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jhbandcats's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
WARNING: There are lots and lots of spiders in this book and they are NOT friendly.
I first read this five years ago and was devastated to discover that, even though it ended on a cliffhanger and was supposed to be the first of a series, it actually just … ended. There was no followup book. Apparently the author’s life interrupted his writing and those of us who couldn’t wait for the sequel suffered accordingly.
Well, now that sequel is finally HERE so I had to reread this one. It’s a swashbuckling steampunk page turner and my favorite character is the hero cat who is arrogant and proud and quite ornery. He’s just wonderful. (I hope he’s in the sequel.)
I enjoyed this just as much the second time as the first. The storytelling flows easily, the characters - even the evil, scary ones - are splendid, and the plot, despite jumping around between characters, is clear and easy to follow. This is a complex world described in such detail that I can picture everything.
There’s also a brand new novella set in the same world. It makes me feel rich with all the reading I have ahead of me!
I first read this five years ago and was devastated to discover that, even though it ended on a cliffhanger and was supposed to be the first of a series, it actually just … ended. There was no followup book. Apparently the author’s life interrupted his writing and those of us who couldn’t wait for the sequel suffered accordingly.
Well, now that sequel is finally HERE so I had to reread this one. It’s a swashbuckling steampunk page turner and my favorite character is the hero cat who is arrogant and proud and quite ornery. He’s just wonderful. (I hope he’s in the sequel.)
I enjoyed this just as much the second time as the first. The storytelling flows easily, the characters - even the evil, scary ones - are splendid, and the plot, despite jumping around between characters, is clear and easy to follow. This is a complex world described in such detail that I can picture everything.
There’s also a brand new novella set in the same world. It makes me feel rich with all the reading I have ahead of me!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism