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A review by jackiehorne
Death's Dancer by Jasmine Silvera
3.0
In an alternate fantasy world, godsdancers communicate via dance with powerful beings whom they call gods, asking through their performances that the "gods" intervene in human lives in large ways and small. Fifty years ago, a two-week international conflict between warring nations using godsdancers as weapons left the world on the verge of chaos, until an eight-member cabal of powerful necromancers stepped in, cutting up the world into territories over which ruled. And order was restored. Oh, and this world also has witches. And shapeshifters. Which we don't find out until mid-book.
This particular story is about one godsdancer, American Isela Vogel, who has moved with her family to Prague, and Europe's ruling necromancer, Azrael. Minor necromancers are turning up murdered, and Azrael has been tapped by the other ruling necromancers to find the killer. But he'd having trouble contacting the murdered, and needs the additional power of the godlike creatures to help him communicate. He hires Isela to fill that role. And the two are immediately drawn to one another.
This is a promising debut by a new author, with many likable characters and appealing relationships, especially between Isela and her fellow dancers, and Isela and her family.
The book does have some major flaws, though. First, the fantasy world-building is not very fully developed. I was left scratching my head over a lot of what this world is supposed to be about. For example, if necromancers have been around for thousands of years, why was it only 50 years ago that they took power? Do necromancers, witches, and shapeshifters all draw from similar powers, or are their magics of a different kind? What exactly are these god-like creatures through whom the godsdancers channel power? Why is dancing the way they are reached? How was godsdancing discovered? Do the "gods" draw on the same powers as the other supernatural folks in this world? How human are necromancers? Etc. etc. etc. The author is clearly not that interested in explaining/exploring this world, a problem for this fantasy reader.
Second, the romance is of the insta-love type. There isn't any real explanation for why Azrael would/should fall for Isela, or her for him. He's hot, attractive, and powerful, of course, which seems to be enough of a justification for many romance readers. But why is Azrael drawn to Isela? And why should he be? Just like the world-building, the romance itself feels underdeveloped.
Finally, and this may just be a pet peeve of mine, but I have a hard time when a human character is paired up with a supernatural being as a romantic partner. There's little to no chance of having an equitable, or close-to-equal, partnership when the power dynamics are weighted so heavily in one partner's favor. By book's end, Isela has to in order to save Azrael, which is meant, I suppose, to make the relationship more equal, but just ends up feeling like Isela herself is not enough on her own to be his romantic match.
This particular story is about one godsdancer, American Isela Vogel, who has moved with her family to Prague, and Europe's ruling necromancer, Azrael. Minor necromancers are turning up murdered, and Azrael has been tapped by the other ruling necromancers to find the killer. But he'd having trouble contacting the murdered, and needs the additional power of the godlike creatures to help him communicate. He hires Isela to fill that role. And the two are immediately drawn to one another.
This is a promising debut by a new author, with many likable characters and appealing relationships, especially between Isela and her fellow dancers, and Isela and her family.
The book does have some major flaws, though. First, the fantasy world-building is not very fully developed. I was left scratching my head over a lot of what this world is supposed to be about. For example, if necromancers have been around for thousands of years, why was it only 50 years ago that they took power? Do necromancers, witches, and shapeshifters all draw from similar powers, or are their magics of a different kind? What exactly are these god-like creatures through whom the godsdancers channel power? Why is dancing the way they are reached? How was godsdancing discovered? Do the "gods" draw on the same powers as the other supernatural folks in this world? How human are necromancers? Etc. etc. etc. The author is clearly not that interested in explaining/exploring this world, a problem for this fantasy reader.
Second, the romance is of the insta-love type. There isn't any real explanation for why Azrael would/should fall for Isela, or her for him. He's hot, attractive, and powerful, of course, which seems to be enough of a justification for many romance readers. But why is Azrael drawn to Isela? And why should he be? Just like the world-building, the romance itself feels underdeveloped.
Finally, and this may just be a pet peeve of mine, but I have a hard time when a human character is paired up with a supernatural being as a romantic partner. There's little to no chance of having an equitable, or close-to-equal, partnership when the power dynamics are weighted so heavily in one partner's favor. By book's end, Isela has to