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mhor's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
3.5
I ended up skimming the last few bits. I don’t mind sex but it was interfering with my enjoyment of the story.
Also I don’t know why but with poly relationships I always prefer it to be an established pair that then fall in love with a third than to start at the beginning like this.
Other than that I enjoyed this. Curious about Chass and their book next.
Also I don’t know why but with poly relationships I always prefer it to be an established pair that then fall in love with a third than to start at the beginning like this.
Other than that I enjoyed this. Curious about Chass and their book next.
sloreads_ca's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
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? No
4.5
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Mercenaries of the Stolen Moon is set in an alternate universe, in a Renaissance-like period, with small, fractious nation-states. The locality is hard to place, but southern Europe or the Middle East seems close. The country of Harken is fantastic. Gender is not assigned at birth in Harken; it's chosen. Clothing isn't gendered, nor are jobs, roles, names, etc. Same-sex couples use surrogates called Dames or Sires to have offspring, and the arrangements are formalized, respectful and normalized. It was tricky when introducing characters or items, as the gender assignment was the opposite of what I'm accustomed to. It was a good challenge for my brain and an opportunity to realize preconceived notions. It's a beautiful country and a superb concept to explore.
I am not a fan of Soltorin. I hope the High King can bring the progressiveness of Harken to Soltorin. Content Warning for dead naming and references to abuse. The journey there was pretty tense, though Jac and Charlaine used their time together well.
Mercenaries of the Stolen Moon is a good story, with a great cast, in an exciting world.
Mercenaries of the Stolen Moon is set in an alternate universe, in a Renaissance-like period, with small, fractious nation-states. The locality is hard to place, but southern Europe or the Middle East seems close. The country of Harken is fantastic. Gender is not assigned at birth in Harken; it's chosen. Clothing isn't gendered, nor are jobs, roles, names, etc. Same-sex couples use surrogates called Dames or Sires to have offspring, and the arrangements are formalized, respectful and normalized. It was tricky when introducing characters or items, as the gender assignment was the opposite of what I'm accustomed to. It was a good challenge for my brain and an opportunity to realize preconceived notions. It's a beautiful country and a superb concept to explore.
I am not a fan of Soltorin. I hope the High King can bring the progressiveness of Harken to Soltorin. Content Warning for dead naming and references to abuse. The journey there was pretty tense, though Jac and Charlaine used their time together well.
Mercenaries of the Stolen Moon is a good story, with a great cast, in an exciting world.
iam's review against another edition
5.0
Another wonderful addition to one of my favourite series!
Content warnings include: sex on-page, violence and death, misgendering and deadnaming, effects of colonialism, execution through staking/exposure to sun, kidnapping, misogyny; mentions of patricide.
The Mercenaries of the Stolen Moon, fourth book in the Tales of the High Court series, gives much deserved loved to some well established characters from previous books: Jac, Myra and Charlaine. As a secretary and two bodyguards for varying reasons, they seem so entirely different and like there's barely any connection, but they fit wonderfully.
I loved all three of them, and especially Jac was a delight to read about. The book is casually diverse, with many characters, including the protagonists, being PoC. Myra is trans and Charlaine is explicitly demisexual.
The language used and the culture of Harken, the empire these three serve, is diverse and very inclusive of trans people in many ways, though not all countries in the world are the same. These countries' views are treated as backwards and are always textually challenged.
I enjoyed the romance between the three protagonists. There was natural progression and it helped that all three were established and known characters from the previous books and already friends or friendly acquaintances. While it would be possible to read The Mercenaries of the Stolen Moon without knowing the other books of the series, I highly recommend reading the others first, if only to get the context of the various political machinations and countless side characters in the background.
The plot is centered around Myra's past clashing with the present. It's well done and was an enjoyable read for me, though in hindsight maybe not paced perfectly. Like in the previous books, the main characters actually spend a big part of it apart, but that didn't bother me.
While the book is frequently violent with high stakes involved and dramatic and heartbreaking pasts and presents being revealed, there were also several scenes that made me smile and laugh out loud. Seeing glimpses of the previous books' protagonists being happy was great, and the running jokes around Charlaine's excellent behind, Jac's comments and Charlaine's reactions to these, made me grin a lot.
There were also clear setups for the next book in the series, some of which already started in The Heart of the Lost Star. They mainly revolves around a secondary character who was introduced by name and horrific actions in book1. I got curious about him in book3 already, and book4 only made me more excited about book5, where he will be a protagonist. I'm a bit wary of the whole redemption of a known abuser thing, but there clearly was and is more going on behind the scenes than we know of yet, and I'm willing to let myself be surprised.
A topic that might not be in the foreground but is present much of the time is colonialism, or rather the effects of colonialism. Loss and criminalisation of traditions is very present, and the references to western white people forcing their ways on south-east-asian countries are not at all subtle.
Content warnings include: sex on-page, violence and death, misgendering and deadnaming, effects of colonialism, execution through staking/exposure to sun, kidnapping, misogyny; mentions of patricide.
The Mercenaries of the Stolen Moon, fourth book in the Tales of the High Court series, gives much deserved loved to some well established characters from previous books: Jac, Myra and Charlaine. As a secretary and two bodyguards for varying reasons, they seem so entirely different and like there's barely any connection, but they fit wonderfully.
I loved all three of them, and especially Jac was a delight to read about. The book is casually diverse, with many characters, including the protagonists, being PoC. Myra is trans and Charlaine is explicitly demisexual.
The language used and the culture of Harken, the empire these three serve, is diverse and very inclusive of trans people in many ways, though not all countries in the world are the same. These countries' views are treated as backwards and are always textually challenged.
I enjoyed the romance between the three protagonists. There was natural progression and it helped that all three were established and known characters from the previous books and already friends or friendly acquaintances. While it would be possible to read The Mercenaries of the Stolen Moon without knowing the other books of the series, I highly recommend reading the others first, if only to get the context of the various political machinations and countless side characters in the background.
The plot is centered around Myra's past clashing with the present. It's well done and was an enjoyable read for me, though in hindsight maybe not paced perfectly. Like in the previous books, the main characters actually spend a big part of it apart, but that didn't bother me.
While the book is frequently violent with high stakes involved and dramatic and heartbreaking pasts and presents being revealed, there were also several scenes that made me smile and laugh out loud. Seeing glimpses of the previous books' protagonists being happy was great, and the running jokes around Charlaine's excellent behind, Jac's comments and Charlaine's reactions to these, made me grin a lot.
There were also clear setups for the next book in the series, some of which already started in The Heart of the Lost Star. They mainly revolves around a secondary character who was introduced by name and horrific actions in book1. I got curious about him in book3 already, and book4 only made me more excited about book5, where he will be a protagonist. I'm a bit wary of the whole redemption of a known abuser thing, but there clearly was and is more going on behind the scenes than we know of yet, and I'm willing to let myself be surprised.
A topic that might not be in the foreground but is present much of the time is colonialism, or rather the effects of colonialism. Loss and criminalisation of traditions is very present, and the references to western white people forcing their ways on south-east-asian countries are not at all subtle.
kira_dance's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? No
3.5
jfreud's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
fellumhistane's review
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
terriaminute's review against another edition
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
5.0
The worldbuilding in this series continues to be impressive, as do the character arcs. Assassins attack a festival, murder many, then the man who escaped them two decades ago sacrifices himself to save his friends--who fight it, but lose. Then get very unexpected help mounting a rescue. It is just as fraught and violent as you'd expect, but the pair are funnier than I expected and the three of them are perfect, if now about to die. I did not find the violence as overt as it could've been, but for sure the body count is high. Given the setting, there wasn't a choice.
CW: dead-naming from bad guys, misogyny ditto, on-page violence.
On to the last book. Potentially even more violent, given that setting, and one of the MCs.
CW: dead-naming from bad guys, misogyny ditto, on-page violence.
On to the last book. Potentially even more violent, given that setting, and one of the MCs.