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73
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| 1789098270
| 9781789098273
| 1789098270
| 4.10
| 116,914
| Apr 26, 2022
| Apr 26, 2022
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it was amazing
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I was sent this proof for free by Titan Books for the purposes of providing an honest review. Trigger and content warnings are under spoiler tags. (view I was sent this proof for free by Titan Books for the purposes of providing an honest review. Trigger and content warnings are under spoiler tags. (view spoiler)[ Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features dementia, childbirth, references to miscarriage, references to abortion, reference to death during childbirth, infant death, references to cannibalism, violence against women, domestic violence and abuse, uxoricide, and references to suicide. (hide spoiler)] I was really intrigued by Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher when I first heard of it. The first two lines of the blurb - "This isn't a fairytale where the princess marries a prince. It's one where she kills him." - hooked me right from the start. And it was so bloody good! Marra is a princess of the Harbour Kingdom, a small and shabby kingdom, but one that has something the Northen and Southern Kingdoms want - the harbour. The Queen of the Harbour Kingdom has married off her daughter to Prince Vorling of the Northern Kingdom, to keep either Northern or Southern Kingdom attacking for the harbour. Marra has lived in a convent since she was 15, at the insistence of Vorling. He's obsessed with making sure that it's his child, his bloodline, that ends up on the Harbour Kingdom's throne, so his family has control of both kingdoms. So Marra is sent away to be kept chaste. But when the truth comes out that her eldest sister Damia, who married Vorling first, was actually killed by him, and that Vorling now hurts the middle sister he's now married, Kania, she is determined to do something about it. She has to kill the prince. There is no other way to save her sister. But she's not a very good princess, and she's barely a nun, and has no idea of what she can do. She seeks out the help of a dust wife, and it's not too long before a ragtag motley crew are making their way North to save Kania. Nettle and Bone has a lot of fairy tale imagery and symbols; royalty, fairy godmothers, animals with more to them than meets the eye. But while there are glimpses of fairy tales, nods towards them, I really like how Kingfisher took any of our preconceived ideas and turned them on their head. This is not the fairy tales we have come to expect. In fact, it's something a lot closer to original fairy tales. It has a very dark underbelly. Because at it's heart is domestic violence. A prince who wants to control over everything, to whom women are property. His wife wanting to sit vigil over the death of her daughter brings about a terrible fury. Vorling is terrifying. He killed Damia, and he beats Kania to death. Marra can't sit with this knowledge and do nothing. But there's nothing she can really do. Until she hears of a powerful dust-wife, one who might be able to help. But Nettle and Bone is also surprisingly light. It definitely has a number of very dark and horrifying moments, but it's also really very funny. It's not a simple case of Marra getting the help of the dust-wife and off they go. There ends up being a group of them; Marra, an awful princess and not-quite nun, a powerful dust-wife who only has power over the dead, a warrior from another kingdom, Fenris, whose honour has him seeking death for wrongdoing, Agnes, a fairy godmother with very little power - or so she'll have you believe, a bone dog brought to life by Marra during one of her three impossible tasks for the dust-wife, and a chicken with a demon in her. I absolutely adored the dust-wife - who never gives her name, but who Fenris calls Lady Fox - and Agnes. The dust-wife is grumpy, stern and forthright, and has some brilliant one-liners. Agnes is slightly doddering and sweet, wants to see the good in everyone, and can't stop talking. She's also incredibly funny and very endearing. Seeing both the dust-wife and Agnes bounce off each other is just comedy genius, and I adored them. Plus the chicken with the demon in her and Bonedog both have their own personalities, and bring their own laughs. Honestly, this group is wonderful! But on paper, Nettle and Bone shouldn't be a book I enjoyed. I have never read a standalone fantasy I have loved until now. I do not get on at all with comedic fantasy, I tend to find the humour really grating, and would rather the author stopped making jokes. And I really do not like high fantasy stories that are stop-start, stop-start, because there's no real flow to them. Nettle and Bone is a wonderfully short (for a high fantasy, at 324 pages), but completely satisfying standalone high fantasy. It's bloody hilarious. And it managed to have flow despite the numerous times they had to stop on their journey, with the incredible friendship in this found family. Honestly, I absolutely adored it! I really, really loved Nettle and Bone, and will soon be adding T. Kingfisher's other novels to my bookshelves. I'm really so excited to read more of her work. If you want a quick high fantasy that doesn't get bogged down in complex world building, and balances the dark with so much light, Nettle and Bones could be for you. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Apr 21, 2022
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Apr 30, 2022
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Feb 26, 2022
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72
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| 1789099323
| 9781789099324
| 1789099323
| 3.62
| 1,475
| Feb 22, 2022
| Feb 22, 2022
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it was amazing
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I was sent this proof for free by Titan Books for the purposes of providing an honest review. Trigger and content warnings are under spoiler tags. (view I was sent this proof for free by Titan Books for the purposes of providing an honest review. Trigger and content warnings are under spoiler tags. (view spoiler)[ Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features blood; death and grief; an on-page sex scene (semi-vague); birth; discussion of miscarriage; animal cruelty/death; alcoholism; visceral, gorey descriptions of violence; human sacrifice; infanticide; and execution (magical). (hide spoiler)] I've been in a massive high fantasy kick lately, and have been longing for something that reminds me of why I fell in love with this genre. I've had a few disappointments, until I picked up Scorpica by G. R. MacAllister. Finally, something that felt like home. It was bloody incredible. Scorpica takes place in the matriarchal world of the Five Queendoms. Scorpica is the queendom of warrior women, a semi-nomadic people whose lives are training to be the best they can be. Fierce and strong, Scorpicae are only women; whenever a boy is born, he is sold to the other queendoms. In this world, men are not warriors. Paxim is the queendom of trade deals and negotiations; anything that needs negotiating in the Five Queendoms goes through Paxim. Bastion is a scholarly queendom, it's people devoted to recording everything of import for the sake of history. Sestians are farmers, raising sheep and growing crops that feed the whole of the Five Queendoms. They're also the most devout, and it is here where you'll find the priests of Sestia, and where the religious Sun Rites take place. And then there's Arca, a queendom of sand, whose people are blessed by the god Velja with magic. They have the power to control earth or air magic, fire or water, body or mind, or, for the rare few, all-magic. The Five Queendoms have been chugging along amicably for the past 500 years, ever since the Great Peace; all queendoms needs something from the others. But then one day, the last baby girl is born. It isn't noticed at first, it takes a while, and even longer to realise it's not just one's own queendom, but all of them. Only boys in a world that has no use for boys. And as each year passes, the Great Peace is threatened as tensions become strained. If there are no baby girls, there are no queendoms. Scorpica is almost a difficult story to talk about, because ot follows different people over the course of 15 years, and because of the events that happen, sometimes narrators change. There are three major threads that we follow. The first is of the Scorpicae, and mainly through their queen, Tamura. What is a queendom of warriors to do when there are no new warriors to train? Putting aside that the entire population of the Five Queendoms would eventually die out if there are never any baby girls, as a queendom of only women, the uncertainty around the Drought of Girls hits them the hardest initially. Tamura is ruthless, young and untested, she's brash and hotheaded, but also uncertain. She finds joy in the battle, her skills lying in fighting, but not so much in politics and governing. Her people demand answers, or at least a plan of action, which she keeps putting off. She is a devoted, proud Scorpicae, ambitious for her people, determined and seemingly confident. Anger is her driving force, mainly. But inexperience generally and the unknown that is the Drought of Girls lead her to making decisions that could very well end the Great Peace. Then we have Jehenit, an Arcan with healing magic from a very small village that is struggling to keep it's head above water. On the very last day girls were born, she gave birth to her daughter, Eminel. But Eminel is no ordinary Arcan baby girl; she has all-magic. In Arcan, royalty doesn't go down the matrilineal line; each new queen is the most powerful among those with all-magic. But far from this being a blessing, Jehenit knows that when Seekers take all-magic girls to the Dawn Palace, they never return. Wanting to save her daughter from potentially devastating fate, she runs. Arcan magic is tied to the sand of their land; without sand, there is no magic. A healer who is devoted to her village turns her back on her people, leaving Arcan to keep her daughter hidden and safe. Finally, there's Marriam, Queen of Arca. Powerful and conniving, she revels in her own position and the magic that got her there. She is narcissistic, but cruel and despicable. She is over 100 years old, but she retains her youth be draining the life force of all-magic girls. Despite the struggles of Arcan villages, the nobility thrive on their privilege, think only of themselves, and use others for their own gain and jockeying their position in court. Marriam trusts no-one but one of her husbands and her daughter; the Arcan nobility will stab anyone in the back if it can elevate them. I really loved Scorpica! The world building is incredible. I loved the matriarchal society of the Five Queendoms, women being front and center; the strongest, the most powerful. As a high fantasy fan, I've read a number with strong, powerful women, but they are always outnumbered by strong, powerful men. That is most definitely not the case here. Although they are not treated unfairly, men have no power - or, if they do, in regards to magical power, it's nothing compared to the women. I've read a few dystopian stories in the past that have matriarchal societies, whose overall message tends to be that a society with equality between the genders is really the only way forward, but that's not the case with Scorpica. MacAllisater isn't trying to say anything about our society with this society; this is just the way the Five Queendoms are, and I really enjoyed it. Saying that, all the women are multifaceted and human. These aren't women who are even-tempered, nurturing, wise, or any other stereotype of high fantasy women. These women are real. The protagonists are flawed and make mistakes, the antagonists are cruel beyond imagining and power hungry. I never really knew whose side I was on. There are so many characters in this story I despised, and yet MacAllister makes them compelling enough that even though I hated them, I was enthralled by their story, and how the changes in the world were affecting them. I don't normally enjoy books with more than three narrators; I tend to find there are too many, some I'm not keen on, and it always takes so long to cycle through them. But that's not the case with Scorpica. Besides Tamura, Jehenit, and Marriam, there are a range of other narrators, always people close to those three, all focused on one of the three threads. But it's all so evenly balanced between them all; the chapters are fairly short, and for the longer ones, there will be a few narrators - no more than three - that split it up and keep that balance. It doesn't take all that long to cycle through, and as I've said, there were characters I didn't like, but I was still interested in their narration/thread. Scorpica is somewhat of a slow burner, but it's also a quick read, and there was enough going on with each thread that kept my interest. I loved that the plot centers around something that is unknown, even to the characters. This isn't a story you can predict the outcome of, you don't know what decisions people are going to make, or what those decisions will lead to. I was completely captivated and enamoured by this story. Scorpica is also a queer story! There is a sapphic relationship between two characters, and there's a semi-vague f/f sex scene between two others. Arcans are polyamorous, with women having two husbands (what's interesting is that children have mothers, but not fathers; they are referred to as their mother's huband/s). Although no labels are used, the Five Queendoms is a world where trans people are acknowledged and accepted, with the mention of non-binary, bigender, and agenda people; there is a pansexual character in Fasiq, a secondary character without a POV narration, who mentions her lovers have been men and women, neither or both. And there's a non-POV Priest of no gender, using they/them pronouns. Given the matriarchal society, I'd be interested to know where non-binary people fit in the hierarchy of things, but it's never mentioned. What if an assigned-female-at-birth Scorpicae identifies non-binary/bigender/agenda? Scorpicae are women only, and this is shown quite clearly when a man born of a Scorpicae woman wants to join them and train as a warrior. So would a trans person have a place in Scorpicae? Where would trans women sit in this society? How would a trans man, strong in magic, be seen or treated in Arca? I think it's mainly just incidental inclusion, a reflection of our world, but when there is a hierarchy based on gender, I do think these things need to be considered. I suppose a question has been answered with the agender Priest, as priests are generally women in the Five Queendoms. I'd be interested to see if any of the other questions are answered in future books. Scorpica was absolutely gripping, and an incredible debut high fantasy. I was completely engrossed in this story, and only one book in, I have most definitely found my new favourite high fantasy series! I cannot wait for the sequel, to see where the story takes the characters next. G. R. MacAllister is going to be one to watch. ...more |
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1
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Feb 13, 2022
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Feb 17, 2022
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Feb 13, 2022
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Paperback
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70
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| 0759557330
| 9780759557338
| 0759557330
| 4.18
| 34,560
| Apr 26, 2022
| Apr 26, 2022
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None
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0
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not set
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not set
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Jan 28, 2022
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Hardcover
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69
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| 1789096235
| 9781789096231
| 1789096235
| 3.50
| 2,323
| Apr 05, 2022
| Apr 05, 2022
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None
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0
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not set
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Jan 27, 2022
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Hardcover
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71
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| 0008479291
| 9780008479299
| 0008479291
| 4.08
| 113,469
| Jan 11, 2022
| Jan 20, 2022
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did not like it
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I was sent this proof for free by HarperVoyager for the purposes of providing an honest review. Trigger and content warnings are under spoiler tags. (vi I was sent this proof for free by HarperVoyager for the purposes of providing an honest review. Trigger and content warnings are under spoiler tags. (view spoiler)[ Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features blood, bullying, and attempted sexual assault. (hide spoiler)] Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan was one my most anticipated books of the year. A high fantasy inspired by Chinese mythology, expanding on the myth of the Chinese Moon Goddess Chang'e, a young woman fighting to save her mother, trapped on the moon? Absolutely right up my street! Except this might turn out to be the biggest disappointment of the year. I didn't enjoy it at all. First off, Daughter of the Moon Goddess is marketed as an adult high fantasy, when it feels very much like a YA novel. There is obviously nothing wrong with YA high fantasy, I read a lot of it, but the majority of the time, the two are very different in regards to tone, the scope of the world building, and the complexity of politics, etc. So what I was expecting, what I was in the mood for, I didn't get. However, as I read and enjoy YA high fantasy, I kept on reading anyway. But there was a lot about this book that just wasn't enjoyable for me. It's a super easy read, and I flew through the pages quite quickly, I just didn't care very much. I never warmed to Xingyin, and I wasn't emotionally invested in her story. And I think part of that has to do with the passing of time. At 512 pages, Daughter of the Moon Goddess is a pretty long book, though fairly typical for a fantasy novel. But so much is fit into these pages that we don't actually get to see enough. Time moves too quickly for me to get emotionally invested. I feel it probably would have been better as a trilogy instead of a duology, to give more times for things to unfold. We don't get to see Xingyin's character develop and grow. We don't really see much in the way of the lessons she has with Crown Prince Liwei, and as such we don't see her learn how to use her magic, which I'll come to. Two years pass between one chapter and the next, leaving the romance between Xingyin and Liwei to feel very much like instalove. Before those two years pass, she's only with Liwei on page for a handful of days. But again, after those two years, the months go by ridiculously quickly, so we don't get to see the relationship between them grow, so I just didn't find it very believable. And the case is the same later in the book with Captain Wenzhi, who she works under as an archer of the Celestial Army; feelings appear out of nowhere, because the time goes by far too quickly for anything to have page time to develop. While the focus of the story is supposed to be on Xingyin trying to save her mother, it takes her a hell of a long time to be in any position to do so. She can't simply rescue her mother, she can't destroy the magic that holds her there. The only way for her mother to be freed from the moon is for the Celestial Emperor to free her. So the reimagining of the myth plays only a small part in the story. The focus is much more on the love triangle romances. Because of this, there is a hell of a lot of internal monologue. Xingyin drove me mad with her constant questioning. How does she feel? How do Liwei and Wenzhi feel? Was it possible for her to be with either of them? Could they have this? Oh no, it's not possible, it will never happen. On and on and on, and she gets so repetitive. But she can't be pining all the time, right, or that would just get boring really quickly. So she also goes on various missions with the Celestial Army, and has to fight mythical creatures or opposing forces. For a lot of the book, a lot of this just felt completely unnecessary. She goes where she's needed, does what needs to be done, and returns. These various missions take up a few chapters, and they just felt so pointless. It turns out in the end that very small details of each mission become important, which just made those missions feel too convenient. They only took place so a smaller thing could happen that matters a hell of a lot later in the book. So at first I would be questioning why they were happening other than as an excuse to have Xingyin do something other than pine, and then later, once I realised the actual point of those missions, they felt very contrived. On top of this, the world building leaves much to be desired. While we're given enough about who's who and the hierarchy of the characters, and various beings from Chinese mythology are included, the magic system was explained very briefly. An immortal's power is dependent on their life force. The stronger their life force, the stronger they are. But how it works is unexplained. Xingyin reaches for her life force and creates wind - but how? What exactly does reaching for the life force mean? How does doing so bring about wind or fire? How exactly does her life force create the wind or fire, or it's strength? These questions aren't answered, which is what I expect from an adult high fantasy. Xingyin just reaches for her life force, and what she wants to happen, happens. I was really, really disappointed in Daughter of the Moon Goddess. It just wasn't for me at all, and I really didn't enjoy it. But a hell of a lot of other people have loved it, so it's possible it's a mismatch between book and reader. As such, be sure to read other reviews before deciding whether or not to read it. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jan 17, 2022
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Jan 25, 2022
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Jul 31, 2021
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Hardcover
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67
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| 0316592781
| 9780316592789
| 0316592781
| 3.59
| 59,714
| Jun 01, 2021
| Jun 01, 2021
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really liked it
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3.5 Stars. I received this eProof for free from Orbit Books via NetGalley for the purposes of providing an honest review. Trigger and content warnings a 3.5 Stars. I received this eProof for free from Orbit Books via NetGalley for the purposes of providing an honest review. Trigger and content warnings are under spoiler tags. (view spoiler)[ Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features blood and gore, a panic attack, body horror, and self-harm. (hide spoiler)] Being such a huge fan of retellings, it will come as no surprise that I just had to read For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten when I heard of it. A mash up retelling of Little Red Riding Hood and Beauty and the Beast, For the Wolf is a high fantasy story where the second born daughter of to the crown is sacrificed to the Wolf in the Wilderwood, in hopes that he'll return the Kings, the lost gods that have been trapped in the magical forest for centuries. After centuries without, there's now a second daughter: Red, and it's her turn to be sacrificed. She has spent her whole life knowing what her purpose was, knowing she would be willingly given up by her people for a chance to get back the Kings. Despite knowing it will lead to her death, Red is glad to be sacrificed, even though her sister, Neve, rails against the idea. For Red has a dark, dangerous magic inside her she struggles to control, and is terrified of hurting the people she loves. Inexplicably drawn to the Wilderwood, she soon discovers the Wolf is not a monster, but is himself uniquely tied to the forest. There's more to the story she's been brought up with, more than her people know. And it's Red's magic that might just save them all. Apart from the fact that Redarys goes by Red, and the warden of the Wilderwood is known as the Wolf - but is actually called Eammon - For the Wolf is much more of a Beauty and the Beast retelling than one of Little Red Riding Hood. Eammon is believed to be a monster that kills the second daughters, when in actual fact, the Wilderwood is the only thing keeping a different realm, the Shadows Lands, a prison for the monsters that used to terrorise the world, from opening. A bargain was made years ago, to keep everyone safe. But the Sentinel trees are constantly battling rot, that will allow the way through. The second daughters are needed by the Wilderwood, the price of the bargain, to keep the Shadow Lands closed. The Wilderwood is weakening, and is desperate for the magic in Red's veins, but Eammon is doing all he can to keep her from the Wilderwood, to not let it have her. The worldbuilding for For the Wolf is amazing! I love the religion surrounding the Kings, I loved the dark, creepy, sentient Wilderwood, the brooding, tragic Eammon, and just how messed up the magic is. It's actually a part of the Wilderwood that they both have in them. Eammon has more, due to his connection with the forest, and it's freaking disturbing everytime he uses it. From his body sprouts vines, bark grows on his skin. The Wilderwood is living inside them. But the Wilderwood also wants to be whole, to connect with their magic to do its job. It's a constant fight to stop the Wilderwood from sending vines and shrubs into any cut Red might get. There's a definite body horror element to the story, I'm not really describing it very well, but when the Wilderwood comes for you, it's not messing about! It's downright sinister. But For the Wolf it's a much slower story than I expected. Red is terrified of her power, or not being able to control it, but seeing what Eammon goes through, trying to use his own power to heal the Sentinels that start to rot, and close the breaches that do manage to open, she realises he can't do this on his own. But he is full of guilt over the deaths of the previous second daughters, deaths he feels he should have been able to prevent if only he was stronger, and he's trying to make sure the same doesn't happen to Red. Blood or magic is the only thing that helps, and Eammon is almost bleeding himself dry to try and prevent the changes to his body brought on by using magic. And with the Wilderwood weakening, soon Eammon won't be enough. Their slow burn romance is sweets during the constant back and forth. There are baby steps, where Eammon allows her to help in small ways, but it's not enough. This is the story for the most part; Red learning about her magic, trying to learn to control it, trying to convince Eammon to let her help, with the threat of the Wilderwood, and what comes through the breaches a constant backdrop. There were a number of interludes that go back to Neve's sister and see things from her perspective, where she's willing to do whatever it takes to get her sister back, and her collaboration with a priestess who is obsessive and fanatical. This is where the story gets darker. Things are going on while Red is trying to learn how to use her magic. Dark, sinister things. These interludes were much more disturbing than the Wilderwood itself, to be honest. So while it's slow, there is a lot that's going on, and this sense of foreboding, as you now things are going to get really, really bad. For the Wolf wasn't as exciting as I would have hoped, but it's definitely intriguing! I love the dark, sinister aspects to the story, and it really kicked up a gear towards the end, with quite the cliffhanger ending! I'm really interested to see where the story goes in the second and final book, For the Throne. If you like your fairy tale retellings dark and disturbing, definitely give this one a go! ...more |
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1
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May 09, 2021
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May 28, 2021
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May 09, 2021
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Paperback
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66
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| 000817170X
| 9780008171704
| 000817170X
| 4.02
| 135
| Oct 17, 2019
| Aug 2020
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it was amazing
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Trigger and content warnings are spoiler tags. (view spoiler)[ Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features racism, violence against women, and male Trigger and content warnings are spoiler tags. (view spoiler)[ Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features racism, violence against women, and male rape. (hide spoiler)] Having adored the first two books in The Khorasan Archives series by Ausma Zehanat Khan, I eagerly dove into the third and penultimate book, The Blue Eye, and bloody loved it! Interestingly, despite the previous book in the series, The Black Khan, being quite action-packed with a lot happening, The Blue Eye felt like it suffered similarly as some middle books in trilogies. The pace was slower, it wasn't quite as action-packed, and it felt a lot like a story to get characters from one place to another, ready for the events of the final book. Saying that, that's just in comparison to the previous book; there's still enough going on to keep the reader gripped, and there are a lot of revelations in The Blue Eye, and some questions. It's quite an emotional one. Darya, The sister of Prince Ruhk, was killed towards the end of The Black Khan, and Rukh is really mourning her death, despite how he treated her. Rukh is trying to deal with his grief while keeping on top of the siege on his city, and the meeting of the Council of Mages, to try and awaken his powers as the Black Khan. But the Assassin has his own plans, and using the knowledge he gained from the Bloodprint in the single hour Rukh allowed him to have with it, he reanimates the Black Khan's sister. But Darya is changed through being brought back from the dead. It's not just her spirit occupying her body; she doesn't have complete control, and sometimes her thoughts and feelings are confused with that of the ghul she shares her body with. Rukh is happy to see she is alive, but Arsalan feels the opposite, knowing it could only be dark magic that brought her back. It's soon apparent that Darya is now dangerous, and until they can subdue her, the only way to stay safe is to placate her. This brings about terrible, devastating consequences that completely broke my heart. It's absolutely terrible. And still the battle rages on, and with Arsalan busy trying to deal with the situation with Darya, there are consequences. Meanwhile, Arian, along with Sinnia and Wafa are heading for the city of Timeback. Now the Bloodprint has been stolen by the One-Eyed Preacher, the only hope against the Talisman is a second book, the Sana Codex, known to be in the keeping of the Blue Mage. Their journey is fraught with danger and delays as they cross the Rising Nineteen, a cult-like warrior force who have their own interpretations of the Claim. It's an encounter that has destruction on their tail - Najran, a man of magic unlike anything Arian has ever seen before they are unable to shake. Crossing the lands of the Negus, Sinnia's people, they stop to pay their respects and ask for access to their library, the ark. But they get caught up in celebrations culminating in a race in which the king, Negus, declares the prize will be Sinnia's hand in marriage - despite her having made vows as a Companion of Hira. There are so many other things that happen, with twists and revelations I didn't see coming at all. I was completely gripped, and I have so many questions! I'm not completely certain of everything that happened at the end, but I'm pretty certain the fourth and final book, The Bloodblade, will start right where The Blue Eye left off, and we'll get some answers. But what I do know has blown my mind, and I am so damn eager to get to read The Bloodblade! But only a few more days to wait until it's published in paperback on 10th June, and I can see the result of that cliffhanger ending, and what will happen when Arian finally confronts One-Eyed Preacher. I've been completely blown away by this incredible series, and I can't recommend it enough! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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May 2021
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May 06, 2021
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May 01, 2021
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Paperback
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65
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| 0008171653
| 9780008171650
| 0008171653
| 3.89
| 212
| Oct 04, 2018
| Jul 2019
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it was amazing
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Trigger and content warnings are under spoiler tags. (view spoiler)[ Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features graphic descriptions of blood, cons Trigger and content warnings are under spoiler tags. (view spoiler)[ Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features graphic descriptions of blood, consuming blood, violence against women, torture, forced drug use, threat of sexual violence, and homophobia. (hide spoiler)] I really enjoyed The Bloodprint, the first book in The Khorasan Archives series by Ausma Zehanat Khan, that I couldn't wait too long before picking up the second book, The Black Khan. For the most part, I was thoroughly impressed with The Bloodprint, but with the sequel, Khan really steps things up a notch. It was absolutely epic! The Black Khan picks up where The Bloodprint left off. Arian, Daniyar and Sinnia have all been captured in the lands ruled by the Authoritarian. As such, the first part of this book is very dark and disturbing. Each of them suffer at the hands of the Authoritarian and the Khounum, who turned out to be Arian's older sister, Lania. Arian is collared, unable to use the Claim, kept at her sister's side when not being tortured by the Authoritarian. Daniyar is also tortured, and forced to fight to the death for her with the Authoritarian's soldiers night after night. Sinniar is, unsurprisingly, tortured in her prison cell, and injected with drugs she soon finds herself addicted to. It really isn't easy reading at all. But with The Black Khan, the scope of the story becomes wider. The Bloodprint mainly focused on Arian's Audacy (mission) to find the sacred text of the title, a quest story, staying mainly with Arian, Sinnia and Daniyar as narrators. But with The Black Khan, we see what's going on elsewhere, particularly with the Black Khan himself, Rukh. After his betrayal of Arian and her companions to take the Bloodprint for himself, he returns to the city he rules, Ashfall, to find the Talisman army almost at the gates, and orders left by his commander, Arsalan - who accompanied him to Black Aura for the Bloodprint - neglected. There are no soldiers at the wall, no defences in place, and with war imminent, Ashfall is seriously unprepared and in incredible danger. Two of my favourite things about high fantasy are court politics and intrigue, and the strategising for war, and The Black Khan has both in spades! I bloody revelled in it! There is so much going on all at once for Rukh. He wanted the Bloodprint because he knew it would be the only thing to defend against the Talisman. As the Black Khan, he is also the Dark Mage, but in his pursuit of the Bloodprint, he's neglected to work on his powers, and is desperate to have his powers woken to defend his city. All the while, his enthusiastic and sweet-hearted younger sister, Darya, is continuing to get things wrong. Darya always seems to manage to talk out of turn, or behave in a way that isn't proper for the Black Khan's sister. She is constantly admonished and rebuked, but she only wants to help her brother, and has the best of intentions - even if Rukh forbids her from joining the Council of Hira, her deepest desire. Arsalan has a huge amount of work on his hands as he has to get the Zhayedan army ready to protect Ashfall from the imminent Talisman onslaught. At the same time, there are others at court who have their own agendas, their cataclysmic machinations taking place right under Rukh's nose. Honestly, there is so, so much going on in this book, and it's just so epic! There are quite a number of narrators, new characters introduced, and subplots to follow. I'm generally not a fan of more than three prominent narrators, as it tends to get confusing, and you end up having to wait for several chapters to find out what's happening in a certain place with certain characters until you're back with their narration. However, this isn't the case with The Black Khan. While it often switches between narrators, for the majority of the time, the story focuses on one location at a time, rather than jumping around all over the place. So, for example, when the story is focusing on Ashfall, the narration will switch between Rukh, Arsalan, and Darya, and a few other narrators we see less often, events playing out as they would but seen from someone else's perspective. I really, really appreciated this, as we're not left hanging with mini-cliffhangers throughout the story it will take pages and pages to see the outcome of. You're right there, in it continually. As such, I was constantly sitting on the edge of my seat. The tension in this book just builds and builds. Khan is such an incredible writer; this story is so well plotted, and incredibly gripping, and I just couldn't tear myself away. I absolutely love what Khan does with Rukh. He is not a good guy. He will absolutely use underhand tactics, betray trust, and use people as pawns, and I bloody can't stand him! But I understood him. Rukh has a duty to his people, and he will absolutely do whatever it takes, no matter the cost, to defend his city. I appreciated his sense of duty, and how smart he is to make the maneuvers he does. I don't like the guy, but I respect him, and I can't deny his narration was absolutely one of my favourites, despite how despicable he can be. I also adored Arsalan! He is a guy you want on your side in a fight, most definitely. Also incredibly smart, his strategising was just beautiful! But I also just loved him as a character, and really felt for him and the predicament he's put in. His subplot is heartbreaking. Mate, I just want to give the guy a hug. Honestly, I could just go on and on about this book, but I'm starting to worry about spoilers. The Black Khan is just bloody incredible and so exciting! Honestly, I loved it so much, I immediately bought the fourth book in the series, The Blue Eye, because I couldn't wait to see what happens next. Do not sit on this series! It's amazing! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Apr 26, 2021
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May 2021
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Apr 26, 2021
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Paperback
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64
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| 0062678167
| 9780062678164
| 0062678167
| 4.49
| 67,303
| Jun 11, 2020
| Jun 30, 2020
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None
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Notes are private!
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0
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not set
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not set
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Apr 17, 2021
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Hardcover
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68
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| 0062973126
| 9780062973122
| 0062973126
| 3.52
| 28,038
| Jun 08, 2021
| Jun 08, 2021
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liked it
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Trigger and content warnings are under spoiler tags. (view spoiler)[ Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features vomit; blood; bullying; animal crue Trigger and content warnings are under spoiler tags. (view spoiler)[ Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features vomit; blood; bullying; animal cruelty; racism; violent, visceral descriptions; violence against women; mutilation; self-harm; self-mutilation; torture; and sexual assault. (hide spoiler)] The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid is a book I've been looking forward to for quite a while. A high fantasy inspired by Hungarian history and Jewish mythology, it sounded right up my street. But while I enjoyed it for the most part, I didn't really love it. The premise of the story is fascinating, and I enjoyed getting to learn about the world, and Évike and Gáspár. I really liked both characters; they're layered, complicated and flawed, and really believable. They're both conflicted in their own way; As a Patritian, Gáspár has been brought up to hate the Pagans, with their demon gods and atrocious magic, but Évike has knowledge that Gáspár needs in order to try and defeat his zealot, power-hungry half-brother Nandor - he needs her help. Similarly, Évike has always feared Patritians, and the Woodsmen specifically, for their hatred of their kind, and the fact that every few years, they take a woman from her village to the King of Régország, and ultimately to her death, but if Nandor becomes too powerful, he will exterminate the Pagans and the Yehuli. Neither of them have a choice; the King might be terrible, but he's the lesser of two evils. I absolutely loved seeing both Évike and Gáspár grow as they spent more time together, and learnt more about each other, their lives and their faiths. What Reid has to say about faith and religion in The Wolf and the Woodsmen is really fascinating. It looks at personal faith versus religion. While the organised religion might seem absolutely disgusting, an individual's personal faith and how it guides them isn't necessarily bad. Gáspár's faith is true and genuine; despite what he's been taught to believe and think, it's not about judging and looking down on the Pagans. His faith is strong and is his moral compass. There is right and there is wrong. What struck me was not what he considered wrong, but what he considered right, and the moral standard he measures himself against. I didn't agree with all his views or the decisions he made, but at his heart he was a decent guy - despite the obvious heinous aspects of his religion, as seen through Évike's eyes. But they both begin to question everything they've been told, brought up to believe and expect about the other. Évike learns about Gáspár's faith, and Gáspár learns about Évike's life and beliefs and stories. They get to know each other as individual people, and it turns their worlds upside down. There are definite questions over some of the darker sides of each, but neither is as bad as the other expects, and they become even more conflicted. The Patritians and the Pagans are not monoliths, and not everything they've been told is true - at least not of everyone. Similarly, it's a look at the beliefs about others you've been taught versus experience of those very people. And it's this that sparks the romance, but to be honest, there isn't much in the way of sparks. I really liked both characters, but I just didn't feel or believe the romance. I could believe them discovering the other wasn't who they expected, and those barriers coming down lead to an acceptance that eased their alliance somewhat (though only somewhat), and maybe even camaraderie, and eventually friends, but not the romance. While I really enjoyed how this added a further dimension to the internal conflict each of them felt about betraying their own, I just didn't see when or how they fell in love; I don't think this aspect of the story was developed enough. And it's probably to do with my bigger issue with the story. I was unaware that The Wolf and the Woodsman was a standalone novel. Historically, I do not tend to get on with standalone fantasies. The first half of the book was very stop/start, which was really frustrating. Despite being 418 pages, I feel the story should have been longer, or split into a duology maybe, so more time could be spent on the events that "halt" the story. While Gáspár and Évike are on their journey, they stop a few times, meet new people, have to deal with something, and then carry on. I'm not a fan of books that stop/start stop/start, I feel it stops the story flowing. But rather feeling like these events were unnecessary and shouldn't have taken place, I feel they were too brief; it made them feel pointless, but they really weren't. They were important moments in the development of the relationship between Évike and Gáspár; they allow for the two to learn certain things about the other, or saw a different side to them. But they went by too quickly, and then they were off traveling again. I also feel it was somewhat unfair to us to meet some really interesting characters, to then leave them so quickly. But once we're past the halfway mark, and the two reach Király Szek, home of Gáspár and the King, things really start to pick up, and we get to see more strongly the horrors of this world, and of the Patritians specifically. The hate they have for people not like themselves is appalling, and the way they treat them is shocking. The King is despicable - treating those who aren't "pure" Régország Patritians terribly - but his son Nandor is horrifying - who would kill them all. Neither are good for all the people of Régország - the Pagans and the Yehuli, as well as the Patritians - but the King is the lesser of the two evils. Gáspár is trying to save a father who abused him in order to save the people he has been raised to hate. The second half is truly epic; action and danger, with a much faster pace and raised tensions. The story really shone here, and Reid's skill really comes into it's own. However, once the story ends, there were certain things that disappointed me. I have questions around world building, Patritian magic specfically, and how and why it works for a particular person, and there was a whole subplot that actually came to nothing in the end. Just a few niggles that had me asking why. But I did enjoy the book as a whole, and I will be reading Reid's next novel, Juniper & Thorn, but I do feel The Wolf and the Woodsman left a lot to be desired. A lot of people loved this book, though, so do read other reviews before deciding whether or not to read it. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jan 07, 2022
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Jan 16, 2022
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Apr 08, 2021
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Hardcover
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61
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| 1473209331
| 9781473209336
| 1473209331
| 3.87
| 155,242
| Oct 28, 2014
| Nov 10, 2016
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it was amazing
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Having recently finished reading The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss, and being a little frustrated at having to wait for the sequel after the cli
Having recently finished reading The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss, and being a little frustrated at having to wait for the sequel after the cliffhanger last sentence, I immediately bought The Slow Regard of Silent Things, and I absolutely, completely adored it! The Slow Regard of Silent Things is a novella from Auri's point of view that takes place after The Wise Man's Fear. Auri is Kvothe's friend, a young woman who lives in the Underthing - what she calls the huge number of connected tunnels and disused rooms under the University town. She is a former student whose mental state was effected by her studies, and consequently seems quite childlike and innocent, is very nervous and skittish, and doesn't like being around people, accept Kvothe. The times when Kvothe visits Auri are some of my favourites in both books. I adore Auri; while innocent and sometimes seeming like she doesn't make much sense, there is a profoundness to her, and I just think she's completely wonderful. So I was really excited to read her own story and get a glimpse at her life. And that's exactly what it is, a glimpse over the course of a few days. Before the story starts, there's a foreward from the author saying that it, "Doesn't do a lot of the things a classic story is supposed to do," which is very much the case. With Silent Things, we get to see Auri's day-to-day; nothing especially exciting happens, she doesn't talk to anyone, it just shows us what she gets up to when she's not hanging out with Kvothe. But what we do get is the chance to get to know Auri better, and a deeper understanding of who she is. At first, it was completely joyous, just being with Auri and her curious way of thinking, seeing what she gets up to. Inanimate objects have personalities to her, they have names, they are her friends. On the first day we see how she takes Foxen, a stone that emits a blue-green glow when drops of some solution are added to it, with her to The Yellow Twelve, where there is an exceptionally deep pool that she dives into to find new treasures. We go with her as she discovers new rooms in the Underthing, and see her put things to rights. Not necessarily make things tidy, but put objects in the exact place that is right for them. Even if it's under the carpet. Even if it's left tilted and spilled across a vanity. But the more I read, the more disconcerted I grew. Although Auri is skitish and nervous, and doesn't like being asked certain kinds of questions, I had always previously felt that she was happy. She doesn't have the kind of life anyone would want for her, and there's only so much Kvothe can do without offending her or scaring her off. But I still thought she was ok. Yes, she has neurological issues, but she's happy in her world. But while it doesn't take an awful lot to make Auri happy, it doesn't take much to send her mind spinning. And the more I read, the more my heart broke for Auri. (view spoiler)[She considers it her duty to make sure the world is in the proper way of things - meaning, everything in it's place. She obsessess over finding every object it's place. Everything has it's place, and that's where it's meant to be, and it's Auri's job to find it's place, and she must do so, no matter how long it takes. No matter if she's tired and wants to sleep. She needs to find the object it's proper place. Kvothe has mentioned previously how clean Auri is, and I always found that surprising considering she's living in dusty old tunnels and rooms. But we find she's also very concious of being clean. She washes her face and hands and feet multiple times a day. I'm no doctor, so I couldn't say for sure, but this, alongside the need to make sure everything is in it's place, makes me think she has OCD. And then there's the fact that Auri doesn't feel she deserves very much. She considers herself greedy and wicked when she considers taking a lovely clean sheet from a wardrobe. She can't want nice things for herself. Things belong in their place. This also relates to food. Food isn't just food, it also has it's place. So she eats very little, and only when she becomes lightheaded and faint. So there's this sense of duty, and this sense of sacrifice, and she doesn't feel she has a choice, because this is the proper way of things. And if things aren't right, she spirals into panic attacks. (hide spoiler)] Auri's life is difficult, and it was just so sad. She needs help, but what proper help can she get? The only option is to have her locked up in Haven, the mental hospital, which would kill her. I adore her even more now; Auri is just so precious and needs protecting, she needs looking after. But I don't know how she can be given the help she needs, in the world she lives in, and also given how skittish she is. I just want someone to help her. But there's also so much more to Auri. I don't want to give anything away, but she remembers her studies, and is still capable of doing the things she learnt. There's also something else, something more, that was surprising and amazing, but also makes me feel kind of wary. I don't know what that would mean for her, where it would lead in The Doors of Stone, and I'm scared about where things will take her. The ending is also absolutely heartbreaking in completely different ways, and I'm just so worried for her. The Slow Regard of Silent Things is a weird little story, but it's absolutely brilliant, and I loved it more than I can say. It made Auri even more real to me, and despite how sad it made me, it's such a beautiful, precious story. It's fantastic, and I'm so looking forward to seeing more of Auri in The Doors of Stone, even if I'm worried for her. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Mar 02, 2021
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Mar 02, 2021
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Feb 28, 2021
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Paperback
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62
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| B087BKK4PV
| 3.77
| 3,927
| Jan 19, 2021
| Jan 19, 2021
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really liked it
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3.5 Stars. I received this eProof for free from Titan Books via NetGalley for the purposes of providing an honest review. Trigger & content warnings are 3.5 Stars. I received this eProof for free from Titan Books via NetGalley for the purposes of providing an honest review. Trigger & content warnings are under spoiler tags. (view spoiler)[ Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features blood, self-harm, description of wounds, violence towards animals and animal sacrifice, person attacked by a dog, abduction, slavery, discussion of trading sex for survival, murder, a massacre, and description of corpses. (hide spoiler)] Hall of Smoke by H. M. Long sounded right up my street when I first heard about it. A war between old gods and new gods? Sign me right up! But while I was gripped while reading, I finished with mixed feelings. I found Hall of Smoke a little hard going at first. It starts off where Hessa has already failed to kill the traveller she was ordered to by her goddess, Eang. She's at her shrine up on the mountainside, several hours walk from her town, attempting to atone for failing her. And within a matter of pages, her town is attacked, but Hessa is too far away to make any difference. When she finally gets there, she finds her people have been massacred. We're thrown right into the deep end from the very beginning. There's no time for us to get emotionally involved, to feel attached to any of the characters. That's it, done, they're dead. But at the same time, because it starts right away, we're not really given the opportunity to learn about the people of this world, who they are, what the politics is. We know the Agatti live north on the Eangen, they've never got on, and the Agatti raid Eangen towns a couple of times a year, but nothing ever like this. But we know nothing more at that point. We do get flashback chapters where Hessa thinks back to when she was younger, which gives us some context as to who the Eangen and Eangi are, but it just felt disjointed. And with other groups of people, we find out about them as we go, and it can get confusing when you don't yet understand yet why Hessa is reacting to them the way she is. I feel like there should have been a prologue or something, or the story should have started earlier, to give us some background as to who all the players are and what their politics is, who they worship, the various alliances and enmity between the gods, and the general history of the world as the Eangen people know it. I just had so many questions for the first quarter of the book, and really considered just putting it down. I was confused, and I didn't have time to get emotionally involved, so I also didn't care. The only thing that kept me reading was the fact that the story does move very quickly. At first, this added to the confusion; between one page and the next, Hessa is on the other side of the world. Granted, she's unconcious for most of the journey, but it was startling. She was just in one situation, and now she's in a completely different situation. But this actually worked in the book's favour. After that first quarter, I had a fair handle on who all the different countries were peopled by and what their poltics was and who they worshipped. Otherwise, we just as much in the dark as Hessa. Hessa is struggling to reach her goddess, who is normally pretty responsive, other gods are in hiding, and other creatures are awakening, and Hessa doesn't have a clue what's happening. She's just lost her people, and is railing through grief, but she doesn't have time to deal with what she is feeling. She has to try and find the traveller and kill him to atone and to earn back her place in the High Halls after she dies, but the world is in chaos at the same time. While it isn't always action, action, action, something is always happening, and it's very fast paced. I still wasn't emotionally involved, and I hadn't connected to Hessa, but the mystery was intriguing. At every turn, you're never sure who Hessa should trust, what the truth is, or what's actually happening, and with Eang becoming more and more difficult to get ahold of, Hessa is lost at sea. It became really gripping, the more questions that crop up, the few answers we get. I have to say I loved the worldbuilding. It's a very intriguing world, with gods that are very much a part of their worshipers' lives, and I was reminded of Greek mythology, as the ew gods had defeated the old gods, and were now in power, much like the Greek gods fighting the Titans. But there are secrets and lies and things kept hidden, and not everything is as it seems. There are so many layers, and they unfold layer by layer as the story progresses. I was desperate to know what the truth was of this world, of the people, and it's history. So for the most part, I enjoyed Hall of Smoke. I was intrigued and gripped, and loved how quickly it moved, never letting the story lull. But I never really cared about any of the characters. While this book has a conclusion, and we get all the answers, there is meant to be a sequel, and I'd definitely be up for reading it, so that shows you how my feelings changed towards the book. But I definitely feel like the beginning could use some work, and give the reader some time to get emotionally involved, because I still never really cared about the characters. Hall of Smoke is overall enjoyable, but it could definitely have been better. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Feb 28, 2021
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Mar 05, 2021
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Feb 15, 2021
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Kindle Edition
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74
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| 0356515648
| 9780356515649
| 0356515648
| 4.12
| 33,477
| Jun 08, 2021
| Jun 08, 2021
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it was amazing
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I received an eProof for free from Orbit via NetGalley for the purposes of providing an honest review. Trigger and content warnings are under spoiler t I received an eProof for free from Orbit via NetGalley for the purposes of providing an honest review. Trigger and content warnings are under spoiler tags. (view spoiler)[ Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features forced drug use, body horror, execution as entertainment, and people burning alive. (hide spoiler)] I'd wanted to read The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri ever since I first heard about it. Stupidly, it took me quite a while before I actually picked it up, and I wish I'd done so much earlier! It was fantastic! A Indian inspired high fantasy, The Jasmine Throne is very much the first book in a series, in that it's setting things up, forming relationships, letting us get to know the world and the magic system, and putting characters into place for next book. But at the same time, so much happens! There may not be a huge amount of action for the majority of the book, but it's so complex. The world building is so rich and layered. The Empire is ruled by Malini's brother, Chandra, who rules with an iron fist. He's taken his people's religion and has twisted it to become a tool with which tyrannically control the empire. Ahiranya, one of the Empire's territories, is ruled by General Vikram, and it's under his charge that Malini is put when she is exiled to the Hirana, a former temple, for opposing Chandra's rule. There is rebellion within Ahiranya, people wanting to take their home back. People who long for the magic they once had, granted from their own faith. It's a slow build up, but there are various levels of political intrigue, which I absolutely adored. There are a large number of moving parts to this story. While Malini and Priya are the main narrators, we also get the perspectives of several others. The three other pain players are Ashok, a former temple child and leader of the rebellion, Bhumika, the wife to General Vikram who also hides the fact she was once a temple child, and Rao, the prince of another territory and ally of Malini's. There are several other perspectives that are included as well, but they get only a chapter or two. At first, I was annoyed with all the different perspectives; I'm not one for jumping about all over the place, I like my high fantasies somewhat contained, and prefer no-more than three narrators so I don't have to wait too long before getting back to the characters I prefer. But as I said, there are so many moving parts to this story. Malini is imprisoned in the Hirana, and Priya is but a maidservant. While Priya has more freedom, there's only so much she can be aware of. We need all these other perspectives because there are so many layers, so I came to love all the perspectives; we know what's happening elsewhere, the moves that are made, the plans put into motion, while others, not so much, or not until later. I am a massive, massive fan of political intrigue and it was just bloody fantastic! I revelled in it. Suri has plotted this story so well, and it was just so incredible to see where the story led, how the various moves effected other elements. The Jasmine Throne really puts the epic into epic fantasy. I adored Priya. She is such a great character. She has a history of her own, and secrets to keep. She's quite a hopeful person, which I really appreciated. She's just so good and kind, and full of love for her people. And she goes through so much in this book. The things she rediscovers, the secrets kept from her, the hurt she experiences. And she's conflicted when it comes to the Empire, and what's the best thing to do. Is she for the rebellion? Is she for trying to keep her people alive? There are different ideas about what lines can and should be crossed from different sides, and Priya isn't necessarily for some people's methods. But how she has such courage and spunk and does what she feels is right. I really enjoyed the mystery surrounding her past and what she doesn't remember, the latent power and her past that she keeps hidden. It was great to see her learn the truth and come into her strength, but to also see her still be herself with her morals and sense of what is right. Malini is quite a complex character, and so morally grey. Chandra is awful, and people are suffering under his rule. She wants to depose him, and put their older brother, who abdicated on the throne. She has a strong belief in what she feels is right for the Empire, and will do whatever it takes to make it so. Whatever it takes. She's just brilliant! And so clever, she's got political strategising down to a T. She's has a heart, but she is ruthless. And now her own life depends on getting Chandra off the throne. I have to say I wasn't really surprised by where Malini's storyline took her, I think that was pretty obvious from the get-go, but I didn't mind that. I have to say, I couldn't really get on board with the romance. Malini was drugged through the majority of the story, and in the great scheme of things, Malini and Priya didn't have an awful lot of time together on the page. So I didn't really feel we got to see the romance develop very much. But this isn't really an issue for me, because I don't really read high fantasy for the romance. Yes, the sapphic romance was one of the things that drew me to this story, but not the only thing, and honestly, the political intrigue is just first class, and I'm generally much more interested in that in fantasy anyway, so I'm not disappointed. Despite guessing early on where Malini's path would take her, I didn't know how she would get there, and I have the say, the ending was absolutely incredible! It was so, so good! Things really got moving, and it was just fantastic! And I am so, so excited for The Oleander Sword now, because I'm pretty such everything is going to be dialled right up, and I can't wait! I know I thought The Jasmine Throne was epic, but I think The Oleander Sword is going to top, and that there will be so much more in regards to action. It's just going to be so bloody brilliant! I highly, highly recommend The Jasmine Throne; this is not a book to miss! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Mar 14, 2022
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Mar 23, 2022
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Jan 27, 2020
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Paperback
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60
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| 0575081406
| 9780575081406
| B0073UQ5F4
| 4.52
| 1,036,261
| Mar 27, 2007
| Jun 12, 2008
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it was amazing
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Trigger/Content Warnings are under spoiler tags because there are a fair few of them. (view spoiler)[ Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features de Trigger/Content Warnings are under spoiler tags because there are a fair few of them. (view spoiler)[ Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features descriptions of ableist language, fire and burns, wounds and injuries, poverty and homelessness, beatings and violence against children, whipping, mention of suicide, a joke about suicide, mention of rape, assassination attempt, an attempt to set someone on fire, and massacres. (hide spoiler)] The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss was, for me, one of those books that everyone raves about, and you think, "I'll definitely read that at some point," but some point never comes. Except, this past Christmas I was given it as a Christmas present, and so finally go to read it! And I so wish I hadn't waited so long, because it was so good! The Name of the Wind is the first book in The Kingkiller Chronicle. It's a weird one, because it feels like it starts in the middle of a story; in an inn in a small village, a group of locals are sitting together, listening to the eldest tell the story of a legend. We're not really introduced to anyone as the main character straight away, we're kind of just thrown in. There are a few strange happenings; one of the regulars has been attacked by some kind of beast that's much like a spider, but massive, and seemingly made of stone. The town gets kind of nervous, and people buy bits of iron to keep on them for protection. Meanwhile, Chronicler is travelling somewhere where at first he is robbed, and later heads towards a fire when he realises he's not going to make it to the town before night. But he soon realises the person at the fire is there for a reason: he knows bad creatures are coming. Soon they are attacked, and Chronicler passes out. He wakes up later at the inn - the man preparing to fight was the innkeeper, Kote. Not only that, he's exactly the man Chronicler was going to find. He is a scribe, and he believes Kote is actually the legendary Kvothe - the man most tend to think is a myth. He's come to ask if he can write Kvothe's story. And after some persuasion and discussion, Kvothe agrees; he will tell Chronicler his story over three consecutive days. The rest of The Name of the Wind is day one. It's a coming of age story of a young boy who you know just has had some kind of incredible, because of how people speak about him. But his story is one of tragedy and hardship, and I mean serious hardship. I spent a good portion of the story just aching for Kvothe and everything he has to go through. I don't really want to talk too much about the plot because it's the kind of story where you don't really want anything given away. It starts with 11-year-old Kvothe as the son of the leaders of the legendary troupe of travelling entertainers, the Edema Ruh, and the story ends with at 15, with four years worth of pain and mystery behind him. The Name of the Wind is kind of a slow burner, which, considering it's length at 672 pages, might put some people off. But it's actually completely gripping. At first, there are fits and starts of the magical side of things, with it coming much more of a bigger thing later in the story, but Kvothe only tells us what is important. Everything matters; every one of the experiences he shares lead to the man he is, sitting in the inn telling his story. And his voice! He has such an engaging voice! The story starts off in third person, but switches to first when Kvothe is dictating his life to Chronicler, and he just knows how to tell a story - which is unsurprising, being one of the Edema Ruh! Despite being a slow burner, I was never once bored. And you go through the whole gamut of emotions, as he experiences some of the most difficult of circumstances a child could have, but also joy and hope and amusement! Seriously, I was completely gripped, and never wanted to put it down. What's also interesting is how every now and then, there will be an interlude; a pause in the telling of the story as some element of the story is discussed, or because Kvothe needs a moment. We also now something is going in the present, what with the spider-things, so at the back of your mind you're also wondering when things are going to go down. And towards the end of the book, things really start to pick up, both in the story Kvothe is telling, and in the present day. And mate, it's just incredible! Had I been frustrated by the slower pace earlier on, the end would have more than made up for it. And there's so much more to be told! I can't begin to tell you how much I enjoyed The Name of the Wind! I am so desperate to jump right into the second book! I'm so looking forward to seeing where Kvothe's story goes next, and how more exciting it will become. If you're a fantasy fan, this is definitely not one to miss! ...more |
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Jan 24, 2020
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Feb 04, 2020
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Jan 24, 2020
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59
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| 0008160376
| 9780008160371
| 0008160376
| 4.23
| 182,737
| Aug 30, 2016
| Jul 12, 2018
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really liked it
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Content/Trigger Warnings: This book features a fade-to-black sex scene, a panic attack, ghosts/spirits, slavery, torture, death, and genocide. It's bee Content/Trigger Warnings: This book features a fade-to-black sex scene, a panic attack, ghosts/spirits, slavery, torture, death, and genocide. It's been around two years since I read , but even though it's been a while, I absolutely loved it, and really wanted to continue with the series. And A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir is an awesome follow up! This is a difficult book to talk about plot-wise, because a lot happens that is quite spoilery. A Torch Against the Night starts off moments after the end of An Ember in the Ashes, and follows them as they escape and journey to Kauf, the prison where Laia's brother, Darin, is being held. The focus of this book is getting to Kauf to try and free Darin, so most of the book is the journey northward. Because of this, in some ways, it's a slower, quieter book, but that's not to say a large number of things happen along the way, things I can't talk about. But it's not just a boring story of them travelling from A to B. They discover a lot on their journey, various things happen to them, and things get very interesting, indeed. It's told from the perspectives of Laia, Elias, and Helene, though we get more of Laia and Elias than Helene. I can't really talk about the character arcs or development for Laia and Elias without spoiling things, but they are so very interesting and exciting! Even so, I absolutely loved her chapters! She is a really complex and interesting character. She believes in the Empire, and their superiority to everyone else. But she hates the new Emperor, Marcus, and the Commandant, Elias' mother. Marcus has given her the mission to hunt down Elias, and she's torn between doing her duty and going after the man she loves, or not and risking her family. Because Marcus is a heartless, cruel and ruthless emperor, and will have the respect - or fear - of his people, and will absolutely follow up on his threats. I have conflicting feelings for Helene, because she's not a bad person. She has been brought up, like most around her, to believe that she is superior to others, that the Empire is everything, and the Scholars are below them. They're nothing, and their ill treatment is deserved. And it's just so difficult, because I definitely felt for her and the situations she finds herself in, the decisions she has to make, but at the same time, she doesn't bat an eyelid at the treatment of the Scholars, though we never see her treating anyone badly. So I switch between really liking her as a person, and feeling sorry for her, to feeling absolutely disgusted at some of the views she has, and wanting to scream, "What is wrong with you?!" As I've said several times, there's a lot I can't talk about. But there are a number of discoveries, things that are sure to become important later down the line, there are interesting developments, there are a number of questions that aren't answered, and there are a few jaw-dropping twists that I absolutely did not see coming, and they are just so exciting! It's a real emotional rollercoaster, and I seriously just want to give both Laia and Elias a hug! A Torch Against the Night is an incredible sequel, action packed and completely captivating! I absolutely cannot wait to read A Reaper at the Gates, and see where the story takes our characters next! I have a feeling it's going to be epic! ...more |
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1
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May 18, 2019
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May 24, 2019
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May 18, 2019
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54
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| 1492656623
| 9781492656623
| 1492656623
| 3.79
| 54,090
| Apr 15, 2018
| May 22, 2018
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it was amazing
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4.5 Stars. I received this eProof for free from Sourcebooks Fire via NetGalley for the purposes of providing an honest review. Trigger Warning: This boo 4.5 Stars. I received this eProof for free from Sourcebooks Fire via NetGalley for the purposes of providing an honest review. Trigger Warning: This book features kipnap, attempted murder, and experimentation on people. Being the huge fantasy fan that I am, when I first heard of Furyborn by Claire Legrand, it sounded right up my street. Then, after reading , which was bloody incredible, I was even more excited to read Furyborn. Though I put it off a while after reading a few negative reviews. I should have ignored them, though, because Furyborn is brilliant! Rielle is the daughter of the King's Lord Commander, and as such, has grown up being friends with Prince Audric and Lady Ludivine, Audric's cousin. But she hides a secrets; in a world where people have the magic to control one of the elements - wind, water, fire, sun, earth, metal, and shadows - when holding their cast, Rielle can control all seven, with no cast. And accidentally killed her mother in a fire when she was five-years-old. Since, her father has sworn her to secrecy, forcing her into an education to control and push down her power for the safety of others. But when Audric is attacked by assassins during a horse race, she does all she can to try and save him, letting her magic loose - and almost killing everyone in the city at the same time. It's only the fact that there is a prophecy that there will be two queens who can control all the elements, the Blood Queen who will destroy, and the Sun Queen, who will save, that keeps her from execution. To prove she is the Sun Queen, she must make it through seven elemental trials, to prove she can control her powers, each one more dangerous than the last. A thousand years later, Eliana is the Dread of Orline, a masked bounty hunter who brings in or kills those she is ordered to by the Undying Empire - namely, rebels and those trying to escape the Empire's harsh rule. She's good at it, something she takes pride in, but she tries not to think about it too much; if she cared, she couldn't do it, and this is the only way she and her family can survive. But when her mother goes missing, like many other women and girls have. A rebel captain, Wolf, demands her help, but she only agrees in exchange for his help in finding her mother, and getting her, her mother, and her brother Remy to safety in the free country of Astavar. But while helping Wolf, she discovers what she thought she knew about the Empire's tyranny is nothing compared to the lengths the Emperor will go - and she might be the only one who can stop him. Mate, Furborn was incredible! I did wonder if I would be captivated by two stories set a thousand years apart, but oh my god, I was! The story is told in alternating chapters from Rielle and Eliana's points of view. Each chapter is fairly short, and almost all end on their own cliff hanger, and so I was always desperate to read more. There was only short while for a few chapters towards the beginning where I was more interested in Eliana's story than Rielle's, but Rielle's soon picked up, and I needed to know what was going to happen to both of them! The changes that have happened over the span of a thousand years leaves Eliana's world almost unrecognisable as Rielle's world. There are no more Kings and Queens, no more magic - just the Emperor and his tyrannical rule. They're also set on different continents, so they could have been completely different stories. Everyone knows of the legendary Queen Rielle in Eliana's time, but the world is so different, she seems no more than a legend. But the prophecy is of two queens, and who is which? I have to say, I wish we didn't have the prologue. The prologue is one big huge spoiler. It tells us how one character's story ends - and therefore, who they are - and massively hints about the story of the other, to the point where I was 99% sure about something major, that really, I would have preferred to have discovered over the course of the story as a whole. But even though I knew a hell of a lot more than I wanted to, I was still completely captivated by the story, desperate to know what led to that ending for one girl, and what this would mean for the other. I loved both Rielle and Eliana. They are both hugely flawed characters, and in a lot of ways, they're not good people. Rielle makes choices and keeps secrets that had me shouting at her not to. Eliana has killed innocents, and led children to their death, for an Emperor who wants to rule all. But they're both human. Rielle has kept the secret of her powers ever since she was five, and been pretty much hated by her father ever since. Now she is not only allowed to use her powers freely, to their full extent, she enjoys it. Despite the fact that people are scared of her and what she could do. She's desperate to prove that she can control her power, that she won't hurt anyone, that she is their Sun Queen and will keep them safe - to have them love her, when there's been such a lack of love from her father. Even though she could die in the trials. Even though she could hurt people if she makes one mistake. And this is her motivation behind some of the choices she makes. And the secrets she keeps... well, I can't really comment without spoiling it, but mate, I wanted to shake her! And while I wasn't so interested in the trials themselves (there are so many fantasy novels with trials in, I'm kind of past this trope now), I was completely invested in what those trials led to in her story. She's not just taking part in trials, there's so much else going on. Eliana is a badass. She has been taught from a young age how to be a bounty hunter by her mother, and her mother taught her well. She's not known as the Dread of Orline for nothing. She is deadly with her knives, and no-one can best her. Under the Emperor's rule, this she must do to keep her family safe. Any feelings she has about what she does - about the people she captures and sends to those who work for the Emperor, knowing their fate - she pushes down, like her mother taught. If she feels, she can't do her job. If she can't do her job, she can't keep her family safe. She's made herself hard and cocky, to protect her mind and her heart from what she has to do. But when her mother disappears, all bets are off. When her latest mark, Wolf, a rebel captain she has been commanded to capture, tells her he can help her find her mother in exchange for her help, it's not something she can refuse. And with the added promise of getting her family safely to Astavar, where they will be out of the Emperor's reach, Eliana joins the rebels. But she cares neither for the rebels nor the Empire, only her family, and she will do what she thinks right for the sake of them, only. The relationships in this book! Eliana's relationship with her younger brother, Remy, is just so gorgeous. He's ten-years-old, and he's adorable. And it's so surprising that he has such strong morals, given what his sister does. It is very clear to him what is right and what is wrong, and he hates Eliana's job, and wants her to stop, but she can't. He's a little bit of a dreamer, in that he has hope and believes things can get better, where Eliana is more of the opinion that they should make the best of the crap their in, and keep them safe. But he's so smart, too! And Eliana would die for him. The relationship between Rielle, Audric and Ludivine was also beautiful. They are such good friends, especially Audric and Ludivine, who stick by Rielle's side no matter what - which I sometimes had difficulty with considering Rielle's secrets. But they are so fiercely loyal and stand up for her and support her whenever they can. God, I loved them! There's only the complication that Rielle is in love with Audric, where Audric and Ludivine are betrothed, arranged by parents. This is hard for Rielle, which again, is the reason for some of her idiocy, but I really felt for her. And as a group, the three are just wonderful! I loved them! This book is also hugely diverse! There's no mention of races, but everyone's skin colour is mentioned - no white default! King Bastien has dark skin, Queen Genoveve has pale skin, so Audric is darker than his mother, but lighter than his father. Harkan, Eliana's best friend and lover, has dark skin, and Navi, a princess of Astavar who was spying on the Empire, that Eliana and the Wolf rescue, has brown skin. Rielle has pale skin, as does Eliana. There's also no mention of sexuality, but Eliana has had female and male lovers, and Rille mentions having sexy dreams of men and women. The ending of Furyborn is just incredible, because you realise, despite everything that has happened over the course of the book - and it's a lot - it's only now that the story is really beginning, for both Rielle and Eliana. We haven't yet reached the end we saw for one of the characters at the beginning. There's so much more ahead for both of them, and I absolutely cannot wait! Furyborn was so exciting and completely gripping, and has definitely reaffirmed to me that Legrand is an author to watch. I cannot wait for the sequel, Kingsbane! Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire via NetGalley for the eProof. ...more |
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1
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Feb 09, 2019
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Feb 15, 2019
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Feb 09, 2019
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Hardcover
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51
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| 1473226600
| 9781473226609
| 1473226600
| 3.56
| 5,321
| Nov 06, 2018
| Nov 08, 2018
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it was ok
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Originally published on Trigger warning: This book features child abuse/neglect, body shaming, and slavery. I was really looking fo Originally published on Trigger warning: This book features child abuse/neglect, body shaming, and slavery. I was really looking forward to Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean. A high fantasy inspired by Ancient Japan and Japanese folklore sounded incredible. But I finished the book feeling a little let down. In a world where humans rule, and yōkai, supernatural beings are feared and loathed, Mari is an Animal Wife; a yōkai who has two forms; one a beautiful woman, the other a beast. An Animal Wife's purpose is to trick men into marriage and then steal their fortune for their people. But Mari isn't fully formed; she isn't overwhelmingly beautiful like the rest of her people, and nor can she transform fully into her beast. Unable to to fulfil her purpose like other Animal Wives, her mother has trained her for a grander target: to become empress. You do not need to be beautiful in order to become empress, you just need to be the last woman standing in a competition where entrants have to survive four brutal seasonal rooms in the Palace of Illusions, where death is likely. She has trained her whole life to survive this competition, to become empress, to bring her people the largest fortune possible. But Mari just wants a life of freedom, a life without obligation, a life without the whole before the self. When she makes it to the palace, she discovers the yōkai in magical collars weakening their abilities, enslaving them, and people who would rather see them dead, she realises there isn't much chance of her ever finding freedom, or other yōkai. Taro, prince of Honoku abhors his position. He doesn't want to be prince, he doesn't want to become emperor, and he doesn't want to be the prize in a competition power-hungry women are fighting for. He wants his own life, free to make his own choices. But when he meets Mari, and is startled and intrigued by the way she treats him, he finds himself wanting to know her more, wanting her to survive the competition. Akira, Son of Nightmares, is half yōkai, half human, and Mari's friend. He's been in love with her since they were young, and hates the idea of her competing to become empress, of her marrying yōkai, he worries about what this will mean for Mari. The actions of Mari, Taro and Akira will have far reaching consequences, and they will change the world.
I really, really wanted to love Empress of All Seasons, I really did. Being a YA high fantasy novel that is inspired by Ancient Japan, written by a woman of colour - the kind of book we really need - I was so hoping it would be incredible. The premise is amazing, and there was just so much to love, so that is what I'll talk about first. The world of Honoku is awesome, with the Japanese folklore that heavily inspired it. The yōkai are just so fascinating, so many different kinds of supernatural creatures that kept me googling whenever I came across a new one, to see artist's impressions. The creation story of the world, and the various gods and goddesses, and how they influenced the world we have today, and their own stories and how they treated each other, and the ramifications this had on the world and it's people. The story is narrated by Mari, Akira and Taro. The yōkai are not seen as people, but as monsters. They are enslaved, controlled, and killed. With Mari competing to become empress, she's putting herself in such a dangerous situation; if anyone found out, she'd be dead. With Taro's narration, we get to see exactly what the Emperor thinks of yōkai, his disgust and his terrible treatment. He believes a yōkai killed his wife, the Empress, when Taro was born, and now all yōkai must be controlled, and any sign of going against the Emperor leads to death. Taro doesn't think like his father does, but his father will not listen to him, and doesn't really care about Taro anyway. He isn't the son he should be, wanting more, tinkering away in his workshop, engineering toys. Through Akira's narration, we discover more about how the yōkai are planning to fight back. We meet Hanako, the Weapons Master, a collared Snow Girl yōkai who, uncollared, can kill a person with her ice cold touch. She is the leader of the revolution, planning a war to overthrow the Emperor, and free her people. Hanako is spunky and funny, and probably my most favourite character in the book. And then we have the competition itself. Hundreds of women competing in rooms that are transformed into extremes of the world in each season, trying to survive, work out the riddle they are given, and finding the scrolls that will allow them to go forward in the competition. The rooms are brutal, and difficult, and in those rooms we see the worst of humanity and the best. Empress of All Seasons is also wonderfully feminist. Honoku is a patriarchal world, and Animal Wives are taught what men expect of them, in order to find their husbands.
And yet they are also taught not to give in.
And it's no surprise that women would compete in a competition to become empress, the most powerful woman, when their lives can be so difficult.
For all that's great about this story, for all I loved, I'm just not sure it was executed very well. Empress of All Seasons is a stand alone novel, but I feel it should have been at least a duology. Before Mari leaves for the Palace of Illusions, everything was great, it was paced well, and nicely developed, us learning about the yōkai, the Animal Wives specifically, and their lives. But once she gets to the palace, everything changes. Everything happens super quickly, and is over before you know it. In terms of reading time, we spend very little time at all in each of the seasonal rooms. While for Mari hours are going by, for us, it's just a chapter. And yes the rooms are brutal, and some of the things she witnesses, some of the things the other contestants do are awful, but you barely get time to feel anything or react before it's moved pass. The book is 366 pages long, with three narrations. You get very little time with each narrator, so everything happens quickly; the competition, the plans with the revolution, the romance between Mari and Taro. There was no romance. They know each other for a matter of days, and fall in love without really knowing each other. It happens for too quickly, there's no real development to it, so I didn't feel it. I didn't believe it, and I didn't really care - there was no time to care. And the relationships Mari forms with her other contestants could have been so, so beautiful, with characters we could have really grown to love, but everything moves so fast we don't get the chance. As I said, I think this book should have been a duology. In my opinion, everything that happens after the competition has ended should have been it's own separate book. The first book could have built up the relationships more; the friendship between Akira and Hanako, the romance between Mari and Taro, the friendships and sisterhood between Mari and fellow contestants Asami and Lori. It could have built on the time spent in the seasonal rooms, spent more time on each, making them feel as terrible as they're described. And then the second book could have dealt with the resulting outcome of the competition, the revolution, the betrayal, the war. This story could have been so incredible if it was longer, if it was developed more. Everything is there! It has everything it needs to be an amazing story, but it felt rushed, and I never felt all that connected to the characters or the plot. I was more invested in learning more about the world and it's various inhabitants than I was in the actual story, because everything happened too quickly for me to become invested. And it's such a shame. The story ends with the possibility of companion novels, but whether they'll happen or not, I don't know. There is so much about this story that is undeniably awesome, but I was disappointed overall. A number of people really enjoyed Empress of All Seasons, though, so do read some other reviews before deciding whether or not to read it. Thank you to Gollancz via NetGalley for the eProof. *All quotes are checked against a final copy of the book. ...more |
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1
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Nov 13, 2018
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Nov 17, 2018
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Sep 13, 2018
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57
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| 152474168X
| 9781524741686
| 152474168X
| 3.70
| 10,257
| Oct 10, 2017
| Oct 10, 2017
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did not like it
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Trigger Warnings: This book features animal death, problematic physical and emotional abuse, problematic ableism, mention of suicide, someone being wh
Trigger Warnings: This book features animal death, problematic physical and emotional abuse, problematic ableism, mention of suicide, someone being whipped, someone being stabbed, murder, and cannibalism. I've wanted to read Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao for such a long time! An East Asian inspired high fantasy prequel retelling of Snow White, giving us the Evil Queen's origin story? It sounded absolutely right up my street! However, I finished with mixed feelings regarding the story overall, and uncomfortable and angry over a number of problematic elements. Had I not known this was an origin story for the Evil Queen, I think I might have enjoyed it more. Because of what I've read in the past, when it comes to villain origin stories, I expect either a really emotional, heartbreaking story that is the cause of the villain becoming villainous, or a really dark story, where the villain is naturally cruel. Forest of a Thousand Teeth is kind of neither? Xifeng is abused emotionally and physically by her aunt, Guma, at the very start of the story (which I will come back to later), and everything she does over the course of the story is influenced by what Guma has drilled into her about her fate and who she must be, and while this is terrible, it's actually only a small part of the story overall, and things quickly move on, so it's horrible, but it doesn't have quite the emotional impact. And as for being very dark... Forest of a Thousand Lanterns has it's moments, but they're just that - moments. In the great scheme of things, not a huge deal actually happens for a lot of the book. She's travelling, then she's a lady-in-waiting at the palace, and made to do awful things by Lady Sun, one of the Emperor's favoured concubines, who treats her awfully. Xifeng spends her time doing a lot of thinking and planning, but in regards to action or significant events, they're few and far between. This isn't necessarily a bad thing; it's a quieter high fantasy story, and one I think a lot of people will enjoy (and going by the reviews, have enjoyed), I just think I was expecting more, so feel disappointed. And unfortunately, I didn't really connect with the characters, and so I didn't really care much? I also don't think it really works as a stand alone; while there is a companion novel, , it's told from the perspective of the Snow White character, Princess Jade, and I feel like maybe Forest of a Thousand Lanterns should have been longer, in order to see the darkness that we witness at the end of the book play out a bit. There were aspects of the story I did like, though. Forest of a Thousand Lanterns is actually a fairly feminist story. Xifeng is selfish, but it's a selfishness that comes from partly having her destiny hammered into her with abuse by Guma, and part the world they live in. Xifeng longs to be seen as more than just her beauty, and yet she is constantly told that her beauty is all that she has going for her, so it's a tool for her to use to get what she wants. She has learnt to both dislike the attention her looks get her, but also that it's her ticket to something more. And something more is not only her destiny, but also something she wants. This isn't a world that treats women born into poverty well, nor a world where women have much power, compared with men. There aren't many choices, so why shouldn't she try for something for herself? Why shouldn't she use her beauty to get herself into a position of power? This is wonderfully addressed in her relationship with Wei, Xifeng's lover. Wei dreams of escaping the town they live in, getting married, her staying at home looking after babies, while he works and keeps her. He doesn't understand why this isn't enough for Xifeng; why does she want more? What more could she want? We, the readers, know she wants to become Empress - and, ergo, marry another man - but Wei doesn't. So as far as he's concerned, she doesn't want to stay at home, raising babies and looking after their home, she wants a job. He takes it as a personal insult that she wants more, that she is ambitious and has drive, as if he and the life he wants isn't enough for her. His fury and disbelief that she is refusing this life is something to behold. But Xifeng doesn't want to be controlled. '"Tell me, what more can I do to deserve you?" He yanked his arm from her reach. "Maybe you're too busy missing your Guma's beatings to see what's in front of you, so I'll tell you. I'm a good man, Xifeng. I let you have your own way and speak your mind . . ." "You think I don't know that? That I'm so blind and stupid?" "Yes, I do!" he shouted, his face bright red. "I offer you the world . . ." "Yes, the world as you see it!" "I saved you from that evil woman!" "Only to trap me yourself." She watched him turn away and run a trembling hand over his head. "I was Guma's, and now you want me to be yours. I have my own soul and my own destiny, and I'm tired of belonging to someone else."' (p125) The fact that she wants more for herself - wants her own life, her own dreams, her own ambitions - leads to Wei calling her '"unnatural."' (p126). It's subtle, but Forest of a Thousand Lanterns echos what I've read in other female villain origin stories; if a woman wants to break free of the box men put her in - if they want more, if they have ambition, if they endeavour to be greater than who men decide they are - they're wrong, they're unnatural, they're bad. A woman who strives for her own agency is automatically a villian, and/or the only way for a woman to take ownership of her own agency is through villainous acts. But then we come to the aspects of the book I found to be problematic. Firstly, ableism. One of the characters Xifeng meets and becomes friends with over the course of the story is Shiro, the ambassador for the king of Kamatsu, who has dwarfism. Xifeng describes him as a "dwarf", which in and of itself isn't necessarily ableism; I've asked, and it's a case of some people with dwarfism find it offensive, but others don't. However, what really bothers me is how Dao has Xifeng think of him in her narration. Obviously, it's clunky writing to constantly repeat a character's name - "Shiro said," "Shiro shrugged," "Shiro laughed." But there are other options Dao could have used - "the ambassador, for example, or even "he," But on occassion, when Shiro speaks or does something, Shiro is referred to as "the dwarf." It might not sound like a huge deal, but Dao is reducing Shrio to his disability each time Xifeng thinks this. When you know someone's name, you wouldn't then think, "the Asian" or "the lesbian," because people are more than their marginalisations. And Shiro is more than his disability. It's just not ok. And then there's discussion of how Shiro's wife - who was a daughter of the Kamatsu's king, anb became Shiro's wife through a marriage arranged by the king and Shiro's father, the king's chief adviser - died by suicide because she couldn't bear to be married to him. I know that's a character's ableism, but it made me really uncomfortable. Suicide is such a serious subject, and I can understand how being forced into an unwanted marriage might affect someone, and they may end up with depression, especially in a world where women are kind of considered to belong to the men in their family (fathers, husbands), and I don't doubt such marriages could lead to someone thinking that suicide is the only way out. But for the sole reason given for her dying by suicide is that her husband is disabled? For this to be just a conversation, the only time this woman is mentioned, and it's to say she couldn't bear the shame of being married to someone with dwarfism... I feel it was unnecessary, and really problematic. It just really doesn't sit right with me. It's one small mention in a longer conversation, but I just found it really, really shocking. There are other ways of showing the ableism Shiro would have experienced, but this just seemed too far. And then he says that, "Some of us must rely on friends to see the best within us." (p115) And while I get that's what Shiro might think in the context of his world and his experiences, it still implies that he's somehow lesser for being disabled, for having dwarfism; that his friends see the good in him despite his disability. It's less, "It's what inside that counts," and more implies his disability is a problem, and that people have to see past that, to Shrio the person, to treat him well. And it's not challenged. Xifeng does say he deserves better, but she doesn't contradict the idea that his disability is an issue. I just don't like it. I honestly believe that Dao didn't intend to be ableist, and it just wasn't thought through well enough, but that doesn't excuse it. This should have been picked up. They're tiny things in the overall story, but it matters. Disabled people matter. I also want to touch on the abuse Xifeng experiences at the hands of Guma. As I said earlier, it's a small part of the book in regards to what we see on page - literally only 38 pages at the beginning. But Xifeng is heavily influenced by what Guma thought, what she taught her, what she wanted for her, what she expects of her. And I don't want to spoil things, but I do want to mention that Xifeng discovers that there's a reason Guma treated her the way she did, and that this was her showing her love. No. This is completely not ok. This is such a harmful idea. There is no excuse for abuse, there is no-way abusing someone is showing love. This is incredibly problematic. Can you just imagine a person who has been abused reading this and them reading someone experiencing what they have, and being told it was out of love? This is just a major red flag, and that no-one seems to have questioned it, that it made it's way through to the final copy. Well, of course it did, because - again, no spoilers - the discovery and everything it comes with is actually a major plot point. But in that case, there shouldn't have been any abuse in this story at all. It's actually just horrific that this is part of this story, and really inexcusable. So, the book overall wasn't my cup of tea, and yes, there were elements to the story I liked, but due to it's problematic issues, this isn't a book I can recommend in good conscience. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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May 02, 2019
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May 08, 2019
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Aug 26, 2018
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Paperback
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56
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| 000815239X
| 9780008152390
| 000815239X
| 4.31
| 30,229
| Apr 04, 2019
| Apr 04, 2019
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it was amazing
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4.5 Stars. I received this eProof for free from HarperVoyager via NetGalley for the purposes of providing an honest review. Trigger Warnings: This book 4.5 Stars. I received this eProof for free from HarperVoyager via NetGalley for the purposes of providing an honest review. Trigger Warnings: This book features war and descriptions of dead bodies. I absolutely adored the first two books in the Book of the Ancestor trilogy by Mark Lawrence, and , and getting to know the violent buy fiercely loyal Nona, and the story of the nuns of Sweet Mercy, Abeth, the corridor, and the moon that is failing to hold back the ice. I was beyond excited to read the final book in the series, Holy Sister, and it did not disappoint. It was bloody epic! What's really interesting about this story is that we have two time lines. One, where Grey Sister left off, with Nona, Abbess Glass, and the novies and nobility others have just escaped from Sherzal's clutches, and the other three years later, back at Sweet Mercy. The first time line has Nona and Zole splitting off from the main party with the Noi-Guin shipheart, knowing they would draw the Scithrowl and the Noi-Guin to them by taking the shipheart out onto the ice, allowing the others to make it back home safely. The second time line, present day, has Nona trying to fulfil a promise to Abbess Glass, planning with her friends Ara, Jula, and Ruli to steal a forbidden book the Abbess believes gives instruction on how to control the moon. Meanwhile, the ice is growing and ever narrowing, and the Scithrowl and Durn people have brought war to the empire, as the ice is taking over their lands. It won't be long - weeks? days? - before the sisters of Sweet Mercy will be called on to help fight the war and protect the empire. There isn't a huge amount I can talk about in regards to the plot of this book without spoiling things. The inevitable war is happening, with Queen Adoma of Scithrowl bringing an unbelievably huge army to the walls of Verity, and with her, very little hope for the empire. The odds are exceptionally poor, and outlook is definitively grim. I don't think I've read war quite like it; not only are we in the very thick of things, but Lawrence doesn't shy away from the real and bloody realities of war, without sensationalising them or shoving them down your throat. What's more, through Nona, you care. Neither reader nor Nona may know the dead that are surrounding her, but she is affected nonetheless by what she sees; these are not just the nameless dead, they were people, with their own individual lives. When fighting, Nona can be fierce and calculating, almost cold, but that doesn't mean she's heartless. She doesn't need to know these people to care about the loss of life - the loss of their lives - and as a reader, you can't help but be affected by what she sees and feels. It's a war of epic proportions, and one not without it's casualties. This war is going to hurt. But for Nona, it's not quite as simple as fighting the enemy, but also trying to keep those she loves safe, and her loyalties are divided. But my god, this book is just so clever! So many twists! It's so well plotted! And that Abbess Glass, man, she is just incredible, and I love her and her mind. But it's the final book in the trilogy, which means we finally get some answers. Not all the answers, but enough to give the story a satisfying conclusion. Answers to questions like, is there really a chosen one? What are the powers of the shiphearts? And how do they relate to the Ark? And many other questions that I can't put words to without hinting at spoilers. But mate, it's just so clever! Aspects of it are a little weird and disturbing, others are astounding, and seeing it all play out, and seeing Nona grow as it does. I can't tell you just how wonderful this final book is. And I really just want to start from the very beginning, because the foresight! And now, I want a prequel series that give us the origins to this world, because it's just so fascinating, and I want to know more! The only negative I have is that I wish the book was a little longer, and at the beginning we got to see some of Nona's classes again. There are things that happen in this book - big, important things - relating to certain characters outside of Nona's immediate friend group, and I just would have liked to have seen those characters get more page time. I can't explain more without spoilers, but yeah, I just would have liked to have seen more of certain characters in this book. And because of this, I think it would have been better if I had reread Grey Sister immediately before starting Holy Sister, just so I have those characters fresh in my mind for this book. Holy Sister is a clever, epic, heartbreaking, emotional, hopeful end to this trilogy. The Book of the Ancestor trilogy is just incredible, really, and it's because of this that I don't want to say goodbye. But Lawrence is a high fantasy genius, and I have already bought Prince of Thorns, the first book in his Broken Empire trilogy, so I can read more epic stories. If you loved Red Sister and Grey Sister, Holy Sister will not disappoint. Thank you to HarperVoyager via NetGalley for the eProof. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Mar 28, 2019
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Apr 02, 2019
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Aug 16, 2018
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Hardcover
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55
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| 4.18
| 252,458
| Feb 26, 2019
| Feb 26, 2019
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liked it
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I received this proof for free as a bookseller's reading copy from Bloomsbury for the purposes of recommending/handselling. I review all books I read
I received this proof for free as a bookseller's reading copy from Bloomsbury for the purposes of recommending/handselling. I review all books I read on my blog. Trigger Warnings: Death by earthquake, infertility, suicide ideation, dead bodies, discussion of suicide, and miscarriage. I'd wanted to read The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon since first hearing about it, and then more so when I discovered it's a retelling of the legends surrounding St. George, patron saint of England. And while The Priory of the Orange Tree is a really awesome story, I was quite disappointed with some aspects. But let's talk the positives first. Priory has a really complex and clever plot. Shannon wrote an essay for Unbound, , about the various legends of St. George and how the writers of those legends had particular views of women and religion, and how she wanted to rewrite these problematic legends, and while it's not necessary to read the essay before reading the book, I found it gave an extra layer to the story, knowing what the history of this world is based on. It's really wonderful how she managed to weave all the legends together into this one high fantasy novel, where the whole world remembers the Grief of Ages/the Great Sorrow when dragons terrorised the world after the Nameless One was defeated a thousand years ago, and how they were all affected, and what that means for all the countries of the world in present day. There are four narrators, two in the East, and two in the West. Eadaz du Zāla uq-Nāra has been sent by the secret magical society, The Priory of the Orange Tree, to be a bodyguard to Queen Sabran Berethnet in Inys. There is a legend that as long as a Berethnet is on the Inysh throne, the Nameless One won't wake up and return. The Priory has sent Ead to keep the queen safe, as she currently doesn't haven't an heir, so Eadaz is now Ead Duryan, a lady-in-waiting. With the wyrms of old waking up and attacking, and with assassins making attempts on Sabran's life, keeping Sabran safe is more important than ever. Arteloth Beck, heir to an Inysh province, and close friend of Sabran's and Ead's, he has been forced out of the country by Combe, Sabran's spy master, on the ruse of a diplomatic mission, but really to get him out of the way, as his close friendship with Sabran is hindering Sabran's people from finding her a husband. Sent to the Yscalin, who have turned their back on Virtudom - the countries of the West that follow the religion of the Six Virtues - and now worship the Nameless One, it is very likely that Loth will die, and Combe knows this. Tané is training to become one of the High Sea Guard - a dragon rider. When she sees someone swimming towards the shore the morning before she graduates, she knows this man could scuper this year's graduation; no outsiders are allowed in the West due to fear of the red plague and risk of contamination. Tané seeks the aid of a friend to hide him, so her graduation can go on as planned. Niclays Roos is an exiled alchemist from Mentendon, sent to Orisima, the last Western trading outpost in Seiiki, sent years ago for not giving Queen Sabran what she wants. It's to him that Tané's friend brings the outsider, to hide him, which turns his life upside down. As you can see, there is so much going on in this book, and this is just the surface. Priory is a really well-plotted and captivating story! It has such fantastic worldbuilding; the magic systems, of which there are two. The history and the legends, and the religions, which, together, are the reasons for the bigotry in this world. Those of the Six Virtues pray to the Saint; Sabran's ancestor, Saint Galian, who defeated the Nameless One over a thousand years ago. Virtudom considers anyone who isn't part of the Six Virtues faith to be a heretic. Those in the south worship the Dawnsinger, a prophet who predicted the awakening of the Nameless One (though to be honest, we don't get told much about this religion). Those of The Priory of the Orange Tree worship the Mother, who those in Virtudom call the Damsel, wife of Saint Galian, who, they believe, rescued her and her people from the Nameless One on the condition she married him and converted to Virtudom, but who those at the Priory believe to have refused him, and founded the Priory to fight the draconic hoard, and they call Saint Galian the Deceiver for the lies he has told. Those in the West consider their dragons to be gods, and worship them. Those of the East believe all dragons to be the same - evil - and consider them to be the equivalent of what we would call devil worshippers. Then there are the dragons - of which there are two types. The dragons are really something, because there are the dragons we know of - beasts who breath fire, with large wings, and those of the draconic hoard; the results of dragons mating with normal animals, and then there are the Western dragons - no wings, but can fly due to the crest that draws power from the stars, and can only survive by frequent visits into the ocean. It's so well thought out! It really is quite amazing, and I really was hooked. Priory is also really diverse. Niclays Roos is gay. There is a major f/f relationship, which I'm not going to talk about in any detail, because I think it's better to see in naturally develop. And when it comes to race, I'd say most - if not all - of the races in our own world are present in this book, all over the world, but rather than be seen as different because of race, people are seen as different because of their nationality. I'm pretty sure all the narrators except Roos are people of colour, but I wouldn't want to guess at which of our own races they would be. So the book is really, really awesome. However, my main issue with the book is that it was far to short. In my opinion, it should have been at least a duology, but preferably a trilogy. I didn't realise until over half way through that Priory was a stand alone novel, because I could have sworn seeing ŷ saying it was the first book in a series. But it becomes clear as the story goes on that it really is just one story. And I'm partly glad that I didn't realise until later, or I would have been feeling disappointed by a number of things much sooner than I actually was. There are too many major points in the story that happened too quickly. To give a very vague idea, XYZ would be A Thing which would lead to An Event that absolutely couldn't happen or there would be disastrous consequences. And it always sounded like sorting out the Things to prevent the Events would be epic, but they were all dealt with far too quickly and far too easily. The stakes never seemed that high in the end, for these smaller Events happening throughout the story. And remember how I said this story is complex and clever? So there are a lot of these Things happening, and with them being dealt with too quickly and to easily, it was disappointing. Something would be resolved, and I would think, "Really? That's it? Just like that?" So many of the things that happen should have been bigger, should have had more pages spent on them, they should have been epic, but they weren't. And also, because of it's length we don't really get to see relationships - platonic and romantic - develop enough to be satisfying, because weeks go by where we see nothing. We're often told about what happens off page, but we don't actually see it. So I wasn't really all that emotionally invested in the friendships or romantic relationships. Which meant that when some of the Events happened, or were about to, I wasn't all that bothered by what the consequences might mean for those closest to the narrators. To be honest, I didn't even care about the narrators as much as I would have wanted to either. Ead is the primary narrator, so I felt more for her, but I didn't care all that much for the others, because at times, a large number of chapters would go by where we wouldn't hear from certain narrators at all. There was one narrator who I feel was treated quite badly. They were very important towards the end, but there were chapters upon chapters - weeks if not months in time - where we got nothing from this narrator, and while this happens to all narrators at some point in the story, it felt to me that this particular narrator was, in the beginning, more of a pawn being moved about to put them in a place they needed to be at the end. Their actions in the beginning are important in relation to other characters, and because of where they'll end up. It's like Shannon was thinking, "You will do X, which will lead to Y for this other person, and will mean you are at This Location at This Point in the story." And looking back on it, it feels really deliberate, rather than just how the story happened to flow. And with this narrator being absent from the story for chapters on end... I just think they deserved better. And there's so much that that this character experienced that we didn't see that I would have loved to have been on page. Also, I felt a number of secondary characters were really hard done by. Truydee, Sulyard, Kit, Nayimathun, Aralak, Kalyba, Combe. Even Roslain and Katryen. These characters are all important either for the plot, or important to the narrators or Sabran, but we don't see nearly enough of any of them. I mean, seriously, some of these characters are actually pivotal to the plot. Without them, this story would be completely different. But they get so very few pages. They are too important for the very little we get of them. Their storylines should have been longer; I don't want their storylines changed, but there should have been a hell of a lot more than what they got. And why was Turosa even there?! I did think his character was going to be a major problem, and everthing to do with him just completely fizzles out. He absolutely wasn't needed, which I feel is a disservice to his charater. So much more could have been done with these characters. So much more, if this book was a trilogy instead of a stand alone. I really feel there is so much of Priory that should have been developed a hell of a lot more. There was a lot about the story that left me wanting, and I was quite disappointed a number of times. I did enjoy the story, but I didn't love it. Yes, it's definitely worth a read, but I also feel it could have been so much more. However, a huge number of people absolutely loved this book, so maybe it's just me. Do read a few more reviews before deciding whether or not you'll read it. Thank you to Bloomsbury for the bookseller's reading copy. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Feb 28, 2019
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Mar 23, 2019
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Jul 13, 2018
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Hardcover
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my rating |
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73
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| 4.10
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it was amazing
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Apr 30, 2022
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Feb 26, 2022
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72
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| 3.62
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it was amazing
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Feb 17, 2022
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Feb 13, 2022
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70
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| 4.18
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not set
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Jan 28, 2022
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69
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| 3.50
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not set
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Jan 27, 2022
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71
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| 4.08
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did not like it
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Jan 25, 2022
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Jul 31, 2021
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67
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| 3.59
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really liked it
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May 28, 2021
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May 09, 2021
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66
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| 4.02
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it was amazing
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May 06, 2021
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May 01, 2021
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65
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| 3.89
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it was amazing
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May 2021
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Apr 26, 2021
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64
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| 4.49
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not set
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Apr 17, 2021
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68
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| 3.52
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liked it
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Jan 16, 2022
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Apr 08, 2021
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61
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| 3.87
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it was amazing
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Mar 02, 2021
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Feb 28, 2021
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62
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| 3.77
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really liked it
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Mar 05, 2021
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Feb 15, 2021
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74
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| 4.12
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it was amazing
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Mar 23, 2022
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Jan 27, 2020
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60
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| 4.52
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it was amazing
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Feb 04, 2020
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Jan 24, 2020
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59
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| 4.23
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really liked it
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May 24, 2019
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May 18, 2019
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54
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| 3.79
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it was amazing
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Feb 15, 2019
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Feb 09, 2019
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51
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| 3.56
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it was ok
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Nov 17, 2018
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Sep 13, 2018
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57
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| 3.70
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did not like it
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May 08, 2019
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Aug 26, 2018
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56
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| 4.31
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it was amazing
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Apr 02, 2019
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Aug 16, 2018
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55
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| 4.18
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liked it
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Mar 23, 2019
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Jul 13, 2018
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