Scan barcode
elisenic's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
thisistaylort's review
3.0
Banner of the Damned was my least favorite of the Inda-related series thus far. After six books, I'd become accustomed to multiple, Marlovan points of view. Suddenly having a single, Colendi POV in Emras made me feel detached. I missed the Marlovans, especially after the complexities of Colendi culture. The simplicity of Marlovan Hesea was refreshing. I'm not sure what it says about me that I appreciate what is essentially a violent society. Maybe it's the Marlovans do not try to hide who and what they are, the base of humanity, while the Colendi try to subvert humanity's baser nature through social complexity?
Barbarity and civilization was a big theme in the two previous books in the series, and it picked right back up in this book.
I think another part of my not enjoying this book as much as the total lack of happiness or sense of home. In Inda, he was always trying to get back to home and the people he loved. The whole of Iasca Leror was our happy place. Then, in The Time of Daughters, Darchelde and Fox's descendants as guardians of the kingdom provided a sense of security. Now, the Montredaun-Ans are back in power, but I feel like things are more precarious than ever. No one and nowhere is safe. Maybe it's childish of me as a reader to seek that sense of safety. Maybe that's the author's intent - we've been moving steadily from the perspective of children to adults in this series. We've moved from the realm of childhood to adulthood and there are no safe harbors. Or they are few and far between.
Speaking of barbarity, I was not expecting the continuation of Connar's fun little habit of taking enemy scalps.
I was not a fan of Emras, I could not identify with her, and forgot her name for the first half of the book. Though I can relate with her being duped by the Herskalt/Ramis. I'm assuming he was playing the long game when he intervened in Inda and Fox's lives 400 years ago. I know it turned out pretty well for Inda, but now I'm worried about Fox. Did he really use a dyr? I'm just hoping he didn't make it to Norsunder. Unless that's what he meant by "banner of the damned"? Either he did make it to Norsunder and realized their intentions for the Marlovans. Or (and I'm hoping it's a big or) he realized that the Montredaun-An's subsuming power again is damning because anyone in power is cursed, in a way.
Emras got off really easy. And what a friend she had in Birdy.
Poor, poor Ivandred. He had a horrible father and was manipulated by the Herskalt. He loved Lasva, and while she loved him in her way, it wasn't as much as she loved Kaidas. I can't imagine how he'll have a happy ending, but the author indicated that he will return.
I can't degrudge Lasva and Kaidas their happiness though. God knows they both deserve it.
Not only did we get a Tau mention, but one for Jeje too! I'm convinced the Colendi play about Jaja the Pirate Fighter is about Jeje.
I did enjoy our first mention of Remalna! I'm so excited to get into Vidanric's and Mel's story.
Barbarity and civilization was a big theme in the two previous books in the series, and it picked right back up in this book.
I think another part of my not enjoying this book as much as the total lack of happiness or sense of home. In Inda, he was always trying to get back to home and the people he loved. The whole of Iasca Leror was our happy place. Then, in The Time of Daughters, Darchelde and Fox's descendants as guardians of the kingdom provided a sense of security. Now, the Montredaun-Ans are back in power, but I feel like things are more precarious than ever. No one and nowhere is safe. Maybe it's childish of me as a reader to seek that sense of safety. Maybe that's the author's intent - we've been moving steadily from the perspective of children to adults in this series. We've moved from the realm of childhood to adulthood and there are no safe harbors. Or they are few and far between.
Speaking of barbarity, I was not expecting the continuation of Connar's fun little habit of taking enemy scalps.
I was not a fan of Emras, I could not identify with her, and forgot her name for the first half of the book. Though I can relate with her being duped by the Herskalt/Ramis. I'm assuming he was playing the long game when he intervened in Inda and Fox's lives 400 years ago. I know it turned out pretty well for Inda, but now I'm worried about Fox. Did he really use a dyr? I'm just hoping he didn't make it to Norsunder. Unless that's what he meant by "banner of the damned"? Either he did make it to Norsunder and realized their intentions for the Marlovans. Or (and I'm hoping it's a big or) he realized that the Montredaun-An's subsuming power again is damning because anyone in power is cursed, in a way.
Emras got off really easy. And what a friend she had in Birdy.
Poor, poor Ivandred. He had a horrible father and was manipulated by the Herskalt. He loved Lasva, and while she loved him in her way, it wasn't as much as she loved Kaidas. I can't imagine how he'll have a happy ending, but the author indicated that he will return.
I can't degrudge Lasva and Kaidas their happiness though. God knows they both deserve it.
Not only did we get a Tau mention, but one for Jeje too! I'm convinced the Colendi play about Jaja the Pirate Fighter is about Jeje.
I did enjoy our first mention of Remalna! I'm so excited to get into Vidanric's and Mel's story.
jennybeastie's review against another edition
5.0
Another fascinating fantasy epic from Sherwood Smith – this one follows the adventures of a Colendi princess and her scribe as they encounter life among the Marlovens. A little more transparent than the Inda series, but equally compelling as an investigation of court intrigue.
eringow's review against another edition
4.0
This is an indirect and wandering story, but engrossing. I was surprised to find a fantasy book that I picked up for a little light reading to focus so much on exploring the intricacies of language and culture, but I thoroughly enjoyed the combination.
redheadedjen1's review against another edition
3.0
This book takes place 400 years after the Inda books. I wanted to read it after Treason's Shore, while it was still on my brain.
I enjoyed most of the characters thigh was confused by the different povs through Emras's eyes.
I kept trying to look for a map that showed the different kingdoms and I wish it was there.
Having read the Inda books, I kept having to go back to the character guide in Treason's Shore to try to match the new names to what they were in Inda's time.
I enjoyed the book but it did lag a little. it can be read alone but reading the Inda books helps.
I enjoyed most of the characters thigh was confused by the different povs through Emras's eyes.
I kept trying to look for a map that showed the different kingdoms and I wish it was there.
Having read the Inda books, I kept having to go back to the character guide in Treason's Shore to try to match the new names to what they were in Inda's time.
I enjoyed the book but it did lag a little. it can be read alone but reading the Inda books helps.
wealhtheow's review against another edition
3.0
After years of rigid self-control and endless training, Emras is chosen as Royal Scribe to the Princess Lasva. Lasva is beautiful and kind, the younger sister of Colend's queen and the presumed heir to its throne. The Colendi court is full of poetry, music, flirtations and dance. Generations ago Colend signed the Compact, which swore the country to have no weapons. In the Colendi court, hierarchy is determined through wit and beauty, not martial superiority. But when Lasva's sister finally bears a child, Lasva is no longer the heir or free to love who she pleases. Instead, a political match is sought for her. Prince Ivandred of the warlike barbarians of Malroven Hesea foils Lasva's kidnapping, and the physical attraction between them is so strong that they marry almost immediately. Lasva (with Emras and other handmaidens in tow) follows Ivandred to her new kingdom, where everything is about survival and physical might, and no one respects or understands the arts or the Colendi's desire for peace. While Lasva toils to gain respect and power in a homeland that discounts everything she prizes, Emras strives to learn magic to keep them all safe.
This is set generations after the Inda series, and it's sad to see what little survives of those characters' efforts. Inda has faded into legend, his tale generally known only through a book written by Elgar the Fox, his sometime ally. The reforms Inda made in the Academy have faded, leaving the Academy as damaging to its students as ever. Many of the places and titles in Malroven Hesea will be familiar to readers of Inda, but this book would still have made sense without reading that series. That said, this book definitely had a lot more power and resonance with me because I was looking for clues as to what had happened to everyone's ancestors and their plots.
There are two odd things about this book that I didn't like. One is that the first ~300 pages deal entirely with the personalities and court politics of Colend. It's told in a wonderfully detailed way. It drew me in to their way of thinking, until I could tell that someone accepting a particular pastry was an insult and I actually cared. But the second half is told in much broader strokes and with uneven pacing. The personalities of the Marloven court remain cyphers, their plots and love affairs rear their heads and then are dropped, to be replaced with some other plot that Emras is equally confused by. Several times, ten years pass in a single sentence. This means that the epic battles against foes beyond time and the magic, all of which take place in the second half of the book, are given far less attention and time than who wore what ribbons in the first half of the book, which seems to me a poor choice. I felt like Smith got bored with the second half and rushed through it. And although I appreciated the contrast between the vicious emotional backstabbing in Colend and the physical wars in Marloven Hesea, the many characters and customs of Colend never become important to the plot after Lasva leaves the court. I don't know why so much time was spent introducing Carola as a villain, or Lasva's fan training, if none of it ever influenced the plot. I really wish the second half of the book had been split off into its own book, or even developed into several books, because there was enough plot there to fuel it, and I would have appreciated more characterization and detail for the Marlovens.
The other difficulty I had was with the lack of affect. Emras is very intellectual and often closes herself off for days or even months at a time to pursue her studies. The section where she discovers thatshe has been manipulated by a Norsundrian and is using magic in an evil way was powerful and a fascinating twist on fantasy tropes. But most of the time, the driving action is done by Lasva or Ivandred, and I don't feel like I really had a good idea of what was going on inside their heads, especially Ivandred. And since there's this whole big ending in which Lasva is Guinevere, Ivandred is Arthur, and Kaidas returns for no apparent reason to be Lancelot , I really wanted to be inside their heads and know what their frustrations and loves were. As it was, it was very hard to take anyone's love affairs seriously, or feel that it was Epic and Doomed.
I think I hold Smith to too high of a standard, because her books are so ambitious and innovative, while still satisfying my childish hopes for fantasy. Her characters deal with (fantasy) racial stereotypes, cultural customs, sexuality, how to be pacifistic without being submissive, how to raise children in blended families...Her magic systems are both fantastical (worlds beyond time!) and practical (cleaning spells, message spells). Her characters relate to each other in all manner of ways, from friendship to distant respect to lust to platonic love. The world began in the Inda series is a fascinating one, and one I hope she continues writing in. I just wish she'd give herself a little more time and space to properly explore all the characters and plots she introduces.
This is set generations after the Inda series, and it's sad to see what little survives of those characters' efforts. Inda has faded into legend, his tale generally known only through a book written by Elgar the Fox, his sometime ally. The reforms Inda made in the Academy have faded, leaving the Academy as damaging to its students as ever. Many of the places and titles in Malroven Hesea will be familiar to readers of Inda, but this book would still have made sense without reading that series. That said, this book definitely had a lot more power and resonance with me because I was looking for clues as to what had happened to everyone's ancestors and their plots.
There are two odd things about this book that I didn't like. One is that the first ~300 pages deal entirely with the personalities and court politics of Colend. It's told in a wonderfully detailed way. It drew me in to their way of thinking, until I could tell that someone accepting a particular pastry was an insult and I actually cared. But the second half is told in much broader strokes and with uneven pacing. The personalities of the Marloven court remain cyphers, their plots and love affairs rear their heads and then are dropped, to be replaced with some other plot that Emras is equally confused by. Several times, ten years pass in a single sentence. This means that the epic battles against foes beyond time and the magic, all of which take place in the second half of the book, are given far less attention and time than who wore what ribbons in the first half of the book, which seems to me a poor choice. I felt like Smith got bored with the second half and rushed through it. And although I appreciated the contrast between the vicious emotional backstabbing in Colend and the physical wars in Marloven Hesea, the many characters and customs of Colend never become important to the plot after Lasva leaves the court. I don't know why so much time was spent introducing Carola as a villain, or Lasva's fan training, if none of it ever influenced the plot. I really wish the second half of the book had been split off into its own book, or even developed into several books, because there was enough plot there to fuel it, and I would have appreciated more characterization and detail for the Marlovens.
The other difficulty I had was with the lack of affect. Emras is very intellectual and often closes herself off for days or even months at a time to pursue her studies. The section where she discovers that
I think I hold Smith to too high of a standard, because her books are so ambitious and innovative, while still satisfying my childish hopes for fantasy. Her characters deal with (fantasy) racial stereotypes, cultural customs, sexuality, how to be pacifistic without being submissive, how to raise children in blended families...Her magic systems are both fantastical (worlds beyond time!) and practical (cleaning spells, message spells). Her characters relate to each other in all manner of ways, from friendship to distant respect to lust to platonic love. The world began in the Inda series is a fascinating one, and one I hope she continues writing in. I just wish she'd give herself a little more time and space to properly explore all the characters and plots she introduces.
blizzylith's review against another edition
4.0
2015: first Sherwood Smith book, loved the writing, world
2018: reread for Book Club
+
romance (for me)
world building
queer/ace representation
-
pacing
editing-- would be better shorter, tighter
2018: reread for Book Club
+
romance (for me)
world building
queer/ace representation
-
pacing
editing-- would be better shorter, tighter
msailor's review
4.0
In all the other Sartorias-Deles books I've read, Ivandred is a horrible, evil person. It was nice, but also very sad to see the truth of the matter. It was also appreciated to read about someone who identifies as elor. Sherwood Smith writes about orientation how I wish it would be in the real world. There is such a refreshing acceptance and unimportance surrounding orientation in her books.