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A review by fletcher
Sandry's Book by Tamora Pierce
2.0
I can’t put into words how disappointed I was by this... I had heard such good things about it, and hoped to finish 2018 with something I’d like, but I guess it’s not to be. This was boring. The action literally, actually, in fact did not start until page 216 out of 252, with the possible exception of a light scuffle earlier on (still, mind you, on page 174 out of 252).
Somehow, despite meticulously describing the chores and everyday activities of each character, the author still managed to make almost everything about the place they stay shrouded in esoteric mystery. By the end of the book, I still had no idea why they were there or what the overarching plot was—there was not even a villain. The “action” in the end wasan amplified natural disaster, and the trouble that the characters got in was completely their own faults for following a puppy into a craggy cliff when they knew an earthquake was coming. I mean... really?
The magic seems to have no explanations or limits, despite, again, the meticulous description of each characters’ lessons on the subject. There were so many pages spent explaining in incredible detail how weaving works that I literally just started skipping forward because I was so bored. Most of the protagonists started out unbearable, and some of them stayed that way (Tris) but others magically (ha) had some switch flipped at the very end and became wonderful and supportive friends. This was incredibly disappointing to me because they each started out with really interesting backstories. I was excited to see what places they would go and how they would interact, but they just went from arguing 24/7 to having a literal psychic connection, with nothing but a natural disaster between, after two hundred entire pages of just describing their daily life at Discipline.
I have been waiting to read this book for ages and find out what this entrancing story is, but after getting through it I’m pretty sure I still don’t know. I don’t know what the constraints of the magic are, I barely have an idea of what each character’s power is, I don’t know if there is some sort of threat they are up against or if there is a villain to be found anywhere, I don’t know who most of the name-drops are or what half of the foreign terms mean... And I was just bored out of my mind the entire time reading it. I feel like this entire book could have been summed up in maybe three chapters. I wanted so badly to like it, but I just don’t, and I don’t think I have the heart to continue to the rest of the series, either.
#Readdownyourbookshelf verdict: This and all the other books in its series are getting sent to the book exchange.
Somehow, despite meticulously describing the chores and everyday activities of each character, the author still managed to make almost everything about the place they stay shrouded in esoteric mystery. By the end of the book, I still had no idea why they were there or what the overarching plot was—there was not even a villain. The “action” in the end was
The magic seems to have no explanations or limits, despite, again, the meticulous description of each characters’ lessons on the subject. There were so many pages spent explaining in incredible detail how weaving works that I literally just started skipping forward because I was so bored. Most of the protagonists started out unbearable, and some of them stayed that way (Tris) but others magically (ha) had some switch flipped at the very end and became wonderful and supportive friends. This was incredibly disappointing to me because they each started out with really interesting backstories. I was excited to see what places they would go and how they would interact, but they just went from arguing 24/7 to having a literal psychic connection, with nothing but a natural disaster between, after two hundred entire pages of just describing their daily life at Discipline.
I have been waiting to read this book for ages and find out what this entrancing story is, but after getting through it I’m pretty sure I still don’t know. I don’t know what the constraints of the magic are, I barely have an idea of what each character’s power is, I don’t know if there is some sort of threat they are up against or if there is a villain to be found anywhere, I don’t know who most of the name-drops are or what half of the foreign terms mean... And I was just bored out of my mind the entire time reading it. I feel like this entire book could have been summed up in maybe three chapters. I wanted so badly to like it, but I just don’t, and I don’t think I have the heart to continue to the rest of the series, either.
#Readdownyourbookshelf verdict: This and all the other books in its series are getting sent to the book exchange.