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iviarelle's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
leahkarge's review against another edition
DNF ~15%
I am not going to rate this book due to the fact that I didn’t finish, not as a result of the book being awful, but simply because I couldn’t get into it, personally.
Date started: October 23, 2017
Date stopped: October 26, 2017
Find a short review on my blog.
I am not going to rate this book due to the fact that I didn’t finish, not as a result of the book being awful, but simply because I couldn’t get into it, personally.
Date started: October 23, 2017
Date stopped: October 26, 2017
Find a short review on my blog.
bory's review against another edition
2.0
Well, this was a mess.
Character motivations? Change constantly and make no sense. The world's internal logic? Makes no sense. The plot? Makes no sense. So, there's this mystical, almost magical planet, that moves around, not on a defined orbit, but at will. No one has seen it for centuries. No one is even sure it's real. But our protagonists find it in two chapters... and it has a tourist depot, complete with museum, bars, and souvenirs, for all I know... What?
Why did we get two new POV only to have them abruptly dropped mid-book? I don't know, and I doubt the author knows, either. And, naught for naught, another chapter or two from Arik's perspective would have gone a long way towards not making me feel like there's a chunk of the book the author just forgot to write/include.
Also, the relationship between Neek and Emn is the most awkward thing I've read in a while. Thanks, but no thanks.
Such a shame. I actually liked the first book, but the sequel is just such a giant step in the wrong direction.
I will have to think long and hard whether I'll be finishing the "trilogy".
Character motivations? Change constantly and make no sense. The world's internal logic? Makes no sense. The plot? Makes no sense. So, there's this mystical, almost magical planet, that moves around, not on a defined orbit, but at will. No one has seen it for centuries. No one is even sure it's real. But our protagonists find it in two chapters... and it has a tourist depot, complete with museum, bars, and souvenirs, for all I know... What?
Why did we get two new POV only to have them abruptly dropped mid-book? I don't know, and I doubt the author knows, either. And, naught for naught, another chapter or two from Arik's perspective would have gone a long way towards not making me feel like there's a chunk of the book the author just forgot to write/include.
Also, the relationship between Neek and Emn is the most awkward thing I've read in a while. Thanks, but no thanks.
Such a shame. I actually liked the first book, but the sequel is just such a giant step in the wrong direction.
I will have to think long and hard whether I'll be finishing the "trilogy".
judeinthestars's review against another edition
5.0
[Edit September 26th] As I said for [b:Ardulum: First Don|34109678|Ardulum First Don|J.S. Fields|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1486157609l/34109678._SY75_.jpg|55135672], I loved the book and am surprised to find it even better as an audiobook. In this second book in the trilogy, the romance is picking up but still at a very very slow pace. Which could be infuriating but I find it rather exciting, and coherent with the fact that there's so much happening, it makes sense Atalant and Emn would need to process stuff. And I love who Nicholas is becoming, he's much more interesting than I first thought. I started audiobook 3 right away and, after she did such a great job with other species, including trees, I can't wait to hear the narrator's take on fungi…
[Edit: In hindsight, now that I've read the whole trilogy and the anthology [book:Tales from Ardulum|44657299], giving these books 4* wasn't fair so I went up to 5*. I'm happy now.]
Ardulum: Second Don picks up when the first one ended, with Neek, Emn and Nicholas in a stolen Mmnnuggl pod trying to figure out what to do next and searching for Ardulum.
What I like best about this series so far is the world building, with this book introducing us to even more planets and species. I also love the fact that gender is shown as non-binary and the use of pronouns in that process.
As in [b:Ardulum: First Don|34109678|Ardulum First Don|J.S. Fields|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1486157609l/34109678._SY75_.jpg|55135672], I often felt like I had no idea what was going on (in a good way). I couldn’t see the big picture, which made me relate even more to the characters. And though this episode is darker than the first one (which wasn’t really light either), the start of a romance brings both hope and complexity to the story.
I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
[Edit: In hindsight, now that I've read the whole trilogy and the anthology [book:Tales from Ardulum|44657299], giving these books 4* wasn't fair so I went up to 5*. I'm happy now.]
Ardulum: Second Don picks up when the first one ended, with Neek, Emn and Nicholas in a stolen Mmnnuggl pod trying to figure out what to do next and searching for Ardulum.
What I like best about this series so far is the world building, with this book introducing us to even more planets and species. I also love the fact that gender is shown as non-binary and the use of pronouns in that process.
As in [b:Ardulum: First Don|34109678|Ardulum First Don|J.S. Fields|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1486157609l/34109678._SY75_.jpg|55135672], I often felt like I had no idea what was going on (in a good way). I couldn’t see the big picture, which made me relate even more to the characters. And though this episode is darker than the first one (which wasn’t really light either), the start of a romance brings both hope and complexity to the story.
I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
fantasyliving's review
4.0
If you haven’t read the first book then do that now. I didn’t and regret it heavily. There is a lot going on in this story, and even though I picked up most of what I needed, it would have been better for me to know the backstory from First Don.
Now that my recommendation for not skipping ahead is out of the way….
This story was pretty epic. I loved the concepts, the writing style, and the world building. While I’m sure a lot more happened in book one, there is plenty in this book to understand what is going on.
I’m not an avid sci-fi reader, but I do dabble occasionally, and this was high up there in concept and execution. I didn’t feel totally lost once I read through the first few chapters and my mind bent around what was happening in this universe. There was a lot, but it wasn’t messy. There were a few POV but it was to progress the narrative. Nothing was wasted on unimportant detail, and I admire the author’s mind, both in plot, and staying on point. This story could branch off into so many different directions, but there was a clear path and it was easy to follow. I will point out that some of the names for beings and planets were tongue twisters in my mind and well outside my imagination for pronunciation so I gave up a little bit and just pretended I knew what I was looking at. This is because I’m boring and frequently butcher other languages with my ridiculous self. Made up stuff has to be told to me out loud and even then I’ll probably get it wrong. It’s a flaw, and no reflection on anyone else but me. It’s inspiring and admirable that people can create this stuff out of thin air and maybe other people can understand it too.
There is a bit of a thing in this story between Neek and Emn but that isn’t the main focus. The broader politics and what is happening on Ardulum is where this story leads. There is an obvious political situation happening abroad, but more importantly, The planet Ardulum and its inhabitants is going through some turmoil that takes precedence over the wider story arc.
I am also impressed by the conflicting feelings that were triggered by the Eld and their rule. It was difficult to tell whether they were power drunk villains or not. I enjoyed this aspect of the story. It really had my mind racing, and I was eager to understand what the true intent was of the Eld and the Andal.
The relationship building between Neek and Emn was a nice touch. Neek is having a lot of conflicting feels about everything in general, and the beliefs she was brought up with are being completely turned on its head. This emotional turmoil frustrates Emn but she is patient and provides room for a Neek to work through while being forgiving and supportive. I really loved Emn. She had her own issues, but she provided space in her heart for Neek to fit when she was ready.
If you’re looking for romance, this is probably a little light on that, but if you enjoy a great story with fantastic world building, this is definitely one to consider. It took me a while to pick this up, but once I did, I couldn’t put it down. I’m excited for book three.
Now that my recommendation for not skipping ahead is out of the way….
This story was pretty epic. I loved the concepts, the writing style, and the world building. While I’m sure a lot more happened in book one, there is plenty in this book to understand what is going on.
I’m not an avid sci-fi reader, but I do dabble occasionally, and this was high up there in concept and execution. I didn’t feel totally lost once I read through the first few chapters and my mind bent around what was happening in this universe. There was a lot, but it wasn’t messy. There were a few POV but it was to progress the narrative. Nothing was wasted on unimportant detail, and I admire the author’s mind, both in plot, and staying on point. This story could branch off into so many different directions, but there was a clear path and it was easy to follow. I will point out that some of the names for beings and planets were tongue twisters in my mind and well outside my imagination for pronunciation so I gave up a little bit and just pretended I knew what I was looking at. This is because I’m boring and frequently butcher other languages with my ridiculous self. Made up stuff has to be told to me out loud and even then I’ll probably get it wrong. It’s a flaw, and no reflection on anyone else but me. It’s inspiring and admirable that people can create this stuff out of thin air and maybe other people can understand it too.
There is a bit of a thing in this story between Neek and Emn but that isn’t the main focus. The broader politics and what is happening on Ardulum is where this story leads. There is an obvious political situation happening abroad, but more importantly, The planet Ardulum and its inhabitants is going through some turmoil that takes precedence over the wider story arc.
I am also impressed by the conflicting feelings that were triggered by the Eld and their rule. It was difficult to tell whether they were power drunk villains or not. I enjoyed this aspect of the story. It really had my mind racing, and I was eager to understand what the true intent was of the Eld and the Andal.
The relationship building between Neek and Emn was a nice touch. Neek is having a lot of conflicting feels about everything in general, and the beliefs she was brought up with are being completely turned on its head. This emotional turmoil frustrates Emn but she is patient and provides room for a Neek to work through while being forgiving and supportive. I really loved Emn. She had her own issues, but she provided space in her heart for Neek to fit when she was ready.
If you’re looking for romance, this is probably a little light on that, but if you enjoy a great story with fantastic world building, this is definitely one to consider. It took me a while to pick this up, but once I did, I couldn’t put it down. I’m excited for book three.
ranaelizabeth's review
4.0
Same as the first, clunky writing with little character building. But, jesus, it's a great story. Will continue on and finish up the series.
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