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rebeccazh's Reviews (2.89k)
EDIT Jan 2021: so I obviously had to reread this after reading Blood Heir. I love that book but there was just way too little Derek and Julie interaction. This is so good, still. I love their dynamic, and I love the view into Derek's perspective. Hoping for a book two for Blood Heir at some point, and more Derek...
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this review is just pure fangirling, don't expect anything coherent.
reread this because i've been rereading their KD stuff and i'm so excited for the new IA book
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this review is just pure fangirling, don't expect anything coherent.
reread this because i've been rereading their KD stuff and i'm so excited for the new IA book
Finally, some answers! This installment was great. We get some answers about Pet and she starts to deal with her slippery memories and reluctance to question her past. Also, Pet and JinYeong both mature emotionally a little bit and I love how their relationship is changing. Excited about the next book.
A good ending to this fun series. I wonder if there's going to be a spinoff about the Paragon's elf contact or Rime or something? That would be pretty interesting
Pretty interesting, but the jokes and the peppy tone get tiring quickly. This is a translation, which does explain that. I also wish I could have watched this as a documentary.
I was today years old when I learnt that Sherry Thomas is actually Chinese. This explains the historical, cultural and linguistical accuracy in this book honestly. I was so confused because a lot of the English phrases used sounded like direct Chinese translations and I was wondering how the author knew the language so well.
Anyway, I almost DNF'ed this book because the first two chapters didn't hook me but I'm glad I persevered. This is a fun retelling, culturally very accurate, reminding me a little of the 2009 Mulan film with Zhao Wei. It's fast-paced and the main character is likeable and realistic (I liked that she froze up in battle). Also, the prince is really compelling.
I had a few slight quibbles. While I appreciate and fully agree with the author critiquing how China Others the nomadic tribes and ethnic minorities and the problems of Sinicization, it felt almost like a young modern liberal speaking whenever she was questioning history, race, and Confucian thought. Also, the romance subplot was really overshadowed by the plot I feel? And the ending felt kind of weak...
Overall, I really enjoyed it - it's a culturally accurate take on a wuxia Mulan story.
Anyway, I almost DNF'ed this book because the first two chapters didn't hook me but I'm glad I persevered. This is a fun retelling, culturally very accurate, reminding me a little of the 2009 Mulan film with Zhao Wei. It's fast-paced and the main character is likeable and realistic (I liked that she froze up in battle). Also, the prince is really compelling.
I had a few slight quibbles. While I appreciate and fully agree with the author critiquing how China Others the nomadic tribes and ethnic minorities and the problems of Sinicization, it felt almost like a young modern liberal speaking whenever she was questioning history, race, and Confucian thought. Also, the romance subplot was really overshadowed by the plot I feel? And the ending felt kind of weak...
Overall, I really enjoyed it - it's a culturally accurate take on a wuxia Mulan story.
reread Mar 2021: even better than I remember! can't wait to head on to [b:The Theft of Sunlight|17317376|The Theft of Sunlight (Dauntless Path, #2)|Intisar Khanani|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1592799670l/17317376._SY75_.jpg|23985987]
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Wow, what a book. The writing has improved tremendously from Thorn, and I really liked Thorn. This book is also a whole different beast from its predecessor. Thorn was a retelling of The Goose Girl and a much more 'personal' narrative - Alyrra had to come to terms with the power she wields and she had to accept her responsibilities instead of running away from them.
This book on the other hand was very much a social commentary on human trafficking, slavery, ableism and discrimination, misogyny and power and corruption. It's much more action-packed and faster paced. The plot twists were thrilling, and honestly that ending! I hope the wait for the next book isn't too long.
- I loved Rae. She's fearless, very smart and very determined and focused. I loved her perseverance. I also loved that she had a family she loves, who loves her. It's rare in US fiction to see loving families and protagonists with communal and familial ties. American fiction often has lone wolf protagonists.
- Rae's disability and the way it was written. As one reviewer mentioned, she tried to work with her limitations and found a way around things she couldn't do, which I love. It also hurts to see the microaggressions and prejudices Rae constantly endured and the internalized scorn she developed for herself. The author did a great job capturing her experiences in an ableist society
- female friendships! I loved the sisterhood she had with many of the other female characters
- omg it was great to see Alyrra and Kestrin again. Seeing them through another's eyes is fascinating
- I really appreciated and loved how complex all the characters are. Many of them hurt others or were carelessly unkind and they had their reasons for doing so. I might not agree with what they did but I can understand where they're coming from
- the social commentary: the powerful live comfortable and cushy lives off of the labor, dignity and comfort of the least privileged; the corrupt social system, where vigilante justice (Red Hawk) or community movements are more trustworthy than institutional justice (the palace). Power corrupts - even the good characters do questionable things because the environment forces these choices for survival (Alyrrra's test of Rae in the beginning, many of Kestrin and Rae's interactions)
- and I also really appreciated how well the book conveyed the lived experience of being a woman in a patriarchal and misogynistic society where women aren't valued - there was a constant sense of Rae being put into traumatising situations, being made powerless, and there were just countless incidents of violence against her, people threatening and intimidating her, using her, harming her. Despite that, Rae herself never seemed powerless to me. She was always so brave and so smart. I loved that
This book on the other hand was very much a social commentary on human trafficking, slavery, ableism and discrimination, misogyny and power and corruption. It's much more action-packed and faster paced. The plot twists were thrilling, and honestly that ending! I hope the wait for the next book isn't too long.
- I loved Rae. She's fearless, very smart and very determined and focused. I loved her perseverance. I also loved that she had a family she loves, who loves her. It's rare in US fiction to see loving families and protagonists with communal and familial ties. American fiction often has lone wolf protagonists.
- Rae's disability and the way it was written. As one reviewer mentioned, she tried to work with her limitations and found a way around things she couldn't do, which I love. It also hurts to see the microaggressions and prejudices Rae constantly endured and the internalized scorn she developed for herself. The author did a great job capturing her experiences in an ableist society
- female friendships! I loved the sisterhood she had with many of the other female characters
- omg it was great to see Alyrra and Kestrin again. Seeing them through another's eyes is fascinating
- I really appreciated and loved how complex all the characters are. Many of them hurt others or were carelessly unkind and they had their reasons for doing so. I might not agree with what they did but I can understand where they're coming from
- the social commentary: the powerful live comfortable and cushy lives off of the labor, dignity and comfort of the least privileged; the corrupt social system, where vigilante justice (Red Hawk) or community movements are more trustworthy than institutional justice (the palace). Power corrupts - even the good characters do questionable things because the environment forces these choices for survival (Alyrrra's test of Rae in the beginning, many of Kestrin and Rae's interactions)
- and I also really appreciated how well the book conveyed the lived experience of being a woman in a patriarchal and misogynistic society where women aren't valued - there was a constant sense of Rae being put into traumatising situations, being made powerless, and there were just countless incidents of violence against her, people threatening and intimidating her, using her, harming her. Despite that, Rae herself never seemed powerless to me. She was always so brave and so smart. I loved that
A very very creative novel. This is similar to [b:Global University Entrance Examination 全球高考|51348788|Global University Entrance Examination 全球高考|木苏里|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1581917228l/51348788._SX50_.jpg|76028938]. In a apocalyptic world, people are forced into Battle Royale-style cruel games with high death rates, run by a senseless, inhumane and and almost sadistic 'System', with two main characters who are very intelligent and can exploit the loopholes, and who start out as enemies but turn into lovers. But where GUEE was like a 'lite' version of this genre, this book really delved into it. The games in this novel are like math or logic problems, and feature a sadistic and twisted version of popular story characters like Cinderella, Santa Claus...
Systems in Chinese novels/webnovels (transmigration system, systems in these apocalyptic novels) always remind me of an amalgamation the Chinese government, Weber's theory about bureaucracy, and the rigid social mores that underlie Chinese culture that have turned rogue and monstrous. This novel was no exception. The true villain was always the system, pitting humans against each other and bringing out the worst in people in a dog-eat-dog world. The apocalypse having game-related elements and basically resembling your average melee game but with RL consequences (killing enemies kills actual people, regional players and regional servers, props as rewards, clearing bosses and floors...) was very interesting.
The book starts out quite slow, but really picks up speed by the second half. The mysteries were based off real-world physics, science, philosophy, math and logic concepts and really made me think lol. The cast of secondary characters was awesome. I especially love Mo Huixue and wished she had lived longer. A lot of the plot-twists were really unexpected and gripping, especially the ones near the end. It was riveting - I think this author is really good at writing mystery, thriller and plot-twists. Some of the plot twists really haunt me.
Romance was very very light; in fact, this is more of a mystery/psychological novel than a romance lol. The book in general didn't really touch much on anyone's emotions - you don't get a lot about the two main leads' developing feelings and it's pretty subtle and understated. You also don't get much exploration into the general psyche of the people after eight months of apocalyptic Hunger Games-like games.
But there were still A LOT of unanswered questions. So... who is Eve? What happened to her? How were Eve's chosen selected? And I'm not sure how to feel about the fact that all civilizations are put to a senseless, cruel 'test' or 'evaluation' once they have hit a certain level of progress or advancement. There's also some very subtle ethnocentrism and Eurocentrism - most of the top players and regions were either Chinese or Western/European, with most of the good guys being from these two regions too. Not sure how to feel about the portrayal of India in the last 10% too.
Systems in Chinese novels/webnovels (transmigration system, systems in these apocalyptic novels) always remind me of an amalgamation the Chinese government, Weber's theory about bureaucracy, and the rigid social mores that underlie Chinese culture that have turned rogue and monstrous. This novel was no exception. The true villain was always the system, pitting humans against each other and bringing out the worst in people in a dog-eat-dog world. The apocalypse having game-related elements and basically resembling your average melee game but with RL consequences (killing enemies kills actual people, regional players and regional servers, props as rewards, clearing bosses and floors...) was very interesting.
The book starts out quite slow, but really picks up speed by the second half. The mysteries were based off real-world physics, science, philosophy, math and logic concepts and really made me think lol. The cast of secondary characters was awesome. I especially love Mo Huixue and wished she had lived longer. A lot of the plot-twists were really unexpected and gripping, especially the ones near the end. It was riveting - I think this author is really good at writing mystery, thriller and plot-twists. Some of the plot twists really haunt me.
Romance was very very light; in fact, this is more of a mystery/psychological novel than a romance lol. The book in general didn't really touch much on anyone's emotions - you don't get a lot about the two main leads' developing feelings and it's pretty subtle and understated. You also don't get much exploration into the general psyche of the people after eight months of apocalyptic Hunger Games-like games.
But there were still A LOT of unanswered questions. So... who is Eve? What happened to her? How were Eve's chosen selected? And I'm not sure how to feel about the fact that all civilizations are put to a senseless, cruel 'test' or 'evaluation' once they have hit a certain level of progress or advancement. There's also some very subtle ethnocentrism and Eurocentrism - most of the top players and regions were either Chinese or Western/European, with most of the good guys being from these two regions too. Not sure how to feel about the portrayal of India in the last 10% too.
3.5 stars. if only the first half of this book had been written like the second half!
other reviews have also mentioned the issues with this book: the first half is VERY slow and pretty much nothing happens for the entire first 50%. the second half is a bunch of plot twists and action that goes by in a blur.
i really appreciate that this horror is based off themes of postcolonialism, eugenics, race and patriarchy. the author's kindle notes for this book are really fascinating, bumping the overall rating to a 4 for that
after reading both this and [b:Gods of Jade and Shadow|36510722|Gods of Jade and Shadow|Silvia Moreno-Garcia|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1543268579l/36510722._SY75_.jpg|58230232], i've noticed some things about this author's style: the style is heavily descriptive, which works sometimes (atmospheric and beautiful) and sometimes doesn't (nothing much happens). it also makes the characters quite 'muted'.
still will try her other books - i love how creative these books are and it's refreshing that they're set in mexico and the protagonists are latinx
other reviews have also mentioned the issues with this book: the first half is VERY slow and pretty much nothing happens for the entire first 50%. the second half is a bunch of plot twists and action that goes by in a blur.
i really appreciate that this horror is based off themes of postcolonialism, eugenics, race and patriarchy. the author's kindle notes for this book are really fascinating, bumping the overall rating to a 4 for that
after reading both this and [b:Gods of Jade and Shadow|36510722|Gods of Jade and Shadow|Silvia Moreno-Garcia|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1543268579l/36510722._SY75_.jpg|58230232], i've noticed some things about this author's style: the style is heavily descriptive, which works sometimes (atmospheric and beautiful) and sometimes doesn't (nothing much happens). it also makes the characters quite 'muted'.
still will try her other books - i love how creative these books are and it's refreshing that they're set in mexico and the protagonists are latinx