Reviews

3.5 stars.
Really good YA novel! The characters are complex and interesting (Esheme in particular stands out as a complicated character for whom I had very mixed feelings). The continent of Oon and the world itself were well built and very different to most Western influenced YA fantasy settings which was super refreshing.
I did struggle at the start of the book to fully get immersed in the story though. I felt that the world building was a little too slow so that for quite a few chapters I was confused as to what certain terms and names were referring to. From the middle part of the book however things started to pick up and I found it hard to put down.

elliot_dw's review

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adventurous challenging dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I liked a lot of things about this book, especially the world building and the writing. Making Zaq such a major character was also really interesting to me. But ultimately, I found it a little too slow and too complex, and the relationships between the three main characters (Danso, Esheme, and Lilong) never quite made sense to me. Maybe the subsequent books will pay off some of the complications of the ways they relate to each other, and the different ways they respond to the political realities of their world. But for this book, it just didn’t quite click and I never quite felt like I understood how their stated motivations lined up with their actions. I haven’t decided yet if I’ll continue the series.

chriscoman's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

4.0

kotareadsbooks's review against another edition

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4.0

Could’ve been a better rating but it was painfully slow. And none of the characters are particularly loveable

tatyanavogt's review against another edition

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4.0

Not sure how to rate this.. I like a lot about the book, but I can't say I enjoyed the experience of reading it. (at this moment I want to give it a 3 for reasons that are not fair to the book, so i'm bumping it up) I did enjoy the audio narration, and the magic elements were very interesting to me. There were a few messages that I liked even though the matching experiences were a little annoying/tiring (this is not a fault of this book per-se, just something I'm a little tired of in books in general so take that will a grain of salt). I'm questioning what I am looking forward to in my fantasy books.

I have pre-ordered the next book in the series so I do hope that I end up enjoying that one more now that everything has been set up and I have a good idea of what I'm getting myself into. I do like the characters and are interested in seeing how things move forward.

Spoiler thoughts:

Spoiler

So I am so tired of all the hate an unnecessary cruelty in fantasy books, especially POC books. People that seem cruel for no reason. I think it's important to have the conversation of discrimination and oppression, the cruelty that comes from one group thinking its better than the other but I don't want to experience it non stop, I'm not asking to take it out, but perhaps focus on other aspects as well so I can ENJOY the book between the message and the pain.. This is a personal rant because I (as a black woman) am a little tired right now. I want to read, promote and support POC creators but I also read to escape.

Its not fair to this book though because I am currently looking for something else. I feel like this is a 3 star because I didn't enjoy the constant struggle, but since that was the point of the book I am giving it a 4 star instead since it did't do anything wrong. I'm just tired.

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