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A review by stjehanne
Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner
3.0
A weird read. I've been sitting here thinking about it for a while and I just don't quite know how to feel about it.
Let me start off by saying this: I utterly enjoyed Swordspoint. I liked its rather strange setting, not very fantasy but faintly otherworldly. Kushner has a distinct voice, mostly sombre and with a pragmatic emotionality that fit the cool air of the first autumn nights, in which I devoured the book, nicely.
As other reviewers remarked, the characters ended up being rather flat and never really developed much but to my surprise, I didn't mind that. Granted, most of the side characters were quickly forgotten and I had to check the past pages a few times to remember their names. However, I grew fond of Richard and Alec in particular. Honestly, I do not have a real reason for that - or at least, I cannot come up with a proper explanation.
Unfortunately, I found the narrative lacking. It started off very slowly (although with beautiful wording) and never really gained momentum until I was about 2/3 through the book. A few plot points seemed irrelevant to me and perhaps this space should have been used to give the characters a bit more personality.
Nevertheless, I had a good time with this one. A few hours well spent.
Let me start off by saying this: I utterly enjoyed Swordspoint. I liked its rather strange setting, not very fantasy but faintly otherworldly. Kushner has a distinct voice, mostly sombre and with a pragmatic emotionality that fit the cool air of the first autumn nights, in which I devoured the book, nicely.
As other reviewers remarked, the characters ended up being rather flat and never really developed much but to my surprise, I didn't mind that. Granted, most of the side characters were quickly forgotten and I had to check the past pages a few times to remember their names. However, I grew fond of Richard and Alec in particular. Honestly, I do not have a real reason for that - or at least, I cannot come up with a proper explanation.
Unfortunately, I found the narrative lacking. It started off very slowly (although with beautiful wording) and never really gained momentum until I was about 2/3 through the book. A few plot points seemed irrelevant to me
Spoiler
that lady that kissed Richard by his door? What?Nevertheless, I had a good time with this one. A few hours well spent.