living_dead_girl 's review for:

The Thousand Names by Django Wexler

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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I struggled a bit at the beginning of this book, but in the end - I did understand the purpose of everything done. It can be hard to lay the groundwork for a fantasy series this serious without any previous works (or being part of a franchise, etc.) but the payoff was so excellent I can't even be mad about it. At about Chapter 12, I was fully invested in the story. The twists, turns, and red harrings were so well placed, I really didn't see certain things coming. Winter has quickly become one of my all-time favorite FMCs - she is so strong-willed and competent - but compassionate enough to guide her unit through so much, I just really loved her development in this book. I was actually shocked with how much I even enjoyed certain "background" characters - everyone was just so well written. I liked that hard topics were addressed and certain characters "got their due" - it was very satisfying. The final chapters of the book were so incredible, that I just could not put the book down. Overall I would definitely recommend this book for fantasy enjoyers - it was so good! I can't wait to continue on with the series.