lassarina's review against another edition
3.0
I've been waffling back and forth most of the day about how I wanted to review this book. I liked it; certainly I was interested enough to know how everything was going to turn out that I went and added the sequel to my wish list so I'd remember to pick it up. It was when I went to do that that I realized why. Amazon describes this trilogy as "literary fantasy," and that--or rather, what it implies--is what has been rubbing me the wrong way.
The good: The characters are well-characterized, the writing is solid, the worldbuilding is excellent (particularly the presentation of religion and how it interacts with daily life), and the plot follows logically along without sidebars into "and where did that deus ex machina come from?" Firethorn and Sire Galan are engaging...but.
I will admit I'm not a fan of literary fiction. I get an awful lot of grit and tedium and sadness in day-to-day life; I don't want it in my pretendy funtimes. I read for escapism. I didn't really get that here; while the characters are interesting, they're also very frustrating. There's a strong thread of realism here, from the frequent pettiness of the characters to the amount of detail about bodily functions and the filth of a pre-Renaissance society (and the place of those without wealth or title in it), but because of that, I felt rather worn-down by the book.
I also found it long; it wasn't tedious to read, but at the point where the book ended (after 500-some pages), I felt like I was at the point in the plot where I'd expect to be after 200 pages. I realize this is the first book of a trilogy, but even then, I felt like there was a long grinding time of daily-life minutiae rather than plot going on, and it was somewhat tiring.
In a lot of ways, this book reminds me of a grittier, darker mirror of the Kushiel's Legacy books; low where that is high, the main character is a camp follower rather than a cherished courtesan, a world where the gods work but they do so with the lightest of touches rather than direct intervention, and where sex is often a business transaction rather than a sacred act of worship. I almost feel like I've been handed a genre contract that was fulfilled in the letter but badly twisted in the spirit, both in terms of a fantasy novel and in terms of a romance.
As I said above, I'm interested enough in the world and the (glacially moving) plot to pursue the next book, but I think I will go into it with more reasonable expectations.
The good: The characters are well-characterized, the writing is solid, the worldbuilding is excellent (particularly the presentation of religion and how it interacts with daily life), and the plot follows logically along without sidebars into "and where did that deus ex machina come from?" Firethorn and Sire Galan are engaging...but.
I will admit I'm not a fan of literary fiction. I get an awful lot of grit and tedium and sadness in day-to-day life; I don't want it in my pretendy funtimes. I read for escapism. I didn't really get that here; while the characters are interesting, they're also very frustrating. There's a strong thread of realism here, from the frequent pettiness of the characters to the amount of detail about bodily functions and the filth of a pre-Renaissance society (and the place of those without wealth or title in it), but because of that, I felt rather worn-down by the book.
I also found it long; it wasn't tedious to read, but at the point where the book ended (after 500-some pages), I felt like I was at the point in the plot where I'd expect to be after 200 pages. I realize this is the first book of a trilogy, but even then, I felt like there was a long grinding time of daily-life minutiae rather than plot going on, and it was somewhat tiring.
In a lot of ways, this book reminds me of a grittier, darker mirror of the Kushiel's Legacy books; low where that is high, the main character is a camp follower rather than a cherished courtesan, a world where the gods work but they do so with the lightest of touches rather than direct intervention, and where sex is often a business transaction rather than a sacred act of worship. I almost feel like I've been handed a genre contract that was fulfilled in the letter but badly twisted in the spirit, both in terms of a fantasy novel and in terms of a romance.
As I said above, I'm interested enough in the world and the (glacially moving) plot to pursue the next book, but I think I will go into it with more reasonable expectations.
novelinsights's review
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Firethorn is a character-led high fantasy novel about the life of a woman named, well, Firethorn. The story takes place in a fairly classic Medieval/Renaissance Europe-inspired world, with the only magical element being the system of gods in which the characters of this world believe. That said, while Firethorn wholeheartedly believes in these gods, their will is largely interpreted by divination and the interpretation of chance occurrences, so the true existence of these gods is a little ambiguous.
The story starts very slow with a chapter of summary about the early period of Firethorn's life and a year she spends living off the land in the forest, but after this and a few more chapters, we reach the meat of the story, in which she finds herself a place as the 'sheath' of a soldier, or the lowborn woman he takes to war for sex while his highborn wife stays safely at home. Now, as I said, this is a character-heavy story, and it really has very little plot. Her soldier, Galan, travels with her to a larger camp where many different armies rest together, and they have tournaments while they wait to go to war. Meanwhile, there is drama among the houses camped there, which provides the majority of the actually interesting events of the novel.
In theory, I've always liked the idea of smaller, more human stories being told with the backdrop of something bigger happening. However, this one didn't work as well for me. Part of it, I think, was just the writing style. The narration was very distant and constantly interspersed with summary; had the book featured more moments strongly rooted in scene, I might have been able to get more into it.
My other main complaint was that this story is, at its heart, a romance, and I couldn't personally get behind the romance in question. I'm sure her title of sheath tells you that this is a very sexist world (standard for Medieval fantasy, though a trope I prefer to do without in my fantasy if possible), and it's classist, as well. Her relationship with her soldier is incredibly imbalanced. Sometimes, this can still work if the individual with power treats the "lower" individual as an equal during their interpersonal interactions, but that was not the case here. Galan is an incredibly jealous man (though he, of course, has a wife and could also sleep with any other woman who wanted him without society considering him in the wrong) and did exercise his power over Firethorn. Though he claimed to have true feelings for her, it didn't stop him from treating her like property, and I couldn't bring myself to root for their relationship. There was also a plot point involving a rivalry between Firethorn and another woman who also wanted Galan's affections--
This book had interesting sections, and I think it could have worked better if the same general material were presented differently, but in general, it was a bit of a slog for me and I don't intend to continue with the series.
The story starts very slow with a chapter of summary about the early period of Firethorn's life and a year she spends living off the land in the forest, but after this and a few more chapters, we reach the meat of the story, in which she finds herself a place as the 'sheath' of a soldier, or the lowborn woman he takes to war for sex while his highborn wife stays safely at home. Now, as I said, this is a character-heavy story, and it really has very little plot. Her soldier, Galan, travels with her to a larger camp where many different armies rest together, and they have tournaments while they wait to go to war. Meanwhile, there is drama among the houses camped there, which provides the majority of the actually interesting events of the novel.
In theory, I've always liked the idea of smaller, more human stories being told with the backdrop of something bigger happening. However, this one didn't work as well for me. Part of it, I think, was just the writing style. The narration was very distant and constantly interspersed with summary; had the book featured more moments strongly rooted in scene, I might have been able to get more into it.
My other main complaint was that this story is, at its heart, a romance, and I couldn't personally get behind the romance in question. I'm sure her title of sheath tells you that this is a very sexist world (standard for Medieval fantasy, though a trope I prefer to do without in my fantasy if possible), and it's classist, as well. Her relationship with her soldier is incredibly imbalanced. Sometimes, this can still work if the individual with power treats the "lower" individual as an equal during their interpersonal interactions, but that was not the case here. Galan is an incredibly jealous man (though he, of course, has a wife and could also sleep with any other woman who wanted him without society considering him in the wrong) and did exercise his power over Firethorn. Though he claimed to have true feelings for her, it didn't stop him from treating her like property, and I couldn't bring myself to root for their relationship. There was also a plot point involving a rivalry between Firethorn and another woman who also wanted Galan's affections--
Spoiler
a woman so unbearably obnoxious that I was excited when she finally died.This book had interesting sections, and I think it could have worked better if the same general material were presented differently, but in general, it was a bit of a slog for me and I don't intend to continue with the series.
midrel's review against another edition
4.0
This book was in many ways an unexpected surprise. I had come upon it a few times while searching for things to read, but the summary never really caught me until recently, when I started struggling again with Anna Karenina and decided I needed something new.
And oh boy, was this book wonderful.
I loved above all the character-drivenness of the plot. Our main character, Firethorn, was such a joy to get to know. I also loved that her story felt natural to the world in which she lived she. It was always enjoyable to read about her, even if the prologue felt a little plodding at times. The rest of the cast was also acceptably interesting, though obviously some more than others.
The world setting was also superb, and very well done. It obviously drew from the common middle-ages european setting, or so it felt, but it was given a life of its own thanks to the many subtle fantasy elements woven around its history and mythology, all of them pervasive but low-key, enough to give the whole a life of its own that made it if not utterly separate then at least acceptably different. I found it specially refreshing after so many books with incarnated gods and the like (not that I don't love those too).
And oh boy, was this book wonderful.
I loved above all the character-drivenness of the plot. Our main character, Firethorn, was such a joy to get to know. I also loved that her story felt natural to the world in which she lived she. It was always enjoyable to read about her, even if the prologue felt a little plodding at times. The rest of the cast was also acceptably interesting, though obviously some more than others.
The world setting was also superb, and very well done. It obviously drew from the common middle-ages european setting, or so it felt, but it was given a life of its own thanks to the many subtle fantasy elements woven around its history and mythology, all of them pervasive but low-key, enough to give the whole a life of its own that made it if not utterly separate then at least acceptably different. I found it specially refreshing after so many books with incarnated gods and the like (not that I don't love those too).
ibazel's review against another edition
At some point when I was 15 I got really into capital A-Adult fantasy stuff, which in hindsight is a little weird
raygina's review against another edition
1.0
The world was interesting in the beginning and the story had promise. I just did not like it.
bookfortbuilder's review against another edition
Way too slow for what I need right now.
kesherwo's review
Language was very dense and made the plot move at a dismal speed
lottpoet's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
unsquare's review against another edition
5.0
This one started off slow, but once I got used to the period style, I was hooked, and ended up thoroughly enjoying it, possibly more than I expected. The book is basically a romance set in a sort of alternate medieval times. What little touches of fantasy are present are very subtle. Overall the book is pretty straightforward period literature. Class and the structure of this little society were a big part of the book, and everything was very well drawn, down to the last detail. I'm glad to know it's a planned trilogy... I'm curious to see What Happens Next.
laurajnelson's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0