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A review by xan_van_rooyen
Unwrapped Sky by Rjurik Davidson
4.0
Rjurik Davidson certainly has an incredible imagination which resulted in some epic world-building, an interesting cast of characters and laid the foundation for a complex fantasy series.
***time to write a real review***
I met Rjurik at two separate cons over the summer, but long before that I spotted his book in a warehouse-sized bookstore in South Africa. The cover immediately snagged my attention and I made a note of the title to get on Kindle (I was traveling at the time and didn't want the extra weight of the hardcover). A few weeks later, I met Rjurik and couldn't believe I was in the presence of the very author whose work I couldn't wait to read!
Cut to the actual book. I started reading Unwrapped Sky with certain expectations: 1) Minotaurs 2) epic fantasy. This book didn't quite meet my expectations on point 1 and thoroughly exceeded them on point 2.
This is not a book about minotaurs. Minotaurs are part of the world, but they're not quite the major presence I anticipated.
This book is epic fantasy and then some. The world is a rich tapestry of magic, technology and steampunk elements. This is where the book truly deserves 5 stars. The settings are original and vivid to the point where I could smell Caeli-Amur and hear the sounds of the market-place. I loved the blend of technology and more typical fantasy elements, although I can see how this book that straddles the science-fantasy genre might leave science fiction fans wanting more tech and fantasy fans annoyed by the very presence of tech. The only comparison I can draw is perhaps Mark Lawrence's Broken Empire trilogy in terms of tech + fantasy.
Onto the characters. I'll admit I wasn't a huge fan of the three separate POVs and seemingly disconnected story threads but of course, the author weaves these three narratives together and in the end I wanted to spend more time with each character, characters who were all morally ambiguous. There are no clear cut heroes here and so if you're expecting to find a Jamie Fraser, Richard Cypher or similar love interest come swashbuckling hero, you might want to look elsewhere. What this book does deliver is complex characters - male and female - foregoing many of the usual fantasy tropes while avoiding a lot of the medievalish mindset, especially regarding women's rights, which I found particularly refreshing.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am looking forward to future installments in this genre-defying series.
***time to write a real review***
I met Rjurik at two separate cons over the summer, but long before that I spotted his book in a warehouse-sized bookstore in South Africa. The cover immediately snagged my attention and I made a note of the title to get on Kindle (I was traveling at the time and didn't want the extra weight of the hardcover). A few weeks later, I met Rjurik and couldn't believe I was in the presence of the very author whose work I couldn't wait to read!
Cut to the actual book. I started reading Unwrapped Sky with certain expectations: 1) Minotaurs 2) epic fantasy. This book didn't quite meet my expectations on point 1 and thoroughly exceeded them on point 2.
This is not a book about minotaurs. Minotaurs are part of the world, but they're not quite the major presence I anticipated.
This book is epic fantasy and then some. The world is a rich tapestry of magic, technology and steampunk elements. This is where the book truly deserves 5 stars. The settings are original and vivid to the point where I could smell Caeli-Amur and hear the sounds of the market-place. I loved the blend of technology and more typical fantasy elements, although I can see how this book that straddles the science-fantasy genre might leave science fiction fans wanting more tech and fantasy fans annoyed by the very presence of tech. The only comparison I can draw is perhaps Mark Lawrence's Broken Empire trilogy in terms of tech + fantasy.
Onto the characters. I'll admit I wasn't a huge fan of the three separate POVs and seemingly disconnected story threads but of course, the author weaves these three narratives together and in the end I wanted to spend more time with each character, characters who were all morally ambiguous. There are no clear cut heroes here and so if you're expecting to find a Jamie Fraser, Richard Cypher or similar love interest come swashbuckling hero, you might want to look elsewhere. What this book does deliver is complex characters - male and female - foregoing many of the usual fantasy tropes while avoiding a lot of the medievalish mindset, especially regarding women's rights, which I found particularly refreshing.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am looking forward to future installments in this genre-defying series.