Scan barcode
cherrick8's review against another edition
4.0
Very intricate storyline, and well-defined characters. This was my first book by this author, but I enjoyed it. It is the first in a series, so I will continue with it and see where she takes it.
cindyc's review
4.0
This book is different from the YA fantasy books I’ve been reading lately. The setting has a Russian feel to it, which is unusual because most other fantasy worlds can’t help but have a western background. The story of Gavril is also a lot more grim, it deals with some heavy stuff and not at all in a childish way. Questions like: “Do I put my own life in front of others?” and “Can I trust someone who’s cursed with something so dangerous it might kill me?” dominate the book.
The storylines followed throughout the book are the political intrigue and the dominance of a world different from ours, but still recognizable. The story takes place in a timeframe more than a century ago, with the introduction of the telephone (or here the Vox Aethyria) and the World Wars, although there aren’t any more indications to the right period in ‘history’.
A book in which court intrigues play a major role are a personal favorite of mine, so Lord of Snow and Shadows is right up my alley. The author made good use of the opportunities that this book presented and everything was nicely written and explained so that it wasn’t very difficult to follow.
The name of the series: The Tears of Artamon is very briefly introduced in this first book, but what their role will be in the further story remains a bit of a mystery.
The use of magic is more subtle than I’m used to: the drakhaoul demon, the magus and the guslyars all possess some kind of magic, but the majority of the population has no magic and has rarely heard of or seen it. Ghosts coming back from the “world beyond” and unexplained phenomena can aslo be attributed to magic, but these all derive from the particular powers of one or more of the magical people mentioned above.
In terms of writing style, I have some comments: sometimes there’s just too much happening in a too limited amount of phrases, the events seem rushed and confusing. The transitions between the POVs is here and there rather abrupt, but otherwise the book reads very smoothly.
Many stumble over the exotic names, but they are one of the more original things I’ve read in a while. Only the name "KiuKiu" isn’t really my thing, but that's just a personal preference.
The author obviously has a talent for creating well defined and loveable characters. Some might even surprise you in the end by their actions or feelings. Nothing is exactly as it seems.
Elysia, the mother, who seems to be a strong woman in the beginning turns out to be incredibly naïve and very easy to manipulate. She's one of those characters you just want to scream at: "No! Don't trust that guy, can’t you see he's just going to double-cross you?! Run as fast as you can! "But off course, they will not listen and you see them walking into a trap with their eyes wide open. And then you just sigh and sit there with an "I-told-you-so" look on your face.
I really enjoyed this rather unknown book, and I would definitely recommend it to the more seasoned fantasy readers.
Visit my Fantasy bookblog http://draumrkpa.blogspot.be/ for more reviews, new releases,...
The storylines followed throughout the book are the political intrigue and the dominance of a world different from ours, but still recognizable. The story takes place in a timeframe more than a century ago, with the introduction of the telephone (or here the Vox Aethyria) and the World Wars, although there aren’t any more indications to the right period in ‘history’.
A book in which court intrigues play a major role are a personal favorite of mine, so Lord of Snow and Shadows is right up my alley. The author made good use of the opportunities that this book presented and everything was nicely written and explained so that it wasn’t very difficult to follow.
The name of the series: The Tears of Artamon is very briefly introduced in this first book, but what their role will be in the further story remains a bit of a mystery.
The use of magic is more subtle than I’m used to: the drakhaoul demon, the magus and the guslyars all possess some kind of magic, but the majority of the population has no magic and has rarely heard of or seen it. Ghosts coming back from the “world beyond” and unexplained phenomena can aslo be attributed to magic, but these all derive from the particular powers of one or more of the magical people mentioned above.
In terms of writing style, I have some comments: sometimes there’s just too much happening in a too limited amount of phrases, the events seem rushed and confusing. The transitions between the POVs is here and there rather abrupt, but otherwise the book reads very smoothly.
Many stumble over the exotic names, but they are one of the more original things I’ve read in a while. Only the name "KiuKiu" isn’t really my thing, but that's just a personal preference.
The author obviously has a talent for creating well defined and loveable characters. Some might even surprise you in the end by their actions or feelings. Nothing is exactly as it seems.
Elysia, the mother, who seems to be a strong woman in the beginning turns out to be incredibly naïve and very easy to manipulate. She's one of those characters you just want to scream at: "No! Don't trust that guy, can’t you see he's just going to double-cross you?! Run as fast as you can! "But off course, they will not listen and you see them walking into a trap with their eyes wide open. And then you just sigh and sit there with an "I-told-you-so" look on your face.
I really enjoyed this rather unknown book, and I would definitely recommend it to the more seasoned fantasy readers.
Visit my Fantasy bookblog http://draumrkpa.blogspot.be/ for more reviews, new releases,...
everily's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this book so much!! I'm craving a good fantasy series and this one looked promising. However, I was so disappointed. I like to describe this book as... if Game of Thrones had dumped all the answers, all of its secrets in the first half of the first book. By the time I was halfway through this book, I could predict the rest of it. The characters did not know, and I was left waiting around for them to know all the secrets.
However... I cannot leave a book unfinished and forced myself to finished it. I did not care about the characters or their fates in the last hundred pages, but I was desperately hoping for a cool cliffhanger ending. I got a cliffhanger but... it just wasn't exciting and did not give me any feelings of suspense or anything.
The parts of the plot also felt very disjointed, as if they were forced together just because the author wanted to include all of them. I could have easily loved Gavril's journey in learning of his ancestry, controlling his powers and leading his Kingdom, with the addition of the politics of Azhkendir within the clans--Kiukiu's story was interesting--without all the issues with Eugene. Joamir living would have been interesting as well if the story just focused on Azhkendir. The war across the continent I felt was too much and the overarching Tears of Artamon felt like an extra forced thing just to tie everything together.
While I finished the book, I will not be reading the rest of the series.
However... I cannot leave a book unfinished and forced myself to finished it. I did not care about the characters or their fates in the last hundred pages, but I was desperately hoping for a cool cliffhanger ending. I got a cliffhanger but... it just wasn't exciting and did not give me any feelings of suspense or anything.
The parts of the plot also felt very disjointed, as if they were forced together just because the author wanted to include all of them. I could have easily loved Gavril's journey in learning of his ancestry, controlling his powers and leading his Kingdom, with the addition of the politics of Azhkendir within the clans--Kiukiu's story was interesting--without all the issues with Eugene. Joamir living would have been interesting as well if the story just focused on Azhkendir. The war across the continent I felt was too much and the overarching Tears of Artamon felt like an extra forced thing just to tie everything together.
While I finished the book, I will not be reading the rest of the series.
blodeuedd's review against another edition
3.0
Tsarist "Russia" fell and an empire was divided. One is ruled by a "dragon", one kingdom seems to be mostly Swedes, oh and Finn! And the rest eh, something. It was a mix of things.
Guy gets kidnapped and is told he is to rule as the dragon, and then he starts to change. Ohhh. I liked Gavril, clueless kid who tried to be nice. His mother had spirit too.
The bad guy, I do not know why he is bad, maybe cos he is Swedish? HA, burn. Sorry.
Lots of political intrigues, a bitchy woman just cos women are bitchy. A princess in distress. A maid that is shown to be more. Oh and those dragon powers, I need to know more.
I gave up the first time, but this time I finished, and it was decent. I got it for free and I have book 2 also, so will continue. Cos that stupid boy, ugh, maybe save that for later! He just doomed his kingdom
Guy gets kidnapped and is told he is to rule as the dragon, and then he starts to change. Ohhh. I liked Gavril, clueless kid who tried to be nice. His mother had spirit too.
The bad guy, I do not know why he is bad, maybe cos he is Swedish? HA, burn. Sorry.
Lots of political intrigues, a bitchy woman just cos women are bitchy. A princess in distress. A maid that is shown to be more. Oh and those dragon powers, I need to know more.
I gave up the first time, but this time I finished, and it was decent. I got it for free and I have book 2 also, so will continue. Cos that stupid boy, ugh, maybe save that for later! He just doomed his kingdom
subgirl's review against another edition
4.0
Took me several tries to get into this one. It's not bad. Couldn't tell you more than that.
lysandercadoc's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this despite the slow start. I had several questions and none were honestly truly answered but enough events and dialog occurred i could infer my answers. I've very curious to see how this story plays out for 3 more books. Kind concerns me because how this book left off I don't think there is enough for this long of a series but my husband loves this series so I'm giving it the benifit of the doubt.
ljstrain28's review against another edition
2.0
There was something about this book that was not for me. Sometimes it felt almost trite, but the story was good overall. I'm not sure, it just didn't grab me the way I expected it to.