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A review by ahlisa
Starless by Jacqueline Carey
adventurous
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This book is split into three parts that all have very different vibes to them. I saw quite a few reviews saying they loved one part but hated another part but people were mixed on which parts they loved or hated - which is to say, it was a very ambitious undertaking and your mileage may vary on which parts you'll love or hate. Or maybe you're the kind of person who loves all three parts, in which case this book is definitely for you.
If you like fighting school settings, coming of age, etc. you'll like the first part. You might also like the first part if you like sarcastic criminals with hearts of gold. If you like court intrigue, you might like the second part. If you like the standard "heroes band together to save the world" story with some seafaring mixed in, you'll probably like the last part.
I say "probably" and "might" because each part basically introduces an entirely new cast of secondary/minor characters, which makes it difficult to get fully invested for too long. On one hand this makes some sense, because the book is very long and I probably would've gotten sick of some characters' bullshit if they stuck around for all 500+ pages (case in point: for some reason I didn't mind Zariya's 'my darlings' until part 3). But on the other hand, I feel like I barely got to know any of the major players during part 2, and I only barely managed to muster up some emotion for the characters in part 3.
I'll also add that the prophecy stuff annoyed me as well. It was handled well in some parts, where the characters knew something had to happen but had no idea how to make it happen, but other times they literally consulted the prophecy to tell them exactly what to do next and it felt kind of ridiculous. There was room here to do something more interesting with it and I'm not sure why they never did. The whole journey just felt too safe.
That being said, it felt nice to take my time with this book and come back to the same whimsical fantasy world every day for the length of time it took me to read this. The prose is beautiful, the gods are terrifying and unique (though their personalities weren't explored all that much). I love and appreciate that this book tries to do something very different with their worldbuilding and with the story structure, even if it wasn't a complete knockout success in all aspects.
If you like fighting school settings, coming of age, etc. you'll like the first part. You might also like the first part if you like sarcastic criminals with hearts of gold. If you like court intrigue, you might like the second part. If you like the standard "heroes band together to save the world" story with some seafaring mixed in, you'll probably like the last part.
I say "probably" and "might" because each part basically introduces an entirely new cast of secondary/minor characters, which makes it difficult to get fully invested for too long. On one hand this makes some sense, because the book is very long and I probably would've gotten sick of some characters' bullshit if they stuck around for all 500+ pages (case in point: for some reason I didn't mind Zariya's 'my darlings' until part 3). But on the other hand, I feel like I barely got to know any of the major players during part 2, and I only barely managed to muster up some emotion for the characters in part 3.
That being said, it felt nice to take my time with this book and come back to the same whimsical fantasy world every day for the length of time it took me to read this. The prose is beautiful, the gods are terrifying and unique (though their personalities weren't explored all that much). I love and appreciate that this book tries to do something very different with their worldbuilding and with the story structure, even if it wasn't a complete knockout success in all aspects.