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teafrog's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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: Gore and Body horror
Moderate: Self harm
sauvageloup's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Another marvel from Arnott, i love his work so damn much
Pros:
- the writing is gorgeous, vivid, imaginative and poignant, whilst still being direct and crisp
- the myth of the rain heron is beautiful and Arnott's own invention as far as I can tell. The descriptions of it and the squids were just beautiful and I loved the overlap between the real, the speculative and the mythological - Arnott treads the lines so well
- the landscapes they travel through are well-described too, I could perfectly imagine each of them.
- I really enjoyed the side characters, or the earlier POVS. I loved Ren, liked Daniel and was interested in Alec in his brief appearance. I'm pretty sure Alec was meant to be Ren's estranged son and it was so sad that they came so close to reuniting. I suppose Daniel getting his happy ending with his farmer parents (i assume), and Harker reuniting with him too, was a stand in for the reunion Ren and Alec were denied.
- the themes of the deteriorating environment and collapse of government control were an interesting addition to the background of the main story, setting the stage against which the characters were sized up. They all reacted differently to the military control, to the damaged weather, and that showed who they were. It seems to me that Harker acts as a kind of reflection of general humanity - she follows the path of least resistance after suffering loss in childhood. She sees herself as not being evil and yet causes great harm through her bland competency within the military's cogs. it takes the loss of an eye (like Odin, gaining his wisdom?) for her to gain clarity and try to set things right as far as she can. The return of the heron doesn't fix the overall environment, but its shows a glimpse of light.
- the squid harvesting also seemed to speak to sustainable farming using traditional methods, and the damage outsiders do when they come in with their greed. what Harker's aunt's inappropiate laughter represented, I don't know, but it was an interesting addition to her character
Cons:
- I thought the book could have been longer, with more focus on environment and backstory. There were flashes of it, but nothing very satisfying. the talk of the human and animal cost was minimal apart from at the very start, and the vague mentions of weird weather just didn't feel quite... woven in enough? resolved? addressed? And nor did this mysterious coup. And yet I don't know whether more backstory would've just weighed it down, hard to say.
- I didn't like later Harker much, not because of her morality really, I just didn't find her very intriguing. As a child, placed next to her aunt, she was absolutely fine, but as an adult, she lacked something for me. Too burnt out or passive maybe. I liked the characters in this one, but I did like the <i> Flames </i> characters more and was more invested in them.
- whilst I liked the landscape descriptions, I felt the travelling phrase was a bit filler-y. Parts 0, 1 and 2 were definitely my favourite.
Overall, an excellent and beautiful read, but not quite up to the standard of <i> Flames </i> imo.
Pros:
- the writing is gorgeous, vivid, imaginative and poignant, whilst still being direct and crisp
- the myth of the rain heron is beautiful and Arnott's own invention as far as I can tell. The descriptions of it and the squids were just beautiful and I loved the overlap between the real, the speculative and the mythological - Arnott treads the lines so well
- the landscapes they travel through are well-described too, I could perfectly imagine each of them.
- I really enjoyed the side characters, or the earlier POVS. I loved Ren, liked Daniel and was interested in Alec in his brief appearance. I'm pretty sure Alec was meant to be Ren's estranged son and it was so sad that they came so close to reuniting. I suppose Daniel getting his happy ending with his farmer parents (i assume), and Harker reuniting with him too, was a stand in for the reunion Ren and Alec were denied.
- the themes of the deteriorating environment and collapse of government control were an interesting addition to the background of the main story, setting the stage against which the characters were sized up. They all reacted differently to the military control, to the damaged weather, and that showed who they were. It seems to me that Harker acts as a kind of reflection of general humanity - she follows the path of least resistance after suffering loss in childhood. She sees herself as not being evil and yet causes great harm through her bland competency within the military's cogs. it takes the loss of an eye (like Odin, gaining his wisdom?) for her to gain clarity and try to set things right as far as she can. The return of the heron doesn't fix the overall environment, but its shows a glimpse of light.
- the squid harvesting also seemed to speak to sustainable farming using traditional methods, and the damage outsiders do when they come in with their greed. what Harker's aunt's inappropiate laughter represented, I don't know, but it was an interesting addition to her character
Cons:
- I thought the book could have been longer, with more focus on environment and backstory. There were flashes of it, but nothing very satisfying. the talk of the human and animal cost was minimal apart from at the very start, and the vague mentions of weird weather just didn't feel quite... woven in enough? resolved? addressed? And nor did this mysterious coup. And yet I don't know whether more backstory would've just weighed it down, hard to say.
- I didn't like later Harker much, not because of her morality really, I just didn't find her very intriguing. As a child, placed next to her aunt, she was absolutely fine, but as an adult, she lacked something for me. Too burnt out or passive maybe. I liked the characters in this one, but I did like the <i> Flames </i> characters more and was more invested in them.
- whilst I liked the landscape descriptions, I felt the travelling phrase was a bit filler-y. Parts 0, 1 and 2 were definitely my favourite.
Overall, an excellent and beautiful read, but not quite up to the standard of <i> Flames </i> imo.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Gun violence, Gore, Body horror, Animal cruelty, Grief, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Violence, and Murder
the self harm is a long mention and plot point in part 2. extension discussion of a lost eye, infection and injury detail in latter parts of the bookcuratoriallyyours's review
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book was unlike anything I’ve read before in terms of genre - a little bit of magical realism, a little bit of dystopian, but mostly this book was a deep dive on trauma and the way it manifests in different people. Ren literally runs for the hills to become a reclusive hermit while Zoe hardens and inflicts harm on others. Zoe’s evolution as a character was the most compelling to me. The ending was a little open-ended for my liking and one thing bothered me throughout the book - if you’re in the middle of a long-term military coup, surely getting fuel for a multi-day road trip would be at least a little challenging but it is never mentioned! A little thing but it really bugged me every time someone was driving!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Medical content
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Death, War, Violence, Vomit, Torture, Sexual content, Self harm, Murder, and Mental illness
Minor: Death of parent
wildwoodreading's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, War, and Violence
Moderate: Self harm
Minor: Suicide and Torture
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