sarabeckman617's review against another edition
3.0
The book starts are really promising. There are three established cultures vying for power in a time where the human race is obviously dying (there are even hints of a few other culture/kingdom out there beyond the sea). Zeeravashani reminded me so much of the mind pairing of Anne McCaffery's Dragonriders of Pern.
It was all going so well then as more and more POV characters were introduced and the cultures were becoming more fleshed out for the reader I became super disappointed with just how aggressively STRAIGHT this book is! There are at my count 8 different POV character 4 female/4 male and none of them are the least bit queer. Then none of the people they know are queer.
COME ON!! I know the human race is slowly dying but that doesn't mean we queer people just stop existing! The women in the Zeera all train together as kids and are super pretty and fit and not one sword sister liked another sword sister in a more than sisterly way?? It would have been amazing to see how queer communities are worked into cultures that prize fertility because of low birth rates but no the author chose to just not include a segment of the human race.
The erasure of all sexualities but straight really jarred me out of the story and the world. I just couldn't suspend my belief that far. Then I began to get really agitated when the Atualion form of magic atulfah which is broken into sa & ka is actually just stand in for female/male. SO EVEN THE MAGIC IS STRAIGHT.
I really hope Ms. Wolf considers including queer characters in her world in the next two books, because I would have totally loved to see myself mirrored to me in this world and it just wasn't.
It was all going so well then as more and more POV characters were introduced and the cultures were becoming more fleshed out for the reader I became super disappointed with just how aggressively STRAIGHT this book is! There are at my count 8 different POV character 4 female/4 male and none of them are the least bit queer. Then none of the people they know are queer.
COME ON!! I know the human race is slowly dying but that doesn't mean we queer people just stop existing! The women in the Zeera all train together as kids and are super pretty and fit and not one sword sister liked another sword sister in a more than sisterly way?? It would have been amazing to see how queer communities are worked into cultures that prize fertility because of low birth rates but no the author chose to just not include a segment of the human race.
The erasure of all sexualities but straight really jarred me out of the story and the world. I just couldn't suspend my belief that far. Then I began to get really agitated when the Atualion form of magic atulfah which is broken into sa & ka is actually just stand in for female/male. SO EVEN THE MAGIC IS STRAIGHT.
I really hope Ms. Wolf considers including queer characters in her world in the next two books, because I would have totally loved to see myself mirrored to me in this world and it just wasn't.
kitvaria_sarene's review against another edition
4.0
3,5 stars
It took me quite a bit to get into this one. Once I got settled in the world I did really enjoy the story.
The characters were a bit of a mixed batch for me, some I really liked but some I just didn't click with and didn't care much about. The plot was interesting enough to keep me entertained all the way through!
I found the world and the different setting of what I'm used to really interesting! If was definitely what I liked the most about it. Especially the non patriarchal society was nice breeze of fresh air! The magic on the other hand has me a bit puzzled still. While I still need to get a grip on that, the big cats and many horses were a big plus for me!
I think I'll enjoy the sequels more with the intro to the series out of the way.
It took me quite a bit to get into this one. Once I got settled in the world I did really enjoy the story.
The characters were a bit of a mixed batch for me, some I really liked but some I just didn't click with and didn't care much about. The plot was interesting enough to keep me entertained all the way through!
I found the world and the different setting of what I'm used to really interesting! If was definitely what I liked the most about it. Especially the non patriarchal society was nice breeze of fresh air! The magic on the other hand has me a bit puzzled still. While I still need to get a grip on that, the big cats and many horses were a big plus for me!
I think I'll enjoy the sequels more with the intro to the series out of the way.
bookadventurer's review against another edition
Not into epic fantasies these days (or ever?)
lini002's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
wynwicket's review against another edition
3.0
This one took me a long time to get through, with a desert civilization comprised primarily of female warriors and those who can travel through dreams, having its own well-developed culture and language. I was thoroughly engrossed in spite of myself; however, the last 30 or so pages were terribly confusing, morbid, and odd--it went from a 5-star book to a 3-star, and I'm now unsure if I'll be picking up the next one...
bookaneer's review against another edition
3.0
Group read at the Grimdark Fantasy group. Also my second grimdark novel written by a female author. Definitely need more of these.
The plus: Interesting world-building with some of my personal favorites: a matriarchal society and another one with strong connection to the sea. The author wrote rather nice proses and some narratives are downright poetic. The characters, most are memorable and some are even very engaging and making me want to root for them. Especially Daru, the little boy who could speak to shadows. I just want to hug him and tell him everything's gonna be alright.
The minus: The amount of POVs and subplots are distracting. Probably need better editing to improve the pacing. Also, the amount of non-English words (with no explanation anywhere in the book) are also quite a lot, despite a very long list of terms at the beginning.
Since I am curious about the fate of some of the characters - this book is definitely not a stand-alone - I will continue to the next book.
The plus: Interesting world-building with some of my personal favorites: a matriarchal society and another one with strong connection to the sea. The author wrote rather nice proses and some narratives are downright poetic. The characters, most are memorable and some are even very engaging and making me want to root for them. Especially Daru, the little boy who could speak to shadows. I just want to hug him and tell him everything's gonna be alright.
The minus: The amount of POVs and subplots are distracting. Probably need better editing to improve the pacing. Also, the amount of non-English words (with no explanation anywhere in the book) are also quite a lot, despite a very long list of terms at the beginning.
Since I am curious about the fate of some of the characters - this book is definitely not a stand-alone - I will continue to the next book.
fairiesnest's review against another edition
3.0
This was a solid 5 star book for me until the last quarter of the book. Then it just became incredibly confusing with so many cliff hangers that just didn't make much sense. I do plan to read the sequel because I actually loved so much of this one.
see_sadie_read's review against another edition
3.0
Are you ready to dive into an epic series in which the first 486 page book is nothing more than the characters getting on the board and doesn't do anything more than set up future book? Well, this is the book for you!
I was not ready for that. I was ready for a 486 page story. I got a 486 page introduction, maybe a prologue. It was not enough. I ended this book disappointed...and it took me forever and a day to read it. I got sooo tired of having to reference the three(!) dictionaries in the front. Thank god they were there, but did the book need its own freakin' language?
The writing was pretty, though quite purple on occasion and I liked how some of the gender tropes were subverted. But part of me is side-eyeing that same subversion. Is it really a subversive if it's just been flipped, not really explored in any depth.
As an aside, I was consistently annoyed that this appeared to be another world, but there were several very earth-like jokes and references. Like a quip about knowing poor Yorick well. Perhaps its meant as a future earth, but there were at least two suns for example, so I thought not. Each such comment felt anachronistic to me.
All in all, not a bad book, but not at all what I was looking for.
I was not ready for that. I was ready for a 486 page story. I got a 486 page introduction, maybe a prologue. It was not enough. I ended this book disappointed...and it took me forever and a day to read it. I got sooo tired of having to reference the three(!) dictionaries in the front. Thank god they were there, but did the book need its own freakin' language?
The writing was pretty, though quite purple on occasion and I liked how some of the gender tropes were subverted. But part of me is side-eyeing that same subversion. Is it really a subversive if it's just been flipped, not really explored in any depth.
As an aside, I was consistently annoyed that this appeared to be another world, but there were several very earth-like jokes and references. Like a quip about knowing poor Yorick well. Perhaps its meant as a future earth, but there were at least two suns for example, so I thought not. Each such comment felt anachronistic to me.
All in all, not a bad book, but not at all what I was looking for.
jackiea's review
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25