queenkath32's review
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
1.75
This ultimately ended up being way longer than it needed to be, I think. Or at the very least I would have cut a lot out from the middle, and made the end feel less rushed. And to think that the author’s note said this was longer before his editor trimmed it down! I wavered between liking and not liking Daviot, mostly because of all his pining. The insta-love plot did not work for me in this, and neither did the way several of the characters changed once the dragons got introduced. It was like everything else went out the window and the only thing that mattered were the dragons by the end. And that still somehow ended up being the most interesting section of the book
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Violence
tsilverman's review
5.0
I can't give this book anything less than 5 stars. I first found this book about 20 years ago in a used bookstore. I randomly chose it, mostly because it was one of those few sci-fi/fantasy books that are a standalone. It was my first grown up fantasy book I ever read, and it lead me to love the genre as a whole. After re-reading it now, I'm not sure I ever finished it back then, because I don't remember the ending from before.
But that's not to say the book didn't stick with me. I very clearly remember, and often still think about, the passages about memory and responsibility I guess. If you can't remember the things you've done, should you be held accountable for them? In your mind, you didn't do those things, whatever those things may be. But someone who used to be you did them. So who can be held accountable? It's not an easy question to answer, but it is an easy debate to get into (in my head).
I do wish the ending would have been a little more put together, especially as concerns the other characters that aren't Daviot. But then, he's the Storyman, after all.
Even though I chose this book because it was a stand alone, I now wish there was more. I'll miss Daviot, Rwyan, Urt and Tezdal. And the dragons, too.
But that's not to say the book didn't stick with me. I very clearly remember, and often still think about, the passages about memory and responsibility I guess. If you can't remember the things you've done, should you be held accountable for them? In your mind, you didn't do those things, whatever those things may be. But someone who used to be you did them. So who can be held accountable? It's not an easy question to answer, but it is an easy debate to get into (in my head).
I do wish the ending would have been a little more put together, especially as concerns the other characters that aren't Daviot. But then, he's the Storyman, after all.
Even though I chose this book because it was a stand alone, I now wish there was more. I'll miss Daviot, Rwyan, Urt and Tezdal. And the dragons, too.
dracoaestas's review
3.0
An enjoyable read with an interesting storyline and writing style (which fit the main character very well), but the pacing was somewhat awkward. To explain (some spoilers): most of the book had a very slow, gradual pacing but the very end and a few other portions were paced comparatively rapidly, which was rather jarring. Another small issue I had with the book was the seeming lack of agency in the characters themselves. Most of their journeys felt meandering and directionless. They lacked agency over their fates and progression until the very end, at which point they had more control over these things than literally any other character in that world, which was again a bit jarring. Otherwise a good story, definitely worth reading besides these issues. And, of course, I loved the dragons in the story.
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