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whatsmacksaid's review against another edition
5.0
I haven't been able to chose a favourite book since I was about seven, but this, HANDS DOWN, is my favourite. The writing is breathtakingly beautiful. The characters are alien and sometimes (literally) soulless but still sympathetic and tragic. The plot is so complicated and layered that a quarter of my way into the first reading I decided that I was going to have to re-read it. Elizabeth Bear rips into the traditional literary ideas regarding faeries, Faerieland, and magic and rends it limb from limb. The end result is bloody but breathtaking, like watching a tiger hunt.
Which is overly dramatic, yes. But this book is just--beyond fantastic. Go read it.
Which is overly dramatic, yes. But this book is just--beyond fantastic. Go read it.
mamap's review against another edition
3.0
confusing. lots of blood and battles. a different approach to the world of faere and mage in the mortal world. and i didn't understand all the references to morgan, arthur, mordred, and the new merlin, and one ends up becoming the tithe sent to hell.. huh? i felt like i needed my myth's and magic reference book handy. and yet, intriguing.
ohallows's review
3.0
the characters are great but the plot is an absolute mess tbh it's like super confusing but honestly worth it for the characters
dreamerfreak's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, War, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Cursing and Sexual content
princessleia4life's review against another edition
1.0
I didn't like it. It was confusing, expected you to know everything about Fay and Faires (with no explanations), and the story wasn't very good.
ceridwyn's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not sure who it was who said that the ideas happen in sci-fi and the good writing happens in fantasy... but I kept thinking about that while reading these. Bear is a sci-fi writer writing fantasy and it's fascinating.
The myth and plot are dense and convoluted in a really very pretty way, plus yay for rampant bisexuality. But I think I wanted to like this and understand more of what was going on than I did, which may just be me not being all that clever, however, when somebody works this much in the mythic I'm normally drawn in not stand-back-and-cogitate-ish.
The myth and plot are dense and convoluted in a really very pretty way, plus yay for rampant bisexuality. But I think I wanted to like this and understand more of what was going on than I did, which may just be me not being all that clever, however, when somebody works this much in the mythic I'm normally drawn in not stand-back-and-cogitate-ish.
alice2000's review against another edition
4.0
Took a little while to get into as it sorta dumps you right into it without explaining a lot of what is going on. Stick with it! I got pulled in and was a little shocked when it ended.
It blends Celtic/fae mythology with Arthurian legend and puts a modern twist to it. Fascinating.
It blends Celtic/fae mythology with Arthurian legend and puts a modern twist to it. Fascinating.
readingrobin's review
DNF @ 28%. Way too much going on and the combination of many different mythologies and lores was too much to keep up with, especially since the style of the story didn't lend itself to much explanation.
sarahbotreads's review
4.0
For me, the best parts of reading an Elizabeth Bear novel are 1) the characters have depth, and they feel like real people; and 2) I never get everything out of it the first time - I love knowing that I can re-read them two, three, four times and still get more out of it. Blood & Iron was no different - this was my second time reading this take on how the modern world and the fairy world intersect and fight each other, and I got so much more out of it this time that I wondered how I understood it the first time. I'm looking forward to the rest of this series very much.