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mxkelsifer's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This not a book for the average reader by any stretch of the imagination. I threw this book on my tbr pile earlier this year from the responses on a post asking for recs based off enjoying "Priory of the Orange Tree." So I was expecting a more modern liberal take on political fantasy with hopefully a sapphic romantic subplot.
I definitely got one of those things.
Hurley's political worldbuilding definitely feels like the kind of worldbuilding I'd expect from someone who wants to play around with the social systems critiqued by queer and feminist theory but doesn't want to construct a utopia. Her magical worldbuilding did the job. The characters in this book are definitely in the category of "complex individuals with their own agendas."
When I'm reviewing a book, I usually tend to ask "is this book written more for entertainment or more to communicate some intangible viewpoint?" Given how easily I spotted the way Hurley was intentionally mucking around with gender as a social construct, and especially after the introduction of our Reverse Patriarchy, I suspect many readers were inclined to put this book in the latter category. However, I'm more inclined to put it in the former. After all, why must a book be trying to communicate a larger moral or viewpoint if it plays around with gender as a social construct? Certainly, I want more books that do that without trying to make a statement on what the world ought to be.
A lot of the critical reviews I read for this book focused in on the Reverse Patriarchal system in Dorinah. And, it's a bit funny because I read many of these reviews right before that was actually introduced (literally it was the next chapter). And I'm not going to lie, I came out that chapter with a burning hatred of Zezili and desire for someone, anyone, to come rescue her husband, Anavha from his oppressed life. I had Zezili marked as the antagonist for this book, and she ultimately wasn't.
Another critique that I took issue with was declaring that all of the characters were unlovable jerks that the reviewers didn't want to cheer on. Personally, I was cheering on Ahkio from his introduction all the way through the end of the book. The other main POV characters had more frustrating arcs; Lilia, in particular, went through a roller coaster of a journey that I would've found nigh intolerable if Hurley hadn't spaced it out with all of the other plots in this book.
The most valid critique was that there was no romance. I gotta say, if you're reading this book for the mushy subplot, just throw it in your dnf pile and move on to the next one. There are 2-3 romances depending how you define romance, but personally, none of them are particularly satisfying if you're here for the romance.
I would recommend this book if:
I definitely got one of those things.
Hurley's political worldbuilding definitely feels like the kind of worldbuilding I'd expect from someone who wants to play around with the social systems critiqued by queer and feminist theory but doesn't want to construct a utopia. Her magical worldbuilding did the job. The characters in this book are definitely in the category of "complex individuals with their own agendas."
When I'm reviewing a book, I usually tend to ask "is this book written more for entertainment or more to communicate some intangible viewpoint?" Given how easily I spotted the way Hurley was intentionally mucking around with gender as a social construct, and especially after the introduction of our Reverse Patriarchy, I suspect many readers were inclined to put this book in the latter category. However, I'm more inclined to put it in the former. After all, why must a book be trying to communicate a larger moral or viewpoint if it plays around with gender as a social construct? Certainly, I want more books that do that without trying to make a statement on what the world ought to be.
A lot of the critical reviews I read for this book focused in on the Reverse Patriarchal system in Dorinah. And, it's a bit funny because I read many of these reviews right before that was actually introduced (literally it was the next chapter). And I'm not going to lie, I came out that chapter with a burning hatred of Zezili and desire for someone, anyone, to come rescue her husband, Anavha from his oppressed life. I had Zezili marked as the antagonist for this book, and she ultimately wasn't.
Another critique that I took issue with was declaring that all of the characters were unlovable jerks that the reviewers didn't want to cheer on. Personally, I was cheering on Ahkio from his introduction all the way through the end of the book. The other main POV characters had more frustrating arcs; Lilia, in particular, went through a roller coaster of a journey that I would've found nigh intolerable if Hurley hadn't spaced it out with all of the other plots in this book.
The most valid critique was that there was no romance. I gotta say, if you're reading this book for the mushy subplot, just throw it in your dnf pile and move on to the next one. There are 2-3 romances depending how you define romance, but personally, none of them are particularly satisfying if you're here for the romance.
I would recommend this book if:
- You like political fantasy
- You want more queer and feminist theory in your political worldbuilding
- You like dark fantasy (seriously, there are several scenes that read like they're straight from a horror novel)
- You like flawed characters who are almost antagonists in their own plots
- You are an ardent support of women's wrongs
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Genocide, Racism, Rape, Torture, Violence, and War
Moderate: Self harm, Sexual violence, Slavery, Cannibalism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Child death, Infertility, and Infidelity
tachyondecay's review against another edition
It pains me, because everyone is so hyped about Kameron Hurley, and I want to be hyped too. Alas, this first foray into her writing was not a successful venture. Despite spending exactly a week with this book, I am just barely halfway through. It was this realization that made me decide to cut my losses. I am not going to finish The Mirror Empire.
Principally, I just don’t care about any of the main characters and their fate. I genuinely do not care to find out how this book ends.
That isn’t just a problem with the characterization (which is poor) but also the plot, which is stretched thin. For example, Lilia’s entire plot in this first half of the book is “go back and forth between two travel companions, both of whom she hates, and ending up exactly nowhere.” Zezili is a fearsome general who spends her time whinging that her empress is going to get everyone killed, but after half a novel, she still hasn’t done anything about it. Likewise with Ahkio or Roh—these characters are moving slower than molasses.
I was in a reading slump earlier, one which Felix Ever After rescued me from. This book has threatened to send me spiralling back into the slump. Sigh.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Cannibalism, and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual assault
laisai's review against another edition
I got about 1/3 of the way through the book, trying very hard to see if it would get better. Perhaps it did in the end, but it was too dark and painful for me to read personally, though the world-building and especially the way the author wrote about gender was very, very interesting. In the end, there were just too many difficult, graphic topics for me to handle. Wish I would have known before starting that this is typical for Kameron Hurley's writing. The back-cover summary did not prepare me for the contents, unfortunately.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Death and Gore
alexalily's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
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: Genocide, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Self harm, Slavery, and Blood
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