Scan barcode
lucyisaula's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
emrysmerlyn's review against another edition
4.0
I would like to thank this book for gifting me with this image of a book-loving dragon: “Excited, he clutched the book against his snout, devouring the words with his tail flapping like a puppy’s.” My life is ever so slightly better for having read that sentence—I smiled from ear to ear.
I have a soft spot a mile wide for good dragon stories.
This book offers some really compelling world-building as it follows and intertwines three distinct storylines and two different worlds. We start out with a dragon, perfectly content with the life he’s leading and the stories he reads. We meet Dreden, a university student who is starting to tire of the depiction in his life as he hangs out with the same two friends and does the same few things in endless repeat. We meet Cipre, an editor whose love of reading is being tested as every new submission seems like a paler rendition of themes done better and more vibrantly by authors who came before. How do their lives and stories fit together across the space between worlds?
The characters:
Minkompa is an excellent dragon who loves books.
Dreden is a student at a university where his father teaches as a professor. His two best friends are fellow students Chanin and Gerrika. He is a bright student, but extremely arrogant and self-absorbed with his own intellect.
Chanin is a human woman with a strained relationship with her overprotective parents. (a bit unfortunately, the text tends to focus a bit heavily and negatively on the fact that her appearance is not traditionally feminine)
Gerrika is a Aveho, a species of sentient avian-like creature. His father is extremely traditional and doesn’t like that Gerrika spends so much time with humans.
Cipre is an editor who works for a major publishing company that’s been on a slow slide away from being major—with profits falling month after month—and though she loves books, she is starting to get burned out by the lack of originality in the submissions that she reviews.
Dreden and his friends presented a small revelation for me. They live in something of a post-apocalyptic landscape, with much of their country now infertile as a result of an ominously expanding fog of colorful gas, known as the Sunitian Sea, looming over formerly arid farmland. Their boredom is unexpectedly relatable in our own unprecedented times ; seven or eight months ago I certainly would have had a hard time believing that living under a literal cloud of impending doom could be boring, but six months of soft-quarantine while the world falls to pieces and I now have a fresh respect for boredom in the face of catastrophe.
Some really neat world building is on display, and I look forward to seeing how the story concludes. (I so wish it had not been broken into two parts; rather than standing alone, this book is very much a part of a whole.)
I want to thank NetGalley and Black Rose Writing for granting my request for a review copy of this book.
Implicit Bias Note:
Could do without the “the color of his skin was closer to the brown of mud than to the white of snow” the phrasing has unpleasant racial connotations - would be enhanced by less weighted terms or at least without the juxtaposition with whiteness. A minor quibble, but one that threw me off a bit. It is clear that such a tone isn’t really in keeping with the narrative, as the book makes a clear effort at creating diverse and inclusive worlds, with nods to the ways that it’s minorities, like the avehos, fit into this world (for instance, avoiding more plot critical examples, when Gerrika says, “I swear, even for a town like ours, they seem to forget that avehos have written plays too. Everything is always by a human.”). A small handful of similar off-tone moments are scattered throughout.
I have a soft spot a mile wide for good dragon stories.
This book offers some really compelling world-building as it follows and intertwines three distinct storylines and two different worlds. We start out with a dragon, perfectly content with the life he’s leading and the stories he reads. We meet Dreden, a university student who is starting to tire of the depiction in his life as he hangs out with the same two friends and does the same few things in endless repeat. We meet Cipre, an editor whose love of reading is being tested as every new submission seems like a paler rendition of themes done better and more vibrantly by authors who came before. How do their lives and stories fit together across the space between worlds?
The characters:
Minkompa is an excellent dragon who loves books.
Dreden is a student at a university where his father teaches as a professor. His two best friends are fellow students Chanin and Gerrika. He is a bright student, but extremely arrogant and self-absorbed with his own intellect.
Chanin is a human woman with a strained relationship with her overprotective parents. (a bit unfortunately, the text tends to focus a bit heavily and negatively on the fact that her appearance is not traditionally feminine)
Gerrika is a Aveho, a species of sentient avian-like creature. His father is extremely traditional and doesn’t like that Gerrika spends so much time with humans.
Cipre is an editor who works for a major publishing company that’s been on a slow slide away from being major—with profits falling month after month—and though she loves books, she is starting to get burned out by the lack of originality in the submissions that she reviews.
Dreden and his friends presented a small revelation for me. They live in something of a post-apocalyptic landscape, with much of their country now infertile as a result of an ominously expanding fog of colorful gas, known as the Sunitian Sea, looming over formerly arid farmland. Their boredom is unexpectedly relatable in our own unprecedented times ; seven or eight months ago I certainly would have had a hard time believing that living under a literal cloud of impending doom could be boring, but six months of soft-quarantine while the world falls to pieces and I now have a fresh respect for boredom in the face of catastrophe.
Some really neat world building is on display, and I look forward to seeing how the story concludes. (I so wish it had not been broken into two parts; rather than standing alone, this book is very much a part of a whole.)
I want to thank NetGalley and Black Rose Writing for granting my request for a review copy of this book.
Implicit Bias Note:
Could do without the “the color of his skin was closer to the brown of mud than to the white of snow” the phrasing has unpleasant racial connotations - would be enhanced by less weighted terms or at least without the juxtaposition with whiteness. A minor quibble, but one that threw me off a bit. It is clear that such a tone isn’t really in keeping with the narrative, as the book makes a clear effort at creating diverse and inclusive worlds, with nods to the ways that it’s minorities, like the avehos, fit into this world (for instance, avoiding more plot critical examples, when Gerrika says, “I swear, even for a town like ours, they seem to forget that avehos have written plays too. Everything is always by a human.”). A small handful of similar off-tone moments are scattered throughout.
fairyem49's review against another edition
4.0
This was a very fast paced new adult fantasy novel that completely devoured me from the first paragraph. I extremely enjoyed this novel in all of its aspects; the characters and their relationships amongst each other, the separating worlds and the way the author built up these worlds. Most characters are so loveable, which was great. The only issue I had was that the last thirty pages or so felt rushed. I feel like everything that happened towards the end could have been stretched out in about a hundred pages, making it more intriguing. Overall it was a very interesting book and I’m glad I was able to read it. definitely recommend it to anyone looking for any new fantasy releases.
bottomofthebookshelf's review against another edition
2.0
Three friends go into a sea of mist and wind up in a city with technology way more advanced than their own. Is it an alternate universe? Is it time travel? Who knows! But when the main character Declan starts falling in love with a charismatic man he meets in this mysterious place, he decides he wants to stay even if that means abandoning his future and his own father. But things aren’t as they seem and the truth soon starts to unravel.
This book started off really promising with great world building and an intriguing plot, but by the time I got to the end I was so confused. I understand leaving some things unresolved in honour of a sequel, but NOTHING was resolved in this book. It felt like they could have been another 100 or so pages to fully wrap things up, and without a proper end this felt like half of a book to me. I was really disappointed, as the plot felt like it was going in an interesting direction before that point.
You might enjoy this book if you don’t mind the first book of a series being only there to set everything up without any actual conflict resolution, but I did not enjoy this one.
*Thank you to Netgalley and Black Rose Writing for giving me this eARC in exchange for an honest review*
This book started off really promising with great world building and an intriguing plot, but by the time I got to the end I was so confused. I understand leaving some things unresolved in honour of a sequel, but NOTHING was resolved in this book. It felt like they could have been another 100 or so pages to fully wrap things up, and without a proper end this felt like half of a book to me. I was really disappointed, as the plot felt like it was going in an interesting direction before that point.
You might enjoy this book if you don’t mind the first book of a series being only there to set everything up without any actual conflict resolution, but I did not enjoy this one.
*Thank you to Netgalley and Black Rose Writing for giving me this eARC in exchange for an honest review*
charkinzie's review
3.0
This is a high-fantasy book that has some epic world-building in it. There are three storylines going in this novel and I appreciated them all.
Dreden, Gerrika, and Chanin live in Kroonsaed and are university students. Their home is dealing with the ever-encroaching Sunitan Sea. It is known to kill people if they breathe it in! One night after Uni, the friends go for a walk by the ocean and are attacked by figures who emerge from the very sea they've been warned about their entire lives.
Cipre is an editor...but she's beginning to find the stories she reads ... boring. There aren't any new stories and she is looking for something more exciting. A series of earthquakes open the ground and Cipre ventures inside when she thinks that she has seen a reptilian creature in the darkness below ground.
I enjoyed the varied characters in this story. From the main characters to the supporting cast, all are very well developed and individual. Gerrika was a favorite of mine. He is an aveho, a bird-like fellow with unique skills! The descriptions of his species are lovely and detailed... I could read an entire book about the aveho alone! As a rare species in the world of humans, Gerrika has faced a lot of discrimination. Very timely if you ask me!
As the book progresses, the storylines begin to come together. Be aware that this book doesn't wrap up the story! There's a second book coming.
Dreden, Gerrika, and Chanin live in Kroonsaed and are university students. Their home is dealing with the ever-encroaching Sunitan Sea. It is known to kill people if they breathe it in! One night after Uni, the friends go for a walk by the ocean and are attacked by figures who emerge from the very sea they've been warned about their entire lives.
Cipre is an editor...but she's beginning to find the stories she reads ... boring. There aren't any new stories and she is looking for something more exciting. A series of earthquakes open the ground and Cipre ventures inside when she thinks that she has seen a reptilian creature in the darkness below ground.
I enjoyed the varied characters in this story. From the main characters to the supporting cast, all are very well developed and individual. Gerrika was a favorite of mine. He is an aveho, a bird-like fellow with unique skills! The descriptions of his species are lovely and detailed... I could read an entire book about the aveho alone! As a rare species in the world of humans, Gerrika has faced a lot of discrimination. Very timely if you ask me!
As the book progresses, the storylines begin to come together. Be aware that this book doesn't wrap up the story! There's a second book coming.
lx2000's review
4.0
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 stars
This had me hooked from the first page; it is a fast-paced, action-packed book with some fantastic world building. The characters were well-written and nuanced; each of the main characters had a distinct personality, and I particularly liked reading about Gerrika, the aveho, a birdlike creature. The mystery of the Sunian Sea was also really intriguing; although I do wish there was a bigger focus on this, I understood why Dreden, Gerrika and Chanin were swept up in this new world where they felt free to be themselves. I also enjoyed the chapters with Cipre and Minkompa, the lonely dragon.
I did feel like the relationship between Dreden and Morell was rushed; it happened so quickly, which perhaps was the point, but it still felt a little like insta-love, one of my least favourite book tropes. I also thought that the ending was rushed; again, while I understand that this seems to be the first book in the series, I still would've loved to read more about the mystery of the Sunian Sea, and how the characters are able to move between worlds. Nevertheless, this was a highly enjoyable read, and I'm honestly not sure about whether to give it 3 or 4 stars.
3.5 stars
This had me hooked from the first page; it is a fast-paced, action-packed book with some fantastic world building. The characters were well-written and nuanced; each of the main characters had a distinct personality, and I particularly liked reading about Gerrika, the aveho, a birdlike creature. The mystery of the Sunian Sea was also really intriguing; although I do wish there was a bigger focus on this, I understood why Dreden, Gerrika and Chanin were swept up in this new world where they felt free to be themselves. I also enjoyed the chapters with Cipre and Minkompa, the lonely dragon.
I did feel like the relationship between Dreden and Morell was rushed; it happened so quickly, which perhaps was the point, but it still felt a little like insta-love, one of my least favourite book tropes. I also thought that the ending was rushed; again, while I understand that this seems to be the first book in the series, I still would've loved to read more about the mystery of the Sunian Sea, and how the characters are able to move between worlds. Nevertheless, this was a highly enjoyable read, and I'm honestly not sure about whether to give it 3 or 4 stars.
More...