Scan barcode
A review by jennybeastie
Breath of Earth by Beth Cato
4.0
In general, I'm a fan of Beth Cato, although she walks the line of too much stuff going on to the detriment of the story. However, I definitely feel like her writing just keeps getting better and better, so this is an exciting new world from her.
Very original, very interesting weaving of San Francisco history with a magical influences and I like the pointed exaggeration of the brutal havoc caused by colonialism in India and China, and the oppression of Chinese immigrants to the US-- not that her world exaggerates the reality all that much, but that the alternative history is set up to focus on it in a way that most history books do not.
I appreciate the diversity of the characters (asian, hawaiian, unknown, trans) the strong heroine, the interesting the magics (geomancers!) and the airships (yay). I like both the compassion displayed and the thorny-ness of the problems they face. Also, btw, kick-ass adventure. I can't wait to see where this goes next.
Very original, very interesting weaving of San Francisco history with a magical influences and I like the pointed exaggeration of the brutal havoc caused by colonialism in India and China, and the oppression of Chinese immigrants to the US-- not that her world exaggerates the reality all that much, but that the alternative history is set up to focus on it in a way that most history books do not.
I appreciate the diversity of the characters (asian, hawaiian, unknown, trans) the strong heroine, the interesting the magics (geomancers!) and the airships (yay). I like both the compassion displayed and the thorny-ness of the problems they face. Also, btw, kick-ass adventure. I can't wait to see where this goes next.