing is real and a lot more frequent. Not over the top, but again I'm editing it out for my younger listeners. The violence is worth mentioning as well. Within the first few chapters we have a lot of death, some of it quite violent.
All that said, and despite, I love it. I read ahead on my own (I tried not to) and finished in the wee small hours this morning. (I'm a little over half way through with the kids.) The characters are interesting, and there's a fun surprise near the end that I did not see coming, but is quite delightful. I also really like one of the new characters introduced towards the end as well and I'm excited to find out more about the mysteries she's set up.
I enjoyed the expansion of the world, and the hints of more to come. I feel like she's made this extension flow nicely - there are new things, new places, new characters that didn't exist in the previous Seven Realms books but they don't feel like poor or hasty add-ons. Chima has built an amazingly full and rich world, so it's not a stretch to find there were aspects of it we hadn't been acquainted with yet.
I can't wait for the next installment... in fact, I'm remembering why I usually abstain from new series so I can read them all in one go rather than waiting a year between each new book, but with Chima I can't help it. Let the impatient waiting begin.
Spoilers herein.
Okay, well. I wasn't sure about how I'd feel about re-reading this after my husband died. I knew what was coming and I still cried my head off when
Spoiler
Han is murdered early in the bookI went back to it, but had to do something else while listening, like play solitaire on my phone.
I will say that Chima handles death, grief, and how profound loss impacts a character MUCH better than most. I'd even guess that she's been through this in some way or another and gets it. However, there are a lot of things about Han's death that are absolutely enraging, especially if you start Flamecaster right after finishing the Seven Realms.
1. It happens SO EARLY. You are barely getting to know your favorite characters as parents, and BLAM.
2. Because it's so early on, it FEELS like a cheap shot at a plot device. I know from what I remember about how this series shakes out, that it doesn't end up being like that, but even reading it the second time, it feels like a cheap plot device all over again.
3. The way Adrian bolts makes me angry for the rest of his grieving family. Even if his
Spoiler
father'sIt's worth mentioning, I think, that my kids who love the original series are still PISSED OFF at this series. And now that their dad has died? None of them are interested in revisiting The Shattered Realms. Canon for them, ends with [b:The Crimson Crown|8069828|The Crimson Crown (Seven Realms, #4)|Cinda Williams Chima|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1345041697l/8069828._SX50_.jpg|12770588]. I suppose, on some level, I appreciate this kind of loss reflected in a series I really love. I still hate it, but I also hate that my husband died. And yet, losing people close to you is actually part of life, even if no one wants to talk about it. So, I don't know. Mixed feelings.
Anyway, I was listening to the audiobook this time and I don't know if that made the grief sucker punches better or worse.
About the narration: Having gone through the process of having an audiobook made, I know how much work it is for the narrator and everyone involved on the production end. It even makes work for the author in that sometimes the audiobook production process highlights errors and typos that got missed during editing. Narrators are amazing people who put in long hours bringing our favorite books to life in new and different ways. Narration is also really, really important to my kids with dyslexia. Reading with your ears is a valid way to read and I don't want to be trampling over any of that.
That said, both the Seven Realms narrator, Carol Monda and the Shattered Realms narrator, Kim Mai Guest are Americans with American-English accents. And both try, with varying degrees of success, to give the characters British/Scottish/Irish accents. Both give poorer "street rats" an approximation of Cockney or brogue and try to give the royal or upper crust families posh sounding accents. None of it sounds native. I think one might get used to the accents if the entire book was narrated like this, but both narrators use their American-English accents for the expository bits.
There are a LOT of characters in these series, and I know the different accents helps keep characters straight, but neither series handles this very well. The narration for [b:A Skinful of Shadows|34213608|A Skinful of Shadows|Frances Hardinge|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1499835692l/34213608._SY75_.jpg|55262066] by [a:Frances Hardinge|119830|Frances Hardinge|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1616619207p2/119830.jpg] (another favorite author of mine) was ruined in a similar way.
So, you know, since best-selling authors and big five publishers regularly read my reviews (haha), take note: If you want European accents, hire someone European. But seriously, just FYI for future listeners. It might drive you nuts. Guest is also a very breathy narrator with a higher pitch, which is a little jarring after coming from Mondo's work.
If you love these series as much as I do, the stories carry themselves and I was able to look past the narration (at least so far with the Shattered Realms). I am also a speed listener (1.5 - 2x speed) which helps.
Narration aside, I'm waiting to feel the love that I felt the first time I read this. It's good. I'm happy to be back in this world. But it's different. Last time there was a lot of time/space between reading the Seven Realms and finding this book on display at Costco and bringing it home. This time, I went directly from the OG series to this one. There are new people, faves that you don't get to see as much of, whole new territories, and (now that I've started [b:Shadowcaster|30253091|Shadowcaster (Shattered Realms, #2)|Cinda Williams Chima|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1483546794l/30253091._SY75_.jpg|50721926]) there's a jolt of moving from one POV to another where the original series mostly just starred Han and Raisa.
Original review:
After reading the Abhorsen series by [a:Garth Nix|8347|Garth Nix|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1207583754p2/8347.jpg], I had a bit of trouble getting into something new. I ended up listening to podcasts, mostly, while I half-heartedly tried to find a new book that would spark that same kind of interest for me. Does anyone else get this way after a great series? It's kind of like a mourning period, I think. Sort of a depression that it's over.
In the middle of this unfortunate dearth of reading, my 12 year old son and I were at Costco the day before Flamecaster was set to be released, and there it was, lying on the book table. We almost missed it, someone had set a cookbook on top of the stack. But we finally noticed it and snatched it up, our eyes wide.
I read the [b:Seven Realms Series|17860841|The Seven Realms Box Set|Cinda Williams Chima|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1370928257l/17860841._SX50_.jpg|25004840] to my kids last year and they loved it just as much as I did. My 11, now 12 year old went on to read the series on his own six times.
We decided to read Flamecaster as a read aloud too. I have a 14 year old, 12 year old, and 10 year old absolutely riveted... but we nearly abandoned the whole book after the 2nd chapter.
Six paragraphs of spoiler:
Spoiler
When Han died, we were speechless. Crushed. There were tears. There was anger. My oldest didn't want to go on. He was done. He wanted to do his best to pretend that this book did not exist.We paused and talked about how authors are instructed to "kill their darlings" and why. We also talked about real-life war and losses and how sometimes being willing to kill off a beloved character makes for a better book.
But we also talked about the unwritten rule that an author has an obligation to honor an established series. Remember when JK Rowling said she might have made a mistake in pairing Hermione with Ron? Some serious shizz hit the fan. Fans were upset, angry even. She'd written seven beloved books, she'd ended the series with a very clear, happy ever after finality - fans could ship different characters, but canon had been written. Decided. Printed. For an author to go back and erase or try to rewrite canon can feel like a betrayal to many.
So there's definitely a feeling of betrayal here. And so soon, so early in the book, before we even had the chance to fall in love with our old favorites all over again. We LOVE Han. And we were so excited to revisit this realm, this world -- we were warned that it was going to be about the next generation, but we hoped we'd catch glimpses of our favorites from afar.
In the end, we blew our noses, wiped our eyes, and decided to reserve further judgement. Maybe there is a really good reason Han needed to die (THERE BETTER BE). Something beyond just shock value or 'getting him out of the way' because it seems like there might be better, less painful ways to set Adrian up for adventures of his own.
We pressed on, and while my kids are still tender-hearted about it, and I have my own feelings of devastation and loss, we soon became involved in the new story.
I'll pause here and say that this book feels a little different from the previous Seven Realms book in a couple of different ways:
1. Chima's voice is noticeably different. I don't know if this is just the natural evolution of an author, or outside influences, the fact that she's with a new publisher, or even a mindful choice to make this new series stand on its own. It's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just something I noticed.
2. This book feels older, more adult than the Seven Realms series. In Seven Realms there were some mild adult themes, some light references to sex, and only world-specific made up swearing.
In this book, the passionate scenes are quite a bit more descriptive and I need to do more editing for my younger listeners. The swearing is real and a lot more frequent. Not over the top, but again I'm editing it out for my younger listeners. The violence is worth mentioning as well. Within the first few chapters we have a lot of death, some of it quite violent.
Spoiler
Chima does a very thorough job of setting up King Gerard to be a horrific person. He violently kills a 7 year old girl by snapping her neck in front of a crowd, and runs his sword through a teenage boy multiple times (it's clear he's going to make his death slow and painful before someone shoots a mercy arrow and kills him more quickly). The Darius? Darian? Brothers of St. Malthus are pretty gross. They suck the blood of the gifted to cleanse them of their sorcery and their depravity is pretty graphic.All that said, and despite
Spoiler
the sucker-punch of Han dying *sob*I enjoyed the expansion of the world, and the hints of more to come. I feel like she's made this extension flow nicely - there are new things, new places, new characters that didn't exist in the previous Seven Realms books but they don't feel like poor or hasty add-ons. Chima has built an amazingly full and rich world, so it's not a stretch to find there were aspects of it we hadn't been acquainted with yet.
I can't wait for the next installment... in fact, I'm remembering why I usually abstain from new series so I can read them all in one go rather than waiting a year between each new book, but with Chima I can't help it. Let the impatient waiting begin.