roadsoftrial's review
5.0
I'm not even sure what to say about this book. I loved it, I devoured it in a few days, I couldn't stop thinking about it whenever I wasn't reading it. It's a story about magic and powers and learning to use it without getting lost in it, but in a very passive, contemplative, introspective way that I had never really encountered in a fantasy setting until now. The books is a long, in depth character study about empathy, the good and the bad that it can do to an empath, about building boundaries, about growing into the person we need to be while trying to unlearn the unfair expectations we're born into. It's about the different types of love, about sexuality and gender and bonds, and the way the lines often get blurred, the ways some lines are or aren't crossed, about coming of age in an oppressive society, about how liberating it is once we decide to make the leap. I want to recommend this book because it moved me in a deep and personal way, but I realize it's not your average fantasy book, that it's not your average coming of age story, that it's a story that might not interest everyone. The writing is beautiful and poetic and flows so wonderfully (I'll admit I got choked up a few times simply from how gorgeous the words were), and never have I identified with a character more, strengths and especially flaws and all, than I have with Ariah. I was curious about this book and its premise, and I had every reason to be.
pine_wulf's review
4.0
This is a coming of age novel in a fantastic universe with some great rep. I went into it with mistaken expectations. Somehow I thought it was about him learning magic and helping take down the evil empire with a poly relationship. Nope. He does learn magic, but it's not a central focus. More like an ever-present underlying motive. The magic is central to who Ariah is, but the book is not about the magic, it's about Ariah. As for the evil empire, they won already and it doesn't change. Great colonizing force that everyone else just has to put up with. Was correct about the poly relationship. So with these incorrect assumptions in mind, I was disappointed at first, because I kept waiting for something to happen. Then I realized I was wrong and had to shift gears, and then I really enjoyed myself.
This book is about growing as a person and engaging in meaningful relationships along the way. And I loved all the characters. They were very well realized. And because Ariah doesn't really settle very well, there is a lot of travel and we see different pockets of culture. It's very interesting. But I am at a bit of a loss to understand the Droma properly. All the different people and circumstances feel like a rich, but difficult, life evoking several emotions in me.
My main issues are with world-building. I do struggle with believing that the different peoples could be as disparate as they are. Yes, there is natural barriers leading to isolation, but not complete isolation. You can cross the desert with camels. Why wouldn't there have been more contact with the Droma before the Qin started taking them as slaves? That would have prevented from the peoples growing as different as they did. I also have stupid niggling questions which aren't important at all. Such as, the Droma were herding antelopes. (As well as goats and yaks.) Real world antelopes have been difficult to domesticate. They are very flighty. And what were they using the antelopes for? More milk? I'm sure you can just explain that they aren't real world antelopes, so they can be tamed, but it still annoys me.
Overall, I do recommend giving this one a read. Just go in knowing what it is. Don't expect a lot of plot. This is more slice-of-life.
This book is about growing as a person and engaging in meaningful relationships along the way. And I loved all the characters. They were very well realized. And because Ariah doesn't really settle very well, there is a lot of travel and we see different pockets of culture. It's very interesting. But I am at a bit of a loss to understand the Droma properly. All the different people and circumstances feel like a rich, but difficult, life evoking several emotions in me.
My main issues are with world-building. I do struggle with believing that the different peoples could be as disparate as they are. Yes, there is natural barriers leading to isolation, but not complete isolation. You can cross the desert with camels. Why wouldn't there have been more contact with the Droma before the Qin started taking them as slaves? That would have prevented from the peoples growing as different as they did. I also have stupid niggling questions which aren't important at all. Such as, the Droma were herding antelopes. (As well as goats and yaks.) Real world antelopes have been difficult to domesticate. They are very flighty. And what were they using the antelopes for? More milk? I'm sure you can just explain that they aren't real world antelopes, so they can be tamed, but it still annoys me.
Overall, I do recommend giving this one a read. Just go in knowing what it is. Don't expect a lot of plot. This is more slice-of-life.
lelex's review
2.0
I desperately wanted to like this. The cover and the concept are exactly what I'm about, but it was just so so long and had no clear direction. I put a lot of effort into reading the first 100 pages but got lost in the middle and skimmed a lot until I got to the end.
There was just so much happening all the time while nothing really happened at the same time. On a micro scale, the reading was incredible. I liked how this book talked about feelings and about the way that things feel, but the more I scaled out and thought about what was happening in terms of any sort of plot the less I liked it. And normally I go in for books with winding plot or no plot at all. I wanted to like Ariah but I didn't really, and I only really liked Sorcha. I couldn't stand Dirva. I did really like all the bits about Dirva and Sorcha's family and their dynamics. The bit in the middle where all three of Ariah, Sorcha, and Shayat come together was very good and well done but it couldn't hold it together for me. A lot of kind of random bad stuff happens to Ariah and he's just magically pulled out of it and is fine again, only to do the same thing over and over. It didn't feel to me like he learned from anything he did.
I also desperately wanted to like the lore and world building, but a lot of it was never explained and I wasn't able to intuit exactly what certain aspects of the magic and the world were like or what they meant. I like a little bit of hand holding around my world building but this book didn't really have any explanations at all. I wanted to like it so badly. I gave it a good ole try and eventually just skimmed the rest of it. It wasn't for me but I did definitely like certain bits.
There was just so much happening all the time while nothing really happened at the same time. On a micro scale, the reading was incredible. I liked how this book talked about feelings and about the way that things feel, but the more I scaled out and thought about what was happening in terms of any sort of plot the less I liked it. And normally I go in for books with winding plot or no plot at all. I wanted to like Ariah but I didn't really, and I only really liked Sorcha. I couldn't stand Dirva. I did really like all the bits about Dirva and Sorcha's family and their dynamics. The bit in the middle where all three of Ariah, Sorcha, and Shayat come together was very good and well done but it couldn't hold it together for me. A lot of kind of random bad stuff happens to Ariah and he's just magically pulled out of it and is fine again, only to do the same thing over and over. It didn't feel to me like he learned from anything he did.
I also desperately wanted to like the lore and world building, but a lot of it was never explained and I wasn't able to intuit exactly what certain aspects of the magic and the world were like or what they meant. I like a little bit of hand holding around my world building but this book didn't really have any explanations at all. I wanted to like it so badly. I gave it a good ole try and eventually just skimmed the rest of it. It wasn't for me but I did definitely like certain bits.
laurynnslibrary's review
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
logarithm's review
3.0
(3.5)
Found families all the way, and very cool worldbuilding, but i wish the protagonist had a bit more agency - mostly, he just goes with the flow with 0 motion of what he wants
Found families all the way, and very cool worldbuilding, but i wish the protagonist had a bit more agency - mostly, he just goes with the flow with 0 motion of what he wants
jaybird_reads's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
A wonderful creation of fantasy cultures and settings, and an exploration of different forms of intimacy that I haven’t seen in any other book.
It takes a moment to be pulled into the narrative style, but it’s well worth the read! Once you get to Sorcha everything is great. The book is far more character driven than plot driven, but we are shown a vast amount of the fantasy world that Sanders has created.
Main gripe is a lack of strong female characters. Lots of gay men but no gay women, let alone women that actually talk to each other.
It takes a moment to be pulled into the narrative style, but it’s well worth the read! Once you get to Sorcha everything is great. The book is far more character driven than plot driven, but we are shown a vast amount of the fantasy world that Sanders has created.
Main gripe is a lack of strong female characters. Lots of gay men but no gay women, let alone women that actually talk to each other.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Homophobia, Slavery, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Rape, Sexual content, Violence, and Drug use
Minor: Animal death
natroze's review
I really wanted to like this, because all the themes are right up my alley, but the chaotic pacing and sheer lack of depth of descriptions of the setting and the world made it feel liminal and transient in a bad way. Compelling concepts, but felt overall under-developed for my taste. It felt more like reading an extremely long summary of events than an actual narrative.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Drug use, Biphobia, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Racism, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Gaslighting, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Slavery, Abandonment, Biphobia, Drug use, Grief, Police brutality, and Pregnancy
Minor: Confinement, Blood, and Cursing
Re: sexual assault/rape and gaslighting—all of this happens due to magical charm effects/abilities Re: racism/xenophobia/slavery—against fictional fantasy races (elves, of all skin tones and multiple cultural groups); racism and slavery perpetrated by humans against elves, xenophobia in general occurs between various elven and non-elven characters who don’t understand each other’s customs.lanidon's review
5.0
What do I say about a book that I feel fundamentally changed me as a person? How do I describe the experience of taking a pumice stone to the very marrow of your being and emerging raw and clean?
The writing style feels uniquely comforting. It has the "dear reader" kind of direct narration, but not in the traditional way that puts you as an observer. The way that Ariah is telling the story with some hindsight and hints at what's to come makes it feel like he's an old friend washing and braiding your hair while you relax in a warm bath and listen to his adventures
I don't think I'll ever find another book quite like this one and I mourn finishing it. I'm not sure what to do with myself now that it's over. I might look back at this review and think it is overdramatic but right now all I can do is stare at a wall and process how this book has shaped me
The writing style feels uniquely comforting. It has the "dear reader" kind of direct narration, but not in the traditional way that puts you as an observer. The way that Ariah is telling the story with some hindsight and hints at what's to come makes it feel like he's an old friend washing and braiding your hair while you relax in a warm bath and listen to his adventures
I don't think I'll ever find another book quite like this one and I mourn finishing it. I'm not sure what to do with myself now that it's over. I might look back at this review and think it is overdramatic but right now all I can do is stare at a wall and process how this book has shaped me
poetic_liz's review
5.0
There are no words for what that book did to me.
Beautifully written, the exploration of culture, politics, society, gender and sexuality masterfully woven into a very vivid fantasy setting. I'm aching thinking about those characters.
Easily top five books I've ever read.
Beautifully written, the exploration of culture, politics, society, gender and sexuality masterfully woven into a very vivid fantasy setting. I'm aching thinking about those characters.
Easily top five books I've ever read.
wilt's review
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Wow. Just... wow.
I don't even know where to begin. Nothing I could say would be as impactful as reading Ariah was for me.
I don't even know where to begin. Nothing I could say would be as impactful as reading Ariah was for me.