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johnreadsthings's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
Joel Donato Ching Jacob's ambitious idea of adapting the high fantasy genre to the pre-colonial Philippines setting in his debut novel, Wing of the Locust, was already a feat in itself. The world-building and the introduced culture and traditions were exquisitely crafted. But it felt like the characters and the story weren't given the same energy, focus, and keen detailing that were obviously devoted in creating the world of Ma’I. And this left me quite underwhelmed, especially since I had high expectations for a book with such a fascinating plot.
While I do understand that world-building is the more important aspect of creating stories in the high-fantasy genre, dedicating more than half of the book to it left the impression that the other aspects—the proper story-telling, fleshing out the characters—are neglected. The book itself felt too short and it did have the potential to be a longer one and it might flourish better if it was actually expanded. Discounting my nitpicking of how some events jump from one to another with a not-so smooth transition, the pacing of the story felt off, still. The major conflict happened during the last hundred pages and it was a single, long moment. And while this became catalysts for story and character developments, it felt too rushed and too late.
There are many things still to like in this novel: from other characters that made such an impact despite their brief appearances—the bayugin and Banig-banig were sure to be fan favorites—to Tuan's coming of age which was in fact delicately and beautifully done. Jacob understood the transition from childhood to manhood all too well and it showed in Tuan's very own growth.
While I do understand that world-building is the more important aspect of creating stories in the high-fantasy genre, dedicating more than half of the book to it left the impression that the other aspects—the proper story-telling, fleshing out the characters—are neglected. The book itself felt too short and it did have the potential to be a longer one and it might flourish better if it was actually expanded. Discounting my nitpicking of how some events jump from one to another with a not-so smooth transition, the pacing of the story felt off, still. The major conflict happened during the last hundred pages and it was a single, long moment. And while this became catalysts for story and character developments, it felt too rushed and too late.
There are many things still to like in this novel: from other characters that made such an impact despite their brief appearances—the bayugin and Banig-banig were sure to be fan favorites—to Tuan's coming of age which was in fact delicately and beautifully done. Jacob understood the transition from childhood to manhood all too well and it showed in Tuan's very own growth.
willowonders's review
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
5.0
📚5/26: Wing of The Locust by Joel Donato Ching Jacob
🌻🌻🌻"History has a good way of remembering heroes because history wants to remember how the monsters were defeated."🌻🌻🌻
It is really fascinating to read stories of our own, our history and our culture-rich country.
The story is set on the pre-colonial Philippines and revolves around Tuan, a fragile Alipin who became an apprentice of a mambabarang.
The first 60 pages of the book, I am struggling to set my mind on the premise of the story, thus putting the book down. After weeks of not reading it, I picked it up again, and surprisingly, I was hooked. I finished it on one sitting.
I love the world building and how the author describes each characters. I also love how even the book is in a 3rd person POV, I can still feel and learn about the main character's thoughts and feelings.
This book makes me realize how rich our history and culture is. That as Filipino, I can boast from the fact that our tradition is our own. How I wish to read more of this.
I am giving it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars. 💕
🌻🌻🌻"History has a good way of remembering heroes because history wants to remember how the monsters were defeated."🌻🌻🌻
It is really fascinating to read stories of our own, our history and our culture-rich country.
The story is set on the pre-colonial Philippines and revolves around Tuan, a fragile Alipin who became an apprentice of a mambabarang.
The first 60 pages of the book, I am struggling to set my mind on the premise of the story, thus putting the book down. After weeks of not reading it, I picked it up again, and surprisingly, I was hooked. I finished it on one sitting.
I love the world building and how the author describes each characters. I also love how even the book is in a 3rd person POV, I can still feel and learn about the main character's thoughts and feelings.
This book makes me realize how rich our history and culture is. That as Filipino, I can boast from the fact that our tradition is our own. How I wish to read more of this.
I am giving it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars. 💕
bsuarez's review against another edition
4.0
More of a 3.5
Felt like scenes just jumped but an interesting world and looking at the variety of fantasy
Felt like scenes just jumped but an interesting world and looking at the variety of fantasy
sabmanosa's review
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
This took me a while to finish, because I put it down and midway through and forgot about it. I don’t love the writing style, but the ending was more satisfying than I expected, and I did enjoy the world the author was creating. I wouldn’t mind more stories set in this world, this alternate Philippines.
kriziaannacastro's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
reflective
fast-paced
3.0