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rg9400's reviews
207 reviews
The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I saw Petrik Leo's glowing review for this book that argued that it was one of the best cozy fantasies since Legends & Lattes. As someone who wasn't a huge fan of L&L, I was really looking forward to this book. Unfortunately, as I got further and further into the book, I found myself getting more and more disappointed, hoping for some sort of late reversal that never arrives. For a cozy fantasy, this book is trying to do a lot. The main character is joined by a cast of side characters, though her journey is linked more to a side character's quest than her own. Initially, I thought this book was going to focus a lot on the concept of determinism and the way fortunes can feel deterministic. Indeed, there is a part of the backstory linked to this theme which is why the protagonist only tells small fortunes instead of big ones, and there is even a troll who bemoans life as being too deterministic. Unfortunately, these moments are not given enough focus. Instead, the book also tries to focus on the feelings of being an immigrant, tries to include some more fantasy adventures, has portions of cozy fantasy staples such as baking, and even tries to build up some sort of geopolitical conflict. There is simply not enough of a pagecount to do justice to all of these elements, and so the book ends up underbaked in almost all of the aspects. The worldbuilding and geopolitical conflict is incredibly barebones and the resolution to it is almost laughable. I actually liked the fantasy adventures, but they don't make up a large portion of the book. The bakery stuff just feels cliched now with how many books in the genre now focus on it, and I do not understand why authors feel the need to include some sort of item from our world as a large invention in these stories, almost as if it is like an eye-winking twist or reveal. This book does it and has a whole arc surrounding it that felt very anachronistic and made me roll my eyes. Since the main quest isn't actually linked to our main character, we don't get a ton of character depth or growth for her, and I really wish the author tried to tie in a lot of different elements into that aforementioned theme of determinism. The side characters are mostly surface level, and they are given arcs for character growth that felt more like the author going through a checklist. The book is trying to do so much that it just can't give them enough attention. The side character whose quest drives this story ends up again having a resolution that feels too simplistic, undercutting some real potential.
I am sorry to rant so much for this book. I think the concept is fantastic, but by the end, I felt like I had not gotten much out of this book. Cozy fantasy is never going to be able to match the plot or worldbuilding of epic fantasy, so it really needs to land loveable characters with depth, strong atmosphere, and interesting themes. I do not think this book achieves those goals, though if the author had just focused in on one or two elements, I think she could have. The determinism angle is honestly something that could have been so insightful while also linking into the character arc really well. And to be clear, it is certainly something touched upon both in terms of backstory and in the character's growth, but other elements distract too much from it. It really should have been constantly reinforced throughout.
I am sorry to rant so much for this book. I think the concept is fantastic, but by the end, I felt like I had not gotten much out of this book. Cozy fantasy is never going to be able to match the plot or worldbuilding of epic fantasy, so it really needs to land loveable characters with depth, strong atmosphere, and interesting themes. I do not think this book achieves those goals, though if the author had just focused in on one or two elements, I think she could have. The determinism angle is honestly something that could have been so insightful while also linking into the character arc really well. And to be clear, it is certainly something touched upon both in terms of backstory and in the character's growth, but other elements distract too much from it. It really should have been constantly reinforced throughout.
The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
At this stage, I know what I'm getting into with Joe Abercrombie's writing. This book has both the things I like and the things I dislike in spades. While I generally find his action writing to be extremely boring, I did enjoy a few of the scenes here, though it's worth noting that the vast majority of this book is battle sequences. The (very few) female characters also leave a lot to be desired, and I'm hoping Abercrombie will eventually write a female POV that isn't relegated to being the object of lust of a male POV for large portions of the page count. Similarly, like the first trilogy and the prior standalone, the ending seems to follow a lot of similar beats that often don't feel as earned. With all that said, I do think the book does an interesting examination of the being a hero in wartime, using multiple different types of characters to showcase a diverse range of flaws. It often feels like Abercrombie writes satire of epic fantasy, and this book exemplifies that the most. In the end though, with pretty much no plot and mostly action and a lack of characters I enjoyed, I would say this is the weakest book I've read of his so far. It probably didn't help that current events caused my mood to shift a lot while I was reading it. That said, I am halfway through the First Law books now, so even if I am not head over heels in love with them, I think I will finish the series (at some point).
Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
First off, I'll just say that I definitely enjoyed this more than the original trilogy. With that said, I still have a lot of criticisms. I really enjoyed the structure of this story, and I feel it's at it's best in the early going, following a ragtag group of misfits as they hatch diverse schemes that all seem to go wrong in the funniest ways. As the story progresses though, these parts start to become a lot less tighter. Around part 5, I started to feel the story meander. The parts became longer and the core loop was disrupted. Now don't get me wrong, that prevents the story from becoming formulaic. But it's replaced by Abercrombie's trademark boring combat scenes that go on for waaay too long. Parts 5 through 7 all suffer from this in a way I did not feel in the first 4 parts. Beyond the constant combat, I feel like the book tries to circle around some sort of theme or message outside of the obvious, but it feels very muddled. I wouldn't mind it if it didn't constantly seem like it was trying to say something, and I get why Abercrombie does that, else the whole thing just sort of feels pointless and futile. Similarly, I feel like the character-work is really dependent on these themes, and as the story gets muddled and becomes focused on combat, the characters don't really go anywhere. I really like Cosca, and I feel like there was something interesting that could have been done with Monza and Shivers that ended up being a missed opportunity. I did not care for the poisoner and found his assistant a more compelling concept of a character. Friendly sort of was...there? Not exactly a real character. Lastly, I do think the handling of female characters is better, but only because the bar was set so low from the original trilogy. Monza is overall a fine character, though there is this really incel-y style plot beat around her as well as some unnecessary backstory surrounding her that raised my eyes. The incel plot beat was worrying to me, though I think ultimately Abercrombie isn't expecting us to feel pity for that character, but it really felt like we were supposed to sympathize with them for a bit.
Given all the criticisms, I still continue to blaze through these books, in no short part due to strong narration in the audiobook. The first half almost feels like a videogame with how it is structured, and it feels like it has a lot of potential that the second half ends up not being able to necessarily live up to.
Given all the criticisms, I still continue to blaze through these books, in no short part due to strong narration in the audiobook. The first half almost feels like a videogame with how it is structured, and it feels like it has a lot of potential that the second half ends up not being able to necessarily live up to.
Metal from Heaven by August Clarke
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
First, the style. This book has a very distinctive voice that hits you as soon as you start, never letting up. I think this might be divisive. Everything is so vivid and evocative, driven by all the senses. From taste to touch to vision to smell to hearing, everything is filtered through this prismatic rainbow-infused lens. It honestly feels like sensory overload, at times making it hard to follow, but this works because the first-person protagonist themselves often suffers from sensory overload. It really puts you into the shoes of the main character in that sense. I had never heard the audiobook narrator before, but Vico Ortiz's gravely, low voice also accentuates how detached the main character feels from her environment, creating this hazy dreamlike atmosphere. Like I said, it may not work for everyone, but I think it made the book feel distinctive and worked in tandem with the character.
What is the book about? Well, it's an anticapitalist lesbian revenge story. My own political beliefs aside, I think this book did a good job of putting forward lots of different perspectives spurred by rapid industrialization. From the idea of fuedal aristocats to progressive philantrophic capitalists, new money vs old money, idealism versus harsh reality, the concept of progress as a continual journey, and so on. This book is simmering with class strife. There isn't necessarily a ton of labor politics or discussions about workers and unions despite it being such a critical part of the themes, but there is certainly a lot focused on corporate greed. Religion is also discussed a lot, and I liked hearing the different creation myths and how they were interpreted in such different ways. Also, this book is maybe the most lesbian fantasy I have ever read. Pretty much every character is a lesbian, and the book does try to explore the spectrum of people that identify as such. And beyond the (graphic) sex, I think it tints the book and the relationships in a unique way.
The book is split into what feels like 3 sections, and the revenge aspect sometimes feels a bit meandering within these sections. The first section focuses a lot on found family, with large passages of time. I really enjoyed this section, with the book feeling freewheeling and developing out a lot of important character bonds. The second section is a major shift from the first section. It is much more focused on a specific event, introducing a ton of new characters and political factions. It does not help that characters are referred to both with their given name as well as a "virtue" name such as Perfection, Integrity, Dedication, Candor, Truth, etc., and sometimes they have other names as well. Considering how many new characters there are, this made it harder for me to get my feet underneath me. If the book had started with this, I think it would have given me more time to get oriented, but since it's halfway through, it feels like I need to figure out what's going on right away. Indeed, at times I felt like I struggled with some of the motivations and political setups here, though I did eventually understand all the different players. This section is also kind of insane and also very horny, and outside of that confusion, I loved not knowing what was coming around the corner. Finally, the ending. I did not love what happens from a plot perspective, with the ending feeling a bit rushed and strange. That said, the very last scene was amazing, and I love the way it ties everything together.
Overall, I can confidently say I have not read anything like Metal From Heaven. It is a fever dream of a book with a distinctive voice and fully confident in its messaging. Even though there are elements that I think could have been better like the ending or clearer like some of the larger world politics, I was fully absorbed reading it. I wish more books were as uncompromising with their identity.
What is the book about? Well, it's an anticapitalist lesbian revenge story. My own political beliefs aside, I think this book did a good job of putting forward lots of different perspectives spurred by rapid industrialization. From the idea of fuedal aristocats to progressive philantrophic capitalists, new money vs old money, idealism versus harsh reality, the concept of progress as a continual journey, and so on. This book is simmering with class strife. There isn't necessarily a ton of labor politics or discussions about workers and unions despite it being such a critical part of the themes, but there is certainly a lot focused on corporate greed. Religion is also discussed a lot, and I liked hearing the different creation myths and how they were interpreted in such different ways. Also, this book is maybe the most lesbian fantasy I have ever read. Pretty much every character is a lesbian, and the book does try to explore the spectrum of people that identify as such. And beyond the (graphic) sex, I think it tints the book and the relationships in a unique way.
The book is split into what feels like 3 sections, and the revenge aspect sometimes feels a bit meandering within these sections. The first section focuses a lot on found family, with large passages of time. I really enjoyed this section, with the book feeling freewheeling and developing out a lot of important character bonds. The second section is a major shift from the first section. It is much more focused on a specific event, introducing a ton of new characters and political factions. It does not help that characters are referred to both with their given name as well as a "virtue" name such as Perfection, Integrity, Dedication, Candor, Truth, etc., and sometimes they have other names as well. Considering how many new characters there are, this made it harder for me to get my feet underneath me. If the book had started with this, I think it would have given me more time to get oriented, but since it's halfway through, it feels like I need to figure out what's going on right away. Indeed, at times I felt like I struggled with some of the motivations and political setups here, though I did eventually understand all the different players. This section is also kind of insane and also very horny, and outside of that confusion, I loved not knowing what was coming around the corner. Finally, the ending. I did not love what happens from a plot perspective, with the ending feeling a bit rushed and strange. That said, the very last scene was amazing, and I love the way it ties everything together.
Overall, I can confidently say I have not read anything like Metal From Heaven. It is a fever dream of a book with a distinctive voice and fully confident in its messaging. Even though there are elements that I think could have been better like the ending or clearer like some of the larger world politics, I was fully absorbed reading it. I wish more books were as uncompromising with their identity.
On Vicious Worlds by Bethany Jacobs
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
These Burning Stars was one of my favorite books of 2023, and it looks like On Vicious Worlds will be one of my favorite books of 2024. While this book doesn't necessarily have the cat and mouse element from the first book, it has plenty of masterminds, spies, and intrigue. We get lots of introspection from our characters as they struggle with their obsessions, be it revenge or with each other. There are explorations of the meaning and importance of home, both at a personal level as well as for a group of people. There is blistering action, shocking twists, and an unflinching look at how radicalization happens. The book is structured like the first, jumping between time and perspectives, and at a high level, being split into 2 separate storylines. My one slight criticism is that I found one of the storylines better than the other, with the pace *slightly* feeling like it slacked a bit due to that storyline in like the 60-70% range. That's a very minor complaint because this book packs in a lot. Plenty of schemes and politics that legitimately feel intelligent, great questions about identity both at a personal level as well as in relation to ethnic and political groups, thematic relevance to real world political events, really strong and complex characters navigating government structures that fail them, and unapologetically queer. What's not to love?
Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Last Argument of Kings is more. More of what I liked, and unfortunately also more of what I really disliked. Overall though, I think the positives outweighed the negatives, causing me to increase the score of this entry compared to the prior two entries and elevating the series as a whole, maybe even convincing me to stick around for the other books.
At a high level, I can say that I enjoyed the storyline surrounding Glokta and Jezal, at times really vibing with it, while hating the storyline around Logen and finding it incredibly boring. Other characters such as Ferro and West are not really given much focus or arcs and feel a lot more ancillary. I think the former focused a lot more on scheming and conspiracies and also just character development, while everything surrounding Logen was extremely drawn out action sequences, often causing me to completely zone out. I'm not a fan of action sequences in general, but I feel like Abercrombie's are particularly dry. A large part of that is the antagonists in this trilogy are so poorly defined, the political threats and actors so vague, that there is no emotional attachment to finally seeing them on page (since their presence is negligible in the first two books). Also, these sequences are just a lot longer in this book compared to the first two, hence the padded page count. I think this is particularly noteworthy in the second half of the book, where the climax of the book runs on for a long time. At least with Sanderson, he drizzles in moments of character growth throughout these climax action scenes to keep you enthralled, but I did not find any such moments within this book. I also found the ending to be a bit strange, with the final conspiracy feeling not as smart as the book actually thinks it is. The place characters end up feels interesting to me though, even if I feel it twisted a few characters to reach there, and that's what has me intrigued to read more.
I have complained in my two prior reviews about female characters, and I would be remiss to not highlight that this book feels the worst out of the 3. Even though I was not a fan of the one female POV in the prior book, she's mostly ignored this book with no real character arc let alone any depth. More worrying is the handling of a variety of female side characters, all of whom feel entirely like objects and defined by their relation to their male counterparts. Of particular note is Addi West. I actually felt like she finally had some personality in this book, and I feel like Abercrombie wanted to give her an interesting arc. Unfortunately, I despise the way her story is written and feel it is deeply misogynistic.
Overall, despite my ranting through these 3 reviews, I do want to highlight that I read these books super fast for my typical pace. Even though this one has a lot of sections that bored me to tears, I still ripped through it. A lot of that is due to the excellent narration by Steven Pacey and Abercrombie's overall prose. At first, I found it a bit repetitive, but it's done intentionally in a way that makes it very readable. I also do like the concepts of the world, and I am interested enough to see how things develop, even if I'm not chomping at the bit to read Best Served Cold.
At a high level, I can say that I enjoyed the storyline surrounding Glokta and Jezal, at times really vibing with it, while hating the storyline around Logen and finding it incredibly boring. Other characters such as Ferro and West are not really given much focus or arcs and feel a lot more ancillary. I think the former focused a lot more on scheming and conspiracies and also just character development, while everything surrounding Logen was extremely drawn out action sequences, often causing me to completely zone out. I'm not a fan of action sequences in general, but I feel like Abercrombie's are particularly dry. A large part of that is the antagonists in this trilogy are so poorly defined, the political threats and actors so vague, that there is no emotional attachment to finally seeing them on page (since their presence is negligible in the first two books). Also, these sequences are just a lot longer in this book compared to the first two, hence the padded page count. I think this is particularly noteworthy in the second half of the book, where the climax of the book runs on for a long time. At least with Sanderson, he drizzles in moments of character growth throughout these climax action scenes to keep you enthralled, but I did not find any such moments within this book. I also found the ending to be a bit strange, with the final conspiracy feeling not as smart as the book actually thinks it is. The place characters end up feels interesting to me though, even if I feel it twisted a few characters to reach there, and that's what has me intrigued to read more.
I have complained in my two prior reviews about female characters, and I would be remiss to not highlight that this book feels the worst out of the 3. Even though I was not a fan of the one female POV in the prior book, she's mostly ignored this book with no real character arc let alone any depth. More worrying is the handling of a variety of female side characters, all of whom feel entirely like objects and defined by their relation to their male counterparts. Of particular note is Addi West. I actually felt like she finally had some personality in this book, and I feel like Abercrombie wanted to give her an interesting arc. Unfortunately, I despise the way her story is written and feel it is deeply misogynistic.
Overall, despite my ranting through these 3 reviews, I do want to highlight that I read these books super fast for my typical pace. Even though this one has a lot of sections that bored me to tears, I still ripped through it. A lot of that is due to the excellent narration by Steven Pacey and Abercrombie's overall prose. At first, I found it a bit repetitive, but it's done intentionally in a way that makes it very readable. I also do like the concepts of the world, and I am interested enough to see how things develop, even if I'm not chomping at the bit to read Best Served Cold.
Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Before They Are Hanged is an okay sequel. It doesn't really move the needle much towards my lukewarm feelings from the first book. It does have much more of a plot and inciting incidents in all of its POVs, so it doesn't feel as aimless. However, I keep feeling like the things I actually enjoy about this series so far such as the horror-esque sequences or some of the magic and lore are often put to the side. There is a lot of focus on various nations/aggressors creating conflict that thrusts the set of characters into various dire circumstances. The problem is that these political threats are not particularly given a lot of depth, so they feel fairly vague as threats. There are more military and action setpieces, but I don't find those particularly interesting. By far my favorite plot elements were related to Glokta's attempts to uncover a conspiracy, even if he does feel like Tyrion-lite in A Clash of Kings, as well as whenever we get to hear some history about the origins of the world through Bayaz. In terms of character work, I remain disappointed since I was expecting that to be much stronger than I have felt it has been so far. Ferro feels less nuanced as a character in this book, and her page presence seems relegated to being prickly. I actually laughed at Jezal, and maybe that's intentional with how absurdly stupid and divorced from reality he is. Glokta is interesting, but again feels a bit too similar to Tyrion. I did like some of the side characters associated with Glokta in his storyline quite a bit though. Logen, The Dog Man, and West are just boring in my opinion, often feeling passive and without a ton of complexity. Abercrombie has not improved a lot with his handling of female characters in this book, with limited page time that often tends to have those female characters as an object of lust, being the recipient of violence, or lacking a lot of agency. I have a particular complaint about one female character near the end of the book bleeding into the start of the next book. I'd also like to note that around the 75% mark, the book suddenly starts becoming a lot more fixated on sex with a lot of sudden on-page sex scenes that are not particularly well-written. Considering that there were very limited such cases up until that point, it feels rather abrupt. I've seen people say that those sex scenes are trying to be satirical and purposefully awkward. Maybe that was the intention, but they were just not pleasant to read and coupled with the handling of female characters, felt a bit icky for my tastes.
Overall, even if my review seems overly negative, the book was still easy to read, with me finishing earlier than expected. I am definitely interested in certain aspects of the book and can see glimpses of things I really like. It isn't exactly off-putting like some other series have felt to me, just rather roughness around the edges. I have already started the next book and plan on finishing the trilogy even if I am not left as impressed as I thought I would be considering this trilogy's reputation.
Overall, even if my review seems overly negative, the book was still easy to read, with me finishing earlier than expected. I am definitely interested in certain aspects of the book and can see glimpses of things I really like. It isn't exactly off-putting like some other series have felt to me, just rather roughness around the edges. I have already started the next book and plan on finishing the trilogy even if I am not left as impressed as I thought I would be considering this trilogy's reputation.
Asunder by Kerstin Hall
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I LOVED the world in this book. It is bursting with interesting ideas, from people who make pacts with eldritch demons to commune with the dead to a race of gods that have been effectively wiped out by those very same demons. At the foundation of it all are people just trying to survive, at the mercy of these higher beings. Reading the blurb about two people being forcefully connected, you might expect a lighthearted oddball style romance. This book is decidedly not that. It has an episodic feel to it, with a series of adventures and interruptions along the journey to tear these two characters "asunder", with each of these vignettes tinged with horror, the arcane, and occult mysteries. Honestly, there is some phenomenal horror imagery in this book. I honestly was not even expecting the horror elements, so that was a welcome surprise. While I really enjoyed the world, I did think it took a while for me to get my footing because the reader is just thrust right into the middle of events, and it takes a bit to connect the dots with the higher beings, how they relate to the nations and factions and characters, as well as the lore and history that resulted in the current setting. A good chunk of the first quarter of the book is trying to lay these foundations, so I struggled slightly with the opening. However, once the journey was underway, I was hooked.
The episodic adventures might be hit or miss with people because they vary a bunch. The setting changes, the antagonist changes, and they may feel like a distraction. The book would constantly throw new ideas and elements out there, all feeling unique and interesting. I personally enjoyed them, and I think they do a great job of giving characters room to breathe and be exposed. I like how Karys Eska's character is shown through so many different lenses. The book also has a slew of other characters that get roped into the journey, and even some side characters get a surprising amount of nuance. The other main character is Ferain, and I have slightly more mixed feelings about him. I do think the setup of him being attached to Karys' shadow lends itself to interesting dynamics and mechanics. However, I was left a bit wanting in terms of his backstory and overall arc. I think there was some really interesting concepts that could have been explored more before the book discarded them. I also feel like his interactions with Karys could have been developed a bit more. I think this is kind of true of all the characters to a degree. They are fascinating and have depth, but the relationships with each other aren't explored enough to really highlight their different worldviews or how they complement each other. To be clear, this is something the book does do, I just wish it did it more because it really had a compelling test tube of characters thrown together.
Overall, I think this book breaks my streak of mediocre books. Outside of a few nitpicks, my criticisms boil down to me just wanting more, and that's the highest compliment I can give it. Luckily, it does seem to be setting up a sequel which the author has confirmed is currently being worked upon!
The episodic adventures might be hit or miss with people because they vary a bunch. The setting changes, the antagonist changes, and they may feel like a distraction. The book would constantly throw new ideas and elements out there, all feeling unique and interesting. I personally enjoyed them, and I think they do a great job of giving characters room to breathe and be exposed. I like how Karys Eska's character is shown through so many different lenses. The book also has a slew of other characters that get roped into the journey, and even some side characters get a surprising amount of nuance. The other main character is Ferain, and I have slightly more mixed feelings about him. I do think the setup of him being attached to Karys' shadow lends itself to interesting dynamics and mechanics. However, I was left a bit wanting in terms of his backstory and overall arc. I think there was some really interesting concepts that could have been explored more before the book discarded them. I also feel like his interactions with Karys could have been developed a bit more. I think this is kind of true of all the characters to a degree. They are fascinating and have depth, but the relationships with each other aren't explored enough to really highlight their different worldviews or how they complement each other. To be clear, this is something the book does do, I just wish it did it more because it really had a compelling test tube of characters thrown together.
Overall, I think this book breaks my streak of mediocre books. Outside of a few nitpicks, my criticisms boil down to me just wanting more, and that's the highest compliment I can give it. Luckily, it does seem to be setting up a sequel which the author has confirmed is currently being worked upon!
The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The Blade Itself is a book I only picked up based on its reputation in the fantasy community. To be honest, if it weren't for that reputation, I probably would not read the sequels. It's not a bad book by any means, but there are some significant issues with it.
First, there is no female character up until like Chapter 12. I don't mean female main character POVs, not even just a female side character, not even just a named female character. I just literally mean a female person on page. And this introduction itself is a male character lusting over her and being grateful that she isn't fat. I think this improves in the second half with more female characters including a female POV, but it still decidedly feels like a male-driven book, and probably the most skewed in that regard that I've read in a while. I have heard that Abercrombie took criticism on this aspect to heart and improved a lot in books past the first trilogy, so I can overlook it even though I'm not a huge fan.
Second is probably a common complaint, but this book doesn't really have a plot. There is no driving narrative thrust, and mostly characters are just living their lives for half of it. The second half starts to introduce some more mystery and direction, but it feels like a very long prologue. A lot of people say this is because it's a character-driven story, but I think that it's more just a novice writer's earlier work. I fully expect this area to improve in subsequent books.
I did enjoy *some* of the characters. Namely Glokta and Ferro. Jezal annoyed me a ton. Logen didn't really have enough things happening for me to feel anything specific about him. West and Dog Man just did not have a lot of page time. I definitely am intrigued enough to see where they go though, so these characters are at least compelling.
I also found the lore and mystery/horror elements very interesting. A lot more than the world politics for sure. I am interested in learning more about these elements as well.
Overall, I don't particularly have strong feelings towards this book in either direction. In some ways, after Sun Eater, I think that's a good sign since a lot of my issues are things I believe can easily improve (and have been told do improve). Because of that, I might pick up the sequel after reading a few other things.
First, there is no female character up until like Chapter 12. I don't mean female main character POVs, not even just a female side character, not even just a named female character. I just literally mean a female person on page. And this introduction itself is a male character lusting over her and being grateful that she isn't fat. I think this improves in the second half with more female characters including a female POV, but it still decidedly feels like a male-driven book, and probably the most skewed in that regard that I've read in a while. I have heard that Abercrombie took criticism on this aspect to heart and improved a lot in books past the first trilogy, so I can overlook it even though I'm not a huge fan.
Second is probably a common complaint, but this book doesn't really have a plot. There is no driving narrative thrust, and mostly characters are just living their lives for half of it. The second half starts to introduce some more mystery and direction, but it feels like a very long prologue. A lot of people say this is because it's a character-driven story, but I think that it's more just a novice writer's earlier work. I fully expect this area to improve in subsequent books.
I did enjoy *some* of the characters. Namely Glokta and Ferro. Jezal annoyed me a ton. Logen didn't really have enough things happening for me to feel anything specific about him. West and Dog Man just did not have a lot of page time. I definitely am intrigued enough to see where they go though, so these characters are at least compelling.
I also found the lore and mystery/horror elements very interesting. A lot more than the world politics for sure. I am interested in learning more about these elements as well.
Overall, I don't particularly have strong feelings towards this book in either direction. In some ways, after Sun Eater, I think that's a good sign since a lot of my issues are things I believe can easily improve (and have been told do improve). Because of that, I might pick up the sequel after reading a few other things.
Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I picked up this book because it was being narrated by Moira Quirk, my favorite audiobook narrator. Long Lives Evil is a messy book. Sometimes that mess leads to really interesting things, other times, not as much. At a high level, this is a book about a girl dying of cancer who is given the opportunity to enter her sister's favorite fantasy series in order to steal a flower to save her life. She enters, but as a villainous character, and the book then follows how she starts to change the narrative. A lot of this book revolves around humor driven by the character introducing and using modern idioms and slangs in the fantasy setting, causing all sorts of reactions from the other characters. Your mileage may vary here. I did chuckle at times, but I can easily see this being annoying to a lot of people. The nice thing is that Moira Quirk really brings the snarkiness alive as usual. The book also focuses a lot on her character's chest which felt a bit odd to me. I get that the book is trying to highlight tropes around sexuality, especially in relation to female vs male characters and heroes vs villains. However, I found the number of descriptions about the increased size of her chest to be off-putting.
Regardless, I found the main character compelling, especially when the book focuses in on contrasting her normal life with the one she is currently living, drawing parallels and really highlighting the cost of cancer both physically and mentally. It also explores how she views the world as just a story, people as just characters, and the concept of why she wants to be the villain through an interesting examination of character tropes. I just wish it went further here, especially in exploring her relationship to her sister and the meaning of the fantasy series to her versus her sister. I was sort of waiting for this thematic exploration at the end, tying the character arc together, but it sort of ends on more of a plot cliffhanger instead. This leads me to my main criticism of this book: the plot.
We're thrust into this fantasy series just like our main character, and she herself doesn't know all the plot details. There is what is supposed to happen, and what is now actually happening. This in itself is confusing. Throw in the fact that you have a ton of characters who are referenced by their titles, both current and future, and it's a recipe for disaster. A lot of those titles are so similar as well that I legitimately had a hard time keeping who was who straight in my head. Each chapter starts with an epigraph from the original text, and because I was in audiobook, I would sometimes not even realize that was not the actual current plot events. We're also learning the plot as we go along, so as we get introduced to what is actually happening, we are learning backstories and what should have happened, which just honestly makes it incredibly messy. The problem is that the plot itself is actually very barebones, so this convoluted way of telling it never feels like it is worth it.
I also have one other thing to note. There are other POVs in this book outside of our main character. I did not find these engaging at all. They lacked her voice and tone, and they distracted from the main story. As you can tell, it's already trying to do a lot, and introducing these characters and their arcs/relationships was just too much. It disrupted the pacing and created more of a mess without much reward. It did give a way to show what characters think regarding all the weird idioms and changes to the story, but the main focus in these POVs is to explore a different side of the story instead of reacting to the main character. They are also relatively frequent.
Overall, I think this book could have explored some really interesting themes via its main character and its examination of fantasy tropes. It does do that to some degree, but it gets burdened by a messy plot that is hard to keep track of. It would have been better served by being much more character focused because I think it legitimately could have done some really cool things. However, if the idea of transplanting a modern precocious young adult into a fantasy setting and seeing the resulting humor appeals to you, then I would check it out. At the very least, you're getting more of Moira Quirk's excellent narration.
Regardless, I found the main character compelling, especially when the book focuses in on contrasting her normal life with the one she is currently living, drawing parallels and really highlighting the cost of cancer both physically and mentally. It also explores how she views the world as just a story, people as just characters, and the concept of why she wants to be the villain through an interesting examination of character tropes. I just wish it went further here, especially in exploring her relationship to her sister and the meaning of the fantasy series to her versus her sister. I was sort of waiting for this thematic exploration at the end, tying the character arc together, but it sort of ends on more of a plot cliffhanger instead. This leads me to my main criticism of this book: the plot.
We're thrust into this fantasy series just like our main character, and she herself doesn't know all the plot details. There is what is supposed to happen, and what is now actually happening. This in itself is confusing. Throw in the fact that you have a ton of characters who are referenced by their titles, both current and future, and it's a recipe for disaster. A lot of those titles are so similar as well that I legitimately had a hard time keeping who was who straight in my head. Each chapter starts with an epigraph from the original text, and because I was in audiobook, I would sometimes not even realize that was not the actual current plot events. We're also learning the plot as we go along, so as we get introduced to what is actually happening, we are learning backstories and what should have happened, which just honestly makes it incredibly messy. The problem is that the plot itself is actually very barebones, so this convoluted way of telling it never feels like it is worth it.
I also have one other thing to note. There are other POVs in this book outside of our main character. I did not find these engaging at all. They lacked her voice and tone, and they distracted from the main story. As you can tell, it's already trying to do a lot, and introducing these characters and their arcs/relationships was just too much. It disrupted the pacing and created more of a mess without much reward. It did give a way to show what characters think regarding all the weird idioms and changes to the story, but the main focus in these POVs is to explore a different side of the story instead of reacting to the main character. They are also relatively frequent.
Overall, I think this book could have explored some really interesting themes via its main character and its examination of fantasy tropes. It does do that to some degree, but it gets burdened by a messy plot that is hard to keep track of. It would have been better served by being much more character focused because I think it legitimately could have done some really cool things. However, if the idea of transplanting a modern precocious young adult into a fantasy setting and seeing the resulting humor appeals to you, then I would check it out. At the very least, you're getting more of Moira Quirk's excellent narration.