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A review by feelinsoso
Vesselless by Cortney L. Winn
4.0
So, per usual I read reviews only once I was done with the book. And all I can say is daammmn some people are harsh :D
I had a great time, honestly, even though I did not read Vesselless in the best circumstances, resulting in a very broken read (and probably me not paying close attention to the writing style, most of the time). However, the plot and characters were captivating enough to keep me going. There were some clunky sentences and typos in certain places but nothing that was jarring enough to make me want to drop the book forever. The two main characters have a lovely relationship, and their stories mesh really well. I liked the whole "spirit from hell" idea, there were some great scenes peppered throughout, and I even got Celaena vibes (the TOG version 1.0, though) from Nizarra more than once (which is the highest compliment I could give).
All in all, the characters and relationship development were the strongest points. My main gripe is with the world building. It felt like the author could not bring herself to decide where/when to situate her story time-wise. I had a hard time visualizing most scenes, with such a mix of modern technologies (electricity, guns, cars) and a more traditional setting (sword fighting, castles, dungeons). If the author had expounded a little more on the world building and how electricity had been gradually dropped over time for a specific reason, explaining why soldiers do not use rifles, for example - this had to be addressed at some point - I would have probably given this book close to 5 stars. There were some moments hinting at the history of this world, but it was not enough. You need to know WHEN you are to picture WHERE you are, in a way. Still looking forward to book 2.
I had a great time, honestly, even though I did not read Vesselless in the best circumstances, resulting in a very broken read (and probably me not paying close attention to the writing style, most of the time). However, the plot and characters were captivating enough to keep me going. There were some clunky sentences and typos in certain places but nothing that was jarring enough to make me want to drop the book forever. The two main characters have a lovely relationship, and their stories mesh really well. I liked the whole "spirit from hell" idea, there were some great scenes peppered throughout, and I even got Celaena vibes (the TOG version 1.0, though) from Nizarra more than once (which is the highest compliment I could give).
All in all, the characters and relationship development were the strongest points. My main gripe is with the world building. It felt like the author could not bring herself to decide where/when to situate her story time-wise. I had a hard time visualizing most scenes, with such a mix of modern technologies (electricity, guns, cars) and a more traditional setting (sword fighting, castles, dungeons). If the author had expounded a little more on the world building and how electricity had been gradually dropped over time for a specific reason, explaining why soldiers do not use rifles, for example - this had to be addressed at some point - I would have probably given this book close to 5 stars. There were some moments hinting at the history of this world, but it was not enough. You need to know WHEN you are to picture WHERE you are, in a way. Still looking forward to book 2.