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A review by rubeusbeaky
The Lives of Saints by Leigh Bardugo
4.0
Another beautiful tie-in to the Grishaverse; the paintings alone are STUNNING. It was intriguing and creative to see how:
A) There are saint stories across the whole world, implying that magic is universal and the borders which divide our heroes are manmade and arbitrary.
B) Our heroes either get turned into stories themselves, or follow in the footsteps of known stories, ensuring that the legends and the magic remain alive.
C) Some stories even crossover with Language of Thorns, implying that the subjects of fairytales and religious works alike were real people in this universe. Maybe even foreshadowing that we'll get to see them in other Grishaverse novels...
But the book gets a little too "real", a little too like the holy books which inspired it. It becomes a list of silly vinettes. Some have universal messages, not all. And they're not as powerful as the stories in Language of Thorns. It's a book best sipped, not binged, because trying to read all the saint stories at once gives it a sing-songy, we've-heard-this-before, kind of lulling rhythm, despite how well its written.
A) There are saint stories across the whole world, implying that magic is universal and the borders which divide our heroes are manmade and arbitrary.
B) Our heroes either get turned into stories themselves, or follow in the footsteps of known stories, ensuring that the legends and the magic remain alive.
C) Some stories even crossover with Language of Thorns, implying that the subjects of fairytales and religious works alike were real people in this universe. Maybe even foreshadowing that we'll get to see them in other Grishaverse novels...
But the book gets a little too "real", a little too like the holy books which inspired it. It becomes a list of silly vinettes. Some have universal messages, not all. And they're not as powerful as the stories in Language of Thorns. It's a book best sipped, not binged, because trying to read all the saint stories at once gives it a sing-songy, we've-heard-this-before, kind of lulling rhythm, despite how well its written.