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robotnik's review against another edition
3.0
It was so nice going back into this world. It's been a hot minute since I've read Emperor Mage, which is the book that much of this book takes from but a lot of it started coming back to me as the book progressed. Emperor Mage was always my favourite of Daine's books too.
I think the big thing I wanted to say in regardless to that is that I feel this isn't the book for anyone who hasn't read Emperor Mage and the rest of the Immortals quartet. This is, of course, a prequel where Numair (or Arram as he's currently called) is attending the University of Carthak (which does not rip off Harry Potter in any way, an opinion I've seen more than once. Hogwarts isn't the only magic school out there, and the University of Carthak comes from a series that predates Harry Potter, thanks for coming to my tedtalk). There are a whole ton of references that made me go "oooooooh" as someone who's read the previous books. From the relationship between Arram, Ozorne and Varice to the Stormwing statue to the animal gods and so much more. All of these things would be lost on a new reader and honestly mean nothing to them, particularly if they have no interest in going into the Immortals later.
That, coupled with the fact that 99% of this book is just Arram's day-to-day life at school rather than a proper plot, would likely turn off new readers. I admit, it was boring at times. Not always, but at times.
There's no big climax to this, but this feels like a setup to something bigger. Knowing how the world state is ten years later, I'm thinking that's the correct idea.
If you've read the previous Pierce books in Tortall? Recommended. It's fun going back and seeing Numair when he's younger. If you haven't read the Tortall books, particularly the Immortals, this is honestly probably a skip.
I still liked it, though.
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Slavery
mdizzy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Slavery and Violence
Minor: Vomit
swift_r10's review against another edition
- 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? No
3.5
Graphic: Death, Slavery, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Racism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
goldenlake's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Trafficking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual content, Suicide, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship
wordswritinstarlight's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Gore, Slavery, Xenophobia, and Blood
thaliareads's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Death, Blood, Vomit, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Slavery, Violence, Grief, and Murder
This book is pretty dark. While it is for sure still YA appropriate it doesn't hide the horrors of plagues and of the medieval sort of lifestyle. There is also a lot of discussion on slavery as it's still present in the society despite certain individual's horrors at the practice. I might have missed a couple of content warnings as I read this a month ago and am catching up on reviews.annapox's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Slavery, Violence, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Racism, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Trafficking, Abandonment, and Alcohol
auberginehayz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Moderate: Slavery and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racism, Sexual content, and Violence
rhi_'s review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Moderate: Gore, Slavery, Violence, and Medical content
Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death
redkeys's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Slavery, Blood, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Violence, Xenophobia, and Vomit
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, and Pedophilia