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fflur_jones's review against another edition
3.0
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.
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
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
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
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
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:
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.
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.
joana_stormblessed's review against another edition
3.0
Actual rating : 3.5 stars
Boy I don't know what to tell you about this one.
I was loving the first 100 pages a lot. I have been in an African inspired fantasy mood lately so I thought "Yay this comes at the right moment". I started buddy reading it with Sophia and then I started falling behind because I was reading other things that were grasping me more.
I think that the initial issue I had was that I was reading it super slowly because I was reading it without the audiobook and therefore I was prioritising books that 1) were gripping me and 2) books that I had the audiobook for.
It got to the point where I did not feel like picking this up anymore. I then tried it with the audio, which was fine, but I don't know what it is, but I just wasn't really invested anymore.
The world is interesting and cool and the atmosphere was definitely super well depicted. The plot was pretty engaging and interesting, but at some point I did not care really. The characters were well fleshed out, but I wasn't really attached to them either.
Which is why I think that my 3.5 star rating really reflects how I feel about this book. it was fun and it was refreshing, but it didn't do anything incredible for me. I do hope that I will enjoy its sequel a bit better.
Boy I don't know what to tell you about this one.
I was loving the first 100 pages a lot. I have been in an African inspired fantasy mood lately so I thought "Yay this comes at the right moment". I started buddy reading it with Sophia and then I started falling behind because I was reading other things that were grasping me more.
I think that the initial issue I had was that I was reading it super slowly because I was reading it without the audiobook and therefore I was prioritising books that 1) were gripping me and 2) books that I had the audiobook for.
It got to the point where I did not feel like picking this up anymore. I then tried it with the audio, which was fine, but I don't know what it is, but I just wasn't really invested anymore.
The world is interesting and cool and the atmosphere was definitely super well depicted. The plot was pretty engaging and interesting, but at some point I did not care really. The characters were well fleshed out, but I wasn't really attached to them either.
Which is why I think that my 3.5 star rating really reflects how I feel about this book. it was fun and it was refreshing, but it didn't do anything incredible for me. I do hope that I will enjoy its sequel a bit better.
sunandaj's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The book is excellent. It's a slow start, the first half is setting up the world, and a bit about the characters. The main story gets more active about midway through, and then it's absolutely gripping. The world building in the beginning can feel a bit slow, and there are a lot of characters being introduced, but later on, the world building, setting up the context is really helpful. I loved that there were so many characters that we got to experience, and see the story through. The author did a fantastic job with letting us connect with all these different characters, without it feeling overwhelming or too much. Also, IT'S SO POLITICALLY RELEVANT!! I really cannot recommend enough
laelyn's review against another edition
3.0
"Son of the Storm" is a solid fantasy novel that kept me entertained and introduced me to a cultural context that I'm not used to in the fantasy literature I've consumed so far. The story is heavily inspired by West-African culture and mythology and is really intriguing. The world building is really well done, but at times I did feel a little overwhelmed. It's a vibrant, highly complex world that is so interesting to read about, but the complexity can become confusing at times. It admittedly took me a while to get into this book because there are so many explanations in the beginning, so many unknown words and names are used and introduced that it kept me from just diving right into this new world.
The characters are very distinct and I enjoyed reading their different perspectives. They have their unique voices in their respective pov chapters. They aren't entirely fleshed out though, in my opinion, which can at least partly be blamed on the fact that there are some pov characters that felt superfluous - personally, I think that the book would have benefitted from a clearer focus on the three biggest characters, Danso, Lilong and Esheme, instead of adding pov chapters for too many other, less important characters. Some of them get about one or two chapters only that really didn't add much, if anything, to the story overall. In the end, most of these characters don't leave a lasting impression at all and their chapters take away from the main three who could have used more time and space to live up to their potential. I don't really feel connected to them, neither to the big three nor to any of the other characters.
The writing and prose are accessible and lush, though sometimes a little rough. Characters constantly frown and kiss one's teeth, which got pretty repetitive at some point because surely all these different characters don't show the same kind of mannerisms all the time. There are also some pacing issues. There are bursts of action where a lot happens in a small amount of time, and then there are long stretches of nothing really happening at all that had me skim through whole pages because I got a little bored.
The cultural richness, the vivid world, the interesting magic system and the potential of the characters is really what makes "Son of the Storm" a recommendation. While this book has issues it is still an intriguing beginning of a new series and I will at least check out the sequel when it's released.
Many thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK and Netgalley for the arc!
The characters are very distinct and I enjoyed reading their different perspectives. They have their unique voices in their respective pov chapters. They aren't entirely fleshed out though, in my opinion, which can at least partly be blamed on the fact that there are some pov characters that felt superfluous - personally, I think that the book would have benefitted from a clearer focus on the three biggest characters, Danso, Lilong and Esheme, instead of adding pov chapters for too many other, less important characters. Some of them get about one or two chapters only that really didn't add much, if anything, to the story overall. In the end, most of these characters don't leave a lasting impression at all and their chapters take away from the main three who could have used more time and space to live up to their potential. I don't really feel connected to them, neither to the big three nor to any of the other characters.
The writing and prose are accessible and lush, though sometimes a little rough. Characters constantly frown and kiss one's teeth, which got pretty repetitive at some point because surely all these different characters don't show the same kind of mannerisms all the time. There are also some pacing issues. There are bursts of action where a lot happens in a small amount of time, and then there are long stretches of nothing really happening at all that had me skim through whole pages because I got a little bored.
The cultural richness, the vivid world, the interesting magic system and the potential of the characters is really what makes "Son of the Storm" a recommendation. While this book has issues it is still an intriguing beginning of a new series and I will at least check out the sequel when it's released.
Many thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK and Netgalley for the arc!
curlyc90's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars rounded up ✨
A new world. A new magic system. I enjoyed it. The cover is to die for. I feel like the characters could’ve been a little more fleshed out.
A new world. A new magic system. I enjoyed it. The cover is to die for. I feel like the characters could’ve been a little more fleshed out.