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lovelee's review against another edition
misogyny off the rails and jokes about SA ðŸ˜
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture and Violence
Minor: Rape
sheyri's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
What story is this even trying to tell? Because it sure isn't the one set up in the prologue. That barely comes up again throughout the book.
There were some good scenes and the descriptions of grief and the horrors of battle towards the end were well done.
But overall I didn't enjoy it.
Overly info-dumpy, sometimes the same details again and again. I didn't care about any of the characters. The women especially felt flat; the "strong" ones are just bad-ass warriors but little else. There was so much going on, but at the same time, nothing was really happening, or at least the plot wasn't going anywhere. Some scenes are very Bollywood (which, fair, just not my kind of thing).
I also feel like the summary doesn't really describe the book. Yes, that's roughly what it is about, but it promises more than it delivers.And why is Mati in the summary? She barely shows up. Shishupal has way more page time and isn't mentioned at all.
There were some good scenes and the descriptions of grief and the horrors of battle towards the end were well done.
But overall I didn't enjoy it.
Overly info-dumpy, sometimes the same details again and again. I didn't care about any of the characters. The women especially felt flat; the "strong" ones are just bad-ass warriors but little else. There was so much going on, but at the same time, nothing was really happening, or at least the plot wasn't going anywhere. Some scenes are very Bollywood (which, fair, just not my kind of thing).
I also feel like the summary doesn't really describe the book. Yes, that's roughly what it is about, but it promises more than it delivers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Violence, War, and Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Torture, and Blood
Minor: Cursing and Genocide
roaming_enn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
4.0
"Nothing like the imminent loss of life to let you know you are truly alive." -Storm
Once I learned that this book is a retelling of the epic Indian poem the Mahabharata--which I didn't know anything about--I decided to try to go into the book as blind as possible. Needless to say, some of the characters I liked were actually supposed to be antagonists in the Mahabharata, and some the characters I disliked were the poem's heroes. (E.g., I liked Shishupal a lot, especially in part 1, and he was supposed to be an antagonist; and I disliked Krishna all the way through, and he was supposed to be a hero.) I thought that was funny.
I still don't know much about the poem, so now that I'm done with the book, I will look at the poem more carefully to see how Mohanty changed it or not changed it.
I read this as an ebook, which made it harder for me to refer back to the character lists and maps. So I found the book to be a bit difficult to follow, especially with remembering who did what. So just be aware that there are a LOT of characters that you'll need to remember. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed it. There were a lot of twists and turns in the plot, characters backstabbing each other, etc. There is some child torture, especially in the beginning, which caught me a little off guard. And of course, war scenes, including graphic murder and graphic rape scenes.
Once I learned that this book is a retelling of the epic Indian poem the Mahabharata--which I didn't know anything about--I decided to try to go into the book as blind as possible. Needless to say, some of the characters I liked were actually supposed to be antagonists in the Mahabharata, and some the characters I disliked were the poem's heroes. (E.g., I liked Shishupal a lot, especially in part 1, and he was supposed to be an antagonist; and I disliked Krishna all the way through, and he was supposed to be a hero.) I thought that was funny.
I still don't know much about the poem, so now that I'm done with the book, I will look at the poem more carefully to see how Mohanty changed it or not changed it.
I read this as an ebook, which made it harder for me to refer back to the character lists and maps. So I found the book to be a bit difficult to follow, especially with remembering who did what. So just be aware that there are a LOT of characters that you'll need to remember. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed it. There were a lot of twists and turns in the plot, characters backstabbing each other, etc. There is some child torture, especially in the beginning, which caught me a little off guard. And of course, war scenes, including graphic murder and graphic rape scenes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Rape, Torture, Murder, and War
mermaid42's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Homophobia, Rape, Sexism, Transphobia, and Violence
naimar's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
3.25
Extremely slow in the beginning, so much that I put it down the first time. This was my second attempt reading this book. It does take a while but the action picks up and becomes very compelling. I do wish some of the characters like Mati had more time to shine, but I hope the second book will change that. It’s full of interesting fantasy mysteries and epic battle scenes. The treatment of women, like in Game of Thrones, was misogynistic at times, but I enjoyed the female characters and want more about them. And I’m always on the lookout for more good Indian-inspired fantasy. Game of Thrones fans who want to diversify their reading should definitely pick this up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Rape
aseel_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
What an interesting and engaging high fantasy!! Was definitely confused at the start and got the details wrong/assigned them to the wrong sides, but by page 80, was all over it and was super intrigued by everyone's story and their connection to the grander picture. I have only read the story about the queen and her five husbands, so this was such a good retelling, but explaining a wider sphere of characters and influences. Keen for the next book
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
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