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astraia_sun 's review for:
The Book of Deacon
by Joseph R. Lallo
I struggled between two and three stars. I chose three because I do want to read the next book. The book was technically well written, and I did enjoy the plotline, but some of the dialogue and characterization was pretty stale. The dialogue I could forgive, since it's hard writing good dialogue for fantasy (at least in my opinion). The characterization bummed me out. Myranda was mostly there to be a pacifist prodigy. I didn't get a sense of her likes or dislikes. I knew what her motivation was, but it didn't feel like she really believed it. It felt more like lip service and her pacifism grated on my nerves far more than it should have.
As for Leo, I understand what Lallo was trying to do with his character, but I didn't actually like him at ALL until they made it through the caves to the magic village. Then I felt like he was a real character. I liked Deacon quite a bit, as besides Leo, I felt like he had the most personality out of all the characters. I do have a soft spot for bookish geniuses, so I think that might have something to do with it.
There were a couple scenes that felt incredibly unnecessary and took away from some of the storytelling. There is a particular scene between Calypso and Deacon that came at an awkward moment (switching perspectives from Myranda to Deacon in the middle of a section didn't sit well with me) and I think the scene would have been better served to be cut and have what was discussed play out naturally between the characters.
That being said, I kind of wish either Deacon or Leo had been the main characters as that would have greatly increased my interest in what was happening, but I understand why Myranda was chosen. I was torn between liking some of the magic instruction and skimming. I think the pacing was off a bit and I didn't quite connect with what was being said. Myn was also pretty annoying to me and I really didn't care for her role (even if her introduction was interesting to me).
I don't have all negatives to say. I did like Leo's ultimate characterization, and I want to know a lot more about him. That's most of the reason why I'm interested in reading the next book. Same with Deaco. I'm not entirely invested in seeing the war ended, but hopefully that'll change in the next book. It's not on my "autobuy" list, but I'll keep an eye out for it if I have an open weekend.
As for Leo, I understand what Lallo was trying to do with his character, but I didn't actually like him at ALL until they made it through the caves to the magic village. Then I felt like he was a real character. I liked Deacon quite a bit, as besides Leo, I felt like he had the most personality out of all the characters. I do have a soft spot for bookish geniuses, so I think that might have something to do with it.
There were a couple scenes that felt incredibly unnecessary and took away from some of the storytelling. There is a particular scene between Calypso and Deacon that came at an awkward moment (switching perspectives from Myranda to Deacon in the middle of a section didn't sit well with me) and I think the scene would have been better served to be cut and have what was discussed play out naturally between the characters.
That being said, I kind of wish either Deacon or Leo had been the main characters as that would have greatly increased my interest in what was happening, but I understand why Myranda was chosen. I was torn between liking some of the magic instruction and skimming. I think the pacing was off a bit and I didn't quite connect with what was being said. Myn was also pretty annoying to me and I really didn't care for her role (even if her introduction was interesting to me).
I don't have all negatives to say. I did like Leo's ultimate characterization, and I want to know a lot more about him. That's most of the reason why I'm interested in reading the next book. Same with Deaco. I'm not entirely invested in seeing the war ended, but hopefully that'll change in the next book. It's not on my "autobuy" list, but I'll keep an eye out for it if I have an open weekend.