Scan barcode
namelyreed's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
misterwisp's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
3.0
It's a fun, quick little read. Talking animals as part of the world was interesting. That concept is executed in a unique way. The main character Quintus is the only talking and intelligent fox in the known world but doesn't remember how he got that way or where he came from, so he is driven to uncover those answers. He has the capacity to open and navigate supernatural roads and is set to trade that ability to someone for the answers he seeks. He sets out to be the navigator for a journey with a talking bison, a pair of talking racoons, a sinister religious figure and his flunkies, and a suspicious explorer who thinks Quintus led her sister to her death in a previous expedition. There is a stuffy Victorian style explorers guild at one point. There are a bunch of neat character and world building ideas at play. It's well written and easy to read. You do get drawn into the world and the plot. Unfortunately the ending felt like it kind of petered out and didn't quite resolve what it seemed like it should have resolved. Getting to the end was still an enjoyable progression through and I didn't regret having read it. It's a decent little book and a nice break in between longer reads.
pagesofash's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
shereadsinshadows's review against another edition
slow-paced
2.0
How can such an interesting premise have such a boring execution?! Dear god.
katnortonwriter's review against another edition
It’s… clever, I guess? But I’m not feeling it.
abutler's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
mothmae's review against another edition
5.0
i hate to praise a white man, i really do, but he ate with this one.
reneekgood's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
Seems like it was written to do mostly cool world building, but the world is cool!
readerbot_lu's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Did I like it? No
Do I recommend it? No
Do I recommend it? No
Favorite Quote
"Will you light a fire?” [Scipio] asked me.
"Alas,” I said. “I have no hands. I’m surprised you’ve never noticed.”
The Holy rolled his eyes. “Will you order one lit?”
“Of course,” I said. “Scipio, light a fire.” (92)
"Alas,” I said. “I have no hands. I’m surprised you’ve never noticed.”
The Holy rolled his eyes. “Will you order one lit?”
“Of course,” I said. “Scipio, light a fire.” (92)
Positives
The premise of the world, with humans, sentient animals, and regular animals (with a process that can be used to turn regular animals sentient) was the most interesting aspect of this book for me. Though, I really enjoyed the witty banter we got between Quintus and Scipio.
Negatives
Unfortunately, I felt like the premise of the world was the most interesting aspect for me. I kept wondering about all of the philosophical quandaries that must exist in a world like this and what the ethics of turning animals sentient were (and worrying about the potential connections in these philosophies to things like eugenics or ableism). These questions were not answered to my satisfaction. And in light of them, I didn’t particularly care about the plot of Quintus leading Scipio’s crew to the gates of Hell.