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spikegelato's review
3.0
3.5 out of 5 stars -- see this review and others at The Speculative Shelf.
Soleri follows five characters who must negotiate an ever-changing web of deceit and conflict as they each vie for power in the sprawling Soleri empire. The story and setting were reminiscent of Game of Thrones but with tighter pacing and an Egyptian flair.
This marks author Michael Johnston’s first solo novel and it’s certainly an impressive debut — it’s equal parts epic and intimate, as we’re dealing with a small set of characters with political ambitions on a large scale. The writing is clear, concise, and moves the narrative along at a nice pace.
I sped through the first half of this novel before encountering a ~100 page stretch in the second half that really felt stagnate and lost my interest. Johnston employs an unsustainable barrage of fun plot twists in the first half that probably should have been spread more evenly throughout the book. It was not until the final few chapters that I was brought back to what was so good about the novel to begin with — twisty, intriguing family dynamics against the backdrop of an interesting world with a rich history.
Soleri follows five characters who must negotiate an ever-changing web of deceit and conflict as they each vie for power in the sprawling Soleri empire. The story and setting were reminiscent of Game of Thrones but with tighter pacing and an Egyptian flair.
This marks author Michael Johnston’s first solo novel and it’s certainly an impressive debut — it’s equal parts epic and intimate, as we’re dealing with a small set of characters with political ambitions on a large scale. The writing is clear, concise, and moves the narrative along at a nice pace.
I sped through the first half of this novel before encountering a ~100 page stretch in the second half that really felt stagnate and lost my interest. Johnston employs an unsustainable barrage of fun plot twists in the first half that probably should have been spread more evenly throughout the book. It was not until the final few chapters that I was brought back to what was so good about the novel to begin with — twisty, intriguing family dynamics against the backdrop of an interesting world with a rich history.
noreadingdegree's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Death, Gore, Slavery, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Slavery
blood, physical violence, gore, animal death, mentioning of sexual assault/rape, death by fire (blistering, suffocation), attempted sexual assault of character, trauma from sexual assault/rape, relationship/sexual content with minor (16 is considered marrying age in this society”, mentioning of genital/other body part mutilations, ablesim (villianization of disability, disabilty used as plot point), villainization of indigenous cultures, slut shaming, unclear consent, sexual content, abuse of alcohol, estranged familial relationshipsnoreadingdegree's review against another edition
4.0
LIKES:
-KEPI: Poor girl has been through some trauma! I enjoyed the fact that instead of letting that trauma overcome her life she chooses to take certain steps to ensure her strength and perseverance prevails.
-HATE TO LOVE TROPE: I just love this trope, okay? and I will never not love it!
-EGYPTIAN INFLUENCE: I have always been fascinated w/ Ancient Egyptian culture and any book delving into that has my undivided attention.
-LGBTQIA+ rep: Although it was a minor character, I liked that his sexuality was not viewed as out of the norm and blasphemous (which may be the case to this book's religion, but it was not delved into more).
-THE LAST 50 PAGES: Boy, did this pages hit HARD. Lots of revelations, conflicts, and mysterious unveiled making me want MORE! The last 50 pages were 4.5/5 alone. After starting a new book, I found myself wishing that I was still in this world.
-CONSENT: A character is forced into a marriage and during their wedding night her husband attempts to have sexual relations w/ her and she says, "No, stop". And he immediately stops and they have a discussion about consent.
DISLIKES:
-WORLD BUILDING: I felt that there was not enough of it. I had such a difficult time visualizing this world and the only reason why I was able to is because I knew that it had Egyptian influence. And I won't say that this is necessarily the author's fault. I think my issue is that I am not familiar with such a setting (trying to remedy this!) and therefore couldn't conjure up a visualization even w/ descriptions.
-REN: To be honest, I found Ren completely fucking boring. We are meant to sympathize w/ his character, but I could have cared less. A majority of his story in this book is centered around missing a family he has never met and saving his closest friends. And I think my issue w/ this is that we were only told about these issues. There was little to no exploration of Ren's time in the Priory dealing w/ being taken away from his family or of Ren's friendships developing. Therefore, I had a difficult time connecting with his motivations. Yes, I understood them, but I wasn't compelled or engrossed by them. He is also a Gary Sue. BORING.
-FEMININE/MASCULINE SISTER TROPE: Although, I loved Kepi I disliked the fact that she was viewed as the ugly tomboy sister who loves to fight and her older sister is viewed as the beautiful and graceful one. Why can't Kepi love to fight AND love to wear a dress!?!?@!?@
-CONSENT: Although, there was a moment of proper consent, the same male character that I discussed above attempts the same moves on another character earlier in the book and the consent was not dealt w/ properly. The 2 characters are in a consensual relationship and it is mentioned that the female character wants a sexual relationship w/ this male. HOWEVER, they are in a public spot when he attempts his moves and she says, "No, not now". And instead of immediately stopping, the male character continues to pursue sexual relations. He then states, "I'm nearly through waiting, Merit". She then replies that it won't be much longer. Ek!
difelicj's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5 stars
This was a really cool world and premise and I liked all the political intrigue. Ren was kinda boring, but I really liked Kepi's storyline and the mystery of the Soleri.
This was a really cool world and premise and I liked all the political intrigue. Ren was kinda boring, but I really liked Kepi's storyline and the mystery of the Soleri.
caidyn's review against another edition
4.0
This review and others can be found on BW Book Reviews.
The only reason I heard about this book was because of Emma, over at Thoughts of a Brown Eyed Girl. It's pretty funny because soon after we started talking, she asked if I wanted to read it because, somehow, she knew about my weird interest in Egyptian history, mainly around Cleopatra VII. When I was a kid, I really knew most things about her. I still know a lot more than I should, but sometimes I have to look up little things online to be sure I've got my facts straight.
The whole reason I'm mentioning Cleopatra is because this book is largely based off of King Lear and Cleo herself. I caught more nods to Cleo than Will, admittedly. There are five points of view from the same family, highlighting various tensions between them. All of them fit somewhere into Cleopatra's family, something that I just loved. There was Arko, the father and king. Sarra, the mother and priestess. Merit was the older sister who wants power (reminding me of Cleopatra or her older sisters). Kepi is the younger sister who doesn't exactly want power, but wants it outside of herself. Finally, Ren is the one and only son, the heir to the throne.
While I enjoyed the characters, I did think that a few things were needed. Sarra's point of view needed more development and backstory to it. Merit's was too male centered for my liking when there was far more to her character than various men. Ren got really dull. The only perspective I liked the whole time was Kepi's, but even then I was hesitant towards the beginning because I didn't like the way it started but her ending was fantastic.
As for the plot, it just felt like a whole lot of set-up for nothing. I was intrigued from the start, but it died down and stayed low until the last fifty pages. That annoys me the most when a lot could have been done to foreshadow things properly. I don't think that the book weaved everything together as well as it should have, something I was worried about for a while with how many perspectives there were. At the end, there was a lot of head scratching done since it didn't make a whole lot of sense. I never had an "aha!" moment.
At the end of the day, I'm definitely going to move onto book two since I loved where it left off for everyone. However, I'm going to have to reread it to catch all of the details that hinted at foreshadowing.
The only reason I heard about this book was because of Emma, over at Thoughts of a Brown Eyed Girl. It's pretty funny because soon after we started talking, she asked if I wanted to read it because, somehow, she knew about my weird interest in Egyptian history, mainly around Cleopatra VII. When I was a kid, I really knew most things about her. I still know a lot more than I should, but sometimes I have to look up little things online to be sure I've got my facts straight.
The whole reason I'm mentioning Cleopatra is because this book is largely based off of King Lear and Cleo herself. I caught more nods to Cleo than Will, admittedly. There are five points of view from the same family, highlighting various tensions between them. All of them fit somewhere into Cleopatra's family, something that I just loved. There was Arko, the father and king. Sarra, the mother and priestess. Merit was the older sister who wants power (reminding me of Cleopatra or her older sisters). Kepi is the younger sister who doesn't exactly want power, but wants it outside of herself. Finally, Ren is the one and only son, the heir to the throne.
While I enjoyed the characters, I did think that a few things were needed. Sarra's point of view needed more development and backstory to it. Merit's was too male centered for my liking when there was far more to her character than various men. Ren got really dull. The only perspective I liked the whole time was Kepi's, but even then I was hesitant towards the beginning because I didn't like the way it started but her ending was fantastic.
As for the plot, it just felt like a whole lot of set-up for nothing. I was intrigued from the start, but it died down and stayed low until the last fifty pages. That annoys me the most when a lot could have been done to foreshadow things properly. I don't think that the book weaved everything together as well as it should have, something I was worried about for a while with how many perspectives there were. At the end, there was a lot of head scratching done since it didn't make a whole lot of sense. I never had an "aha!" moment.
At the end of the day, I'm definitely going to move onto book two since I loved where it left off for everyone. However, I'm going to have to reread it to catch all of the details that hinted at foreshadowing.
prationality's review against another edition
4.0
This book has months to go before its release, so I don't want to spoil anything even with vagueness.
I'm glad to have read this, glad to have a new author to follow in fantasy, glad to have met Kepi and Ren and the world of the Soleri.
I amsomewhat less happy that while some people who deserved to die did in fact die in horrifying, but mostly appropriate ways, a lot of people who deserved to have longer stories perished. Also, whether intentional or not, the book begins with more men in power and ends with mainly women in power because the men died to further plot lines.
Sadly I don't think this is a standalone based on the ending. If that ending IS meant to reference the end of the story, hella lot of questions right there.
I'm glad to have read this, glad to have a new author to follow in fantasy, glad to have met Kepi and Ren and the world of the Soleri.
I am
Sadly I don't think this is a standalone based on the ending. If that ending IS meant to reference the end of the story, hella lot of questions right there.
bentgaidin's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting, even though it didn't quite land for me. I got this as an ARC from Tor last month; that it took me until the book's release to finish it is probably a sign of something or other. Part of it's that I'm not in the target audience right now -- this is packed with action and intrigue as rulers (or would-be rulers) scrabble for power in a hollow empire, trying to shore up their places as the world crumbles around them. Overlooked daughters try to come into their own power, abandoned sons turn away from thrones that they've never known... and unfortunately, we bounce around just a _little_ too much for me to get attached to any of them. Secrets are hoarded, potential allies are turned away, and everyone is just grasping enough to let victories slip away from them. It's well written, and very page-turning when I was actually reading, but I also never felt very good about going back to it. I fully admit that this is just me; in another time and place, the bleakness and desperation might make me want to devour this to see who might ride the wave of collapse and come out on top, but for now, it's just not going to do it for me. Let the next book give me a triumphant queen beloved by her people, or a group of friends making good, and I might come back, but I don't want to just watch things fall apart.
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