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A review by maryconnors6
The Hyena and the Hawk by Adrian Tchaikovsky
4.0
4.5 Stars
I loved this book and I loved this series. It was executed so well and there were so many impactful callbacks to the colonization and destruction of the "new world". It read like literary fantasy and brought so many interesting conversations to the table. It was such a fun series to read and I would recommend!
Age Considerations: 18+, violence, a very bizarre and (modern?) relationship
My favorite part of the series was the eerie atmosphere and the analogy of the plague people to the European colonizer. The true people were synonymous with indigenous people and their animal spirits represented the indigenous ties to nature and land. Also, for a hot minute I was convinced the plague people were robots. RIP that theory. There was a passage that I loved so much because I was seeing the plague people's weapons through the eyes of the true people that I didn't even realize they were referring to a gun. "They had long rods for weapons... she saw a handful of them lift and point there rods and-- snap-- a half-dozen horse were tumbling, rearing, dying..."
I also loved Shyri's storyline and she so deserved better! I loved the passage where she decided to disobey Effey: " Each time she bowed to Effey, she gave up more of the hyena into the woman's keeping: each time her god became more Effey' god, defined as she wished."
I loved this book and I loved this series. It was executed so well and there were so many impactful callbacks to the colonization and destruction of the "new world". It read like literary fantasy and brought so many interesting conversations to the table. It was such a fun series to read and I would recommend!
Age Considerations: 18+, violence, a very bizarre and (modern?) relationship
Spoiler
I wanted to give this book 5 stars but Asman's storyline really pulled me out-- he didn't really play a pivotal role in the over arching scheme of things and his choices-- and lack thereof were frustrating. He was also in love with EVERYONE, which was super weird. Along those lines, Venat's character also became less defined, and he changed so much, even from the second book, that considering he was hardly in the third, it didn't make sense. Also, what was up with him and Venat? The Loud Thunder relationship was also strange. The romantic relationships were not were it was at in this series. That came out of nowhere! The ending was also little rushed and a bit too mystical, but I still thought it was a solid wrap up.My favorite part of the series was the eerie atmosphere and the analogy of the plague people to the European colonizer. The true people were synonymous with indigenous people and their animal spirits represented the indigenous ties to nature and land. Also, for a hot minute I was convinced the plague people were robots. RIP that theory. There was a passage that I loved so much because I was seeing the plague people's weapons through the eyes of the true people that I didn't even realize they were referring to a gun. "They had long rods for weapons... she saw a handful of them lift and point there rods and-- snap-- a half-dozen horse were tumbling, rearing, dying..."
I also loved Shyri's storyline and she so deserved better! I loved the passage where she decided to disobey Effey: " Each time she bowed to Effey, she gave up more of the hyena into the woman's keeping: each time her god became more Effey' god, defined as she wished."