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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
rafacolog's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Slavery, and Cultural appropriation
ordinarilybi's review against another edition
0.25
Putting a little disclaimer in front because it’s been eight years (oh hell) since I read and reviewed this book and I obviously did not exactly catch on to a lot of culturally appropriative stuff. Just to say: this is something that he *repeatedly* does - cherry-picking and dissecting (and disrespecting) non-white cultures, probably to make his books look cooler or something
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Sexism
undersealibrarian's review against another edition
This authors gratitude “take” on Japanese culture was something I found grossly racist, from the random out of context words to the over sexualisation of the young female main character to the weird fetishization of coloured eyes (white traits). It made the book really unpleasant to read despite having interesting characters and plots.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Sexism
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