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A review by badcushion
Blackdog by K.V. Johansen
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I loved some things about this book: the Central Asian setting (a nice change of fantasy-historical-epic pace), different cultures with their own nuances, complex characters with realistic and varied motivations, and a strong main plot/secondary plot. It really drew me in from the outset!
On the downside - there is a LOT going on in this book. We hit page 167 (out of 500ish) and a whole new bunch of people showed up with their own angle to the story, after already asking the reader to follow three other stories (taking place in three different areas, so each has their own cultural and religious vibe), not counting the world foundational myth that’s being trickled out between the main stories. By the end we have so many things happening in parallel - previous groups have split but all members are still involved in the finale - that for me, the tension and drama of the climax was undermined. Not to mention that multiple main characters are themselves dual- or triple- souled, and at times have conversations with themselves. There was one whole plot thread I lost at the end because a triple-souled character had killed (in the past) someone related to one of their souls, but maybe the killer wasn’t the one related to the deceased? I know it was supposed to be a dramatic moment but truly by then I just wanted to get to the end and see how the 72 most important characters did.
This book could be two or three books, with even more added to the world, and it could be really amazing. And if you like a really overstuffed epic tale, this might work really well for you - I really did enjoy the world and many of the characters and the key story. But it was too much for me, and it muddied the ending, which I was too exhausted to struggle through.
On the downside - there is a LOT going on in this book. We hit page 167 (out of 500ish) and a whole new bunch of people showed up with their own angle to the story, after already asking the reader to follow three other stories (taking place in three different areas, so each has their own cultural and religious vibe), not counting the world foundational myth that’s being trickled out between the main stories. By the end we have so many things happening in parallel - previous groups have split but all members are still involved in the finale - that for me, the tension and drama of the climax was undermined. Not to mention that multiple main characters are themselves dual- or triple- souled, and at times have conversations with themselves. There was one whole plot thread I lost at the end because a triple-souled character had killed (in the past) someone related to one of their souls, but maybe the killer wasn’t the one related to the deceased? I know it was supposed to be a dramatic moment but truly by then I just wanted to get to the end and see how the 72 most important characters did.
This book could be two or three books, with even more added to the world, and it could be really amazing. And if you like a really overstuffed epic tale, this might work really well for you - I really did enjoy the world and many of the characters and the key story. But it was too much for me, and it muddied the ending, which I was too exhausted to struggle through.