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A review by jennieartemis
The Way of Thorn and Thunder by Daniel Heath Justice
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
TL;DR: Fantasy from a marginalised perspective that brings the influences and experiences of that viewpoint, but doesn't quite cohere as a narrative
The Way of Thorn and Thunder is ultimately a solid fantasy narrative, and at points, particularly in the later stages, it shows some sparks of being great, but I was so prepared for this book to be special and I was a bit disappointed. The world was fascinating, but this resulted in a ton of description and exposition relative to plot. The characters also had a lot of potential, but some major figures felt like non-entities, and the developing relationships between them were often rushed, so it was hard to feel any emotional connection. It also wasn't as radical with gender or sexuality as I was expecting despite some interesting ingredients. It's great to see a fantasy with these influences, and there is a good message to the overall narrative, but I shan't rush to reread this one.
6/10 in personal rating system
The Way of Thorn and Thunder is ultimately a solid fantasy narrative, and at points, particularly in the later stages, it shows some sparks of being great, but I was so prepared for this book to be special and I was a bit disappointed. The world was fascinating, but this resulted in a ton of description and exposition relative to plot. The characters also had a lot of potential, but some major figures felt like non-entities, and the developing relationships between them were often rushed, so it was hard to feel any emotional connection. It also wasn't as radical with gender or sexuality as I was expecting despite some interesting ingredients. It's great to see a fantasy with these influences, and there is a good message to the overall narrative, but I shan't rush to reread this one.
6/10 in personal rating system