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A review by svnsn
Das Labyrinth von London by Benedict Jacka
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Tldr: Men, men, men, why so many male characters. But the plot was very exciting.
Now, a bit more elaborately for those who care:
The imbalance between male and female characters really started to annoy me at some point. (Almost) anytime a new powerful character was being introduced it was a man. Now if the book had somehow acknowledged and commented on the magician society being a patriarchial system, that could have been an interesting point (maybe even a plot point for future books) but instead it felt like male was just the default for all the characters and then there were some female characters sprinkled throughout. Most of them, especially the human ones, were somehow weak and/or victims somehow. The powerful players (Richard Drahk, Morden, Levistus, Verus, Abithriax, Talisid, Helikaon, Onyx ) are all men.
Side note, but I was also side eyeing the scene were severe violence was committed against women, described in gruesome detail. It was giving torture corn.
The magic system is also a bit wishy washy. There is no hard magic system which led to Alex abilities conveniently working or not working however it fit the plot. But it honestly didn't bother me too much.
Which leads me to the good parts!
While my criticism stands, I ended up enjoying the book. The plot was fast paced and didn't linger too long on scenes it didn't have to. I found myself pretty much excited throughout the entire book. Even though, as I said, I wish there had been more well developed female characters, I did like the characters a lot.
I'm especially excited to find out what Rachel and Cinder are up to, Starbreeze was dumb but adorable, Sonder was cute as well, I was also very intrigued by Talisid. While I didn't exactly love Luna, I think her story might become very interesting in the next books. Alex is still a bit of a blank sheet to me at this point, but very well could become a very interesting character in the future with his struggle of not belong to either the light or the dark side, not wanting to succumb to thriving for more power but also detesting being a plaything for the light and dark mages
Now, a bit more elaborately for those who care:
The imbalance between male and female characters really started to annoy me at some point. (Almost) anytime a new powerful character was being introduced it was a man. Now if the book had somehow acknowledged and commented on the magician society being a patriarchial system, that could have been an interesting point (maybe even a plot point for future books) but instead it felt like male was just the default for all the characters and then there were some female characters sprinkled throughout. Most of them, especially the human ones, were somehow weak and/or victims somehow. The powerful players (
Side note, but I was also side eyeing the scene were severe violence was committed against women, described in gruesome detail. It was giving torture corn.
The magic system is also a bit wishy washy. There is no hard magic system which led to Alex abilities conveniently working or not working however it fit the plot. But it honestly didn't bother me too much.
Which leads me to the good parts!
While my criticism stands, I ended up enjoying the book. The plot was fast paced and didn't linger too long on scenes it didn't have to. I found myself pretty much excited throughout the entire book. Even though, as I said, I wish there had been more well developed female characters, I did like the characters a lot.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Sexual harassment, Blood, Rape, and Sexual assault