sjj169's review
I've picked up this book three different times and tried to read it. It just doesn't catch my attention. DNF no rating.
leathor's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
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? Yes
4.0
awesomejen2's review
1.0
Extremely disappointing. I won't rehash the synopsis here since anyone can just read the summary for themselves but I will say what was promised in the synopsis was not what was delivered in the story. I was expecting a retired old warrior queen turned peasant to experince a moving personal tragedy that would propel her to come out of retirement and seek revenge. She would bust out the old sword and armor from some hidden chest and get her old band of warriors back together (kind of a la RED but in a fantasy world) and go out there seeking vengance and kick some butt. That did not happen at all. The main issues I had were 1) Too many new characters introduced too fast 2) Too may different places introduced too fast and no map to help you 3)some chapters were just way too slow 4) too much POV shifting 5) any time a weapon is mentioned it was swords, axes, knives etc but then completely out of the blue a character suddenly has a pistol, can you have guns and swords in the same world? Yes that's fine but you have to stablish what level of technology the world has at the beginning of the book or else it's completely jarring to the reader 6) everyone that was supposed to be a badass spent most of their time declaring they were a badass warrior without actually doing anything badass, this was the biggest of the disappointments.
countingstarsbycandlelight's review
3.0
I had to quit. I think I got to 700 of 900 something pages. I mean, I read this book. It was just too long and not in a George R R Martin kind of way either ...
I *might* go back to it, but only on audio.
k
I *might* go back to it, but only on audio.
k
csdaley's review
4.0
I like the sub-genre of grimdark fantasy. Right now I don't think anyone is doing a better job of it than Joe Abercrombie. I had heard a lot of early positive things about A Crown for Cold Silver. I was looking forward to getting my hands on it and seeing how it compares. The good news is the book is quite enjoyable and introduces some really interesting twists to the genre. The bad news is that it starts a little slow and the author made some stylistic choices that were a little rough for me.
The story starts many years after Cobalt Zosia and her five villains have conquered the Crimson Empire only to be overthrown themselves. Cobalt Zosia is believed dead and the five villains have scattered around the empire to lick their wounds. The only problem is someone claiming to be Zosia is stirring up the shit again. The five villains begin the long trek to find this new Zosia and see who the hell she is and what the fuck she is up to.
I liked the basic plot. It wasn't anything particularity new to the genre but it did have some nice twists. One of the best parts of the book is how Alex Marshall plays with gender. That alone was almost worth reading the book. I was also a huge fan of the devils and loved that people ate bugs as their drug of choice. The story starts slow, but about 100 pages in Marshall starts applying gentle pressure to the accelerator and the book begins to build to a giant battle where nothing turns out the way you think it might.
The world building is great in the novel. It was definitely a playground I want to return to. Despite its length, I felt there were a lot of little mysteries left lying around. I can't wait to see where they go in the next book. Marshall can also write a fight scene but remember this is grimdark so heads will be flying and curse words will be spewed. One of the most surprising aspects of the book for me was how funny it was. There were plenty of laugh out loud moments nestled in between all that blood.
There were a few things that worked against the story but they were not book killers for me. The world building and introduction of the characters in the beginning of the book was a tiny bit slow. I think some of the characters could have been introduced later or some of the world could have been left a mystery. There were some interesting style choices in the writing also. Some of the language felt like it was plucked right out of the real world. Sometimes this worked and sometimes it felt a little awkward. It's hard to describe. It just seemed to pop off the page and make me think about it. It was distracting but it didn't happen often. I also felt a few of the characters were a little been there done that. Marshall was clearly trying to bring something new to the table, which I believe he succeeded at many times. So whenever I ran into a character that felt fantasy 101 I was a little put off.
The small things did not stop me from enjoying it though. I will gladly pick up the second book (especially since this one basically left off with a giant cliff hanger). While not as good as Abercrombie or Scott Lynch it was worth the read. Block out some time and dig into this monster. Bring some safety goggles though, it gets a little messy.
-----
This book was a review copy provided by Orbit Books.
The story starts many years after Cobalt Zosia and her five villains have conquered the Crimson Empire only to be overthrown themselves. Cobalt Zosia is believed dead and the five villains have scattered around the empire to lick their wounds. The only problem is someone claiming to be Zosia is stirring up the shit again. The five villains begin the long trek to find this new Zosia and see who the hell she is and what the fuck she is up to.
I liked the basic plot. It wasn't anything particularity new to the genre but it did have some nice twists. One of the best parts of the book is how Alex Marshall plays with gender. That alone was almost worth reading the book. I was also a huge fan of the devils and loved that people ate bugs as their drug of choice. The story starts slow, but about 100 pages in Marshall starts applying gentle pressure to the accelerator and the book begins to build to a giant battle where nothing turns out the way you think it might.
The world building is great in the novel. It was definitely a playground I want to return to. Despite its length, I felt there were a lot of little mysteries left lying around. I can't wait to see where they go in the next book. Marshall can also write a fight scene but remember this is grimdark so heads will be flying and curse words will be spewed. One of the most surprising aspects of the book for me was how funny it was. There were plenty of laugh out loud moments nestled in between all that blood.
There were a few things that worked against the story but they were not book killers for me. The world building and introduction of the characters in the beginning of the book was a tiny bit slow. I think some of the characters could have been introduced later or some of the world could have been left a mystery. There were some interesting style choices in the writing also. Some of the language felt like it was plucked right out of the real world. Sometimes this worked and sometimes it felt a little awkward. It's hard to describe. It just seemed to pop off the page and make me think about it. It was distracting but it didn't happen often. I also felt a few of the characters were a little been there done that. Marshall was clearly trying to bring something new to the table, which I believe he succeeded at many times. So whenever I ran into a character that felt fantasy 101 I was a little put off.
The small things did not stop me from enjoying it though. I will gladly pick up the second book (especially since this one basically left off with a giant cliff hanger). While not as good as Abercrombie or Scott Lynch it was worth the read. Block out some time and dig into this monster. Bring some safety goggles though, it gets a little messy.
-----
This book was a review copy provided by Orbit Books.
jsmithborne's review
4.0
I really liked this one--the conflicted anti-hero retired general as a 50-something woman is what attracted me to the book (and also the Tiptree Award committee, which shortlisted the book for this year's award), but all the characters were compelling and the world was complex and fascinating. Looking forward to future books in the series.
vvatson's review
4.0
This book has a fantastic premise to the story that opened up the a really interesting world.
There is a very interesting cast of characters. They're not good people but they make for great tales. A lot of them you get to see out of their depths and making very stupid decisions.
There are also some very interesting world building. I personally would love to know more about the wildborns and the devils. And it was fun to tease out the history and backstory from the text. The linguistic shortcut for worldbuilding was a little lazy tho.
The book did drag for a little bit, and took me a while to read. But there were gasp worthy moments and I am intrigued by the sequels.
There is a very interesting cast of characters. They're not good people but they make for great tales. A lot of them you get to see out of their depths and making very stupid decisions.
There are also some very interesting world building. I personally would love to know more about the wildborns and the devils. And it was fun to tease out the history and backstory from the text. The linguistic shortcut for worldbuilding was a little lazy tho.
The book did drag for a little bit, and took me a while to read. But there were gasp worthy moments and I am intrigued by the sequels.
bigpaw's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
5.0
This is a reread, and it's still one of my faves tbh. I just love every character so much, I love getting to know them all and the way their relationships change and grow over the story. Purna and Maroto are everything to me!! I love the easy diversity in cultures ande languages that feels so genuine, and I love how prominent women are in all areas of the story. This series has my favorite portrayal of a world with true gender equality and no homophobia. The writing can be very bantery and witty in a way that I could see grating on people, and it's the kind of thing that would normally grate on me, but somehow it works so well here and genuinely makes me laugh all the time. And the emotional moments still land perfectly. Idk there's just so many plot threads and characters and I love how they all come together, I love them all, the twists and the fantasy elements and the history and the everything!! It's still so remarkable and thrilling to read about a protagonist like Zosia, seeing a middle aged woman as the pivot point for this entire story. I adore her and I can't wait to dive into rereading the rest of the trilogy and following her journey to the very end.
p.s. Sullen is my son and a very good boy and I love him with my entire heartÂ
p.s. Sullen is my son and a very good boy and I love him with my entire heartÂ
selinadragonair's review
3.0
The first 100 pages were a blast. I loved the unique setting, the detailed prose, the many POVs and cultures and characters. This would be epic I thought.
The second 100 pages were much more difficult. The detailed prose made the story heavy and incredible slow. Inner dialogues and thoughts took so much space that I started to forget what the question or the scene was about. Also, since it was a challenging read, I kind of missed out on a lot of subtle things.
At the beginning of the third 100 pages I struggled to go on. After every boring and long-winded chapter I wanted to stop. Then something interesting happened for a few pages.
In the end, I laid it aside, because it could not captivate me. I was not interested enough to continue.
Which is a shame, because the book had immense potential to be great and epic.
Sadly, it was even too slow for my taste.
The second 100 pages were much more difficult. The detailed prose made the story heavy and incredible slow. Inner dialogues and thoughts took so much space that I started to forget what the question or the scene was about. Also, since it was a challenging read, I kind of missed out on a lot of subtle things.
At the beginning of the third 100 pages I struggled to go on. After every boring and long-winded chapter I wanted to stop. Then something interesting happened for a few pages.
In the end, I laid it aside, because it could not captivate me. I was not interested enough to continue.
Which is a shame, because the book had immense potential to be great and epic.
Sadly, it was even too slow for my taste.