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zomb1735's review against another edition
4.0
Loved the mix of genres, part fantasy, part renaissance but also somehow a cyberpunk vibe? Really enjoyed the world and the characters.
bombycillacedrorum's review against another edition
4.0
Some bits of dialogue etc are a bit “as you know, Bob” in moments, where you can feel Plot Gears frantically working over time, and I actually guessed a couple lore/plot point things about 100/150 pages before they occurred (though not all of them!), but I really like the conceit of weirdly adorable talkative objects and the continually escalating anticapitalism vibes (and the literal gayness that creeps in). Like me a hardscrabble queer female MC, too, and although I was “oh please” at Gregor at first, he also grew on me. Fantasy trimmings but the magic seems to be essentially mystic-ified computers/AI/cyborgian stuff, so there’s a lot of soft sci-fi involved too.
ryanboros's review against another edition
4.0
Neurotic AI and hacker magic
Men-in-Black with hellava rigs
The plight of working people
I really liked this book. I like the relationship between Sancia and Clef. The technology magic was really interesting. As a programmer, it reminded me a lot of assembly language where Clef is a master hacker. There was good character development with the secondary characters Gregor and Orso, where they started out as pretty stock character but quickly changed into ones with more depth. Good surprises and over the top caper heists. The tone of the book felt light at first, but gets pretty dark at times with the violent weapons during battles and trauma that the characters have experienced in their past. One of the better books I've read recently and I'm definitely excited for the next book in the series.
Men-in-Black with hellava rigs
The plight of working people
I really liked this book. I like the relationship between Sancia and Clef. The technology magic was really interesting. As a programmer, it reminded me a lot of assembly language where Clef is a master hacker. There was good character development with the secondary characters Gregor and Orso, where they started out as pretty stock character but quickly changed into ones with more depth. Good surprises and over the top caper heists. The tone of the book felt light at first, but gets pretty dark at times with the violent weapons during battles and trauma that the characters have experienced in their past. One of the better books I've read recently and I'm definitely excited for the next book in the series.
ambernm88's review against another edition
4.0
It took a while for this book to take off and there were several parts that dragged on a bit, but even so I enjoyed the magic system and was able to stay engaged and interested in the story and characters.
penkay's review against another edition
4.0
I have never read this author before. I generally put this in my review for authors I’ve never read before to show I don’t go into a book with any expectations. What I found was a novel that had great world building and fascinating characters. This author had a great way with words, and I really didn’t want to put this book down to adult. I’m not usually an epic fantasy fan, and to be fair, this isn’t exactly just an epic fantasy, but this one started out so action-packed I didn’t have any choice but to be immediately drawn into the book. While some aspects of the genre of this book didn’t appeal to me and I found some plot twists predictable, I was able to look past those for the most part and keep my attention focused on the plot, and found a great deal of enjoyment in reading. Fans of this author will be sure to enjoy this, and if you like epic fantasy/steampunk/sci-fi type books, you should give it a try! Highly recommend! I was provided the e-book which I voluntarily reviewed.
cherub__'s review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This is a great fast-paced heist adventure with a very enjoyable magic system and lovable rogue characters. It's not deep, it's not reflective, and it doesn't need to be! If you're looking for a creative rabbit hole to fall into for a few hours, this is the book for you.
citylif's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75