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A review by kendylldrilling
The Forgetting Moon by Brian Lee Durfee
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Ultimately, I have middle of the road thoughts about this book.
I found the European medieval-styled world interesting enough, especially as the history and magic is explained through the narrative, dialogue, and interactions between characters. The religious backdrop and connotations on sodety definitely
have strong influences from Christianity (especially Catholicism), and while this is a preference of mine, I think I was looking for a few more subversions to its inclusion here.
The writing was serviceable, if not the most engaging, for me. Durfee makes some stylistic choices that aren't my favorite, making some dialogue cringey and ridiculous. For example, why do we need to focus on breasts so much? It's reminiscent of 80's fantasy in this regard, and while I'm all for the plot and setting reflecting this, I find it unnecessary when describing body parts. All that being said, the writing was captivating when action scenes came up. The tension was high, the descriptions gnarly, and the losses had a balance between abrupt and inevitable.
Finally, the characters were almost indistinguishable from one another. Apart from the sheer number of them, it was difficult to keep track of who was who at first because the cast (apart from two) has little in terms of traits that make anyone stand out. This made connecting to anyone problematic. Even at 70% through, I found myself struggling to care whether someone lived or died, though the stakes were high. I even forgot certain characters existed until they came back to the page. If it weren't for the two povs I was actually somewhat invested in, my rating would probably be lower. Many of these characters remind me of those in Wheel of Time or A Song of Ice and Fire, but I was missing the complexities executed by Jordan and Martin, respectively.
I'll continue at some point, but I'm not prioritizing the sequel.
I found the European medieval-styled world interesting enough, especially as the history and magic is explained through the narrative, dialogue, and interactions between characters. The religious backdrop and connotations on sodety definitely
have strong influences from Christianity (especially Catholicism), and while this is a preference of mine, I think I was looking for a few more subversions to its inclusion here.
The writing was serviceable, if not the most engaging, for me. Durfee makes some stylistic choices that aren't my favorite, making some dialogue cringey and ridiculous. For example, why do we need to focus on breasts so much? It's reminiscent of 80's fantasy in this regard, and while I'm all for the plot and setting reflecting this, I find it unnecessary when describing body parts. All that being said, the writing was captivating when action scenes came up. The tension was high, the descriptions gnarly, and the losses had a balance between abrupt and inevitable.
Finally, the characters were almost indistinguishable from one another. Apart from the sheer number of them, it was difficult to keep track of who was who at first because the cast (apart from two) has little in terms of traits that make anyone stand out. This made connecting to anyone problematic. Even at 70% through, I found myself struggling to care whether someone lived or died, though the stakes were high. I even forgot certain characters existed until they came back to the page. If it weren't for the two povs I was actually somewhat invested in, my rating would probably be lower. Many of these characters remind me of those in Wheel of Time or A Song of Ice and Fire, but I was missing the complexities executed by Jordan and Martin, respectively.
I'll continue at some point, but I'm not prioritizing the sequel.