Scan barcode
A review by rg9400
Sunbringer by Hannah Kaner
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I have some overall mixed feelings on Sunbringer. On one hand, Kaner continues her extremely efficient writing, creating a bite-sized epic fantasy that I could read in just a few settings. Despite the shorter page count, she fleshes out different parts of the world and continues to build up the intriguing mythology within the world really well -- I love all the different gods and how they behave and interact. I also would love a prequel set in this world detailing how the human-god conflict began.
My biggest issue with Sunbringer is that it splits up our main cast of characters, and while most of them are in the same city working around the same events (just in their own ways and adventures), one of the other main characters is completely by themselves in an isolated storyline that feels underserved. I actually found this storyline interesting, arguably more than some of the other ones, but because it was so separated, I struggled with the interruptions to and from it. Because despite the shorter page count, this book still has a lot of chapters, and this results in very brisk and short chapters that all signal a POV shift. In some ways, it makes it easily readable, but combined with the above disparate storyline, I noticed the impact more than in the first book.
In terms of overall story, I still very much enjoyed this book. I did feel like the first half was a lot of setup for the second half. I also did notice the book ended quite abruptly, and it felt a bit anticlimactic with the lack of resolution in some storylines. The first book was shorter, but I still felt, despite the cliffhanger ending, that it ended up in a more satisfying way.
Lastly, the character-work. I actually really liked some of the arcs whose darker tinges made them fairly compelling. There was one character whose own internal struggles were not as interesting, but they were surrounded by side characters I found enjoyable.
Overall, this series continues to be entertaining, with a concept and world that I really enjoy. The economic writing makes for a great palate cleanser and slump-breaker, though I think this book showed some of the downsides of the limited page count a bit more than the first one.
My biggest issue with Sunbringer is that it splits up our main cast of characters, and while most of them are in the same city working around the same events (just in their own ways and adventures), one of the other main characters is completely by themselves in an isolated storyline that feels underserved. I actually found this storyline interesting, arguably more than some of the other ones, but because it was so separated, I struggled with the interruptions to and from it. Because despite the shorter page count, this book still has a lot of chapters, and this results in very brisk and short chapters that all signal a POV shift. In some ways, it makes it easily readable, but combined with the above disparate storyline, I noticed the impact more than in the first book.
In terms of overall story, I still very much enjoyed this book. I did feel like the first half was a lot of setup for the second half. I also did notice the book ended quite abruptly, and it felt a bit anticlimactic with the lack of resolution in some storylines. The first book was shorter, but I still felt, despite the cliffhanger ending, that it ended up in a more satisfying way.
Lastly, the character-work. I actually really liked some of the arcs whose darker tinges made them fairly compelling. There was one character whose own internal struggles were not as interesting, but they were surrounded by side characters I found enjoyable.
Overall, this series continues to be entertaining, with a concept and world that I really enjoy. The economic writing makes for a great palate cleanser and slump-breaker, though I think this book showed some of the downsides of the limited page count a bit more than the first one.