neilsef's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-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? It's complicated
4.25
There are some author's literary worlds that are just a delight to read/return to, John Kang's Tivara being one of those for me.
This follows Jie, on an adventure set within the time period of the Dragon Song books, where she is tracking a traitor. Besides Jie and a character who appears in the Dragon Song books, it is a whole new set of characters, which are immediately relatable to with engaging personalities.
One aspect of this book I really enjoyed was the reversed societal norms between one of the cultures compared to the others, which members of all cultures were not aware of, which allows for the exploration of some interesting situations.
This is a fun read that keeps you engaged as it zips along at a brisk pace while also having a mysterious undercurrent to keep you guessing about some aspects of the plot.
This follows Jie, on an adventure set within the time period of the Dragon Song books, where she is tracking a traitor. Besides Jie and a character who appears in the Dragon Song books, it is a whole new set of characters, which are immediately relatable to with engaging personalities.
One aspect of this book I really enjoyed was the reversed societal norms between one of the cultures compared to the others, which members of all cultures were not aware of, which allows for the exploration of some interesting situations.
This is a fun read that keeps you engaged as it zips along at a brisk pace while also having a mysterious undercurrent to keep you guessing about some aspects of the plot.
margaretadelle's review
4.0
I've been looking for some own-voices Asian stories to add to my review list, so when the author offered me this one for review I was happy to oblige.
Admittedly, this is the type of fantasy story that you have to love to get into. The world building is broad and heavy, with many different different ethnic groups with different cultures all coming together. It's definitely a steep learning curve at the beginning (and some spaces near the middle). But my favorite part of the worldbuilding was the magic system. It's a very hard system with rules and consequences for overuse that made magic feel, for lack of a better word, real.
The synopsis hints at a kind of found family, which is one of my favorite story tropes. That does exist, although it takes a bit to warm up to it. It's less a group of people banded together for one mission and more four people willing to work together because it suits their own personal interests. However, you begin to see the sentiments between the four growing and I'd hazard a guess that a found family forms much more strongly later on in the series.
There are an insane number of plot twists in this book, it's hard to describe them all. The strangest part of it for me was the fact that I was blindsided by so many of the smaller plot twists, yet the big one at the end seemed painfully obvious to me. When all of the characters gasped and said "THEY are one of the villains??" I was genuinely confused. I'd sworn that it had been spelled out before. But the ending battle was a perfect display of each character's abilities, so I was happy with it... even if it wasn't a surprise.
Like I mentioned before, this is a kind of fantasy book you have to already enjoy. Specifically the scheming, political, everyone vying for power with hidden agendas. There were honestly times I forgot what certain characters personal quests were with all the twists and turns. And I do wish the foursome the story focuses on had been on a more unified quest at the end. But it's an intriguing tale that left me wanting to move on to the next one!
Admittedly, this is the type of fantasy story that you have to love to get into. The world building is broad and heavy, with many different different ethnic groups with different cultures all coming together. It's definitely a steep learning curve at the beginning (and some spaces near the middle). But my favorite part of the worldbuilding was the magic system. It's a very hard system with rules and consequences for overuse that made magic feel, for lack of a better word, real.
The synopsis hints at a kind of found family, which is one of my favorite story tropes. That does exist, although it takes a bit to warm up to it. It's less a group of people banded together for one mission and more four people willing to work together because it suits their own personal interests. However, you begin to see the sentiments between the four growing and I'd hazard a guess that a found family forms much more strongly later on in the series.
There are an insane number of plot twists in this book, it's hard to describe them all. The strangest part of it for me was the fact that I was blindsided by so many of the smaller plot twists, yet the big one at the end seemed painfully obvious to me. When all of the characters gasped and said "THEY are one of the villains??" I was genuinely confused. I'd sworn that it had been spelled out before. But the ending battle was a perfect display of each character's abilities, so I was happy with it... even if it wasn't a surprise.
Like I mentioned before, this is a kind of fantasy book you have to already enjoy. Specifically the scheming, political, everyone vying for power with hidden agendas. There were honestly times I forgot what certain characters personal quests were with all the twists and turns. And I do wish the foursome the story focuses on had been on a more unified quest at the end. But it's an intriguing tale that left me wanting to move on to the next one!
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