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A review by albymej
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
4.0
(three and a half really, the other half goes to the audiobook narrator which was fantastic!)
So first of all, the controversy. I'm not american really (hispanic I guess), so maybe I'm not as involved in this, but I did not find this book racist at all. Also, this is a fantasy world created by someone's mind with someone's rules, and so if in this world, dreadlocks are a bad idea (and she explains why) it's her world building, nothing against dreadlocks or whatever other thing, maybe in a certain world people can't wear purple or can't braid their hair, or whatever. It is a choice in your worldbuilding and I think you should be allowed as a writer to build your world as you will. She probably didn't even realize that that particular detail would send haters all over the place. Mind you, she was clearly trying to be inclusive.
That aside, the book has a very interesting premise. A school with no teachers, in which you try to survive everyday by learning new spells. And our poor protagonist, all the spells she gets are, well, inappropriate at best. And she is very unlikeable, but entertaining, and does grow by the end (only a bit though). And you have her befriend the popular guy and the side characters are also interesting too. The developing friendship between her and the popular guy, while strange and at times annoying, it's endearing by the end.
However, some have described this book as an ikea manual. I get it! There is quite a bit of infodumping, and for that I think the audiobook helps a lot. So the world is interesting, the premise holds promise, and the story (when progressing) is also very good. I think these series has potential and I hope the internet didn't cancel it ;(
If you like a slithering story, can take a bit of infodumping and like school settings and a bit of battle royale, this can be the book for you!
So first of all, the controversy. I'm not american really (hispanic I guess), so maybe I'm not as involved in this, but I did not find this book racist at all. Also, this is a fantasy world created by someone's mind with someone's rules, and so if in this world, dreadlocks are a bad idea (and she explains why) it's her world building, nothing against dreadlocks or whatever other thing, maybe in a certain world people can't wear purple or can't braid their hair, or whatever. It is a choice in your worldbuilding and I think you should be allowed as a writer to build your world as you will. She probably didn't even realize that that particular detail would send haters all over the place. Mind you, she was clearly trying to be inclusive.
That aside, the book has a very interesting premise. A school with no teachers, in which you try to survive everyday by learning new spells. And our poor protagonist, all the spells she gets are, well, inappropriate at best. And she is very unlikeable, but entertaining, and does grow by the end (only a bit though). And you have her befriend the popular guy and the side characters are also interesting too. The developing friendship between her and the popular guy, while strange and at times annoying, it's endearing by the end.
However, some have described this book as an ikea manual. I get it! There is quite a bit of infodumping, and for that I think the audiobook helps a lot. So the world is interesting, the premise holds promise, and the story (when progressing) is also very good. I think these series has potential and I hope the internet didn't cancel it ;(
If you like a slithering story, can take a bit of infodumping and like school settings and a bit of battle royale, this can be the book for you!