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A review by teklalind
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is the third book I've read by Novik and I still can't tell if I really enjoy her writing. Clearly, I do enough to keep trying her books! I have definitely seen her improve especially with character relationships and development that I'm happy to see after Uprooted. I do intend to read the rest of this series but I still struggle with her writing style as it just doesn't feel polished.
I enjoyed this book, but it lacks exposition or a coherent explanation of the world-building. What you learn is fascinating, I find the school's structure interesting. I found myself stumbling around trying to remember all of the names thrown at me, not just the characters but also of the various monsters because there are so many different types thrown in. Usually, an introduction includes a description of it but it's rushed in while the main character is fighting it. Maybe it's intended for the audience to think on their feet as much as the characters have to, but instead, I found myself just flailing and making all the monsters just blobs because I couldn't distinguish them from one another. I wish there had been an index in the back of the book with descriptions of the "mals" (the monsters) so I could keep track, let alone an index with the names of the characters thrown around with their rushed description.
It seemed like Novik was trying to create a diverse cast of characters except she threw them all to the side most of the time because most of the book was about El, the MC, and sometimes Orion Lake. A lot of the cast of characters could have been trimmed to give other important ones more time but Novik really tried to sell how diverse the school was and ended up just creating a massive hole in character development. Maybe that happens in the sequel!
Overall, I did enjoy the book though. I wouldn't compare it to Harry Potter at all but I realize people will always compare a magical school to HP despite the fact that magical schools in fantasy existed before HP and continue to after but I digress. It has a darker sense where Novik tries to pick apart the class differences between students but ignores the racial differences that could've been a major influence but the attempts she did make at critical thinking about race were not well received so maybe it's good she didn't try.
I enjoyed this book, but it lacks exposition or a coherent explanation of the world-building. What you learn is fascinating, I find the school's structure interesting. I found myself stumbling around trying to remember all of the names thrown at me, not just the characters but also of the various monsters because there are so many different types thrown in. Usually, an introduction includes a description of it but it's rushed in while the main character is fighting it. Maybe it's intended for the audience to think on their feet as much as the characters have to, but instead, I found myself just flailing and making all the monsters just blobs because I couldn't distinguish them from one another. I wish there had been an index in the back of the book with descriptions of the "mals" (the monsters) so I could keep track, let alone an index with the names of the characters thrown around with their rushed description.
It seemed like Novik was trying to create a diverse cast of characters except she threw them all to the side most of the time because most of the book was about El, the MC, and sometimes Orion Lake. A lot of the cast of characters could have been trimmed to give other important ones more time but Novik really tried to sell how diverse the school was and ended up just creating a massive hole in character development. Maybe that happens in the sequel!
Overall, I did enjoy the book though. I wouldn't compare it to Harry Potter at all but I realize people will always compare a magical school to HP despite the fact that magical schools in fantasy existed before HP and continue to after but I digress. It has a darker sense where Novik tries to pick apart the class differences between students but ignores the racial differences that could've been a major influence but the attempts she did make at critical thinking about race were not well received so maybe it's good she didn't try.
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Cannibalism, and Blood
Briefly mentioned the sacrifice of animals. Another brief mention of a human sacrifice and cannibalism for magic. It is not described in detail and is not dwelled upon.
MC is attacked with a knife by the cannibal and she bleeds from a gut wound but he doesn't injure her any further. The fight scene is over quickly after