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aglassofchardonnay's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
While the descriptions of the book sound pretty cool, but the actual book didn't really stand up to the synopsis. Characters were flat and most of the plot events went completely unexplained. Although many elements were clearly based on some native ideology, nothing was explained to the uninitiated reader.
I read this book for my book club, otherwise I would not have finished.
I read this book for my book club, otherwise I would not have finished.
veraisin's review against another edition
4.0
Four stars for a haunting, memorable, and intelligent story. I truly believe this book deserves any praise it gets. It weaves themes of person vs nature, science vs religion, with current events all in an apocalyptic setting. I enjoyed how the reflecting atmosphere of this book is brought to life by strong characters. However, while this is a great book, I knocked off one star for a couple of reasons. One is that I do not personally enjoy magical realism. By the end of the book, I found Calliope's continued skepticism toward supernatural events a little annoying. As well, I felt that some of the action scenes would often be interrupted by flashbacks or stories from the characters making the scenes not as high stakes as I think they were meant to be. The action scenes often felt thrown into the novel because they had to be there to fit the genre, but rarely did they seem to contribute to the story in meaningful ways. This is evidenced by almost every action scene having the same enemy and the fight being extremely similar to the previous one. This book's strengths are in its lyrical prose, indigenous storytelling, and characters.
audreylee's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A catastrophic event causes a mingling of chaos and regeneration when most of the population disappears leaving a ragtag group to solve the mystery and try to find their way back home. There is a prophet who is ignored...of course and a heavily pregnant woman who seems to be oblivious to the extreme danger of her particular situation. Philosophy abounds.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence
sumaitaah's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
sydsquido's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
timbooksin's review against another edition
4.0
Really well done. Highly enjoyable read. Love the juxtaposition of scientific and indigenous ways of knowing. The mythology got a bit overwhelming at times but I appreciated the way this book brought it all home throughout and in the end. Not sure why I haven't heard more about this one; people are sleeping on it!
acasiamae's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Suicide
mmz's review against another edition
3.0
What happens when Pueblo and Zuni myths meet The Stand (and a little bit of Outlander)? You get Trinity Sight, where there's been some kind of cataclysmic event and suddenly almost all the people are gone. Some of those who remain band together and try to make their way to safety, where, hopefully, they will also find their lost families. What do these survivors have in common, so that they stuck around? Unclear. What happened to cause the upheaval? Unclear.
Maybe it's just me, but overall this whole book was just very unclear. By the end, I felt like I had a sense of what was going on, but I never felt like I had a clear picture. Likewise, many of the characters felt hazy. Perhaps this is appropriate for a book that is based in myths, but it makes reading somewhat challenging. A little more clarity would have gone a long way toward helping me to understand what Givhan's ultimate message is.
Maybe it's just me, but overall this whole book was just very unclear. By the end, I felt like I had a sense of what was going on, but I never felt like I had a clear picture. Likewise, many of the characters felt hazy. Perhaps this is appropriate for a book that is based in myths, but it makes reading somewhat challenging. A little more clarity would have gone a long way toward helping me to understand what Givhan's ultimate message is.
madelynraymond's review against another edition
2.0
I received this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Trinity Rising: 2/5 stars
There are a few factors contributing to why I rated this book two stars.
Firstly, I found it confusing to understand at times. Zuni folklore ties heavily into the plot, which I think needed a little more explaining for the sake of the reader. It's evident from the text that the author has a lot of passion for Zuni culture and has put hours of research into that passion. However, for readers like myself who aren't as knowledgeable, it made the reading experience somewhat difficult. Since there aren't many other reviews yet, I can't be sure if this was an issue with my own comprehension or an actual problem.
On top of that, magical realism and I don't tend to get along. The more I read within this genre, the more I'm figuring that out. Even though I attempted to suspend my disbelief, this was a hard read for me to get through. I found it to be somewhat similar to Haruki Murakami's 1Q84, both in plot and writing style. I wouldn't be surprised if this book was somewhat inspired by it. I had the same issues with both novels; the romantic relationship came out of nowhere, the conclusion was a bit unsatisfying and left me wondering more, and things just became a little too weird at times.
The things I really enjoyed were the writing style, the developed side characters, and the book's overall atmosphere. It was fun to read a diverse cast, all with unique personalities. Even if this wasn't the book for me, I always appreciate a well-developed set of characters.
Trinity Rising: 2/5 stars
There are a few factors contributing to why I rated this book two stars.
Firstly, I found it confusing to understand at times. Zuni folklore ties heavily into the plot, which I think needed a little more explaining for the sake of the reader. It's evident from the text that the author has a lot of passion for Zuni culture and has put hours of research into that passion. However, for readers like myself who aren't as knowledgeable, it made the reading experience somewhat difficult. Since there aren't many other reviews yet, I can't be sure if this was an issue with my own comprehension or an actual problem.
On top of that, magical realism and I don't tend to get along. The more I read within this genre, the more I'm figuring that out. Even though I attempted to suspend my disbelief, this was a hard read for me to get through. I found it to be somewhat similar to Haruki Murakami's 1Q84, both in plot and writing style. I wouldn't be surprised if this book was somewhat inspired by it. I had the same issues with both novels; the romantic relationship came out of nowhere, the conclusion was a bit unsatisfying and left me wondering more, and things just became a little too weird at times.
The things I really enjoyed were the writing style, the developed side characters, and the book's overall atmosphere. It was fun to read a diverse cast, all with unique personalities. Even if this wasn't the book for me, I always appreciate a well-developed set of characters.