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borninexile 's review for:
Exordia
by Seth Dickinson
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
sits in both categories of i like it but it's not as good as i expected AND it's extremely well-written but i dislike it
my feelings about this book are complicated. i think seth dickinson is a brilliant writer— A+ character work, themes surrounding anti-imperialist & anti-colonialist ideologies, sharp dialogue & prose, thorough research backing the worldbuilding. however, i think they suffer with pacing issues. not just with this book, but this was also my problem with baru cormorant (monster, specifically). exordia is not for everyone.
i think it's too much military-leaning for my taste & less about the initial promise of Alien Soul Storytelling, which was the main pull for me in the beginning. while i enjoy reading from unlikeable characters, i do think erik & clayton overstayed their welcome & largrly contributed to the pacing issues. by the time i reached around 70% of the book, i didn't care as much for the story anymore & just waited for it to end. i've also seen a post/review somewhere pointing out how the title itself is a pluralized version of "exordium", which means a beginning, an introduction & how this is clear in the ending & how seth has said that this is meant to be a series. it shows. i feel like the meat of the story got away & instead i got stuck reading this drawn out fight sequence, an interlude, that will change the course of anna sinjari's actual story, in seredure with ssrin.
still. i'm glad it's my first read of the year! & i look forward to the sequel(s), when they eventually get published.
my feelings about this book are complicated. i think seth dickinson is a brilliant writer— A+ character work, themes surrounding anti-imperialist & anti-colonialist ideologies, sharp dialogue & prose, thorough research backing the worldbuilding. however, i think they suffer with pacing issues. not just with this book, but this was also my problem with baru cormorant (monster, specifically). exordia is not for everyone.
i think it's too much military-leaning for my taste & less about the initial promise of Alien Soul Storytelling, which was the main pull for me in the beginning. while i enjoy reading from unlikeable characters, i do think erik & clayton overstayed their welcome & largrly contributed to the pacing issues. by the time i reached around 70% of the book, i didn't care as much for the story anymore & just waited for it to end. i've also seen a post/review somewhere pointing out how the title itself is a pluralized version of "exordium", which means a beginning, an introduction & how this is clear in the ending & how seth has said that this is meant to be a series. it shows. i feel like the meat of the story got away & instead i got stuck reading this drawn out fight sequence, an interlude, that will change the course of anna sinjari's actual story, in seredure with ssrin.
still. i'm glad it's my first read of the year! & i look forward to the sequel(s), when they eventually get published.