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A review by weirdtea
The City Stained Red by Sam Sykes
4.0
I have this thing about Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Even when he's in something that doesn't quite work I keep watching because he's just so damned charming. That's how I feel about The City Stained Red and Sam Sykes' writing. The awesome outweighs everything else.
I loved the writing style. There are so many deftly crafted moments, laugh out loud funny lines, wonderful turns of phrase, excellent dialogue, and straight up beautiful prose that I was delighted in just about every chapter. The world building is detailed, creative, and fun. The characters combine the familiar with new twists. We don't get to spend as much time with some as I'd like, but I expect that balance will change in the next book.
So what's the problem? It's something about plot or pacing. I'm having a difficult time articulating what the experience is like. The book is crammed with action: fight scenes, chases, high stakes negotiations, existential and religious crises, interpersonal drama...and yet it feels slow. Maybe it is because there are so many point of view characters. I was interested in all of their stories, but it chops up the reading experience. There are connections (some pretty sweet ones, for sure), but it still affects the rhythm of the narrative. Then there's the matter of setting events in motion for the next book. Still, as I said in the beginning, I was consistently won over by the writing and cool bits. It was enough to carry me through this tome.
It's been awhile since I've read a big doorstopper of a fantasy novel. This one was a great entry back into that part of the genre. I'm looking forward to reading the next one in the series.
I loved the writing style. There are so many deftly crafted moments, laugh out loud funny lines, wonderful turns of phrase, excellent dialogue, and straight up beautiful prose that I was delighted in just about every chapter. The world building is detailed, creative, and fun. The characters combine the familiar with new twists. We don't get to spend as much time with some as I'd like, but I expect that balance will change in the next book.
So what's the problem? It's something about plot or pacing. I'm having a difficult time articulating what the experience is like. The book is crammed with action: fight scenes, chases, high stakes negotiations, existential and religious crises, interpersonal drama...and yet it feels slow. Maybe it is because there are so many point of view characters. I was interested in all of their stories, but it chops up the reading experience. There are connections (some pretty sweet ones, for sure), but it still affects the rhythm of the narrative. Then there's the matter of setting events in motion for the next book. Still, as I said in the beginning, I was consistently won over by the writing and cool bits. It was enough to carry me through this tome.
It's been awhile since I've read a big doorstopper of a fantasy novel. This one was a great entry back into that part of the genre. I'm looking forward to reading the next one in the series.