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A review by paradoxically
Bound in Blood by P.C. Hodgell
5.0
I love these books. This series. There is just something so utterly compelling about it, even if you have to wait years for the next book to come out or even if everything is pretty damned confusing and you don't quite get it, but enough that you enjoy it anyway. It's confusing because, yes, the wait time between books can be long (though much faster now, it seems), and if you don't reread the books, you're going to forget whole chunks of important information (or at least I did, aha). It's also high fantasy. You're going to get a new, confusing world with lots of made up words that yes, you will need to know. Situations and people and the politics of it all is complex and layered and I love it.
Enough that I am abusing run-ons with large amounts of glee.
These are definitely not stand alone books. You can't take a new reader and pitch them head first into book five because they're not going to understand a thing. Or they will, but it will only be half of the picture, which would be a shame.
Like I said, I was confused at first because it has been a while since I've read the last book, but I picked it up again pretty quickly. Jame is a character that is both prickly and deadpan, and it's hard to describe what makes her so likeable other than the fact that she is. Likeable. She's strong, with a good head on her shoulders, and I find it kind of hilarious how she always gets into these situations and scrapes and somehow always manages to land on her feet. I find it even more hilarious how everyone else expects this of her; are, in fact, resigned to it.
Tori is growing as a character himself and it's about damned time (is pretty much all I can say about that, aha). I like him. I really, really do. I think he's a complex character that wavers between being strong and weak, but is trying his best. I'm pretty much rooting for him all the way as long as he gets his head out of his ass.
I thought the book was a brilliant addition to the series, even if, in retrospect, not so much has been done to advance the main plot line. Though I don't mind this either because I find the book compelling enough in its own right to make up for it. I don't think it's a series for everyone because it can be a bit slow at times, and the plot does meander a bit, but it's a rich world with complex characters more than makes up for this. 5 stars.
Enough that I am abusing run-ons with large amounts of glee.
These are definitely not stand alone books. You can't take a new reader and pitch them head first into book five because they're not going to understand a thing. Or they will, but it will only be half of the picture, which would be a shame.
Like I said, I was confused at first because it has been a while since I've read the last book, but I picked it up again pretty quickly. Jame is a character that is both prickly and deadpan, and it's hard to describe what makes her so likeable other than the fact that she is. Likeable. She's strong, with a good head on her shoulders, and I find it kind of hilarious how she always gets into these situations and scrapes and somehow always manages to land on her feet. I find it even more hilarious how everyone else expects this of her; are, in fact, resigned to it.
Tori is growing as a character himself and it's about damned time (is pretty much all I can say about that, aha). I like him. I really, really do. I think he's a complex character that wavers between being strong and weak, but is trying his best. I'm pretty much rooting for him all the way as long as he gets his head out of his ass.
I thought the book was a brilliant addition to the series, even if, in retrospect, not so much has been done to advance the main plot line. Though I don't mind this either because I find the book compelling enough in its own right to make up for it. I don't think it's a series for everyone because it can be a bit slow at times, and the plot does meander a bit, but it's a rich world with complex characters more than makes up for this. 5 stars.