Reviews

Příslib krve by Brian McClellan

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rosaceae's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

jscottmassey's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Main characters strong development but female characters lacking character traits. The story it self was a fun read will try to complete the series.

enbyglitch's review against another edition

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3.0

A solid gunmetal fantasy adventure, with a whip-fast pace I greatly appreciated.

I enjoyed the various magic systems at play, though none were especially unique imo - even the best one (powder magic, go figure) just felt like a simplified version of mistborn's allomancy.

I liked the 'french revolution' aspect of the setting, though I think it was more or less forgotten 2/3 of the way through and I doubt it will return.

Also enjoyed the Stormlight/Black Company vibes I'm getting from Kresimir and the other gods, though by the end of the book a lot of power differences between individuals seemed to lose a bit of meaning.

By the end I was ok with the gender dynamics in the world, but I think they could have been handled significantly better. Seems like the author's goal was that women *can* hold any position but very few do... And I'd like the reasoning for that! Also the first chapters of a book can't help but set expectations, so I was pretty bummed seeing the first mentions of women being: vulnerable wife, dead wife, harem, murderer hiding in the harem, cheating wife-to-be. Also Adamat's line about wanting a 'more obedient wife' was big yikes early on.

Would be so much higher on this book if either Tamas or Adamat had been a grizzled old woman, but in reality it really feels like this was written as a boys' novel that included some women in order to get by in the 2010's.

Otherwise just some awkward plot moments - one character who seems to be around the whole book yet only helpfully divulges every secret at the end, another who is introduced as a major character and basically background for the whole book. Alongside the dangers of taking too much powder, I assume she'll have more to do later but felt strange in the context of this novel.

pvbobrien's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

abdallahelfar's review against another edition

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4.0

4.5/5 The book is great but it feels a little off. The whole book follows the formula, the stereotypes of fantasy fiction perfectly. Not poorly it's very well done, but it's so exact in its pattern that if feels false.

enchanteurlitteraire's review against another edition

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4.0

Quelle jolie découverte! Je ne connaissais pas du tout ce sous-genre de la fantasy qui est le gunpowder et j’ai été agréablement surpris. L’histoire se situe à une époque qui rappelle un mélange entre l’ère médiévale et l’ère Napoléonienne. J’ai beaucoup aimé cette ambiance de révolution Française, de complots politiques et de magie à base de poudre.