jjjreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
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? No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, War, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Medical content, Violence, Xenophobia, Confinement, Excrement, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Blood, Bullying, Classism, Torture, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Slavery, Stalking, Suicide, Trafficking, Body horror, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Eating disorder, Genocide, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Misogyny, Death, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual assault, Cursing, Drug use, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Alcohol, and Rape
wysperias's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Injury/injury detail, Torture, Confinement, Body horror, Murder, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Sexism, and Slavery
Minor: Sexual assault, Vomit, and Cannibalism
kell_xavi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
2.5
There were a few things I liked about this book, but it’s a case where a combination of length and unpleasant tropes brought it down in my esteem the further along the plot went. There’s a kind of fantasy novel that is concerned with magic that is often mechanic, often acts on the human body, is often a curse of gothic body horror, and almost always has someone sadistic and mad with jealous power at its heart. I’ve read a few of these books, and I can feel the dread creep in as I figure out that they’re going in this direction.
Bennett’s basic world-building is kind of cool, though (and this may also be an element of the kind of book I’ve just described) perhaps not to the well-trained, in-depth fantasy reader. The idea that codes can train objects to act like other objects, essentially as though their reality is different and specific to another thing, is intriguing. The scrivers and fabricators, lexicons and Sancia’s powers are all fascinating. The problem is that a lot of the mythology is really complex, the advanced scrived designs get a bit out of hand, and Bennett ends up juggling a lot of stuff that, despite sometimes lengthy explanations, is often a mix of suspension of disbelief and deus ex machina. Which would be a good joke, considering how much of the story deals with gods, machines, advanced beings, magic cyborgs, and the like, except that the piling up of all these pieces sort of cracks the foundations that the story is built on. I was never sure, when the characters refer to god (as in, “god help me” etc.), which god they speak of, since there’s no religion mentioned and the distant past is legend. They also swear way too much, all said, so that it became a distraction and the characters blended together at times; and this alternate universe looks a lot like steampunk 19th century Italy.
Some of the reveals about the key, about Sancia, are moving, but there’s a way to write trauma without putting that trauma in the reader, and Bennett was not interested in doing so. There’s an abundance of scenes of torture, war, enslavement, of misogyny, of medical trials, of starvation and mutilation, a lot of which I didn’t feel served it’s purpose. It’s a terrible world that’s terrible to live in. Sancia is a scrappy thief with a weird curse, and one of the few people worth rooting for. Mostly, these circumstances made me less likely to read the rest of the trilogy.
Bennett’s basic world-building is kind of cool, though (and this may also be an element of the kind of book I’ve just described) perhaps not to the well-trained, in-depth fantasy reader. The idea that codes can train objects to act like other objects, essentially as though their reality is different and specific to another thing, is intriguing. The scrivers and fabricators, lexicons and Sancia’s powers are all fascinating. The problem is that a lot of the mythology is really complex, the advanced scrived designs get a bit out of hand, and Bennett ends up juggling a lot of stuff that, despite sometimes lengthy explanations, is often a mix of suspension of disbelief and deus ex machina. Which would be a good joke, considering how much of the story deals with gods, machines, advanced beings, magic cyborgs, and the like, except that the piling up of all these pieces sort of cracks the foundations that the story is built on. I was never sure, when the characters refer to god (as in, “god help me” etc.), which god they speak of, since there’s no religion mentioned and the distant past is legend. They also swear way too much, all said, so that it became a distraction and the characters blended together at times; and this alternate universe looks a lot like steampunk 19th century Italy.
Some of the reveals about the key, about Sancia, are moving, but there’s a way to write trauma without putting that trauma in the reader, and Bennett was not interested in doing so. There’s an abundance of scenes of torture, war, enslavement, of misogyny, of medical trials, of starvation and mutilation, a lot of which I didn’t feel served it’s purpose. It’s a terrible world that’s terrible to live in. Sancia is a scrappy thief with a weird curse, and one of the few people worth rooting for. Mostly, these circumstances made me less likely to read the rest of the trilogy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Slavery, War, Medical trauma, and Violence
Moderate: Excrement, Misogyny, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Body horror, and Colonisation
Minor: Vomit, Child abuse, and Physical abuse
juhpiter_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Medical trauma, Violence, and Physical abuse
faduma's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Body horror, Confinement, Injury/injury detail, Sexual harassment, and Slavery
jurizprudence's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
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
3.75
“Reality doesn’t matter. If you can change something’s mind enough, it’ll believe whatever reality you choose.”
so the merchant houses and their scrived tools' main thing is that they gaslight gatekeep girlboss their way into altering/manipulating objects and reality. that was interesting.
this book's biggest strengths lie on its magic system and world-building. if it were not for those two, i think i would've not continued reading, because i'm not the biggest fan of the characters (see, a character saying: "With his blood, the damned thing should open for her like a schoolgirl’s legs!" wth was that i seriously wanted to stop reading when i read that) and the writing style. also the middle took forever to read and i almost always found myself bored throughout the entire thing, which is weird, because i do love action and heists and this book has plenty of those—so maybe my problem is in the author's execution of plots and descriptions. i was also debating whether to pick up the next books or not because i really have complicated feelings about this one, but since i kinda liked the second to the last chapter and somehow i got attached to an actual key, i think i'll be continuing with this series. but not so soon, i guess. i might need a palate cleanser first.
i think if you liked six of crows, you might enjoy this, though that was not the case for me so i really don't know lol
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Slavery, Violence, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Gore, Emotional abuse, Injury/injury detail, Torture, and Physical abuse
Minor: Body horror, Car accident, Confinement, Genocide, Sexism, Sexual content, and War
erickert's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse, Slavery, and Child abuse
planetesastraea's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
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? No
4.5
I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
I am fond of steampunk universes and this one is no exception: the way technology and magic are intricated builds a fascinating mystery.
The mythology of this world is thought through, clever and refreshing.
The characters are diverse and complex, carrying the weight of their past trauma and current conditions of existence.
Each of them has a pivoting role into the unfolding of events and seeing them work together to achieve something much bigger than themselves is extremely satisfying.
The representation of various ethnic origins, gender and romantic orientations among the main characters made the story even more valuable.
I'll definitely be reading the second installment shortly!
I am fond of steampunk universes and this one is no exception: the way technology and magic are intricated builds a fascinating mystery.
The mythology of this world is thought through, clever and refreshing.
The characters are diverse and complex, carrying the weight of their past trauma and current conditions of existence.
Each of them has a pivoting role into the unfolding of events and seeing them work together to achieve something much bigger than themselves is extremely satisfying.
The representation of various ethnic origins, gender and romantic orientations among the main characters made the story even more valuable.
I'll definitely be reading the second installment shortly!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Trafficking, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Violence, and Injury/injury detail
Moderate: Vomit and Blood
Minor: Car accident, Cannibalism, and Sexual violence
gw7's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book simultaneously feels like a 4 and a 3 star, and yet if the parts that felt 3 (or 2) star were at the level of the rest of the book, it would be a 5 star.
To start off: it was fast, fun, and entertaining. The pages sped by a lot quicker than they tend to do for me, no matter the book. And I'll definitely be continuing the series.
The 3 (or 2) star parts...
Which basically come down to, we're told that 'this is the way things have to be done!' ... but... why...?? No reason, really. Other than, maybe... the characters are just really, really dumb? Which would be fine, apart from the fact that we're told that, at least some of them, are the top figures in their fields... and I don't see why that would be the case if they were as dumb as they... appear to be? (though of course they are only dumb in these areas to make the story work; this has to be the plan, there's no other way, we know this person... and the reader is given no evidence aside from what they say in that one sentence to think anything to the contrary other than good old, real world trust issues- but who are we to know any different?) This is their world, and they should know it better than us? And we're not told any different, so we have to go with it... which kinda makes the plot obvious...
...but the plot isn't weak. And there was one part where a character said the thing ('it had to be this way' (even though it didn't... like, at all)) and I was like, okay, here we go again, this is probably going to be relevant later, since that's the only reason for a line like that, right? Right???? Apparently not. So then that made me think that maybe this whole thing was just a quirk of his writing and all his plots don't solely rely on these weak connections? I haven't read any of his other work, so I don't know.
(Oh, and there was a little tiny bit of, okay, but would these people really win all these fights against all these trained, practiced- we're told how much they're trained and practiced and lethal- soldiers? so there's that)
(Also also, I wish that he would use 'woman' more liberally than 'girl', 1) because he used 'girl' constantly and it was incredibly annoying, and 2) because there were parts where I wasn't sure whether the use of 'girl' actually meant girl, or whether he meant woman and... like, those are two different types of disgusted, y'know?)
But, the 4 (and potentially 5) star bits??? Okay.
Maybe this comes down to the fact that it was somewhat very unexpected since this is written by an assumed cishet white man (and they don't typically have a great writing track record with... a lot of things)... but it was fine? Good? Enjoyable? Really quite good and not bigoted and 'holier than thou'? By which I mean strong female characters (and going back to the dumb thing for a second, I love that Sancia wasn't necessarily the smartest person but also that it wasn't a point of contention among these (apparently) really smart people, and she was kind just left to be and wasn't looked down on or anything? Like, it's okay for a person to not be insanely smart- it doesn't take anything away from them or make them less of a person. THANK YOU ROBERT JACKSON BENNETT), queerness (CASUAL QUEERNESS), and the only perverted men were the ones who were canonically evil? Like, no creepy 'love interest' who gives off creepy non-consensual vibes and is also definitely homophobic and fat phobic at a minimum. The PTSD/CPTSD rep was... in some places excellent, in one place questionable (but there was mention of something to do with the magic system going on there so not entirely sure), but the conversations surrounding it? Like, the characters talking about it???? Oh, man. One line especially... just incredible. And that leads me onto gushing about the theemeeessss in this thing... Man, Robert Jackson Bennett is just such an intelligent storyteller. The emotional and psychological through lines were similarly strong to that of The Broken Earth trilogy, though the characters didn't... discuss (I don't know if is the right word? It's difficult to explain) it as much in this book. I'm so incredibly excited to see where he takes these in the next book. Often in high fantasy (particularly written by cishet white men), these themes seem to get left behind, but I'm hopeful he'll take them forward as, again, he just comes across as such a thoughtful and capable storyteller.
FINALLY, though- PLOT TWIST- forget all you just read- the real reason this was not a 5 star was because 'arse' 'arseholes'... Robert, why? WHY, when you're American, would you choose to make your characters say 'arse'... ??? WHY? The rest of the time they were normal people but for those few sentences whenever they said 'those ARSEHOLES," they immediately became the poshest, farce-inhabiting people I could imagine and I couldn't take them seriously... arse... Or is this just a uk edition problem? I don't know but it was deeply offensive
To start off: it was fast, fun, and entertaining. The pages sped by a lot quicker than they tend to do for me, no matter the book. And I'll definitely be continuing the series.
The 3 (or 2) star parts...
Which basically come down to, we're told that 'this is the way things have to be done!' ... but... why...?? No reason, really. Other than, maybe... the characters are just really, really dumb? Which would be fine, apart from the fact that we're told that, at least some of them, are the top figures in their fields... and I don't see why that would be the case if they were as dumb as they... appear to be? (though of course they are only dumb in these areas to make the story work; this has to be the plan, there's no other way, we know this person... and the reader is given no evidence aside from what they say in that one sentence to think anything to the contrary other than good old, real world trust issues- but who are we to know any different?) This is their world, and they should know it better than us? And we're not told any different, so we have to go with it... which kinda makes the plot obvious...
...but the plot isn't weak. And there was one part where a character said the thing ('it had to be this way' (even though it didn't... like, at all)) and I was like, okay, here we go again, this is probably going to be relevant later, since that's the only reason for a line like that, right? Right???? Apparently not. So then that made me think that maybe this whole thing was just a quirk of his writing and all his plots don't solely rely on these weak connections? I haven't read any of his other work, so I don't know.
(Oh, and there was a little tiny bit of, okay, but would these people really win all these fights against all these trained, practiced- we're told how much they're trained and practiced and lethal- soldiers? so there's that)
(Also also, I wish that he would use 'woman' more liberally than 'girl', 1) because he used 'girl' constantly and it was incredibly annoying, and 2) because there were parts where I wasn't sure whether the use of 'girl' actually meant girl, or whether he meant woman and... like, those are two different types of disgusted, y'know?)
But, the 4 (and potentially 5) star bits??? Okay.
Maybe this comes down to the fact that it was somewhat very unexpected since this is written by an assumed cishet white man (and they don't typically have a great writing track record with... a lot of things)... but it was fine? Good? Enjoyable? Really quite good and not bigoted and 'holier than thou'? By which I mean strong female characters (and going back to the dumb thing for a second, I love that Sancia wasn't necessarily the smartest person but also that it wasn't a point of contention among these (apparently) really smart people, and she was kind just left to be and wasn't looked down on or anything? Like, it's okay for a person to not be insanely smart- it doesn't take anything away from them or make them less of a person. THANK YOU ROBERT JACKSON BENNETT), queerness (CASUAL QUEERNESS), and the only perverted men were the ones who were canonically evil? Like, no creepy 'love interest' who gives off creepy non-consensual vibes and is also definitely homophobic and fat phobic at a minimum. The PTSD/CPTSD rep was... in some places excellent, in one place questionable (but there was mention of something to do with the magic system going on there so not entirely sure), but the conversations surrounding it? Like, the characters talking about it???? Oh, man. One line especially... just incredible. And that leads me onto gushing about the theemeeessss in this thing... Man, Robert Jackson Bennett is just such an intelligent storyteller. The emotional and psychological through lines were similarly strong to that of The Broken Earth trilogy, though the characters didn't... discuss (I don't know if is the right word? It's difficult to explain) it as much in this book. I'm so incredibly excited to see where he takes these in the next book. Often in high fantasy (particularly written by cishet white men), these themes seem to get left behind, but I'm hopeful he'll take them forward as, again, he just comes across as such a thoughtful and capable storyteller.
FINALLY, though- PLOT TWIST- forget all you just read- the real reason this was not a 5 star was because 'arse' 'arseholes'... Robert, why? WHY, when you're American, would you choose to make your characters say 'arse'... ??? WHY? The rest of the time they were normal people but for those few sentences whenever they said 'those ARSEHOLES," they immediately became the poshest, farce-inhabiting people I could imagine and I couldn't take them seriously... arse... Or is this just a uk edition problem? I don't know but it was deeply offensive
Spoiler
candle
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery and Physical abuse
Moderate: Sexual violence and Torture
fromjuliereads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
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
5.0
I FREAKING LOVED THIS BOOK. Wow. I am so surprised. I had no idea what to fully expect going into this book but did it DELIVER! Fantastic characters, great world building, epic heists, a unique and complex magic system, and I went through ALL of the emotions! I am not even kidding. I teared up multiple times, was on the edge of my seat with stress, smiled like an idiot, and laughed out loud. This is my kind of book through and through.
It starts out slower because there is so much that has to be set up in the initial chapters and first section of the book. But goodness, is it worth it for the vast wealth of story that you get farther in.
I stand by it that Clef is my favourite character. But I have such an immense appreciation fo Sancia, Gregor, Berenice, and even Orso! All of the characrers are developed so well, and they all have some kind of arc and growth throughout the story.
The heists are EPIC and the twists and turns? Goodness I was on the edge of my seat... figuratively. But this was so good. I am really looking forward to seeing where else this series goes! (If my heart can take it that is...)
It starts out slower because there is so much that has to be set up in the initial chapters and first section of the book. But goodness, is it worth it for the vast wealth of story that you get farther in.
I stand by it that Clef is my favourite character. But I have such an immense appreciation fo Sancia, Gregor, Berenice, and even Orso! All of the characrers are developed so well, and they all have some kind of arc and growth throughout the story.
The heists are EPIC and the twists and turns? Goodness I was on the edge of my seat... figuratively. But this was so good. I am really looking forward to seeing where else this series goes! (If my heart can take it that is...)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Death, Gore, Grief, Slavery, and Violence
Moderate: Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Vomit