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timinbc's review against another edition
5.0
This is great stuff. A spy-political-whodunit set in a fantasy world, with three great lead characters.
A writing style that I liked even if others didn't. A good plot that hangs together neatly. A fourth lead character who's an annoying wuss, but conflicted in a way that's important.
A city that rivals New Crobuzon or Max Gladstone's Craft Series cities for weirdness.
Shara, who's a good strong female lead, and Mulaghesh is, well, she's Rosa from Brooklyn Nine Nine.
Then there's Sigrud. Bennett has clearly read about Pratchett's Sgt. Detritus, and Leiber's Fafhrd, and Goldman's Fezzik, and Goscinny's Obélix, and Conan, and so many others. Sigrud belongs up there with the best of the big guys. "Sigrud, here's a problem, what will you do?" "I will get in there somehow, use my skills and experience as long as I can, and then I will bash them." "But that's the same answer you always give!" "Yup. Seems to work."
Best part? I already have the second book.
A writing style that I liked even if others didn't. A good plot that hangs together neatly. A fourth lead character who's an annoying wuss, but conflicted in a way that's important.
A city that rivals New Crobuzon or Max Gladstone's Craft Series cities for weirdness.
Shara, who's a good strong female lead, and Mulaghesh is, well, she's Rosa from Brooklyn Nine Nine.
Then there's Sigrud. Bennett has clearly read about Pratchett's Sgt. Detritus, and Leiber's Fafhrd, and Goldman's Fezzik, and Goscinny's Obélix, and Conan, and so many others. Sigrud belongs up there with the best of the big guys. "Sigrud, here's a problem, what will you do?" "I will get in there somehow, use my skills and experience as long as I can, and then I will bash them." "But that's the same answer you always give!" "Yup. Seems to work."
Best part? I already have the second book.
tregina's review against another edition
4.0
So good. So, so very good. I love that I don't know what to classify the book as because it rides the borders of so many genres, fundamentally a secondary world fantasy but with approaching-modern technology, and a complex political history and structure that resonates with our own yet is far from a direct analogue of history as we know it.
I'm still not sure whether I want to rate this one four or five stars. It's not perfect—some of the characterisation was on the thin side and it was slow to grab me in the beginning—but when it was on it was on and I have a feeling that it's going to join the ranks of my beloved rereads.
I'm still not sure whether I want to rate this one four or five stars. It's not perfect—some of the characterisation was on the thin side and it was slow to grab me in the beginning—but when it was on it was on and I have a feeling that it's going to join the ranks of my beloved rereads.
sarahxsimon's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
4.75
hoila's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
scarbaur's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-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
4.75
pagesofash's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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? No
3.5
eesh25's review against another edition
DNF! Stopped after 60%.
At first I gave it three stars because I couldn't ignore that a lot of effort was put into writing this book.
Even though I had every reason to hate it (like the fact that it was a pain in the ass to read, I didn't like the protagonist or any other character except Mulaghesh and I'm pretty sure it has gotten me into a reading slump), I didn't think it would be fair to rate it badly but then I decided that two stars is as fair as I can get for a book I couldn't even finish.
Now, the effort I was talking about.
The world created by the author is very complex. There is so much history and so much to know that you could write a whole book just explaining different aspects of it. A lot of planning was done, obviously.
But here's where things went wrong as well because the author did write a whole book explaining different aspects of the world.
I swear to God, this book is an endless history lesson. There is so much information dumping that there's hardly time for anything else. And while it's also interesting, it can get tiring too. And it makes the pace of the story slower than a snail's.
Not to mention, all the aspects are very derivitive. I had trouble finiding anything that wasn't reminescent of something else. A large part world built is, I'm sure, from the muslim religion and greek mythology. There are probably other religions and mythologies incorporated that I'm umfamiliar with as well. It even reminded me of Harry Potter. So yeah, it lacks originality.
About the protagonist.
Shara is a very undecided character. She doesn't have much of an opinion and so she doesn't fight for anything. She's like a soldier mindlessly following orders and not wondering whether she's on the right side. Except she's crap at that too. She's a historian with the wrong job (I'm not sure what her job is. It got lost in the history lessons) and she is completely and utterly useless. Hasn't done anything since the beginning of the book.
Finally, the voice of the protagonist doesn't sound 35. It sounds 25, at most.
And there are moments of random swearing that are very out of place. Maybe it was an effort to make the book more adult but it's just awkward. One minute they're talking like someone from the late 19th century and the next, someone's dropping f-bombs. Wierd.
Overall, I didn't like it and I don't recommed it. Read at your own risk. You might enjoy it if you're a history buff. I'm not.
At first I gave it three stars because I couldn't ignore that a lot of effort was put into writing this book.
Even though I had every reason to hate it (like the fact that it was a pain in the ass to read, I didn't like the protagonist or any other character except Mulaghesh and I'm pretty sure it has gotten me into a reading slump), I didn't think it would be fair to rate it badly but then I decided that two stars is as fair as I can get for a book I couldn't even finish.
Now, the effort I was talking about.
The world created by the author is very complex. There is so much history and so much to know that you could write a whole book just explaining different aspects of it. A lot of planning was done, obviously.
But here's where things went wrong as well because the author did write a whole book explaining different aspects of the world.
I swear to God, this book is an endless history lesson. There is so much information dumping that there's hardly time for anything else. And while it's also interesting, it can get tiring too. And it makes the pace of the story slower than a snail's.
Not to mention, all the aspects are very derivitive. I had trouble finiding anything that wasn't reminescent of something else. A large part world built is, I'm sure, from the muslim religion and greek mythology. There are probably other religions and mythologies incorporated that I'm umfamiliar with as well. It even reminded me of Harry Potter. So yeah, it lacks originality.
About the protagonist.
Shara is a very undecided character. She doesn't have much of an opinion and so she doesn't fight for anything. She's like a soldier mindlessly following orders and not wondering whether she's on the right side. Except she's crap at that too. She's a historian with the wrong job (I'm not sure what her job is. It got lost in the history lessons) and she is completely and utterly useless. Hasn't done anything since the beginning of the book.
Finally, the voice of the protagonist doesn't sound 35. It sounds 25, at most.
And there are moments of random swearing that are very out of place. Maybe it was an effort to make the book more adult but it's just awkward. One minute they're talking like someone from the late 19th century and the next, someone's dropping f-bombs. Wierd.
Overall, I didn't like it and I don't recommed it. Read at your own risk. You might enjoy it if you're a history buff. I'm not.
kivt's review against another edition
5.0
this was super fun! my brain really wants to compare it to The City and the City, but there’s not really a comparison other than City Geography Gone Wacky....Or Has It? i’m definitely reading the rest, but trying to space them out a little.
shandyt's review against another edition
It is to my very great shame that I have to mark this book as my first DNF in quite a long time. The book itself seemed interesting (although I suspected one particular character was on a trajectory I didn't want to see completed). The narration killed it for me. My husband loved the narrator, but I absolutely LOATHED her. Awkward pauses, no variation in voices, every sentence the same intensity... I had to rewind several times just to figure out what this woman was saying. If I ever get my hands on a print copy of this book, I'd be happy to give it another shot. Otherwise, I'm afraid it will stay DNF forever.