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A review by ollie_again
Železná zkouška by Holly Black, Cassandra Clare
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
It wasn't exactly bad but I wasn't blown away either. The magical world seemed rich but never did it really felt that way, it actually felt kind of empty. The fact that every adult in this book behaved like an a-hole and the same can be said about most of 12yo characters, I didn't root for anybody in this mess.
Most of this book is spent on the school life of the main trio but at the same time, we don't see much of it at all. We are told what they were learning and with whom but apart from the pile of sand exercise we don't see much more. Sadly, those are the parts I enjoy in fantasy books the most aka the slow non-threatening parts in which we learn about the magic system and whatnot. The pacing is a bit off too because we go through the whole study year but I sometimes didn't know if hours, days or months went by.
Even with my complaints, it's not a bad book, I think it tried to tell too much within too little page count. I have a mild intrigue to continue the series but I can't say for sure I will.
Most of this book is spent on the school life of the main trio but at the same time, we don't see much of it at all. We are told what they were learning and with whom but apart from the pile of sand exercise we don't see much more. Sadly, those are the parts I enjoy in fantasy books the most aka the slow non-threatening parts in which we learn about the magic system and whatnot. The pacing is a bit off too because we go through the whole study year but I sometimes didn't know if hours, days or months went by.
Even with my complaints, it's not a bad book, I think it tried to tell too much within too little page count. I have a mild intrigue to continue the series but I can't say for sure I will.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Death of parent, Ableism, and Death