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ehmannky's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This series is such an intense and hard read. This one in particular because Callender makes it fairly clear early on that this revolution is doomed to fail, that all of the enslaved people who rose up (and a fair number who did not) are going to die, and that the entrenched power structure is going to continue and only be slightly less stable. I think that can make it seem like, well what was the point of this book? What was the point of the death and the revolution and the fighting? I liked that Loren, Malthe, Sigourney, and even Marieke are all fundamentally unsuited for the revolution's success because they are, at their heart, unable to let go of their own ego and subsume themselves for the greater good of the islands. They are too selfish, too caught up in their own desires of superiority and desire to mark themselves as different and better to lead successfully. I think that the emphasis on fighting for your freedom and the freedom of those who don't even exist yet is valuable and good, no matter the results. That a failed revolution today is the seeds of a successful one tomorrow. That even if it wasn't perfect yet, it still can be. And that maybe the next group of people who fight are going to be the ones who get it right.
At the end of the day, these are books that are more about the deep effects of slavery on the enslaved than the revolution itself. How it twists people's minds into accepting themselves as lesser, pits those who should be allies against one another, and how the worst of the physical scars carve themselves into people's minds. We spend so much time in people's heads and getting exposition because that's where the marks of slavery and trauma are invisible, but they profoundly shape a person. A remarkable book.
At the end of the day, these are books that are more about the deep effects of slavery on the enslaved than the revolution itself. How it twists people's minds into accepting themselves as lesser, pits those who should be allies against one another, and how the worst of the physical scars carve themselves into people's minds. We spend so much time in people's heads and getting exposition because that's where the marks of slavery and trauma are invisible, but they profoundly shape a person. A remarkable book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Genocide, Grief, Slavery, Racism, Blood, and Colonisation
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Pedophilia
Minor: Vomit
meganelise's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Child death, Death, Child abuse, Slavery, and Racism
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, and Physical abuse
Minor: Confinement, Torture, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts
booksthatburn's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
KING OF THE RISING concludes the story begun in QUEEN OF THE CONQUERED, following a secondary character from the first book while the previous main character stays on in the background. The current MC is one of a small group leading the islanders' revolution against their former masters. There are even more murders and a lot of mystery when compared to the first book, but this one isn't a "murder mystery" in the same way. I'm glad of that, because instead this is a slow burn, nail-biting, tense narrative without the need to try and be a whodunnit when they're literally in the middle of a war. Now, as for what this is: KING OF THE RISING follows the islanders as they turn a night of rebellion into a war for their freedom and the freedom of the Islands. The MC frequently travels to get food and fighters, returning to their island base of operations as morale dwindles and tensions rise.
A lot of the narrative feels bleak and inevitable. I don't think I could have believed an attempt at a happier story, given what was established in the first book. The infighting and tensions feel realistic, and I liked the political wrangling. QUEEN OF THE CONQUERED felt like the MC didn't have room to think beyond her own ambitions, and that misguided focus helped set up the events in KING OF THE RISING. Here, the MC is focused on trying to save as many people as possible. Rather than have a narrow focus, he's spread too thin, wanting to be a hero but also not wanting anything to go wrong, even though things will and they can't all make it even if they win (which isn't guaranteed). Some of this contrast is explicit in the text, especially when the current and former MC's disagree (which is pretty often). I like this MC a lot better as a person, but they're both great characters. It feels like part of the point is that this isn't the first rebellion and it won't be the last, but it matters. Every bit matters.
Time for the sequel check. This wraps up a lot of things left hanging from the previous book. It has at least one storyline unique to this book, I'm thinking specifically of the attempts to raise guards and the MC's rivalry with a fellow leader in the rebellion. There are things introduced and resolved within this book, but it's definitely part two of a two-part story. As the second book in a duology it wraps up a lot of things and feels very finished. I don't really know what could happen from here if at some point it were turned into a trilogy (though it could be nice to read more books set in these islands, I don't know if I'll be ready for this level of sadness again for a while). The MC is different from the first book and they feel very different in their actions and their motivations, as well as pretty distinct in their narrative voices. Finally, this could mostly stand on its own since it does a pretty good job of getting the reader up to speed without infodumping but it'll make way more sense if you read the first book first.
I feel sad and contemplative, mostly. It's a bleak story of desperate circumstances and a lot of sad endings. It's also worth it. If you've read QUEEN OF THE CONQUERED please pick this up and get the second half of the story.
A lot of the narrative feels bleak and inevitable. I don't think I could have believed an attempt at a happier story, given what was established in the first book. The infighting and tensions feel realistic, and I liked the political wrangling. QUEEN OF THE CONQUERED felt like the MC didn't have room to think beyond her own ambitions, and that misguided focus helped set up the events in KING OF THE RISING. Here, the MC is focused on trying to save as many people as possible. Rather than have a narrow focus, he's spread too thin, wanting to be a hero but also not wanting anything to go wrong, even though things will and they can't all make it even if they win (which isn't guaranteed). Some of this contrast is explicit in the text, especially when the current and former MC's disagree (which is pretty often). I like this MC a lot better as a person, but they're both great characters. It feels like part of the point is that this isn't the first rebellion and it won't be the last, but it matters. Every bit matters.
Time for the sequel check. This wraps up a lot of things left hanging from the previous book. It has at least one storyline unique to this book, I'm thinking specifically of the attempts to raise guards and the MC's rivalry with a fellow leader in the rebellion. There are things introduced and resolved within this book, but it's definitely part two of a two-part story. As the second book in a duology it wraps up a lot of things and feels very finished. I don't really know what could happen from here if at some point it were turned into a trilogy (though it could be nice to read more books set in these islands, I don't know if I'll be ready for this level of sadness again for a while). The MC is different from the first book and they feel very different in their actions and their motivations, as well as pretty distinct in their narrative voices. Finally, this could mostly stand on its own since it does a pretty good job of getting the reader up to speed without infodumping but it'll make way more sense if you read the first book first.
I feel sad and contemplative, mostly. It's a bleak story of desperate circumstances and a lot of sad endings. It's also worth it. If you've read QUEEN OF THE CONQUERED please pick this up and get the second half of the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Gore, Violence, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Racism and Child abuse
Minor: Sexual assault and Torture
CW for confinement, racism, slavery, suicidal thoughts, sexual assault (not depicted), torture (not depicted), blood, gore, violence, suicide, child abuse, child death, major character death, death.
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