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misterwisp's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
It's pretty good. The enjoyable aspects are the world and the characters. The biggest difficult aspect is the slow pacing in parts, and elaborate excessive attention to small details can make things drag a bit.
The world is centuries into the aftermath of some kind of magical eco-disaster that left behind a harsh desert. The cities are shaped by extremes of poverty and wealth. Acquisition, ownership, and trading of relics from the mage culture before the big disaster is the big shaping force in the society and culture. It feels interesting and unique. It's not just pseudo medieval Europe or anything like that. The characters are well written and felt worth investing in.
The plot is a bit slow. Things take a long time to happen. Scenes often have a high level of description including specific breakdown of lighting conditions, the exact details of patterns on the furniture, and the minutiae of the clothing characters are wearing, etc. After a certain point it felt unnecessary and repetitive.
Frustrations aside it was a good read and the pace picked up in the last quarter. Time spend was not regretted. The author has a creative imagination. There was payoff and the ending was satisfying.
The world is centuries into the aftermath of some kind of magical eco-disaster that left behind a harsh desert. The cities are shaped by extremes of poverty and wealth. Acquisition, ownership, and trading of relics from the mage culture before the big disaster is the big shaping force in the society and culture. It feels interesting and unique. It's not just pseudo medieval Europe or anything like that. The characters are well written and felt worth investing in.
The plot is a bit slow. Things take a long time to happen. Scenes often have a high level of description including specific breakdown of lighting conditions, the exact details of patterns on the furniture, and the minutiae of the clothing characters are wearing, etc. After a certain point it felt unnecessary and repetitive.
Frustrations aside it was a good read and the pace picked up in the last quarter. Time spend was not regretted. The author has a creative imagination. There was payoff and the ending was satisfying.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia and Classism
Moderate: Death, Violence, and Police brutality
Minor: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Blood, and Medical trauma
escapismforlife's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It was a long extra few weeks before I finished this standalone sci-fi and fantasy, but I finished and it was both super technical and somehow dramatic yet fun throughout. The audiobok definitely helped get me more invested with how this story is told. In particular to grasp the main characters voices and lifestyles in this dystopic city. They were chaotic but logical somehow for a setting that underestimates them for there positions. Which I automatically resonate with the complicated role they have to balance each are put in that's always nicely done in these genres and more so I ones with political infighting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism