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masonvic's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
ladyethyme's review against another edition
Chapter 6 and I don't know if I'm gonna be able to make it through the book.
Starts off with a young man who is bored. We are well aware that he is bored. All he talks about is how bored he is. His parents are boring. His aunt and uncle are boring. Pottery is boring. Woodworking is boring.
Going on an adventure is boring. The new town he goes to is boring. Sitting down is boring. The color of the buildings and walls are boring. Paintings are boring.People are boring.
The author seems to deliberately attempt to interject this word into every sentence. To be perfectly honest, you get to the point where you start expecting to hear this word every single sentence…
All I can say is that's not good writing. Extremely ham handed and juvenile.
And I'm not even kidding, there's no exaggeration in this. Each one of those is directly from the text.
Beginning to wonder that if I take a shot every single time the author uses the word 'bored', will I pass out before I have to throw this book at the wall?
So let me get this straight. Kids and adults that are unhappy, or have yet to find themselves, are shipped off to dangerous and life-threatening training or exiled. Because apparently discontent lead to chaos, and chaos evil. OK… So that's like… 99.9% of every single human being that I have ever known.
So you either conform to a life that demands absolute perfection, or you're literally kicked out.
So it's a cult. Got it.
Describing women's breasts (as if that has to do with anything at all) and the incredibly shallow idea of a 'strong woman' being arrogant, insulting, condescending and bratty..... typical old-school writing from misogynistic men.
The descriptions are mind numbing. Do we really need to know which exact shelf he puts his toiletries on? Or his folded shirts? Honestly?
And when he goes to the market… OK I get how he can understand and has some expertise in pottery and woodworking. But where does he get his magical knowledge of cut and uncut gemstones, amber, ivory and metal work?😂😂
And I have to agree with other reviewers that the constant sound effects get pretty annoying real fast.
Yeah. I'm done.
qjbrown96's review against another edition
2.0
I really enjoyed the beginning. His descriptive world building had me hooked. It’s told in first person which I also love. The main character was on a quest to figure out what kind of wizard he wanted to be and he had an old wizard companion for part of the story. All of these things I love but this guy writes so slow. Ridiculously slow with little pay off. This is a long series so it obviously gets better but it’s such a commitment that I don’t even want to continue. I feel the same way about Ursula K Le Guin’s writing as I do this guy so if you enjoy her then I say give this guy a shot.
subparcupcake's review against another edition
3.0
This was an enjoyable read. Nothing spectacular, definitely not five stars for me, but it could have at least been four stars if not for one very annoying component... But more on that later.
The characters - I liked them. Some of the relationships that formed between them seemed a little unbelievable and/or unnatural to me, but it wasn't so bad as to interfere with my enjoyment of the story. The magic system - interesting, I liked the idea of order versus chaos and all of the rules that went with each side. The world was also interesting to me, I found myself wanting to keep reading so that I could learn more about Recluce and unravel the mysteries surrounding it. The plot was sort of so so.. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed reading it.. But for most of the book it just sort of meandered along. The plot was advancing, but I had no idea what it was advancing towards. It only really started coming together and wrapping up in the last third or quarter. But like I said - the ride to get there was interesting, I just would have liked some more hints as to what the overall plot was a little earlier on.
Now back to the annoying component.. The sound effects. What the heck was up with those sound effects? They were so awkward and out of place in the story! Some examples of what I mean...
Thwup, thwup, thwup... thwup, thwup, thwup... The paddles churned, dipping into the water with increasing speed, and a heavier and thicker plume of whitish smoke billowed from the stack.
... clink... clink... clunk... Sweat was pouring from his face, and he was breathing hard.... clink... clunk... Crack!... Whsssttt... "Aiiieee...!" Clank..
Thrummmm... thrumm... Splatt... splattt... The cold raindrops on my head prompted me to complete my recovery of the cloak and to replace the pack behind the saddle.
Seriously.. What is up with that? They are completely unnecessary, annoying, and everywhere. They didn't really show up right away, which is good because I probably would have dropped the book right away if they had. By the time they did show up I was already interested in the story, so I pushed through. But seriously.. They almost ruin the story.
So overall - the story/characters/magic/world in general gets four stars, but I have to take off a star for the sound effects. I will likely read on in the series, but I'm definitely keeping my fingers crossed that the sound effects go away.
The characters - I liked them. Some of the relationships that formed between them seemed a little unbelievable and/or unnatural to me, but it wasn't so bad as to interfere with my enjoyment of the story. The magic system - interesting, I liked the idea of order versus chaos and all of the rules that went with each side. The world was also interesting to me, I found myself wanting to keep reading so that I could learn more about Recluce and unravel the mysteries surrounding it. The plot was sort of so so.. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed reading it.. But for most of the book it just sort of meandered along. The plot was advancing, but I had no idea what it was advancing towards. It only really started coming together and wrapping up in the last third or quarter. But like I said - the ride to get there was interesting, I just would have liked some more hints as to what the overall plot was a little earlier on.
Now back to the annoying component.. The sound effects. What the heck was up with those sound effects? They were so awkward and out of place in the story! Some examples of what I mean...
Thwup, thwup, thwup... thwup, thwup, thwup... The paddles churned, dipping into the water with increasing speed, and a heavier and thicker plume of whitish smoke billowed from the stack.
... clink... clink... clunk... Sweat was pouring from his face, and he was breathing hard.... clink... clunk... Crack!... Whsssttt... "Aiiieee...!" Clank..
Thrummmm... thrumm... Splatt... splattt... The cold raindrops on my head prompted me to complete my recovery of the cloak and to replace the pack behind the saddle.
Seriously.. What is up with that? They are completely unnecessary, annoying, and everywhere. They didn't really show up right away, which is good because I probably would have dropped the book right away if they had. By the time they did show up I was already interested in the story, so I pushed through. But seriously.. They almost ruin the story.
So overall - the story/characters/magic/world in general gets four stars, but I have to take off a star for the sound effects. I will likely read on in the series, but I'm definitely keeping my fingers crossed that the sound effects go away.
meggirl94's review against another edition
Listening to the audiobook and I can't get into a book where the narrator sounds bored, while talking about how boring everything is, with no actual information being provided. It feels like you are supposed to he bored while reading because the mc is bored
And I don't read to be bor3d
And I don't read to be bor3d
gaulien's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
ngreads's review against another edition
4.0
The only way I can describe this book is ponderous. Don’t go into it expecting a high-flying plot, big action, and a quick, tight story. Go instead expecting a long character development, a coming of age tale about a young man learning the truth of the world around him. Is it slow? Yes. Is it well written? Yes. And is it EXTREMELY character driven? Absolutely.
Go in with the wrong expectations, and I don’t think you’ll like it. Go in with a flexible mind, and down to hang out in an interesting world for a few hundred pages, and you might just find a special little gem in the Magic of Recluce.
Also, I’ve never seen a book more desperate to have sound effects through onomatopoeia, and I absolutely loved it.
Go in with the wrong expectations, and I don’t think you’ll like it. Go in with a flexible mind, and down to hang out in an interesting world for a few hundred pages, and you might just find a special little gem in the Magic of Recluce.
Also, I’ve never seen a book more desperate to have sound effects through onomatopoeia, and I absolutely loved it.
bltk's review against another edition
2.0
never has so much action and magic been so utterly boring.
waddlez02's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes