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tonimadeleine's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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? No
3.75
gigiivid's review against another edition
3.0
*I received this in a goodreads giveaway!*
The thing about this story is that the world was all there, and often it all came together, but I was just consistently....skimming. The characters were diverse (like....so diverse. The most diverse in any story I have ever read in every way of the word) and the world building was freaking amazing, but I just felt a disconnect from the story. I've read some other reviews, and I agree that it often had to do with a lack of connection with the characters. There were way more political or action moments then there were character building moments, and often characters just seemed like a name on a piece of paper. I think at least one of the story lines should have been cut, and there should've been longer chapters to really let the focus stay on characters and the emotions of their story build.
Having said that, it was still a fascinating read. The world was so detailed, so perfectly built, and it was unlike any other I've ever read. I didn't read the first book of this series but I easily fell into the world of this one (although, like I've said, it took a while to engage with the characters) and every small detail that was brought out about the countries, the culture, the different types of people was always interesting. The sense of history was strong and there were a lot of aspects of the world that I was left wondering about (in a very good way). The image of the dead bodies of gods littered around the world....how incredible! The diversity of culture was also so well written, with none of the usual borrowing from the real world and relying on racial and cultural stereotypes. I feel like there was loads more to explore, that it was a complete world and that we had only glimpsed a portion of it. Awesome stuff!
The final third of the book certainly picked up, although the action and the violence blurred into itself often. The final face off between the people whose immense power had been established was indeed fulfilling, but it was always the smaller character moments and the world building moments that were entirely more satisfying. I think a lot could have been cut out of this story (it was loooonng) but in all honesty it was worth reading to just enjoy the pure creativity put into writing. And, honestly, I haven't read a book this inclusive and diverse (disabled main characters? World full of non-white characters? Just as many powerful female characters as male??) Serious points for that.
I would give this a 3.5 if I could, but I don't think it was quite a round-up 4. I have a feeling, however, that the next book might be much better as the plot really got going at the end!
The thing about this story is that the world was all there, and often it all came together, but I was just consistently....skimming. The characters were diverse (like....so diverse. The most diverse in any story I have ever read in every way of the word) and the world building was freaking amazing, but I just felt a disconnect from the story. I've read some other reviews, and I agree that it often had to do with a lack of connection with the characters. There were way more political or action moments then there were character building moments, and often characters just seemed like a name on a piece of paper. I think at least one of the story lines should have been cut, and there should've been longer chapters to really let the focus stay on characters and the emotions of their story build.
Having said that, it was still a fascinating read. The world was so detailed, so perfectly built, and it was unlike any other I've ever read. I didn't read the first book of this series but I easily fell into the world of this one (although, like I've said, it took a while to engage with the characters) and every small detail that was brought out about the countries, the culture, the different types of people was always interesting. The sense of history was strong and there were a lot of aspects of the world that I was left wondering about (in a very good way). The image of the dead bodies of gods littered around the world....how incredible! The diversity of culture was also so well written, with none of the usual borrowing from the real world and relying on racial and cultural stereotypes. I feel like there was loads more to explore, that it was a complete world and that we had only glimpsed a portion of it. Awesome stuff!
The final third of the book certainly picked up, although the action and the violence blurred into itself often. The final face off between the people whose immense power had been established was indeed fulfilling, but it was always the smaller character moments and the world building moments that were entirely more satisfying. I think a lot could have been cut out of this story (it was loooonng) but in all honesty it was worth reading to just enjoy the pure creativity put into writing. And, honestly, I haven't read a book this inclusive and diverse (disabled main characters? World full of non-white characters? Just as many powerful female characters as male??) Serious points for that.
I would give this a 3.5 if I could, but I don't think it was quite a round-up 4. I have a feeling, however, that the next book might be much better as the plot really got going at the end!
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