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lilifane's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-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
That was surprisingly fun.
It is a little too long and info dumpy at the beginning, but I enjoyed it a lot and couldn't put it down in the end. I'm still confused by the very obvious inspirations for the nations in this world. They feel rather cliché and like lazy world building, although the other parts of the world (the history/myths/magic) are really cool and interesting. I'm definitely curious how the mystery regarding the magic and the prophecies will unfold.
I really like the main characters, I'm intrigued (but also a little frustrated) by their dynamics. Even though a few scenes felt weirdly out of character. Curious about some of the side characters, who have a lot of potential, too.
As for the plot... there was a lot of getting to know the characters and the political atmosphere first, and it felt like the plot wasn't going anywhere. But it definitely picked up towards the end and held some surprises. It's funny how I expected certain things to happen, but then they happened in a way I wasn't expecting. So that was fun.
What was not fun, was one cruel development at the end. I get why it is there and what it means to the plot. But it involves a child, and I really think it didn't need to be one. Feels like a cheap method to create shock value, tbh.
It is a little too long and info dumpy at the beginning, but I enjoyed it a lot and couldn't put it down in the end. I'm still confused by the very obvious inspirations for the nations in this world. They feel rather cliché and like lazy world building, although the other parts of the world (the history/myths/magic) are really cool and interesting. I'm definitely curious how the mystery regarding the magic and the prophecies will unfold.
I really like the main characters, I'm intrigued (but also a little frustrated) by their dynamics. Even though a few scenes felt weirdly out of character. Curious about some of the side characters, who have a lot of potential, too.
As for the plot... there was a lot of getting to know the characters and the political atmosphere first, and it felt like the plot wasn't going anywhere. But it definitely picked up towards the end and held some surprises. It's funny how I expected certain things to happen, but then they happened in a way I wasn't expecting. So that was fun.
What was not fun, was one cruel development at the end. I get why it is there and what it means to the plot. But it involves a child, and I really think it didn't need to be one. Feels like a cheap method to create shock value, tbh.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Racial slurs, Chronic illness, Toxic friendship, Classism, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Death, Misogyny, Racism, Drug use, Medical content, Murder, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Suicide and Death of parent
nesscoffeee's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-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
3.5
I loved this book for its dynamic character interactions - that is what has always drawn me to all the Cassandra Clare books. I occasionally admired the political intrique as well. But would I recommend it? No(t yet).
I read some reviews in advance, saying that Sword Catcher's world was loaded with delicious but complicated worldbuilding. So I meticulously started tracking everything.
Now to the grand reveal: Taking notes absolutely didn't pay off. You get lists of names with mostly no established meaning. If anything, I even lost track of the plot because of it. And I felt betrayed when the book would re-explain concepts. Sometimes even up to three times!
And still, despite all of this: I can only name 6 countries with certainty on the continent of Dannemore (but I have a list of 14 countries??? Which could also be city names. It wasn't explained.)
I needed that world map. Desperately. I scanned the www for it multiple times. Only found Castellan's map - which was cute - but irrelevant.
So, to summarize, knowing that this book is probably the beginning of an epic fantasy series: Sword Catcher was not superb at anything - neither character interactions, plot or worldbuilding- but it also wasn't bad at anything. It was just utterly, devastingly, average.
I hope reading this counts as the admission fee to be swept off my feet by the second book of the Sword Catcher series. I hope there will be a world map. I hope my time will be worth it.
I read some reviews in advance, saying that Sword Catcher's world was loaded with delicious but complicated worldbuilding. So I meticulously started tracking everything.
Now to the grand reveal: Taking notes absolutely didn't pay off. You get lists of names with mostly no established meaning. If anything, I even lost track of the plot because of it. And I felt betrayed when the book would re-explain concepts. Sometimes even up to three times!
And still, despite all of this: I can only name 6 countries with certainty on the continent of Dannemore (but I have a list of 14 countries??? Which could also be city names. It wasn't explained.)
I needed that world map. Desperately. I scanned the www for it multiple times. Only found Castellan's map - which was cute - but irrelevant.
So, to summarize, knowing that this book is probably the beginning of an epic fantasy series: Sword Catcher was not superb at anything - neither character interactions, plot or worldbuilding- but it also wasn't bad at anything. It was just utterly, devastingly, average.
I hope reading this counts as the admission fee to be swept off my feet by the second book of the Sword Catcher series. I hope there will be a world map. I hope my time will be worth it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
hanamayfield's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Medical content, Sexual content, Murder, and Physical abuse
bookcaptivated's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racism, Sexual content, Child death, Gore, and Misogyny
Moderate: Classism, Medical content, and Mental illness
Minor: War, Confinement, Alcohol, Colonisation, Vomit, and Genocide
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