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A review by magicalb1tch
Wraeththu: The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit, the Bewitchments of Love and Hate, the Fulfilments of Fate and Desire by Storm Constantine
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I wrote this scathing review right after reading this book back in 2013 on Goodreads and I wanted to share it here because I still think it's a wild, harsh, and funny review.
Review from 2013:
I wanted to like these books, really I did. The poetic writing style, the atrocious dialogue, the strange and enticing premise, it all seemed so right!
Pellaz is a great main character, he goes through so much hardship but remains himself through and through. He has a great personality, the most realistic of all the characters, and I really enjoyed listening to his story.
Constantine has a tendency to throw a lot of pretty words and phrases together that are, in the end, just empty phrases. One of those, "Time was so fleeting, moving quickly on into the unknown, yet it was slow and agonizing, holding us all captive in..." (continue this for a full paragraph)
Yes, time exists, and it moves on. Can you? Because I would like to.
But the ultimate destroyer is the nightmare of a character that is Cal. Let me sum him up for you (and spare you the torment).
Spoilers and harsh words ahead, so beware.
BEGIN RANT
Cal is the most pathetic, irritating, piece of shit that rivals even that of Edward Cullen, with a matching eye colour that is over-described.
He is the definition of a contradiction, a perfect example of all of the worst personality traits smashed into one person with absolutely no redeeming qualities because every bit of him is as pitiful and fake as possible. He is self-obsessed and thinks himself worthy of others' attention, yet critical on him self on a psychotic level. He believes in "love" and yet he uses it to abuse everyone in his life and latches onto someone new without remorse. He has that "dark, twisted past" that he inflicts on everyone within arms reach and just blames it on their Fate. Nothing is ever his fault, not in his eyes and not in the eyes of any other characters (which is the worst part of all this, but I'll get to that).
He spends the entire series deflowering young boys, breaking up families for his own amusement, and just being the ultimate fucking jerk-off. You would think others in the novels would hate him, right? They know all of these terrible things, half of the time he laughingly admits to all of the terrible things he has done and that it was all for sport.
But it's the exact opposite: he is seen like he is just the PERFECT heartthrob.
Everyone and their psuedo-mother sleeps with this fucking imbecile, and suddenly realizes, "Oh, he's not terrible at all! Nothing he does is wrong, it just is! All because he is our personal sex God!"
This guy seriously has sex with Terzian (psuedo-dad), then his newly pubescent son, then this son's "hostling" (or psuedo-mom). And each time he fucks one of them, everything makes sense and he is the greatest fucking person in the world with some grand "Destiny" that has yet to be expanded on because Constantine was too busy expanding on his lavish sex scenes that needn't exist in the first place.
On a scale of 1 to Voldemort, I'd put him a few paces after the Dark Lord. At least Voldemort had his fucking reasons, but Cal has yet to explain his own, other than to just watch the people around him writhe in pain and apparently ecstasy at waiting in line to bang him.
TL;DR - Rename the series, "One Har To Fuck Them All" and just forget about a real plot, and get ready for Constantine's ultimate dream man banging everyone, not forgetting the children.
END RANT.
Needless to say, as much as I loved Pellaz and would love to see what happens with him, I cannot continue because if I read one more sentence about Cal that doesn't involve him being dismembered, I will cry.
(Please, someone who's read them all somehow magically, please tell me he is dismembered or tortured or SOMETHING!)
To her credit, Constantine created an engrossing, intricate world full of possibility and diversity in the ever-repeating genre that is dystopian fantasy.
And then did nothing with it.
But them some perty words you got there, Constantine! Just wish you put them to better use...
Review from 2013:
I wanted to like these books, really I did. The poetic writing style, the atrocious dialogue, the strange and enticing premise, it all seemed so right!
Pellaz is a great main character, he goes through so much hardship but remains himself through and through. He has a great personality, the most realistic of all the characters, and I really enjoyed listening to his story.
Constantine has a tendency to throw a lot of pretty words and phrases together that are, in the end, just empty phrases. One of those, "Time was so fleeting, moving quickly on into the unknown, yet it was slow and agonizing, holding us all captive in..." (continue this for a full paragraph)
Yes, time exists, and it moves on. Can you? Because I would like to.
But the ultimate destroyer is the nightmare of a character that is Cal. Let me sum him up for you (and spare you the torment).
Spoilers and harsh words ahead, so beware.
Cal is the most pathetic, irritating, piece of shit that rivals even that of Edward Cullen, with a matching eye colour that is over-described.
He is the definition of a contradiction, a perfect example of all of the worst personality traits smashed into one person with absolutely no redeeming qualities because every bit of him is as pitiful and fake as possible. He is self-obsessed and thinks himself worthy of others' attention, yet critical on him self on a psychotic level. He believes in "love" and yet he uses it to abuse everyone in his life and latches onto someone new without remorse. He has that "dark, twisted past" that he inflicts on everyone within arms reach and just blames it on their Fate. Nothing is ever his fault, not in his eyes and not in the eyes of any other characters (which is the worst part of all this, but I'll get to that).
He spends the entire series deflowering young boys, breaking up families for his own amusement, and just being the ultimate fucking jerk-off. You would think others in the novels would hate him, right? They know all of these terrible things, half of the time he laughingly admits to all of the terrible things he has done and that it was all for sport.
But it's the exact opposite: he is seen like he is just the PERFECT heartthrob.
Everyone and their psuedo-mother sleeps with this fucking imbecile, and suddenly realizes, "Oh, he's not terrible at all! Nothing he does is wrong, it just is! All because he is our personal sex God!"
This guy seriously has sex with Terzian (psuedo-dad), then his newly pubescent son, then this son's "hostling" (or psuedo-mom). And each time he fucks one of them, everything makes sense and he is the greatest fucking person in the world with some grand "Destiny" that has yet to be expanded on because Constantine was too busy expanding on his lavish sex scenes that needn't exist in the first place.
On a scale of 1 to Voldemort, I'd put him a few paces after the Dark Lord. At least Voldemort had his fucking reasons, but Cal has yet to explain his own, other than to just watch the people around him writhe in pain and apparently ecstasy at waiting in line to bang him.
TL;DR - Rename the series, "One Har To Fuck Them All" and just forget about a real plot, and get ready for Constantine's ultimate dream man banging everyone, not forgetting the children.
END RANT.
Needless to say, as much as I loved Pellaz and would love to see what happens with him, I cannot continue because if I read one more sentence about Cal that doesn't involve him being dismembered, I will cry.
(Please, someone who's read them all somehow magically, please tell me he is dismembered or tortured or SOMETHING!)
To her credit, Constantine created an engrossing, intricate world full of possibility and diversity in the ever-repeating genre that is dystopian fantasy.
And then did nothing with it.
But them some perty words you got there, Constantine! Just wish you put them to better use...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Trafficking, Murder, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment