Scan barcode
A review by kitvaria_sarene
Silent Hall by N.S. Dolkart
3.0
This book is a mixed batch. It had some really amazing parts, but it also had quite some things that annoyed me.
I'll start with the bad part - to me it felt like there wasn't any real plot. The characters wander around, get some rather random feeling quests now and then, and wander around some more. It all lacks a sense of direction or meaning. Some of the decisions about where to go just didn't make any sense to me.
The characters were really, really tropey. I did still like them, and I found them interesting, but they were: The warrior who isn't too bright, the intelligent girl who reads a lot, the coward who would rather run away, a girl who grew up alone in the forest since she was about 6 and therefore isn't too good at communicating, and a half breed, who doesn't really know who he is, looking for more of his kind. I would have really liked them a bit less stereotypical, even though I kinda liked them. They could be more divers and a bit more depth would help.
There's a romance in this that just didn't work too well for me. Two of the characters get together, and though the girl is told that one doesn't have sex before marriage, and one shouldn't run around naked in front of others, still they all simply pretend they don't notice if the two go away to have sex. Or as the wild girl calls it "mate". I could have done with less mating, without the described birth and the relationship problems between the two, which are at least rather realistic.
This book just has too much. It has gods - and plenty of them. It has fae, and wizards. God magic and Fae magic. And wizards do learn to use a mix of both of them. It has a war, and a curse, and sacrifices and different religions and priests, and living fortresses and god knows what else. And while I love a deep and rich world to explore - this did feel like a disordered mess instead. It just did too much instead of fewer things, but those well. The worldbuilding didn't suck me right in, but rather flowed by me on both sides.
The prose was ok, but felt rough in some parts. Definitely not especially good or fluent, but not so bad it would distract from the story.
The good things - I really liked the perspective of a character growing up in the wilderness. Even if at some points it got too repetitive. The other characters were interesting enough to let me care about what happens to them.
The curse at the start of the book was really well done! I just hoped a relevant plot would have sprung from it.
All in all it was one of those books that fall under the category "I don't regret the time and money spend on it, but I also wouldn't miss it if I had read something else instead"
I'll start with the bad part - to me it felt like there wasn't any real plot. The characters wander around, get some rather random feeling quests now and then, and wander around some more. It all lacks a sense of direction or meaning. Some of the decisions about where to go just didn't make any sense to me.
The characters were really, really tropey. I did still like them, and I found them interesting, but they were: The warrior who isn't too bright, the intelligent girl who reads a lot, the coward who would rather run away, a girl who grew up alone in the forest since she was about 6 and therefore isn't too good at communicating, and a half breed, who doesn't really know who he is, looking for more of his kind. I would have really liked them a bit less stereotypical, even though I kinda liked them. They could be more divers and a bit more depth would help.
There's a romance in this that just didn't work too well for me. Two of the characters get together, and though the girl is told that one doesn't have sex before marriage, and one shouldn't run around naked in front of others, still they all simply pretend they don't notice if the two go away to have sex. Or as the wild girl calls it "mate". I could have done with less mating, without the described birth and the relationship problems between the two, which are at least rather realistic.
This book just has too much. It has gods - and plenty of them. It has fae, and wizards. God magic and Fae magic. And wizards do learn to use a mix of both of them. It has a war, and a curse, and sacrifices and different religions and priests, and living fortresses and god knows what else. And while I love a deep and rich world to explore - this did feel like a disordered mess instead. It just did too much instead of fewer things, but those well. The worldbuilding didn't suck me right in, but rather flowed by me on both sides.
The prose was ok, but felt rough in some parts. Definitely not especially good or fluent, but not so bad it would distract from the story.
The good things - I really liked the perspective of a character growing up in the wilderness. Even if at some points it got too repetitive. The other characters were interesting enough to let me care about what happens to them.
The curse at the start of the book was really well done! I just hoped a relevant plot would have sprung from it.
All in all it was one of those books that fall under the category "I don't regret the time and money spend on it, but I also wouldn't miss it if I had read something else instead"