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rbek 's review for:
Steel Crow Saga
by Paul Krueger
This was super fun! The four (main) civilizations are pretty explicitly based off China, Korea, Japan and the Philippines, with India taking a minor role in the story and one passing mention of who I believe to be the Uyghurs. While the country names are different and the setting is imbued with fantasy, the world doesn't shy away from including and addressing the real-life relationships of oppression and colonialism that tie these places together.
That was my favorite part of this book: the way that the narrative took on colonial privilege, good people coming from the top of bad systems of power, the decisions made by desperate people fighting for freedom. My second favorite part was the characterization -- while some of the relationship-building did seem to go a little fast considering the short time frame in the novel, I was still there for it and the author did his best to make sure every development was properly supported. I ended up really liking all four characters, when I'd started out unsure about all of them.
Docking one star honestly because the plot and magic system both really start falling apart when you think about them too hard... It took me out of the book quite a few times. But if you let go of that stuff and focus on the character-driven narrative, this could really be an incredible & unique read.
That was my favorite part of this book: the way that the narrative took on colonial privilege, good people coming from the top of bad systems of power, the decisions made by desperate people fighting for freedom. My second favorite part was the characterization -- while some of the relationship-building did seem to go a little fast considering the short time frame in the novel, I was still there for it and the author did his best to make sure every development was properly supported. I ended up really liking all four characters, when I'd started out unsure about all of them.
Docking one star honestly because the plot and magic system both really start falling apart when you think about them too hard... It took me out of the book quite a few times. But if you let go of that stuff and focus on the character-driven narrative, this could really be an incredible & unique read.