mess_egress's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
7susanne7's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
bush42's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
relentlessly bleak and strange. miserable the whole way through. the world was fascinating but it's an exhausting read. the first book in a trilogy, but i don't know if we really needed more. definitely worth my time with it, but i can't imagine going back to this world.
books_on_toast's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
nickwwelch's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
The images of the first pages absolutely grabbed me. But what started off as a prelude to an interesting world was increasing undermined by weak character work.
Also, an increasingly pervasive sense of misogyny and the denigration of sex workers was such a huge turn-off and made it so hard to turn myself over to the story.
But, there a few really interesting scenes and well written passages where the promise of the opening chapter shines through. Finding out the title of the Master’s book? The stuff of nightmares, and I loved every second of that. Also, the cadence of a lot of the dialogue is so damn satisfying.
Also, an increasingly pervasive sense of misogyny and the denigration of sex workers was such a huge turn-off and made it so hard to turn myself over to the story.
But, there a few really interesting scenes and well written passages where the promise of the opening chapter shines through. Finding out the title of the Master’s book? The stuff of nightmares, and I loved every second of that. Also, the cadence of a lot of the dialogue is so damn satisfying.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
madsrgreen's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
ikiefer's review against another edition
This is my second time attempting to read this book. It starts off so strong and quickly comes to a screeching halt. So much potential bogged down by dull characters and lackluster plot in what could’ve been a fantastic fantasy world.
cvc13's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0