A review by sheyri
The Path of Anger by Antoine Rouaud

3.0

2.5

TW:
Spoilerwar and everything that comes with it, though not very detailed


The idea is good enough. The way it was handled wasn't to my liking, however. I found myself bored at best and annoyed at worst. I can't remember a single scene that I really enjoyed. Maybe it just hit me at the wrong time, I don't know.

A major issue I have with the writing are the constant time jumps. In the middle of chapters. A chapter can start off in the present, but after two pages or so it jumps to a flashback; for the rest of the chapter. And not just a chapter every now and then, nearly every single one. And sometimes, when it starts with a flashback, it jumps even further back.
So, you get three storylines at three times, but none of them is really handled seperately. The story just jumps around. It all connects, sure, but it is very confusing.
Sure, it can work, but please, at least do it chapter by chapter!

Also, what are female characters? There sure as hell aren't any in this book. Viola, Esyld and Mildrel are little more than love interests, with little character of their own, or really any motivation. Esyld takes up a lot of page time, but then again, only because Laerte loves her.
SpoilerPlus point for de Page being queer and not evil, though.

SpoilerAnd Laerte is very Mary Sue-ish. Sure, he trains a lot to be a good fighter. But he doesn't really fail at anything, does he? He trains with the sword, he becomes an exceptionally good fighter. He trains with the animus, he becomes a master of it, better than basically anyone alive. He sets his goal, he achieves it. His only struggles are that Esyld doesn't marry him and that he gets some injuries that force him to start his training from zero again. No, there's no permanant damage, even though he was apparently hurled through the air and crashed into some trees really hard.


My other major issue is with the publisher, more specifically the translator and editor(s):
This book is full of odd phrases (the near constant black look), missing words, or extra words that suggest the sentence was rephrased. That can happen a couple times, everyone misses things. But three times over two pages? And all in all roughly every chapter?
And the worst: On page 257, there is what I can only assume a placeholder. Instead of "Duke de Page" (I guess) it says "Duke 0", with no explanation if that's some sort of nickname or whatever. It has to be a placeholder. That sort of thing absolutely mustn't happen in a traditionally published book, by a big publishing house no less!
That is by no meanse a critique on the book itself or the author. They have no influence on that. But from a publisher like Gollancz I expected better work. It really disrupts the flow of reading.