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kingcrookback's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I get the sense that readers might find Eugenides more annoying than charismatic/charming the way Turner intended (God knows I did at times), but I couldn't help doing some research while I was in the middle of the book and he's apparently about 15 at the time this book is set. Explains a lot. And while it's pretty clear that he's somewhere in his adolescence, my major complaint about this book is probably that I'd have liked to have a clearer idea of Eugenides' age.
That aside, I'm fascinated by this world Turner's constructed. It took me until about a third of the way through to realize that this world is less medieval fantasy like I'd--completely baselessly--assumed but more of an early modern fantasy. (Guns exist. They're not as accurate as crossbows, so firearm technology can't be said to be very advanced, but guns do very much exist. As do compasses.) Also--and this is not me saying I have a wide breadth of knowledge on this subject--I don't think I've ever read a fantasy story that was written fairly recently where the gods are both transcendent and immanent. The way they impact the world and the characters is super interesting.Even when they're (ostensibly) present, they're ethereal and a little uncanny. But when they do show traces of humanity, like when Eugenides the thief realizes that Eugenides the god carries a burden of grief for the brother who hated him, it's rather impactful. I think Turner also did a good job of seeding the plot twists along the way. This story is much more than a simple fetch quest, and while the pacing definitely isn't for everybody, some patience and attention to detail will end up paying off.
Will be checking out the next book after I've taken a bit of a break from the world.
That aside, I'm fascinated by this world Turner's constructed. It took me until about a third of the way through to realize that this world is less medieval fantasy like I'd--completely baselessly--assumed but more of an early modern fantasy. (Guns exist. They're not as accurate as crossbows, so firearm technology can't be said to be very advanced, but guns do very much exist. As do compasses.) Also--and this is not me saying I have a wide breadth of knowledge on this subject--I don't think I've ever read a fantasy story that was written fairly recently where the gods are both transcendent and immanent. The way they impact the world and the characters is super interesting.
Will be checking out the next book after I've taken a bit of a break from the world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, and Violence
Moderate: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent
mandkips's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, and Violence
Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, and Blood
Minor: Death of parent
azrah786's review against another edition
2.5
**I was provided with a copy of the book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, blood, injury, murder, death, death of parent, confinement, torture, physical abuse
--
You know those moments when you feel like you’ve read a different book to everyone else… this is one of those for me. After seeing so many raving reviews for this series over the years I was really excited to finally get a chance to read it but it was such a disappointment.
To put it short this book is SO SLOW!
The characters are travelling for half of the book but alongside the leading protagonist getting dragged along on this quest he doesn’t do much else other than eating and sleeping. Some history of the world and a couple of folk tales are shared between the characters every now and again but other than that nothing happens?
It took me way over a month to get to the half way point - keep in mind this book is less than 250 pages - and then I took to skim reading the rest even when the slightly better parts kicked in.
I did start to find myself a bit more fond of the protagonist in the second half of the book but I had got to the point where I just wanted to see the end that even the big reveal didn’t wow me. In fact I feel like I half guessed it would be the case.
Debating on whether I should still give the next book a chance so if you’ve read it and would say it’s better than book 1 feel free to convince me.
Final Rating – 2.5/5 Stars
CW: violence, blood, injury, murder, death, death of parent, confinement, torture, physical abuse
--
You know those moments when you feel like you’ve read a different book to everyone else… this is one of those for me. After seeing so many raving reviews for this series over the years I was really excited to finally get a chance to read it but it was such a disappointment.
To put it short this book is SO SLOW!
The characters are travelling for half of the book but alongside the leading protagonist getting dragged along on this quest he doesn’t do much else other than eating and sleeping. Some history of the world and a couple of folk tales are shared between the characters every now and again but other than that nothing happens?
It took me way over a month to get to the half way point - keep in mind this book is less than 250 pages - and then I took to skim reading the rest even when the slightly better parts kicked in.
I did start to find myself a bit more fond of the protagonist in the second half of the book but I had got to the point where I just wanted to see the end that even the big reveal didn’t wow me. In fact I feel like I half guessed it would be the case.
Debating on whether I should still give the next book a chance so if you’ve read it and would say it’s better than book 1 feel free to convince me.
Final Rating – 2.5/5 Stars
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
szuum's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-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? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, and Violence
Minor: Death
saoreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I felt bombarded with the TMI description in the story's narration, but it was enticing enough to keep me reading through the mystical element of how the main character will show prowess, the tales they share during their travels, and the antics the characters show while travelling to reach a destination. It's a slow read, but it was worth it. In the last parts of the novel, it was interesting to see where the story was leading with the character's way of handling the situation. This was more of a narrative and introductory, so it's understandable that this followed another installation of two other books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Violence, and Blood
mimeflower's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Medical trauma, and War
anntharai's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Genuinely engaging and thoroughly enjoyable.
The writing is excellent and the story as well, I like the characters and can’t wait to get to know them more.
Will be reading the rest.
The writing is excellent and the story as well, I like the characters and can’t wait to get to know them more.
Will be reading the rest.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Violence, Medical content, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
hkburke2's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This was fun! Slow in parts, and a few moments I thought could have been emphasized more (and... It's all men all the time) but this was a sweet lil fantasy. I was definitely not paying enough attention for the twist.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse and Violence
romiress's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Violence
Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
prettiestwhistles's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Violence