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frawst_disasta_reads's review against another edition
The font was too small and I kept getting headaches from eye strain.
darkskybooks's review
3.0
I somewhat regret listening to the audiobook version of this. I found the narration to be not great, leaning heavily on some cultural stereotype for the accents used - a little bit offensive to listen to. The story itself is set in a clever take on a steampunk world, with vast machinery powered by blood lotus, a plant that has 'particular' needs to grow and produces a vast amount of pollution when used. The military industrial complex that it powers forms the backbone of the society - a scarily believable allegory for modern capitalism and hydrocarbons. The world building here is well done.
The story mostly follows the daughter of the chief tracker of the emperor, being sent to capture a thunder tiger - a griffon like beast. Some characters are a bit one dimensional - I found the childlike petulance of the emperor somewhat grating. The motivations are a bit confused as well. However, they are all distinctive and interesting. The plot is somewhat generic, with its main distinction being the world and the female lead. Kristoff writes with a very accessible and conversational style which is fun and easy to follow and this book is no exception to that.
Overall a fun fantasy romp. Avoid the audiobook though.
The story mostly follows the daughter of the chief tracker of the emperor, being sent to capture a thunder tiger - a griffon like beast. Some characters are a bit one dimensional - I found the childlike petulance of the emperor somewhat grating. The motivations are a bit confused as well. However, they are all distinctive and interesting. The plot is somewhat generic, with its main distinction being the world and the female lead. Kristoff writes with a very accessible and conversational style which is fun and easy to follow and this book is no exception to that.
Overall a fun fantasy romp. Avoid the audiobook though.
miffyf's review
4.0
There are some classic tropes in this - but it's all so much fun that you just skip right over them. Yukiko an awesome, kick-ass hero: daughter of the Shogun's hunt master, and member of the Fox clan, she is dragged along on a quest to capture an arashitora - an animal which has not been seen in the befouled skies of the Shima Isles for many years.
Kristoff skilfully weaves myth and adventure with climate and gender issues, producing an unusual and entertaining fantasy quest. I'm looking forward to getting stuck into the second in this series, Kinslayer.
Kristoff skilfully weaves myth and adventure with climate and gender issues, producing an unusual and entertaining fantasy quest. I'm looking forward to getting stuck into the second in this series, Kinslayer.
mimi_joe_lit's review against another edition
3.0
une fantasy orientale fort sympathique quoique un peu maladroite sur certains points.
Si comme moi vous aimez les récits de fantasy orientale avec des créatures légendaires, un perso féminin trop badass et une bonne dose de steampunk alors vous êtes au bon endroit mais avant ça il va falloir s'accrocher car les 50 premières pages du roman sont un peu dures à passer.
Dans les 50 premieres pages on a beaucoup de descriptions très détaillées sur l'univers et son fonctionnement avec des termes spécifiques propre à la culture asiatique que vous ne connaissez pas et qui vont freiner votre compréhension du texte voir même vous donner envie de reposer le bouquin comme ça a été le cas pour moi.
MAIS pas de panique car il y a un glossaire à la fin du livre pour vous expliquer tous ces termes compliqués !
Malheureusement, et c'est la le gros point négatif de ce roman, beaucoup de termes sont mal utilisés comme par exemple les suffixes " -san " " -chan " qui normalement doivent être mis dans certains cas et pas dans d'autres seulement la ils étaient placés un peu au piff. Ce n'est qu'une petite erreur parmis tant d'autres mais ça montre que l'auteur n'a pas fait un travail de recherche appronfondi sur la culture qu'il dépeint dans son roman. Certains mots sont juste la pour faire genre "récit japonais authentique" alors que non et c'est un peu dommage même si ça ne gêne pas vraiment l'intrigue.
MAIS il y a quand même des points positifs dans ce 1e tome car une fois les 100 premières pages passées le récit s'accélère et l'action se met en place. Yukiko notre perso principal se lie avec une créature légendaire qu'elle devait initialement chasser et on voit au fil des pages une complicité se créer entre eux en même temps qu'ils tentent de survivre dans la forêt, blessés, seuls. Je ne vais pas vous mentir j'adore les duos de ce genre et mon petit coeur a fait des bonds dès qu'ils ont commencés à s'apprivoiser.
J'ai aussi beaucoup aimé tout le côté steampunk très présent dans le récit ainsi que la dimension politique avec la récolte contre le shogun que l'on voit arriver.
En résumé on a une intrigue super addictive, un style steampunk très présent, un duo innatendu trop chou uni face à l'adversité, des espions et des combats !
Ma note :
Si comme moi vous aimez les récits de fantasy orientale avec des créatures légendaires, un perso féminin trop badass et une bonne dose de steampunk alors vous êtes au bon endroit mais avant ça il va falloir s'accrocher car les 50 premières pages du roman sont un peu dures à passer.
Dans les 50 premieres pages on a beaucoup de descriptions très détaillées sur l'univers et son fonctionnement avec des termes spécifiques propre à la culture asiatique que vous ne connaissez pas et qui vont freiner votre compréhension du texte voir même vous donner envie de reposer le bouquin comme ça a été le cas pour moi.
MAIS pas de panique car il y a un glossaire à la fin du livre pour vous expliquer tous ces termes compliqués !
Malheureusement, et c'est la le gros point négatif de ce roman, beaucoup de termes sont mal utilisés comme par exemple les suffixes " -san " " -chan " qui normalement doivent être mis dans certains cas et pas dans d'autres seulement la ils étaient placés un peu au piff. Ce n'est qu'une petite erreur parmis tant d'autres mais ça montre que l'auteur n'a pas fait un travail de recherche appronfondi sur la culture qu'il dépeint dans son roman. Certains mots sont juste la pour faire genre "récit japonais authentique" alors que non et c'est un peu dommage même si ça ne gêne pas vraiment l'intrigue.
MAIS il y a quand même des points positifs dans ce 1e tome car une fois les 100 premières pages passées le récit s'accélère et l'action se met en place. Yukiko notre perso principal se lie avec une créature légendaire qu'elle devait initialement chasser et on voit au fil des pages une complicité se créer entre eux en même temps qu'ils tentent de survivre dans la forêt, blessés, seuls. Je ne vais pas vous mentir j'adore les duos de ce genre et mon petit coeur a fait des bonds dès qu'ils ont commencés à s'apprivoiser.
J'ai aussi beaucoup aimé tout le côté steampunk très présent dans le récit ainsi que la dimension politique avec la récolte contre le shogun que l'on voit arriver.
En résumé on a une intrigue super addictive, un style steampunk très présent, un duo innatendu trop chou uni face à l'adversité, des espions et des combats !
Ma note :
n_caleary's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
lynseyisreading's review
5.0
As amazing as I'd hoped. I cannot wait for the next one!
I admit to being slightly scared of starting this book. I don't think I've ever seen such a positive buzz about a book that hadn't (at the time) even been released yet. Book Bloggers and Advanced Copy readers were going wild about it; doing these amazing, gushing, hyperbolic reviews. This worried me, because it wouldn't be the first time that that's happened and then I've picked up the book myself and realised it's very prettily written, and highly descriptive, but is otherwise only an average story. And I can't get excited about the talent of a wordsmith alone. You have to tell me a good story as well. That's kind of my mantra when I'm reading: Tell the story, tell the story, tell the story. So when writers get too wordy or try and simile me into submission, I get turned off. Where did my story go?
And for the most part, I would be lying if I didn't say that Kristoff's writing is highly descriptive in places. More so, even, than some of the ones I ended up not liking previously. But holy freaking cow does he back that up with a great story, incredible world-building, phenomenal fantasy, sci-fi and steampunk elements, and to top it all off, a cast of fantastically diverse and complex characters!
A-maz-ing.
Of course, anything worth having is worth working hard for, and for around the first 50-60 or so pages of the book, I was working pretty damned hard! The Japanese language; mostly used for names of weapons, clothing, races, species, gods, myths and of course, character names, made reading difficult initially. I don't really like having to struggle so much, but after all the reviews I'd seen, I felt confident the pay-off would be worth it if I persevered. It was, and then some.
So, what is the book about? Well, it's a very complex world and plot and overall story arc, so I wouldn't even like to try summarising it. But I will tell you your main character is a young girl named Yukiko. She is an excellent strong and positive heroine who needs no hot boy brooding at her to make her appear so. It's not a coming-of-age story, exactly, but definitely an eye-opening journey. It set in a futuristic, or maybe alternate history? (not sure) Japan, where a plant called the Blood Lotus has been discovered and put to great and terrifying use. It powers the great machinery; the sky-ships, the war machines, even the brass and iron body armour of the samurai warriors. But the cost to the world and its citizens is immense. The choking fumes are killing everyone and everything, slowly but surely. Breathing masks and goggles need to be worn at all times. Man is playing a very dangerous and greedy game; thinking only of the benefits now, and not the consequences later. It's quite thought-provoking in that it's not that much of a stretch to imagine our species doing exactly this--especially such an industrious nation as Japan--and its message is clear, and the most ingenious use of entertainment to deliver it since WALL.E.
So, it looks like someone needs to shake things up a bit, right? But our Yukiko is just one girl, and only 16 at that. She has no power. But perhaps she has the strength after all (spot the Princess Bride quote), if only she has the help of oh, say for example, a badass THUNDER TIGER!
Buruu's character—and he definitely is a character—was a fantastic part of the story. His dialogue—which is telepathic and all done in shouty capitals—was excellent and often highly amusing. I loved him!
There were several other characters I grew to appreciate and as the epic final chapters came to a close, I found myself deeply concerned over their whereabouts and well-being. That's not to say it ends on a cliffhanger—it doesn't—but there are many unanswered questions and threads left unresolved and I NEED THE NEXT BOOK RIGHT NOW!
In summation, do I recommend this book? Hells yeah. Who to? I don't know... everyone? I'm not sure who to recommend it to specifically, because it's so unlike anything else with it's blend of genres. Even if you've read Steampunk before that will in no way prepare you for this book. My advice is to just go and buy it, if it's not for you, hand it to your friend and they'll probably read it, love it, and tell you you're a crazy person not to have loved every single syllable. And they'll probably give you a cookie or something. So everyone's a winner.
5 phenomenal Stars ★★★★★
ARC provided for an honest review.
I admit to being slightly scared of starting this book. I don't think I've ever seen such a positive buzz about a book that hadn't (at the time) even been released yet. Book Bloggers and Advanced Copy readers were going wild about it; doing these amazing, gushing, hyperbolic reviews. This worried me, because it wouldn't be the first time that that's happened and then I've picked up the book myself and realised it's very prettily written, and highly descriptive, but is otherwise only an average story. And I can't get excited about the talent of a wordsmith alone. You have to tell me a good story as well. That's kind of my mantra when I'm reading: Tell the story, tell the story, tell the story. So when writers get too wordy or try and simile me into submission, I get turned off. Where did my story go?
And for the most part, I would be lying if I didn't say that Kristoff's writing is highly descriptive in places. More so, even, than some of the ones I ended up not liking previously. But holy freaking cow does he back that up with a great story, incredible world-building, phenomenal fantasy, sci-fi and steampunk elements, and to top it all off, a cast of fantastically diverse and complex characters!
A-maz-ing.
Of course, anything worth having is worth working hard for, and for around the first 50-60 or so pages of the book, I was working pretty damned hard! The Japanese language; mostly used for names of weapons, clothing, races, species, gods, myths and of course, character names, made reading difficult initially. I don't really like having to struggle so much, but after all the reviews I'd seen, I felt confident the pay-off would be worth it if I persevered. It was, and then some.
So, what is the book about? Well, it's a very complex world and plot and overall story arc, so I wouldn't even like to try summarising it. But I will tell you your main character is a young girl named Yukiko. She is an excellent strong and positive heroine who needs no hot boy brooding at her to make her appear so. It's not a coming-of-age story, exactly, but definitely an eye-opening journey. It set in a futuristic, or maybe alternate history? (not sure) Japan, where a plant called the Blood Lotus has been discovered and put to great and terrifying use. It powers the great machinery; the sky-ships, the war machines, even the brass and iron body armour of the samurai warriors. But the cost to the world and its citizens is immense. The choking fumes are killing everyone and everything, slowly but surely. Breathing masks and goggles need to be worn at all times. Man is playing a very dangerous and greedy game; thinking only of the benefits now, and not the consequences later. It's quite thought-provoking in that it's not that much of a stretch to imagine our species doing exactly this--especially such an industrious nation as Japan--and its message is clear, and the most ingenious use of entertainment to deliver it since WALL.E.
So, it looks like someone needs to shake things up a bit, right? But our Yukiko is just one girl, and only 16 at that. She has no power. But perhaps she has the strength after all (spot the Princess Bride quote), if only she has the help of oh, say for example, a badass THUNDER TIGER!
Buruu's character—and he definitely is a character—was a fantastic part of the story. His dialogue—which is telepathic and all done in shouty capitals—was excellent and often highly amusing. I loved him!
There were several other characters I grew to appreciate and as the epic final chapters came to a close, I found myself deeply concerned over their whereabouts and well-being. That's not to say it ends on a cliffhanger—it doesn't—but there are many unanswered questions and threads left unresolved and I NEED THE NEXT BOOK RIGHT NOW!
In summation, do I recommend this book? Hells yeah. Who to? I don't know... everyone? I'm not sure who to recommend it to specifically, because it's so unlike anything else with it's blend of genres. Even if you've read Steampunk before that will in no way prepare you for this book. My advice is to just go and buy it, if it's not for you, hand it to your friend and they'll probably read it, love it, and tell you you're a crazy person not to have loved every single syllable. And they'll probably give you a cookie or something. So everyone's a winner.
5 phenomenal Stars ★★★★★
ARC provided for an honest review.
j_the_human's review against another edition
It felt… weird. Like a fun house mirror of Japanese culture but in an almost hateful way.
dothelindyhop's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
emleemay's review against another edition
1.0
At first I didn't write my review of [b:Stormdancer|10852343|Stormdancer (The Lotus War, #1)|Jay Kristoff|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1337359560s/10852343.jpg|15767096] because the publisher specifically asked me to hold off on posting it until September. Then I didn't write it because I was in the minority and I had to take a deep breath before I put my negative opinion out there. And now I'm writing it because I don't care any longer, I've accepted that my opinion is valid and not just a one off that deserves to belong on my "its-me-not-you" shelf. I didn't enjoy [b:Stormdancer|10852343|Stormdancer (The Lotus War, #1)|Jay Kristoff|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1337359560s/10852343.jpg|15767096], I can't give it more than one star because it doesn't belong in the realm of "it was ok" for me.
I understand why people would love this, and if you don't understand then just navigate towards the million glowing reviews on the book's goodreads page. [b:Stormdancer|10852343|Stormdancer (The Lotus War, #1)|Jay Kristoff|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1337359560s/10852343.jpg|15767096] has a strong heroine, widely developed world-building, an Asian setting, many mythical creatures, and it is very wordy and big on the descriptions. And it is this last that made so many people gush while simultaneously making me want to tear my hair out. The prose is so dense and overly descriptive that it just didn't go in. It was one of those situations where I repeatedly read the same few sentences over and over, desperately trying to absorb what they were telling me but my brain kept getting caught on the painful wordiness.
Also, there's the Asian thing. I love that this isn't just another young adult novel with white American kids, I love that authors are stepping outside their comfort zone and writing about other cultures. Because there is so much mythology to explore from all corners of the globe, there's just no need to stick to the same old. But, seriously, I know the author is not Japanese and he deserves to be allowed room for mistakes... but was any research actually done when writing [b:Stormdancer|10852343|Stormdancer (The Lotus War, #1)|Jay Kristoff|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1337359560s/10852343.jpg|15767096]? Well, beyond the reading of manga, anyway? This book is like what would happen if someone went into a Japanese tourist shop and decided to write about the culture based on it.
If this novel had been set in Italy, the Italian equivalent would be:
They went strolling down by [insert overly descriptive sentences] the Vatican and the Coliseum before eating [insert more descriptiveness] pizza and pasta. Then they went to Venice and [more description] rode a gondola whilst being chased by angry Roman gods. They escaped to Sicily where they were [description, description] hunted down by a Sicilian mafia boss called Giovanni and his two henchmen - Mario and Luigi - before finally being shot by Antonio. As Antonio pulled the trigger, "Ciao bella mia!", he exclaimed. The end.
You get the idea? This book throws around a Japanese word and/or stereotype at every possible opportunity. It also assumes that the audience - largely western readers - has quite a bit of knowledge about Japan or is at least willing to sit with google at the ready for the entire novel. I am not joking when I say I sometimes had to use google multiple times in one paragraph in order to understand what the hell was going on. This isn't enjoyable, it really isn't. The descriptions plus the language made it feel like I was wading through very thick sludge.
Discounting manga/anime, I can count on two fingers how many Asian-inspired fantasies I know of. [b:Stormdancer|10852343|Stormdancer (The Lotus War, #1)|Jay Kristoff|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1337359560s/10852343.jpg|15767096] gets the middle one. If you want to explore this genre, I can't tell you to completely disregard [b:Stormdancer|10852343|Stormdancer (The Lotus War, #1)|Jay Kristoff|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1337359560s/10852343.jpg|15767096] because so many people obviously thought it was amazing, but I would say that Goodman's world in [b:Eon: Dragoneye Reborn|2986865|Eon Dragoneye Reborn (Eon, #1)|Alison Goodman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1299076175s/2986865.jpg|3017319] and [b:Eona|7992995|Eona (Eon, #2)|Alison Goodman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1301809055s/7992995.jpg|14936811] is far better all round. Eon/Eona is just a better heroine than Yukiko, in my opinion, and isn't thinking about "the samurai with the sea-green eyes" when her life is threatened. Read Goodman's novels instead.
I understand why people would love this, and if you don't understand then just navigate towards the million glowing reviews on the book's goodreads page. [b:Stormdancer|10852343|Stormdancer (The Lotus War, #1)|Jay Kristoff|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1337359560s/10852343.jpg|15767096] has a strong heroine, widely developed world-building, an Asian setting, many mythical creatures, and it is very wordy and big on the descriptions. And it is this last that made so many people gush while simultaneously making me want to tear my hair out. The prose is so dense and overly descriptive that it just didn't go in. It was one of those situations where I repeatedly read the same few sentences over and over, desperately trying to absorb what they were telling me but my brain kept getting caught on the painful wordiness.
Also, there's the Asian thing. I love that this isn't just another young adult novel with white American kids, I love that authors are stepping outside their comfort zone and writing about other cultures. Because there is so much mythology to explore from all corners of the globe, there's just no need to stick to the same old. But, seriously, I know the author is not Japanese and he deserves to be allowed room for mistakes... but was any research actually done when writing [b:Stormdancer|10852343|Stormdancer (The Lotus War, #1)|Jay Kristoff|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1337359560s/10852343.jpg|15767096]? Well, beyond the reading of manga, anyway? This book is like what would happen if someone went into a Japanese tourist shop and decided to write about the culture based on it.
If this novel had been set in Italy, the Italian equivalent would be:
They went strolling down by [insert overly descriptive sentences] the Vatican and the Coliseum before eating [insert more descriptiveness] pizza and pasta. Then they went to Venice and [more description] rode a gondola whilst being chased by angry Roman gods. They escaped to Sicily where they were [description, description] hunted down by a Sicilian mafia boss called Giovanni and his two henchmen - Mario and Luigi - before finally being shot by Antonio. As Antonio pulled the trigger, "Ciao bella mia!", he exclaimed. The end.
You get the idea? This book throws around a Japanese word and/or stereotype at every possible opportunity. It also assumes that the audience - largely western readers - has quite a bit of knowledge about Japan or is at least willing to sit with google at the ready for the entire novel. I am not joking when I say I sometimes had to use google multiple times in one paragraph in order to understand what the hell was going on. This isn't enjoyable, it really isn't. The descriptions plus the language made it feel like I was wading through very thick sludge.
Discounting manga/anime, I can count on two fingers how many Asian-inspired fantasies I know of. [b:Stormdancer|10852343|Stormdancer (The Lotus War, #1)|Jay Kristoff|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1337359560s/10852343.jpg|15767096] gets the middle one. If you want to explore this genre, I can't tell you to completely disregard [b:Stormdancer|10852343|Stormdancer (The Lotus War, #1)|Jay Kristoff|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1337359560s/10852343.jpg|15767096] because so many people obviously thought it was amazing, but I would say that Goodman's world in [b:Eon: Dragoneye Reborn|2986865|Eon Dragoneye Reborn (Eon, #1)|Alison Goodman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1299076175s/2986865.jpg|3017319] and [b:Eona|7992995|Eona (Eon, #2)|Alison Goodman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1301809055s/7992995.jpg|14936811] is far better all round. Eon/Eona is just a better heroine than Yukiko, in my opinion, and isn't thinking about "the samurai with the sea-green eyes" when her life is threatened. Read Goodman's novels instead.