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danigc's reviews
70 reviews
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Masterfully describes a spiderweb of real history, filling it with fantastical elements but without deviating so much that it disrespects or distracts from the actual horrors, injustices, and tragedies of the time. Encourages the reader to reflect on the events and people, and to critically consider meaning, language, racism/class issues/colonialism. How cultures and languages evolve, including in times of more liberal inspiration or times of restrictive subjugation. The war for power here is more mystical/supernatural, but its nature is the same.
What would it mean to be understood perfectly? To understand perfectly? For nothing to be lost in translation. To grasp a complex idea with a single, true, all-encapsulating word for it. Or for a larger set of ideas and thoughts. What would that look like?
A true 5-star read - a book that rewrites your way of comprehending, changes your perspective on an idea or world. Inspires deep thought and feeling, and challenges current beliefs.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Strengths: Watcha want? Pirates, dragons, diverse cultures, forbidden magic, mages and witches, cryptic themes, ancient secrets, world-shattering stakes? F/f lady knight-queen romance that’s not fetishized or overtakes the higher plot? 🔥
Bet. This has it all.
Weaknesses: The world-building wasn’t particularly strong. It was a lot of “yeah this kingdom is just fantasy Persia, this one is Kongo, this one England” without any additional seasoning or depth. There’s occasional anachronisms that are never addressed, which felt lazy. The writing style was weak and unvaried, with scarce wit or memorable quotes. The characters were interesting, but none were remarkable.
TLDR; This book shows that a big world does not necessarily = a deep or clever one. On delivery/execution, I should rate it lower. But I still enjoyed the story.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
If “Warbreaker”, “Harry Potter”, and “Name of the Wind” had a baby, it would be “Will of the Many”.
Full of fantasy tropes, with a Gary Stu protagonist - but it WORKS. The mystery was mysterying!! Any build - slow, bland, whatever (Part I cough cough) - was worth the reveals.
Islington craftily fed a slow-drip of extensive lore, magic, technology, and history in this first of the Hierarchy trilogy, and its establishment will have wild ramifications in the remainder of the series. I’m looking at you, November 2025!
emotional
reflective
sad
Sappho is an icon of the erotic that dared to passionately go against the cultural convention and poetic styles of her period. Even from her few limited and fragmented works that have survived, it’s clear she is a master of magic, meter, and expression.
“I know not what to do:
strain upon strain,
sound surging upon sound
makes my brain blind;
as a wave-line may wait to fall
still the wind may take
from off its crest,
white flake on flake of foam,
that rises,
seeming to dart and pulse
and rend the light,
so my mind hesitates
above the passion
quivering yet to break,
so my mind hesitates
above my mind,
listening to song's delight.”
🫰🫰🫰
dark
funny
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was hilariously unhinged. No one does dark humor, biting wit, and sensory diction like Joe Abercrombie. A literary grim fantasy DnD campaign. But Abercrombie prioritized cunning jabs over a particularly engaging plot or any deeper feelings, relying on the “motley crew”-ness of it for intrigue. It followed a predictable blueprint. I lost interest in between punchlines.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
All the real ones hate Lysander!!
Lightbringer skillfully mirrors and beautifully bridges the best of the original trilogy. The politicking, the machinations, the twists and poeticism and cohesiveness. Ugh, I swoon. Summer 2026 can’t come soon enough!
funny
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
“It is the house expanding your understanding.” A dreamlike, psychological mystery with messages on how sense of self evolves, and how identity and memory are shaped by context, experience, and relationships. On how the human spirit seeks truth despite challenges or traumas. How perspective shapes our worlds.
This book and its engrossing, unraveling mystery inspired all these critical thoughts and questions, despite (or because of?) my disagreeing with the perspective. And this is why I give it five stars 🌟
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Brutal. Mind-bendingly brutal.
A saga of sickening sorrow and shocking savagery. A constant motif of condensed cruelty. Unrelenting themes of terror and tragedy. Wanna feel your soul die? Read this book! 👍😬👍
challenging
informative
medium-paced