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mels_reading_rook's review
5.0
Child of the Daystar follows the life of Raz i'Syul Arro as he becomes the infamous Monster of Karth. It was a completely enthralling and compelling journey as he goes through his life, forming bonds and experiencing both the good and the bad things that life can offer as he forges his own path.
I absolutely loved this book, I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to read a uniquely epic fantasy novel that has elements of darker tones and themes. It was a wild and thrilling tale, with a good number of sincerely heartfelt moments built by well-written character interactions. And for me, that was the best part - how well-developed and written those characters were led to a narrative that was extremely compelling. Their conversations and personalities helped to suck me into the story, and the arcs the characters went through by interacting and learning from each other tugged at my heartstrings and made me feel emotions whenever they overcame hardships or experienced tragedy.
I'll keep this review short and sweet with the highest of recommendations because I can't wait to jump into the next book and see where Raz and Syrah's paths lead and when they'll intersect once again.
I absolutely loved this book, I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to read a uniquely epic fantasy novel that has elements of darker tones and themes. It was a wild and thrilling tale, with a good number of sincerely heartfelt moments built by well-written character interactions. And for me, that was the best part - how well-developed and written those characters were led to a narrative that was extremely compelling. Their conversations and personalities helped to suck me into the story, and the arcs the characters went through by interacting and learning from each other tugged at my heartstrings and made me feel emotions whenever they overcame hardships or experienced tragedy.
I'll keep this review short and sweet with the highest of recommendations because I can't wait to jump into the next book and see where Raz and Syrah's paths lead and when they'll intersect once again.
jpraska006's review against another edition
Fun, relatively original fantasy story. Cool setting and a fascinating character in Raz i'Syul. Interested to see where the story goes!
hailingsundown's review against another edition
5.0
Actual rating would be a 4.5. First part of the book was a solid 5.0 while the second half was a 4.0.
sandevon's review against another edition
3.0
I'll be honest, this was a frustrating read. I love the setting and the characters, and it's competently written, but over half of the book is pure set-up. The ending makes up for a lot though.
First things first, the blurb is a massive spoiler. Honestly, it's just wrong. A blurb is supposed to entice you to read the book, describe the setting at the beginning of it, not the middle!
That means the entire first half of the book is relegated to being a prologue, where you know which part of the story you're going to. I didn't like it at all.
Second, more minor point, is that there is a lack of interaction between characters. This is a pretty short book, and much of it is dedicated to world building and character reflection.
All in all, it's almost like this book is only an intruduction into the second one.
However, I LOVED the final 75 pages, where the pace picked up. If the second book is more of the same, I definitely will check it out.
First things first, the blurb is a massive spoiler. Honestly, it's just wrong. A blurb is supposed to entice you to read the book, describe the setting at the beginning of it, not the middle!
That means the entire first half of the book is relegated to being a prologue, where you know which part of the story you're going to. I didn't like it at all.
Second, more minor point, is that there is a lack of interaction between characters. This is a pretty short book, and much of it is dedicated to world building and character reflection.
All in all, it's almost like this book is only an intruduction into the second one.
However, I LOVED the final 75 pages, where the pace picked up. If the second book is more of the same, I definitely will check it out.
swajoed's review against another edition
4.0
Great characters. I knew nothing about this book before I started it, and hadn't even looked at the cover. As a result I didn't realize until like a third of the way in that Raz was the main character. Honestly, I think I would have enjoyed the book less if I'd known that ahead of time. As it was, I was pleasantly surprised with the plot as the story revealed itself. I really enjoyed it as I read it, but as soon as it was done I was kind of "meh" about it. I did enjoy it enough to read the next book in the series however.
kylecat22's review
3.0
I wanted more from this one. Though I did enjoy the setup and setting of this world, the characters fell a bit flat for me until 3/4 of the way through. The infrastructure of the story was solid but it seemed to come together too late for me in the story. I may revisit the series a little later to see what develops.
iansnively's review against another edition
2.0
Wants to spend more time exposition dumping and showing how much of a badass the main character is rather than taking the time to develop characters and relationships. Any amount you get is paraphrased in paragraphs. Strong beginning but quickly falls short.
kitvaria_sarene's review against another edition
3.0
This started of a bit slow, and at times felt pretty generic to me, even though the main character is from a race I haven't read about before.
It definitely hooked me more in the second half when the story seemed to speed up and the plot became apparent.
I liked the main character even if at times he felt a bit wooden to me, as in not fully like a "real" person. He did grow on me over the course of the course of the story and I liked how he seemed a bit too perfect at first, but did show some flaws later on.
I would have liked to explore a bit more of the world, and especially to see more difference between the main character and the humans he lives with! Yes, obviously he would adapt to them, growing up the way he does, but he seems to be like a human with wings at times.
I also would have loved to learn a bit more about what happens in the prophecy. That mystery seems to be shifted to the next book in the series though.
The editing could have been a bit better - and it was weird to have the acknowledgements between the opener and the actual book. With a bit tighter prose it might have been a full 4* book for me as I did enjoy it enough to keep reading to the end (and I have long since stopped reading things I don't enjoy!). Definitely a promising author who I will happily give a second chance!
It definitely hooked me more in the second half when the story seemed to speed up and the plot became apparent.
I liked the main character even if at times he felt a bit wooden to me, as in not fully like a "real" person. He did grow on me over the course of the course of the story and I liked how he seemed a bit too perfect at first, but did show some flaws later on.
I would have liked to explore a bit more of the world, and especially to see more difference between the main character and the humans he lives with! Yes, obviously he would adapt to them, growing up the way he does, but he seems to be like a human with wings at times.
I also would have loved to learn a bit more about what happens in the prophecy. That mystery seems to be shifted to the next book in the series though.
The editing could have been a bit better - and it was weird to have the acknowledgements between the opener and the actual book. With a bit tighter prose it might have been a full 4* book for me as I did enjoy it enough to keep reading to the end (and I have long since stopped reading things I don't enjoy!). Definitely a promising author who I will happily give a second chance!
atuin's review
I just can't get into this, it takes so long for the story to start.
selinadragonair's review against another edition
3.0
I decided to read Child of the Daystar, because I have read a novella from the author in "Lost Lore: an anthology" and I loved it. What stood out for me was the prose and the assassins theme.
Both appealed to me in this book too. (And Raz, obviously)
However I had some issues with it as well. There were a lot of signs you see in a debut novel and a selfpublisher title. Surprisingly, it was not the prose itself, even though it was overly detailed, very slow at times and it took forever for the story to get rolling. So, it was more about the setting, execution and flow that was unbalanced.
What I also saw was love and dedication for the authors own novel. He took his time describing everything the characters saw and felt and did and flourished with it. I cannot fault him for that (maybe because I can feel him and I can feel the inspiration from Robin Hobb as well), but it did make me want to skip passages that did not interest me. The flow of the story was not even and only in the beginning and at the end I was hooked.
Since I have read the novella, which I assume was written later on, I know the author will get better, so I might come back to him in the future.
Both appealed to me in this book too. (And Raz, obviously)
However I had some issues with it as well. There were a lot of signs you see in a debut novel and a selfpublisher title. Surprisingly, it was not the prose itself, even though it was overly detailed, very slow at times and it took forever for the story to get rolling. So, it was more about the setting, execution and flow that was unbalanced.
What I also saw was love and dedication for the authors own novel. He took his time describing everything the characters saw and felt and did and flourished with it. I cannot fault him for that (maybe because I can feel him and I can feel the inspiration from Robin Hobb as well), but it did make me want to skip passages that did not interest me. The flow of the story was not even and only in the beginning and at the end I was hooked.
Since I have read the novella, which I assume was written later on, I know the author will get better, so I might come back to him in the future.