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A review by what_ella_reads
Brand of Light by Ronie Kendig
4.0
My rating:4 out of 5 stars
I heard "Brand of Light," raved about even before it was released, so I had high expectations when I finally picked it up last week.
I now see why it is so hyped!
It is a unique, action packed sci-fi story, with a great cast of characters.
My attention was captured from the get go, as I tried to figure out the 3 mystery plots that involve the 3 main characters and as I tried to guess how they all connected to each other. Some of my guesses came true, but many of them did not! The ending revelations were particularly surprising.
Besides the exciting plot, I think the characters are the strongest part of this book. The cast of characters are well rounded and fleshed out.
I really liked the 3 main characters Tigo, Kersei, and Marco, as well as side characters like Teeli. I am anxious to see what direction their stories take over the next 3 books!
While the mystery and characters are strong, this book does have one major weakness- info dumping. The first half of this book has A LOT of info dumping and it left me feeling overwhelmed and confused (I say this as someone who appreciates complex fantasy and sci-fi, i.e. Sanderson and Tolkien). I understand that this world and its lore is very complex, but I do wish the author has chosen to do more showing and less telling when it came to informing the reader about things we need to know.
Another weakness this book has is content (Note this is a personal stance. I know not everyone will agree). SPOILERS AHEAD. This book is quite violent when it comes to sexual violence. Kersei is almost sexually assaulted twice (the first account is kinda detailed whereas the other one is very breif).
There is also quite a bit of innuendo. People talk about sleeping with prostitutes, characters think certain characters have had sex with each other, and characters having feelings of passion when they kiss each other.
I overall did enjoy "Brand of Light," but I do hope the issues it has won't be present in the rest of the series.
I heard "Brand of Light," raved about even before it was released, so I had high expectations when I finally picked it up last week.
I now see why it is so hyped!
It is a unique, action packed sci-fi story, with a great cast of characters.
My attention was captured from the get go, as I tried to figure out the 3 mystery plots that involve the 3 main characters and as I tried to guess how they all connected to each other. Some of my guesses came true, but many of them did not! The ending revelations were particularly surprising.
Besides the exciting plot, I think the characters are the strongest part of this book. The cast of characters are well rounded and fleshed out.
I really liked the 3 main characters Tigo, Kersei, and Marco, as well as side characters like Teeli. I am anxious to see what direction their stories take over the next 3 books!
While the mystery and characters are strong, this book does have one major weakness- info dumping. The first half of this book has A LOT of info dumping and it left me feeling overwhelmed and confused (I say this as someone who appreciates complex fantasy and sci-fi, i.e. Sanderson and Tolkien). I understand that this world and its lore is very complex, but I do wish the author has chosen to do more showing and less telling when it came to informing the reader about things we need to know.
Another weakness this book has is content (Note this is a personal stance. I know not everyone will agree). SPOILERS AHEAD. This book is quite violent when it comes to sexual violence. Kersei is almost sexually assaulted twice (the first account is kinda detailed whereas the other one is very breif).
There is also quite a bit of innuendo. People talk about sleeping with prostitutes, characters think certain characters have had sex with each other, and characters having feelings of passion when they kiss each other.
I overall did enjoy "Brand of Light," but I do hope the issues it has won't be present in the rest of the series.