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stina77's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
rachelsv's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
meghaha's review against another edition
3.0
Such a cool setting, premise, and grim-dark aesthetic. And I was really stoked to read about a Vietnamese-French main character dealing with the effects of colonialism on his life. The interweaving of Western and Asian mythology was super cool. But there was just something so off about the pacing. I'm fairly sure the fault isn't with the pacing on the macroscopic level--since there was plenty of action scenes and conflict overall--but there was a definite issue with the exposition and how the actual paragraphs were put together. There was so much talking and explaining and thinking--not that I'm against that on principle--but this talking and reflecting was going on during magic fights, violent murders, and action-y scenes, and slowing down things that should have been fast, creating missed beats and a ultimately making for an inharmonic rhythm. It's like the exposition was just wrongly distributed over 400 pgs. Anyhow, it pains me that I don't like this book more, as it's exactly the kind of setting/atmosphere I dig as well as being poc fantasy.
xnolde's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.75
sherwoodreads's review against another edition
ARC provided by NetGalley
Fallen angels have been a popular trope in the last few years, sometimes centered around various versions of Milton’s smilingly cruel and beautiful Lucifer, and so it is here. As Morningstar, he was the leader of House Silverspires, one of a number of Houses in an alternate Paris nearly destroyed by a magical battle called the Great War. Then twenty years ago he vanished, and his student Selene took over the House, whose fortunes have been falling ever since.
The book is set in a noir alternate Paris, Gothic in its haunted destruction wherein shadows contain unknown evils. The city is divided between the Houses and gangs, the former being basically gangs who have formerly grand buildings as their home bases. Through this crumbling ruin winds the black waters of the Seine, dangerously polluted with venal magic during the Great War. Everyone avoids it if they can, because no one drawn into its waters comes out again.
Noir worlds I’ve encountered usually seem to be set in crumbling urban settings, daylight rare. The main characters, however long they have lived, think and act like singles between 25-35: at the height of their physical powers, their time and energy mostly taken up with the slow boil of personal or gang warfare, with time off for gathering power. Relationships—if they happen—are ephemeral, seldom happy or long, unburdened with families. Mostly life is about the alliances built around violence. And so it is here in this darkly Gothic Paris.
In this world, fallen angels exude a fading essence or power that is stripped from them by violence, and has the effect of street drugs like ecstasy, both in addiction and in destruction. Magic is gathered for protection and fighting, including torture, though the old-fashioned cutting edge is also in use. Death is negotiable, and curses also have power.
The story opens with a new Fallen who is later named Isabelle. This Fallen is nearly cut apart by a couple of street gang members, one of whom is called Philippe, an Immortal Viet who has patchy memories of the Jade Kingdom before he was brought to France to fight. No one trusts Philippe, who sustains layers of mystery between those patchy memories, especially when he seems to be a part of, or possible connection to, a series of grisly murders.
The cast widens as Isabelle and Philippe are taken into House Silverspires, whose problems become theirs. The book begins slowly, the stakes escalating when the mystery murders multiply and other Houses circle around Silverspires for the kill.
One surprise that I really liked was the discovery of what is going on under the Seine. I would have loved an entire book about that layer of the world.
Events escalate to a vividly depicted climax, coming to an expert mix of resolution and tantalizing threads. Aliette de Bodard is one of the strong new voices to emerge in the last few years whose work I think will appeal to the upper end of YA, as well as to older readers who like their fantasy dark with a dash of sexual tension.
Fallen angels have been a popular trope in the last few years, sometimes centered around various versions of Milton’s smilingly cruel and beautiful Lucifer, and so it is here. As Morningstar, he was the leader of House Silverspires, one of a number of Houses in an alternate Paris nearly destroyed by a magical battle called the Great War. Then twenty years ago he vanished, and his student Selene took over the House, whose fortunes have been falling ever since.
The book is set in a noir alternate Paris, Gothic in its haunted destruction wherein shadows contain unknown evils. The city is divided between the Houses and gangs, the former being basically gangs who have formerly grand buildings as their home bases. Through this crumbling ruin winds the black waters of the Seine, dangerously polluted with venal magic during the Great War. Everyone avoids it if they can, because no one drawn into its waters comes out again.
Noir worlds I’ve encountered usually seem to be set in crumbling urban settings, daylight rare. The main characters, however long they have lived, think and act like singles between 25-35: at the height of their physical powers, their time and energy mostly taken up with the slow boil of personal or gang warfare, with time off for gathering power. Relationships—if they happen—are ephemeral, seldom happy or long, unburdened with families. Mostly life is about the alliances built around violence. And so it is here in this darkly Gothic Paris.
In this world, fallen angels exude a fading essence or power that is stripped from them by violence, and has the effect of street drugs like ecstasy, both in addiction and in destruction. Magic is gathered for protection and fighting, including torture, though the old-fashioned cutting edge is also in use. Death is negotiable, and curses also have power.
The story opens with a new Fallen who is later named Isabelle. This Fallen is nearly cut apart by a couple of street gang members, one of whom is called Philippe, an Immortal Viet who has patchy memories of the Jade Kingdom before he was brought to France to fight. No one trusts Philippe, who sustains layers of mystery between those patchy memories, especially when he seems to be a part of, or possible connection to, a series of grisly murders.
The cast widens as Isabelle and Philippe are taken into House Silverspires, whose problems become theirs. The book begins slowly, the stakes escalating when the mystery murders multiply and other Houses circle around Silverspires for the kill.
One surprise that I really liked was the discovery of what is going on under the Seine. I would have loved an entire book about that layer of the world.
Events escalate to a vividly depicted climax, coming to an expert mix of resolution and tantalizing threads. Aliette de Bodard is one of the strong new voices to emerge in the last few years whose work I think will appeal to the upper end of YA, as well as to older readers who like their fantasy dark with a dash of sexual tension.
bassgirl456's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
tamarant4's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Every child in the city knew what a conclave meant, and how the previous one had ended—too many people with magical powers, too much pent-up rage and too many grievances. The Houses hadn’t meant to start a war ... [p. 126]
In a Paris devastated by magical war, the great Houses -- many led by one of the Fallen, who were angels but recall nothing of the time before their fall except a lingering sense of loss -- are the only protection against rampaging gangs and general anarchy. Philippe, a former Immortal from Annam (Viet Nam), finds himself connected to Isabelle, one of the Fallen, and effectively imprisoned in House Silver spires, which is established in the ruins of Notre Dame. The head of Silver spires, Selene (who was mentored by Morningstar himself before his disappearance) quickly realises that Philippe is something of a wild card: but she does not expect the horror he unwittingly awakens, and mortal alchemist Madeleine (addicted to angel essence) is unable to counter the damage done by an ancient curse.
The worldbuilding is lushly detailed, melding mythologies from East and West in an almost science-fictional post-apocalyptic urban milieu: the characters are fascinating and their interactions highly charged. Friction between the Houses is exacerbated by rumour and deliberate sabotage. Tantalising hints at what's happening in the wider world kept me reading. There is a lot to like here, and doubtless in the subsequent volumes.
And yet I didn't really engage with this novel, which I suspect was a case of 'right book, wrong time': perhaps my experience was also coloured by the knowledge that the prime villain appears in a spin-off series of romances described by the author as 'fun and fluffy'. I wanted to see that side of him. But I will almost certainly read the other two novels in the main trilogy before branching out to those romances: otherwise, I suspect I'd miss a great deal of context.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture
pagesofash's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
discerninggm's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
An interesting premise but the writing is mediocre.
liinukka's review against another edition
2.0
First of all ... Ngoc Bich? Really? It seems somewhat deliberate and silly to name a character this way when you're writing for an English speaking audience. (No, I don't care if it's beautiful and meaningful in Vietnamese. You should know what it sounds like to English speakers and be prepared for the associations it invokes). I also didn't like how they kept calling Lucifer "Morningstar." I know that's what his name means, but I feel like using it as a proper name just sounds like the author is a try-hard.
At the end of it, that's pretty much why I didn't like this book. It's trying to be something way more than it actually is. The world and characters in it could've been so interesting. I loved the idea of meshing all the various mythos together, from Christianity, to Buddhism, to Chinese divinities. There was so much great potential that the ultimate let-down just feels so crushing in comparison.
When you peel back all the wordy details, what you really get is a very barebones plot with poorly developed characters. The concept of Houses that rule in an almost feudal system after some vague apocalypse/war is very cool, but I was left cold by the story anyway. Why? Because I didn't care about anyone. So, some mysterious entity is killing off members of Silverspires. Uh...so what? I felt nothing. And I think after 400 pages, this is not my fault but the author's fault. If she can't make me feel a thing in the whole of the story, then that's not on me.
It's weird ... it's not as though the characters annoyed me or angered me. I just felt complete indifference. And in a way, that's even worse. /shrug.
Lastly ... I'm getting sick and tired of changing POVs!!! Please, just stick to ONE or learn how to write third person omniscient. I was getting whiplash reading this thing. It kept switching back and forth between 3 or 4 characters. I often didn't even know whose perspective I was reading.
At the end of it, that's pretty much why I didn't like this book. It's trying to be something way more than it actually is. The world and characters in it could've been so interesting. I loved the idea of meshing all the various mythos together, from Christianity, to Buddhism, to Chinese divinities. There was so much great potential that the ultimate let-down just feels so crushing in comparison.
When you peel back all the wordy details, what you really get is a very barebones plot with poorly developed characters. The concept of Houses that rule in an almost feudal system after some vague apocalypse/war is very cool, but I was left cold by the story anyway. Why? Because I didn't care about anyone. So, some mysterious entity is killing off members of Silverspires. Uh...so what? I felt nothing. And I think after 400 pages, this is not my fault but the author's fault. If she can't make me feel a thing in the whole of the story, then that's not on me.
Spoiler
As for the final culprit of the murders ... we were introduced to her way too late. Even Lucifer's appearance was a major disappointment. And when Isabelle died, I wondered whether I was supposed to feel bad about that. (I didn't).It's weird ... it's not as though the characters annoyed me or angered me. I just felt complete indifference. And in a way, that's even worse. /shrug.
Lastly ... I'm getting sick and tired of changing POVs!!! Please, just stick to ONE or learn how to write third person omniscient. I was getting whiplash reading this thing. It kept switching back and forth between 3 or 4 characters. I often didn't even know whose perspective I was reading.