Scan barcode
A review by moooncat
The Braided Path: The Weavers of Saramyr / The Skein of Lament / The Ascendancy Veil by Chris Wooding
4.0
Years of trying to read this series and finally, I am done!
It’s hard to rate such a long story, but I think I’m closer to three than four star. I gave it four because of my fondness for Chris Wooding’s writing in general; overall though, this series was less succinct than The Ember Blade, and it suffered for it.
The characters are excellent, even though I might not have liked them on a personal level. Kaiku was so dreary and selfish, but that was mostly resolved by the final chapters (a little too late imo). Asara was a wonderfully complex character and I really enjoyed her brutality and self-preservation. Tsata seemed to have too brief a time on the page and I would have loved to see him interacting more, just to see the interplay of cultures. Mishani was hard to like, which I guess was the point, but it made the more tender moments feel very forced.
That said, Wooding is good at letting you get attached to characters just to kill them off. I found it just upsetting enough, but it also felt like the impact of their passing on other characters could have been given more page time. Exploring emotions was often pushed aside to make way for more war prep, and I haaaaate that.
I often find in books with battles and the ending war that I just want it to be over with. I care very little for tactics and political manoeuvres and find myself skimming the pages searching for actual character interactions. This book was weighted heavily with fighting and subterfuge, and while some of it was tense and genuinely horrifying, most of it fell flat because of how bored I was.
I think it’s worth saying that the “oriental” setting was cringey, particularly at the beginning of the series. I would have liked a completely new culture, but you could tell where the influence came from, and sometimes it made the story feel a bit stifled. I also thought the “nature good, metal bad” subplot was a little heavy handed.
The ending seemed open for further books to come along, but I felt like that was obvious, something signalled along the way. It made some plot lines seem pointless in the end as Wooding hinted to things coming full circle to the detriment of the world once more. I don’t think there are other books planned though, and it’s satisfying to leave Kaiku and gang where they are for now.
Overall, I’m very happy to add this to my finished list!!!!!!!!
It’s hard to rate such a long story, but I think I’m closer to three than four star. I gave it four because of my fondness for Chris Wooding’s writing in general; overall though, this series was less succinct than The Ember Blade, and it suffered for it.
The characters are excellent, even though I might not have liked them on a personal level. Kaiku was so dreary and selfish, but that was mostly resolved by the final chapters (a little too late imo). Asara was a wonderfully complex character and I really enjoyed her brutality and self-preservation. Tsata seemed to have too brief a time on the page and I would have loved to see him interacting more, just to see the interplay of cultures. Mishani was hard to like, which I guess was the point, but it made the more tender moments feel very forced.
That said, Wooding is good at letting you get attached to characters just to kill them off. I found it just upsetting enough, but it also felt like the impact of their passing on other characters could have been given more page time. Exploring emotions was often pushed aside to make way for more war prep, and I haaaaate that.
I often find in books with battles and the ending war that I just want it to be over with. I care very little for tactics and political manoeuvres and find myself skimming the pages searching for actual character interactions. This book was weighted heavily with fighting and subterfuge, and while some of it was tense and genuinely horrifying, most of it fell flat because of how bored I was.
I think it’s worth saying that the “oriental” setting was cringey, particularly at the beginning of the series. I would have liked a completely new culture, but you could tell where the influence came from, and sometimes it made the story feel a bit stifled. I also thought the “nature good, metal bad” subplot was a little heavy handed.
The ending seemed open for further books to come along, but I felt like that was obvious, something signalled along the way. It made some plot lines seem pointless in the end as Wooding hinted to things coming full circle to the detriment of the world once more. I don’t think there are other books planned though, and it’s satisfying to leave Kaiku and gang where they are for now.
Overall, I’m very happy to add this to my finished list!!!!!!!!