Scan barcode
A review by milesenglish
Circle of Reign by Jacob Cooper
5.0
This book had some good ideas, and a couple of great scenes, but too much of it was just a chore to read and it just didn't come together for me. Jacob Cooper really likes to write scenes where the POV character is getting murdered. He really REALLY seems to love it. Sure, it was powerful the first couple times, but after about the 12th time a uninteresting side character gets knocked off for no reason I started to get a little tired of it.
The author does the thing that seems to be popular in fantasy now, where they are constantly jumping between characters and weaving side plots in and out. Or at least, he tries to. The great thing about when it's done successfully is the point when everything starts to come together and it all makes sense. That moment never comes with Circle of Reign. Instead when I got to the end I just got a little offended that all the little slice-of-terrible-life chapters were just as pointless and nonsensical as they seemed.
The magic system is the worst kind of fantasy magic. It does exactly what's convenient for the plot at the time. Bringing an entire forest back from the dead? No sweat! Bringing one person back from the dead? That's a suicide spell.
And the history lessons. Oh man the history lessons. Throughout the entire book, until the least chapter they don't let up. "Hum de dum I'm just going through my normal life, and I just happen to be thinking about the history of my people. Let's go on and on about that for a while. Ok the chapter is ending now I'm being murdered! I'm sad that I'm dying!" <-- literally 3/4 of the book, I wish I was exaggerating.
And the broken promises. The author spends half the book setting up an ultimate showdown with this certain bad guy, but it never happens. Ok, I get it, maybe a later book. But he set it up in this book, and it feels like a broken promise that the final battle in this book is just a bunch of randoms who show up out of nowhere.
I liked the main characters enough that I do kind of want to see what happens to them. But the thought of slogging through all the other crap really puts me on the fence. We'll see.
The author does the thing that seems to be popular in fantasy now, where they are constantly jumping between characters and weaving side plots in and out. Or at least, he tries to. The great thing about when it's done successfully is the point when everything starts to come together and it all makes sense. That moment never comes with Circle of Reign. Instead when I got to the end I just got a little offended that all the little slice-of-terrible-life chapters were just as pointless and nonsensical as they seemed.
The magic system is the worst kind of fantasy magic. It does exactly what's convenient for the plot at the time. Bringing an entire forest back from the dead? No sweat! Bringing one person back from the dead? That's a suicide spell.
And the history lessons. Oh man the history lessons. Throughout the entire book, until the least chapter they don't let up. "Hum de dum I'm just going through my normal life, and I just happen to be thinking about the history of my people. Let's go on and on about that for a while. Ok the chapter is ending now I'm being murdered! I'm sad that I'm dying!" <-- literally 3/4 of the book, I wish I was exaggerating.
And the broken promises. The author spends half the book setting up an ultimate showdown with this certain bad guy, but it never happens. Ok, I get it, maybe a later book. But he set it up in this book, and it feels like a broken promise that the final battle in this book is just a bunch of randoms who show up out of nowhere.
I liked the main characters enough that I do kind of want to see what happens to them. But the thought of slogging through all the other crap really puts me on the fence. We'll see.