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A review by ederwin
Finder, Vol. 01: Sin-Eater 1 by Carla Speed McNeil
4.0
I just went back and read this (and volume 2) for the third time. After having read all rest of the books in the series, this was much easier and more rewarding to read.
The story takes place in an extremely complex world and centers on some emotionally fractured characters with rich backstories. The reader is thrown in with little preparation, so lots of things are hard to understand at first. The story, or intersecting stories, are told via flash-backs, flash-forwards, dream sequences, etc., and it is easy to get lost. Some people will not care for that. But it is worth continuing. After a while, it all does make sense. I promise.
Anyone new to the series should probably start with [b:Finder, Vol. 09: Voice|9298590|Finder, Vol. 09 Voice|Carla Speed McNeil|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1403201073s/9298590.jpg|14181222], [b:Finder, Vol. 04: Talisman|422955|Finder, Vol. 04 Talisman|Carla Speed McNeil|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1194835532s/422955.jpg|412060] or [b:Finder: Third World|21532221|Finder Third World|Carla Speed McNeil|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400875860s/21532221.jpg|40860577]. After you learn to understand the way the world works, the issues that the characters are facing in these first books, especially the effects on the characters of being in a mixed-clan family. It is clear that the world was fully built before this first story was drawn.
Read the footnotes. They are almost as important to the story as the notes in [b:Pale Fire|7805|Pale Fire|Vladimir Nabokov|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388155863s/7805.jpg|1222661]!
The black-and-white drawings are gorgeous and richly detailed. And these volumes also contain copious amounts of text. (The most recent story has much reduced the use of text.) Look for them in the full-size versions as the smaller size of the later collected version would be hard on old eyes.
Disclosure: I've known Carla since High School.
The story takes place in an extremely complex world and centers on some emotionally fractured characters with rich backstories. The reader is thrown in with little preparation, so lots of things are hard to understand at first. The story, or intersecting stories, are told via flash-backs, flash-forwards, dream sequences, etc., and it is easy to get lost. Some people will not care for that. But it is worth continuing. After a while, it all does make sense. I promise.
Anyone new to the series should probably start with [b:Finder, Vol. 09: Voice|9298590|Finder, Vol. 09 Voice|Carla Speed McNeil|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1403201073s/9298590.jpg|14181222], [b:Finder, Vol. 04: Talisman|422955|Finder, Vol. 04 Talisman|Carla Speed McNeil|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1194835532s/422955.jpg|412060] or [b:Finder: Third World|21532221|Finder Third World|Carla Speed McNeil|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400875860s/21532221.jpg|40860577]. After you learn to understand the way the world works, the issues that the characters are facing in these first books, especially the effects on the characters of being in a mixed-clan family. It is clear that the world was fully built before this first story was drawn.
Read the footnotes. They are almost as important to the story as the notes in [b:Pale Fire|7805|Pale Fire|Vladimir Nabokov|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388155863s/7805.jpg|1222661]!
The black-and-white drawings are gorgeous and richly detailed. And these volumes also contain copious amounts of text. (The most recent story has much reduced the use of text.) Look for them in the full-size versions as the smaller size of the later collected version would be hard on old eyes.
Disclosure: I've known Carla since High School.