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acethenerdyone's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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
5.0
elwoodicious's review
1.0
What was awkward suddenly made a hard right into bigoted at the midpoint: "We could send but a token of the Red Hills Châkka to aid at the north Keep, for the rest stood against the Jihad."
Wait, "Jihad?" Thankfully, A character had a similar double take: "You used a word I do not know, Brega: 'Jihad.' What is a Jihad?"
Oh, this is interesting. Here McKiernan decides to use a word from "our world" rather than the clunky vernacular he created for his (Châkka are Dwarves, natch), what could he mean by "Jihad?"
"It is a great Jihad they fight," answered Brega. "A holy war. They are convinced Gyphon will return and cast Adon down."
For those, curious Gyphon is bad and Adon is good and that means McKeirnan is co-opting the term "Jihad" and using it as a pejorative to provide motivation for the villains in his book. That's lazy, and I've read enough high fantasy sketched out in lovingly black and white moral landscapes but this is truly fucking lazy and bigoted.
Book tossed.
Wait, "Jihad?" Thankfully, A character had a similar double take: "You used a word I do not know, Brega: 'Jihad.' What is a Jihad?"
Oh, this is interesting. Here McKiernan decides to use a word from "our world" rather than the clunky vernacular he created for his (Châkka are Dwarves, natch), what could he mean by "Jihad?"
"It is a great Jihad they fight," answered Brega. "A holy war. They are convinced Gyphon will return and cast Adon down."
For those, curious Gyphon is bad and Adon is good and that means McKeirnan is co-opting the term "Jihad" and using it as a pejorative to provide motivation for the villains in his book. That's lazy, and I've read enough high fantasy sketched out in lovingly black and white moral landscapes but this is truly fucking lazy and bigoted.
Book tossed.
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