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palmkd's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This is an epic fantasy tale set in a world full of shogun and samurai. Honor is something you might die for, but few stop to question if the persons they honor and trust deserve it.
Yukiko has a special ability to communicate with animals, which would be a death sentence if the wrong people found out. This is a harsh world that's being controlled by the people's dependence on the lotus flower and there's a full blown clockwork driven industry. It's an interesting clash of technology and historical epic fantasy and I'm curious to see where the series goes.
The story has a slow build up overall, but it felt with the journey and I suspect will have an even better payoff with future books.
Yukiko's special ability is very interesting and I especially enjoy meeting the Thunder Tiger and way they work with her ability in the story. The caste system and society is very interesting and the dystopian elements are really well done.
I was not a big fan of the narrator for the UK audiobook (which is different than the US one) but it's the one I had access to when reading this.
Yukiko has a special ability to communicate with animals, which would be a death sentence if the wrong people found out. This is a harsh world that's being controlled by the people's dependence on the lotus flower and there's a full blown clockwork driven industry. It's an interesting clash of technology and historical epic fantasy and I'm curious to see where the series goes.
The story has a slow build up overall, but it felt with the journey and I suspect will have an even better payoff with future books.
Yukiko's special ability is very interesting and I especially enjoy meeting the Thunder Tiger and way they work with her ability in the story. The caste system and society is very interesting and the dystopian elements are really well done.
I was not a big fan of the narrator for the UK audiobook (which is different than the US one) but it's the one I had access to when reading this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Racism, Slavery, Blood, Murder, and Colonisation
julieabe89's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
I adore this story. It's got everything. Steampunk dystopia, revolution, heartache, and more. I cannot get enough of these characters.
spaceysloth's review against another edition
2.0
Jay is one of my favorite authors. But this book just wasn’t great. However I can see how he has grown as an author since.
The first 100 pages were a real struggle. There was a lot of world building but it didn’t feel flushed out. For me the prose felt confusing and the characters forgettable. After the first 100 pages I started to kind of get an idea of this story. But the plot didn’t feel complete. It was hard as a reader to see the vision.
Storm dancer is about the main character Yukiko having to capture a mythical beast for the Shōgun. However the world that Yukiko lives in is plagued by the lotus flower and its deadly poison both to humans and the environment. Initial this sounding intriguing to me but I felt like it needed more and less of different things.
I would say a similar book that’s more recently published as of this year would be To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods by Molly X Chang. This book is more YA while Stormdancer I believe is considered Adult?
By far my least favorite Jay book and I won’t be continuing the trilogy.
The first 100 pages were a real struggle. There was a lot of world building but it didn’t feel flushed out. For me the prose felt confusing and the characters forgettable. After the first 100 pages I started to kind of get an idea of this story. But the plot didn’t feel complete. It was hard as a reader to see the vision.
Storm dancer is about the main character Yukiko having to capture a mythical beast for the Shōgun. However the world that Yukiko lives in is plagued by the lotus flower and its deadly poison both to humans and the environment. Initial this sounding intriguing to me but I felt like it needed more and less of different things.
I would say a similar book that’s more recently published as of this year would be To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods by Molly X Chang. This book is more YA while Stormdancer I believe is considered Adult?
By far my least favorite Jay book and I won’t be continuing the trilogy.
frawst_disasta_reads's review against another edition
The font was too small and I kept getting headaches from eye strain.
darkskybooks's review against another edition
3.0
I somewhat regret listening to the audiobook version of this. I found the narration to be not great, leaning heavily on some cultural stereotype for the accents used - a little bit offensive to listen to. The story itself is set in a clever take on a steampunk world, with vast machinery powered by blood lotus, a plant that has 'particular' needs to grow and produces a vast amount of pollution when used. The military industrial complex that it powers forms the backbone of the society - a scarily believable allegory for modern capitalism and hydrocarbons. The world building here is well done.
The story mostly follows the daughter of the chief tracker of the emperor, being sent to capture a thunder tiger - a griffon like beast. Some characters are a bit one dimensional - I found the childlike petulance of the emperor somewhat grating. The motivations are a bit confused as well. However, they are all distinctive and interesting. The plot is somewhat generic, with its main distinction being the world and the female lead. Kristoff writes with a very accessible and conversational style which is fun and easy to follow and this book is no exception to that.
Overall a fun fantasy romp. Avoid the audiobook though.
The story mostly follows the daughter of the chief tracker of the emperor, being sent to capture a thunder tiger - a griffon like beast. Some characters are a bit one dimensional - I found the childlike petulance of the emperor somewhat grating. The motivations are a bit confused as well. However, they are all distinctive and interesting. The plot is somewhat generic, with its main distinction being the world and the female lead. Kristoff writes with a very accessible and conversational style which is fun and easy to follow and this book is no exception to that.
Overall a fun fantasy romp. Avoid the audiobook though.
miffyf's review against another edition
4.0
There are some classic tropes in this - but it's all so much fun that you just skip right over them. Yukiko an awesome, kick-ass hero: daughter of the Shogun's hunt master, and member of the Fox clan, she is dragged along on a quest to capture an arashitora - an animal which has not been seen in the befouled skies of the Shima Isles for many years.
Kristoff skilfully weaves myth and adventure with climate and gender issues, producing an unusual and entertaining fantasy quest. I'm looking forward to getting stuck into the second in this series, Kinslayer.
Kristoff skilfully weaves myth and adventure with climate and gender issues, producing an unusual and entertaining fantasy quest. I'm looking forward to getting stuck into the second in this series, Kinslayer.
mimi_joe_lit's review against another edition
3.0
une fantasy orientale fort sympathique quoique un peu maladroite sur certains points.
Si comme moi vous aimez les récits de fantasy orientale avec des créatures légendaires, un perso féminin trop badass et une bonne dose de steampunk alors vous êtes au bon endroit mais avant ça il va falloir s'accrocher car les 50 premières pages du roman sont un peu dures à passer.
Dans les 50 premieres pages on a beaucoup de descriptions très détaillées sur l'univers et son fonctionnement avec des termes spécifiques propre à la culture asiatique que vous ne connaissez pas et qui vont freiner votre compréhension du texte voir même vous donner envie de reposer le bouquin comme ça a été le cas pour moi.
MAIS pas de panique car il y a un glossaire à la fin du livre pour vous expliquer tous ces termes compliqués !
Malheureusement, et c'est la le gros point négatif de ce roman, beaucoup de termes sont mal utilisés comme par exemple les suffixes " -san " " -chan " qui normalement doivent être mis dans certains cas et pas dans d'autres seulement la ils étaient placés un peu au piff. Ce n'est qu'une petite erreur parmis tant d'autres mais ça montre que l'auteur n'a pas fait un travail de recherche appronfondi sur la culture qu'il dépeint dans son roman. Certains mots sont juste la pour faire genre "récit japonais authentique" alors que non et c'est un peu dommage même si ça ne gêne pas vraiment l'intrigue.
MAIS il y a quand même des points positifs dans ce 1e tome car une fois les 100 premières pages passées le récit s'accélère et l'action se met en place. Yukiko notre perso principal se lie avec une créature légendaire qu'elle devait initialement chasser et on voit au fil des pages une complicité se créer entre eux en même temps qu'ils tentent de survivre dans la forêt, blessés, seuls. Je ne vais pas vous mentir j'adore les duos de ce genre et mon petit coeur a fait des bonds dès qu'ils ont commencés à s'apprivoiser.
J'ai aussi beaucoup aimé tout le côté steampunk très présent dans le récit ainsi que la dimension politique avec la récolte contre le shogun que l'on voit arriver.
En résumé on a une intrigue super addictive, un style steampunk très présent, un duo innatendu trop chou uni face à l'adversité, des espions et des combats !
Ma note :
Si comme moi vous aimez les récits de fantasy orientale avec des créatures légendaires, un perso féminin trop badass et une bonne dose de steampunk alors vous êtes au bon endroit mais avant ça il va falloir s'accrocher car les 50 premières pages du roman sont un peu dures à passer.
Dans les 50 premieres pages on a beaucoup de descriptions très détaillées sur l'univers et son fonctionnement avec des termes spécifiques propre à la culture asiatique que vous ne connaissez pas et qui vont freiner votre compréhension du texte voir même vous donner envie de reposer le bouquin comme ça a été le cas pour moi.
MAIS pas de panique car il y a un glossaire à la fin du livre pour vous expliquer tous ces termes compliqués !
Malheureusement, et c'est la le gros point négatif de ce roman, beaucoup de termes sont mal utilisés comme par exemple les suffixes " -san " " -chan " qui normalement doivent être mis dans certains cas et pas dans d'autres seulement la ils étaient placés un peu au piff. Ce n'est qu'une petite erreur parmis tant d'autres mais ça montre que l'auteur n'a pas fait un travail de recherche appronfondi sur la culture qu'il dépeint dans son roman. Certains mots sont juste la pour faire genre "récit japonais authentique" alors que non et c'est un peu dommage même si ça ne gêne pas vraiment l'intrigue.
MAIS il y a quand même des points positifs dans ce 1e tome car une fois les 100 premières pages passées le récit s'accélère et l'action se met en place. Yukiko notre perso principal se lie avec une créature légendaire qu'elle devait initialement chasser et on voit au fil des pages une complicité se créer entre eux en même temps qu'ils tentent de survivre dans la forêt, blessés, seuls. Je ne vais pas vous mentir j'adore les duos de ce genre et mon petit coeur a fait des bonds dès qu'ils ont commencés à s'apprivoiser.
J'ai aussi beaucoup aimé tout le côté steampunk très présent dans le récit ainsi que la dimension politique avec la récolte contre le shogun que l'on voit arriver.
En résumé on a une intrigue super addictive, un style steampunk très présent, un duo innatendu trop chou uni face à l'adversité, des espions et des combats !
Ma note :
n_caleary's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? Yes
4.0
lynseyisreading's review against another edition
5.0
As amazing as I'd hoped. I cannot wait for the next one!
I admit to being slightly scared of starting this book. I don't think I've ever seen such a positive buzz about a book that hadn't (at the time) even been released yet. Book Bloggers and Advanced Copy readers were going wild about it; doing these amazing, gushing, hyperbolic reviews. This worried me, because it wouldn't be the first time that that's happened and then I've picked up the book myself and realised it's very prettily written, and highly descriptive, but is otherwise only an average story. And I can't get excited about the talent of a wordsmith alone. You have to tell me a good story as well. That's kind of my mantra when I'm reading: Tell the story, tell the story, tell the story. So when writers get too wordy or try and simile me into submission, I get turned off. Where did my story go?
And for the most part, I would be lying if I didn't say that Kristoff's writing is highly descriptive in places. More so, even, than some of the ones I ended up not liking previously. But holy freaking cow does he back that up with a great story, incredible world-building, phenomenal fantasy, sci-fi and steampunk elements, and to top it all off, a cast of fantastically diverse and complex characters!
A-maz-ing.
Of course, anything worth having is worth working hard for, and for around the first 50-60 or so pages of the book, I was working pretty damned hard! The Japanese language; mostly used for names of weapons, clothing, races, species, gods, myths and of course, character names, made reading difficult initially. I don't really like having to struggle so much, but after all the reviews I'd seen, I felt confident the pay-off would be worth it if I persevered. It was, and then some.
So, what is the book about? Well, it's a very complex world and plot and overall story arc, so I wouldn't even like to try summarising it. But I will tell you your main character is a young girl named Yukiko. She is an excellent strong and positive heroine who needs no hot boy brooding at her to make her appear so. It's not a coming-of-age story, exactly, but definitely an eye-opening journey. It set in a futuristic, or maybe alternate history? (not sure) Japan, where a plant called the Blood Lotus has been discovered and put to great and terrifying use. It powers the great machinery; the sky-ships, the war machines, even the brass and iron body armour of the samurai warriors. But the cost to the world and its citizens is immense. The choking fumes are killing everyone and everything, slowly but surely. Breathing masks and goggles need to be worn at all times. Man is playing a very dangerous and greedy game; thinking only of the benefits now, and not the consequences later. It's quite thought-provoking in that it's not that much of a stretch to imagine our species doing exactly this--especially such an industrious nation as Japan--and its message is clear, and the most ingenious use of entertainment to deliver it since WALL.E.
So, it looks like someone needs to shake things up a bit, right? But our Yukiko is just one girl, and only 16 at that. She has no power. But perhaps she has the strength after all (spot the Princess Bride quote), if only she has the help of oh, say for example, a badass THUNDER TIGER!
Buruu's character—and he definitely is a character—was a fantastic part of the story. His dialogue—which is telepathic and all done in shouty capitals—was excellent and often highly amusing. I loved him!
There were several other characters I grew to appreciate and as the epic final chapters came to a close, I found myself deeply concerned over their whereabouts and well-being. That's not to say it ends on a cliffhanger—it doesn't—but there are many unanswered questions and threads left unresolved and I NEED THE NEXT BOOK RIGHT NOW!
In summation, do I recommend this book? Hells yeah. Who to? I don't know... everyone? I'm not sure who to recommend it to specifically, because it's so unlike anything else with it's blend of genres. Even if you've read Steampunk before that will in no way prepare you for this book. My advice is to just go and buy it, if it's not for you, hand it to your friend and they'll probably read it, love it, and tell you you're a crazy person not to have loved every single syllable. And they'll probably give you a cookie or something. So everyone's a winner.
5 phenomenal Stars ★★★★★
ARC provided for an honest review.
I admit to being slightly scared of starting this book. I don't think I've ever seen such a positive buzz about a book that hadn't (at the time) even been released yet. Book Bloggers and Advanced Copy readers were going wild about it; doing these amazing, gushing, hyperbolic reviews. This worried me, because it wouldn't be the first time that that's happened and then I've picked up the book myself and realised it's very prettily written, and highly descriptive, but is otherwise only an average story. And I can't get excited about the talent of a wordsmith alone. You have to tell me a good story as well. That's kind of my mantra when I'm reading: Tell the story, tell the story, tell the story. So when writers get too wordy or try and simile me into submission, I get turned off. Where did my story go?
And for the most part, I would be lying if I didn't say that Kristoff's writing is highly descriptive in places. More so, even, than some of the ones I ended up not liking previously. But holy freaking cow does he back that up with a great story, incredible world-building, phenomenal fantasy, sci-fi and steampunk elements, and to top it all off, a cast of fantastically diverse and complex characters!
A-maz-ing.
Of course, anything worth having is worth working hard for, and for around the first 50-60 or so pages of the book, I was working pretty damned hard! The Japanese language; mostly used for names of weapons, clothing, races, species, gods, myths and of course, character names, made reading difficult initially. I don't really like having to struggle so much, but after all the reviews I'd seen, I felt confident the pay-off would be worth it if I persevered. It was, and then some.
So, what is the book about? Well, it's a very complex world and plot and overall story arc, so I wouldn't even like to try summarising it. But I will tell you your main character is a young girl named Yukiko. She is an excellent strong and positive heroine who needs no hot boy brooding at her to make her appear so. It's not a coming-of-age story, exactly, but definitely an eye-opening journey. It set in a futuristic, or maybe alternate history? (not sure) Japan, where a plant called the Blood Lotus has been discovered and put to great and terrifying use. It powers the great machinery; the sky-ships, the war machines, even the brass and iron body armour of the samurai warriors. But the cost to the world and its citizens is immense. The choking fumes are killing everyone and everything, slowly but surely. Breathing masks and goggles need to be worn at all times. Man is playing a very dangerous and greedy game; thinking only of the benefits now, and not the consequences later. It's quite thought-provoking in that it's not that much of a stretch to imagine our species doing exactly this--especially such an industrious nation as Japan--and its message is clear, and the most ingenious use of entertainment to deliver it since WALL.E.
So, it looks like someone needs to shake things up a bit, right? But our Yukiko is just one girl, and only 16 at that. She has no power. But perhaps she has the strength after all (spot the Princess Bride quote), if only she has the help of oh, say for example, a badass THUNDER TIGER!
Buruu's character—and he definitely is a character—was a fantastic part of the story. His dialogue—which is telepathic and all done in shouty capitals—was excellent and often highly amusing. I loved him!
There were several other characters I grew to appreciate and as the epic final chapters came to a close, I found myself deeply concerned over their whereabouts and well-being. That's not to say it ends on a cliffhanger—it doesn't—but there are many unanswered questions and threads left unresolved and I NEED THE NEXT BOOK RIGHT NOW!
In summation, do I recommend this book? Hells yeah. Who to? I don't know... everyone? I'm not sure who to recommend it to specifically, because it's so unlike anything else with it's blend of genres. Even if you've read Steampunk before that will in no way prepare you for this book. My advice is to just go and buy it, if it's not for you, hand it to your friend and they'll probably read it, love it, and tell you you're a crazy person not to have loved every single syllable. And they'll probably give you a cookie or something. So everyone's a winner.
5 phenomenal Stars ★★★★★
ARC provided for an honest review.
j_the_human's review against another edition
It felt… weird. Like a fun house mirror of Japanese culture but in an almost hateful way.