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A review by cheye13
A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I credit this book with reminding me how magical reading can be. This book itself may not be my favorite book ever, but the author automatically leapt to "one of my favorites" status. I will be hunting down everything else they've written.
The worldbuilding was exquisite – nearly tangible. I could easily slip into someone else's story in this universe and that's one of my favorite elements of the fantasy genre. I also loved that not only were politics involved, but they were intrinsic to the core plot of the story. The characters were all so well-rounded, and using a main character in a foreign land as a reader-proxy to introduce everyone was genius. And above all, I loved the writing style. It was chronically readable, but also flowed between gravitas and levity, evocative of whatever mood the scene called for. I'm getting emotional thinking about just how fun simply the act of reading this book was.
Unfortunately, this still isn't my favorite book. The author kindly includes accurate content warnings, and while I think everything was handled well and with care, part of the rape and recovery storyline didn't gel with my reading experience. Unlike many other fantasy stories, I entirely understand why the scene of the assault was included, and I actually appreciate the story including Vel's journey of healing. I think I was mostly put off by the rapist character's constant return and the amount of plot he carried. While I appreciate Vel getting closure, I would rather his ex not have been on-page so much. . I also found the plot resolution a little rote and villian-monologue-y, focusing on wrapping up every loose end, when by that time, I was much more invested in the romance than the politics.
But still, overall a complete pleasure to read. I absolutely recommend it for curing slumps, despite the page count.
The worldbuilding was exquisite – nearly tangible. I could easily slip into someone else's story in this universe and that's one of my favorite elements of the fantasy genre. I also loved that not only were politics involved, but they were intrinsic to the core plot of the story. The characters were all so well-rounded, and using a main character in a foreign land as a reader-proxy to introduce everyone was genius. And above all, I loved the writing style. It was chronically readable, but also flowed between gravitas and levity, evocative of whatever mood the scene called for. I'm getting emotional thinking about just how fun simply the act of reading this book was.
Unfortunately, this still isn't my favorite book. The author kindly includes accurate content warnings, and while I think everything was handled well and with care, part of the rape and recovery storyline didn't gel with my reading experience. Unlike many other fantasy stories, I entirely understand why the scene of the assault was included, and I actually appreciate the story including Vel's journey of healing. I think I was mostly put off by
But still, overall a complete pleasure to read. I absolutely recommend it for curing slumps, despite the page count.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Outing
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infidelity, Transphobia, Stalking, and Abandonment