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A review by amrungwaew
Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller
3.0
I have mixed feelings about this book. Most parts I enjoyed—a well-paced fantasy novel that, while not exactly novel, does a good job—but some parts I did not. For instance, the author is heralded for writing her main character as gender fluid... and I can see if she were making the argument that a single character can play all the traditional male or female fantasy roles with ease, but if that’s what she’s going for, she fell miserably short. The gender fluid aspect honestly doesn’t add anything to the book—only spots here and there about which correct pronoun—and I just don’t understand what the author is trying to do. It detracts from the book because it makes the pace stumble and it just feels out of place and awkward.
On the good side of things, this is a fairly otherwise well-written book and I did enjoy it. A bit like Scythe and Six of Crows for the action bits but, oddly enough, it also reminded me of Incarceron for the court intrigue and such (especially in regards to Our Queen). My opinion overall is still up in the air and I’ll have to wait to read the second book to determine which side I fall on (though I suspect it may be on the unfavourable side—a lot needs to be done and done well to make this story succeed).
On the good side of things, this is a fairly otherwise well-written book and I did enjoy it. A bit like Scythe and Six of Crows for the action bits but, oddly enough, it also reminded me of Incarceron for the court intrigue and such (especially in regards to Our Queen). My opinion overall is still up in the air and I’ll have to wait to read the second book to determine which side I fall on (though I suspect it may be on the unfavourable side—a lot needs to be done and done well to make this story succeed).