Reviews with content warning for Slavery - Foundryside

Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

Foundryside, by Robert Jackson Bennett

84 reviews

trips's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? Yes

3.0

Foundryside is a fantasy novel with a dense, rich magic system and a lot of sassy characters. The world is extremely nuanced and well thought out, and there is a talking magical key, who I loved. The characters have depth and feel like fully-fleshed out beings in this intensely magical world. And there are heists! I love heists!

Unfortunately, the writing style just didn't work for me, which severely impacted my enjoyment of the story. Bennett slowly introduces the plot to the reader and I mean like really slowly, preferring to world build and write witty banter between characters for the majority of the first 50% of the book. Which will work for some people, just not me. In fact, I almost dropped the book, but there is a really good hook at around 50% mark that made me want to see the story through to the end. The plot does get quite interesting after that point, but it felt like a slog to get there. So, mixed feelings! I liked some parts, really didn't like others.

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m_yinger's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense slow-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

4.25

The writing style is very frank, so the bigger twists at the end I could see coming. However, the overall plot and themes of the story are wonderfully relevant and poignant. It also moves at a good pace, but the frank writing style did slow it down quite a bit for me

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this__nerd's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book is not only a story about the dangerous work of a hired thief who finds herself mixed up in some major political espionage and sabotage, it’s a story about challenging yourself, understanding your worth, scientific discovery, and critique of the human condition. The main character is smart, funny, and a total bad ass. All the main cast of characters see some degree of development and evolution through their involvement in the story. And there’s a talking key who’s funny as hell. I was engrossed and couldn’t put the story down.

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ink_and_wings's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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jjjreads's review against another edition

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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

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wysperias's review against another edition

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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

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laguerrelewis's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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? Yes

4.75

I came across this book thanks to its mention in an essay about creative commentary through sci-fi/fantasy systems, in which it was lauded in the same breath as N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season. I am happy to report that it lives up to this comparison. The “magic” system of this book is incredibly unique and inspired, and Robert Jackson Bennett skillfully increases how complexly it is applied in a very rewarding way. His style is similar to Brandon Sanderson, with a nice balance of humor, despair, and optimism. And the best part is this book is basically a series of heists with ever increasing stakes and reality-warping magic! This would be a 5 star review if not for some politics regarding policing that feel outdated from a 2023 perspective and the handling of a certain characters’ trauma. I think that element could’ve been handled more tactfully. Ultimately, though, this book was quite the enjoyable read, and I’m excited to read the next installment!

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