Scan barcode
A review by anonymous_blobfish
The Tiger and the Wolf by Adrian Tchaikovsky
adventurous
challenging
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
God bless the power of audiobooks otherwise not sure I would have finished this one.
I found this book to be confused. Not confusing - the story wasn’t complex enough for this to be a high-fantasy head scratcher - but confused, like it had a bunch of identity crises in the making and this was the result. The plot was flimsy at best, the action sequences epic but far too numerous, the characters interesting and yet unfinished feeling, it went for easily 100-200 pages more than it needed to (largely because of those gratuitous action sequences in lieu of conflict development/resolution) - it was just a mess.
I also spent much of this book feeling a bit uncomfortable with some of the characterisations. Maybe I’m becoming overly sensitive as I try to check my white privilege at the door but it just felt a little appropriative to me and some of the language just didn’t sit right. I’m not sure if anything was overt and again it might not actually be a thing (not a single review I could find mentioned it) but a great many things just gave me a gentle ick.
Finally, and I cannot stress this enough… the characters are animal shifters right? Like bear and wolf and snake and tiger… and they have champion mode right? Which is like super saiyin shifter Pokémon evolution… and the crocodile guys champion shifter has “large sickle shaped claws”, is bipedal, fast and scaly… a velociraptor….????? Also maybe he can also go pterodactyl???? Please someone make it make sense!
All of this criticism aside, I didn’t dislike this book. It was an overall enjoyable experience, if nothing life altering. I would consider reading the other books in this series out of curiosity if my library ever gets them or if I can find them cheap secondhand but otherwise I’m fine letting this series go free into the world for others to enjoy.
I found this book to be confused. Not confusing - the story wasn’t complex enough for this to be a high-fantasy head scratcher - but confused, like it had a bunch of identity crises in the making and this was the result. The plot was flimsy at best, the action sequences epic but far too numerous, the characters interesting and yet unfinished feeling, it went for easily 100-200 pages more than it needed to (largely because of those gratuitous action sequences in lieu of conflict development/resolution) - it was just a mess.
I also spent much of this book feeling a bit uncomfortable with some of the characterisations. Maybe I’m becoming overly sensitive as I try to check my white privilege at the door but it just felt a little appropriative to me and some of the language just didn’t sit right. I’m not sure if anything was overt and again it might not actually be a thing (not a single review I could find mentioned it) but a great many things just gave me a gentle ick.
Finally, and I cannot stress this enough… the characters are animal shifters right? Like bear and wolf and snake and tiger… and they have champion mode right? Which is like super saiyin shifter Pokémon evolution… and the crocodile guys champion shifter has “large sickle shaped claws”, is bipedal, fast and scaly… a velociraptor….????? Also maybe he can also go pterodactyl???? Please someone make it make sense!
All of this criticism aside, I didn’t dislike this book. It was an overall enjoyable experience, if nothing life altering. I would consider reading the other books in this series out of curiosity if my library ever gets them or if I can find them cheap secondhand but otherwise I’m fine letting this series go free into the world for others to enjoy.