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666prada 's review for:
Stormdancer
by Jay Kristoff
0.5, Praying for Rain ★★★★★
2, Kinslayer ★★★ and ¾
3, Endinger ★★★★ and ¼
4.5 stars
02/28/19
stormdancer is pretty much steampunk+dystopia with dictature&destroyed environment+samurais+some japanese myths, with lots of twists and turns. it is set in a edo period Japan-inspired land, called the Shima Imperium, which is at war with foreigners and they harness lotus for anything, be it fuel or drugs, they have also destroyed most of the nature in order to grow more lotus and eliminated all the yokais like a generation earlier, and because of the pollution, the sky and seas are painted red and people die due to the toxicity. in charge of the lotus is the Lotus Guild, who are fanatics and they tend to publicly execute people who have the ability to understand an animal's thoughts.
people are divided into four clans(ofc, there are a few who don't belong anywhere, but they are less respected), and Yukiko, our main character is from the Kitsune zaibatsu, she is the daughter of the main hunter of the imperial court, and she is gifted with the aforementioned talent. her and the other hunters are tasked by the shogun to capture an arashitora, a thundertiger, which is known to be extinct, but the shogun wants to win the war riding this beast as a legendary stormdancer.
writing summaries isn't my strong point as you can see, but i mean, one can try. i enjoyed this novel sooooo much more than for the first time. it takes a while to get into, the beginning is slow and you are bombarded with all the information of this world and its hierarchy and history, and it uses a lot of japanese words, vaguely knowing some common expressions might help a bit. however, i absolutely loved every fiber of this world. it's beautifully crafted, it's messed up, it's a weird mix of everything i'm into. it feels like Jay Kristoff took a deep dive into my subconscious and looked around, and based a whole world around what i always dreamed to see. this is very much a story of waking up, seeing things for what they are, betrayal, finding friends in places you have never wondered to look, revenge, complicated family relationships. there are so many memorable quotes i would carve into my heart and mind forever. i lived for the moral ambiguity presented in stormdancer. these characters aren't black or gray, they have suffered a lot, but most of them also made others suffer before realizing what they were doing. i loved the discussion on noticing the wrongs because you were personally hurt by them or when you could have it all-but you refuse to look away from the imperfections and injustice.
the characters aren't the most fleshed out yet, but there is a lot of room for development. i did like Yukiko a lot, her journey is very interesting to follow, how even though she sees this world, she doesn't really think about it, just accepts it for what it is. also, she is an absolute badass most of the time, and i loved her bond with Buruu, and how it changed both of them in different ways, slowly but steadily.
Buruu is definitely the best character in the novel, he is intelligent, but also has a very black and white world view at first and doesn't understand the nuances of human nature, but their relationship also improves him in certain aspects. and that fucking fight scene in Iishi? i've never felt more alive in my life.
the hunters are all interesting characters, who clearly have a long history behind them, i loved their dynamic and their relationships with Yukiko, even when at first not all of them were the best, like Kasumi and Yukiko.
however, the only part of the book that i, to some extent, disliked, was the romance. it was very insta-lovey at times, but especially regarding Hiro, it was more lust than love, and it's different to most ya romances, so i actually didn't mind it as much as for the first time(i really hated it back then), i think it actually made the story even better. i didn't like Kin though, at all, and her love for Yukiko felt unnecessary. my opinions obviously might change in the sequels, we shall see. but i still think that the book would have been completely fine without any romance.
so, if you want an interesting story about revolution, myths, a dying land, samurais(not enough chainsaw katanas tho), and all that good stuff, i'd definitely recommend reading Stormdancer, why the hell is it so underrated i don't get iiiit
other books by Jay Kristoff
The Nevernight Chronicle
1, Nevernight ★★★ and 3/4
Lifelike
1, Lifel1k3 ★★★
The Illuminae Files (cowritten with Amie Kaufman)
1, Illuminae ★★★★ and 1/2
2, Gemina ★★★★
3, Obsidio ★★★
The Aurora Cycle (cowritten with Amie Kaufman)
1, Aurora Rising ★★
2, Kinslayer ★★★ and ¾
3, Endinger ★★★★ and ¼
4.5 stars
02/28/19
“A conscience is easier to swallow on an empty belly, simpler to swing with a broken wrist.”
stormdancer is pretty much steampunk+dystopia with dictature&destroyed environment+samurais+some japanese myths, with lots of twists and turns. it is set in a edo period Japan-inspired land, called the Shima Imperium, which is at war with foreigners and they harness lotus for anything, be it fuel or drugs, they have also destroyed most of the nature in order to grow more lotus and eliminated all the yokais like a generation earlier, and because of the pollution, the sky and seas are painted red and people die due to the toxicity. in charge of the lotus is the Lotus Guild, who are fanatics and they tend to publicly execute people who have the ability to understand an animal's thoughts.
people are divided into four clans(ofc, there are a few who don't belong anywhere, but they are less respected), and Yukiko, our main character is from the Kitsune zaibatsu, she is the daughter of the main hunter of the imperial court, and she is gifted with the aforementioned talent. her and the other hunters are tasked by the shogun to capture an arashitora, a thundertiger, which is known to be extinct, but the shogun wants to win the war riding this beast as a legendary stormdancer.
writing summaries isn't my strong point as you can see, but i mean, one can try. i enjoyed this novel sooooo much more than for the first time. it takes a while to get into, the beginning is slow and you are bombarded with all the information of this world and its hierarchy and history, and it uses a lot of japanese words, vaguely knowing some common expressions might help a bit. however, i absolutely loved every fiber of this world. it's beautifully crafted, it's messed up, it's a weird mix of everything i'm into. it feels like Jay Kristoff took a deep dive into my subconscious and looked around, and based a whole world around what i always dreamed to see. this is very much a story of waking up, seeing things for what they are, betrayal, finding friends in places you have never wondered to look, revenge, complicated family relationships. there are so many memorable quotes i would carve into my heart and mind forever. i lived for the moral ambiguity presented in stormdancer. these characters aren't black or gray, they have suffered a lot, but most of them also made others suffer before realizing what they were doing. i loved the discussion on noticing the wrongs because you were personally hurt by them or when you could have it all-but you refuse to look away from the imperfections and injustice.
“It's easy to lose yourself in the idea of a person and be blinded to their reality.”
the characters aren't the most fleshed out yet, but there is a lot of room for development. i did like Yukiko a lot, her journey is very interesting to follow, how even though she sees this world, she doesn't really think about it, just accepts it for what it is. also, she is an absolute badass most of the time, and i loved her bond with Buruu, and how it changed both of them in different ways, slowly but steadily.
Buruu is definitely the best character in the novel, he is intelligent, but also has a very black and white world view at first and doesn't understand the nuances of human nature, but their relationship also improves him in certain aspects. and that fucking fight scene in Iishi? i've never felt more alive in my life.
the hunters are all interesting characters, who clearly have a long history behind them, i loved their dynamic and their relationships with Yukiko, even when at first not all of them were the best, like Kasumi and Yukiko.
however, the only part of the book that i, to some extent, disliked, was the romance. it was very insta-lovey at times, but especially regarding Hiro, it was more lust than love, and it's different to most ya romances, so i actually didn't mind it as much as for the first time(i really hated it back then), i think it actually made the story even better. i didn't like Kin though, at all, and her love for Yukiko felt unnecessary. my opinions obviously might change in the sequels, we shall see. but i still think that the book would have been completely fine without any romance.
so, if you want an interesting story about revolution, myths, a dying land, samurais(not enough chainsaw katanas tho), and all that good stuff, i'd definitely recommend reading Stormdancer, why the hell is it so underrated i don't get iiiit
other books by Jay Kristoff
The Nevernight Chronicle
1, Nevernight ★★★ and 3/4
Lifelike
1, Lifel1k3 ★★★
The Illuminae Files (cowritten with Amie Kaufman)
1, Illuminae ★★★★ and 1/2
2, Gemina ★★★★
3, Obsidio ★★★
The Aurora Cycle (cowritten with Amie Kaufman)
1, Aurora Rising ★★