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shona_reads_in_devon 's review for:
Seeds of War
by João F. Silva
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a book of two parts for me.
I found some strong elements and then aspects that didn't work so well.
The world of Seeds of War was really intriguing to me. The magic - the Smokesmiths - was really cool, and the lore around them, the kids being taken and strung up and sacrificed, was unusual and quite haunting. The creatures all sounded interesting and novel.
I didn't feel hugely embedded in the geography however. There is a map so that helped, but I didn't feel like the prose concentrated on descriptions of location enough to create a sense of place for me.
I really enjoyed all the introductions to the characters - there are three POVs, Gimlore, Orberesis and Rednow - I found all their motivations interesting and well explored. Orberesis was probably the most compelling for me, even if he was also probably the most annoying, his arc was the one that I found the most satisfying and surprising.
The plotting was solid, I don't think it was laid out in a way that created a lot of tension. It was fairly linear and straightforward, without much in the way of surprises or suspense but I was interested in what happened.
The writing veered a little into tell and not show for me and I prefer my prose a little more embellished and deep than this plain and straightforward, largely dialogue based kind of writing. The style is largely what prevents this from being elevated above a 3 star for me. The dialogue was strong though, people talking sounded natural. The audio was really well narrated.
Thanks so much to João F Silva for giving me a free audiobook in exchange for an honest review..
I found some strong elements and then aspects that didn't work so well.
The world of Seeds of War was really intriguing to me. The magic - the Smokesmiths - was really cool, and the lore around them, the kids being taken and strung up and sacrificed, was unusual and quite haunting. The creatures all sounded interesting and novel.
I didn't feel hugely embedded in the geography however. There is a map so that helped, but I didn't feel like the prose concentrated on descriptions of location enough to create a sense of place for me.
I really enjoyed all the introductions to the characters - there are three POVs, Gimlore, Orberesis and Rednow - I found all their motivations interesting and well explored. Orberesis was probably the most compelling for me, even if he was also probably the most annoying, his arc was the one that I found the most satisfying and surprising.
The plotting was solid, I don't think it was laid out in a way that created a lot of tension. It was fairly linear and straightforward, without much in the way of surprises or suspense but I was interested in what happened.
The writing veered a little into tell and not show for me and I prefer my prose a little more embellished and deep than this plain and straightforward, largely dialogue based kind of writing. The style is largely what prevents this from being elevated above a 3 star for me. The dialogue was strong though, people talking sounded natural. The audio was really well narrated.
Thanks so much to João F Silva for giving me a free audiobook in exchange for an honest review..