garbutch's review
3.0
2.5-3 stars. It's not like, a Bad Book, it just is what it is.
The protagonist becomes blind at some point early on but develops a "second sight" where he is basically not blind anymore, but he is seeing through some kind of psychic perception of what his surroundings look like.
I'm not blind so take this with a grain of salt, but it strikes me that most representation of strongly written blind characters tends to be characters who "overcome" blindness in some way with special powers. I don't even know if that's bad, and I know this is specifically in a fantasy genre setting, but it's just... A trope, y'know? I'd like to see enough blind representation in general that it doesn't matter so much.
I also feel like all (two of) the women/girl characters were pretty similar in personality to some degree. Not interchangeable, just similar.
Frankly there weren't a lot of characters anyway and this is supposed to be a children's book that wasn't published particularly recently, and it's probably quite ahead of its time. For the first in a series also it was okay.
But I still like Tamora Pierce books better.
The protagonist becomes blind at some point early on but develops a "second sight" where he is basically not blind anymore, but he is seeing through some kind of psychic perception of what his surroundings look like.
I'm not blind so take this with a grain of salt, but it strikes me that most representation of strongly written blind characters tends to be characters who "overcome" blindness in some way with special powers. I don't even know if that's bad, and I know this is specifically in a fantasy genre setting, but it's just... A trope, y'know? I'd like to see enough blind representation in general that it doesn't matter so much.
I also feel like all (two of) the women/girl characters were pretty similar in personality to some degree. Not interchangeable, just similar.
Frankly there weren't a lot of characters anyway and this is supposed to be a children's book that wasn't published particularly recently, and it's probably quite ahead of its time. For the first in a series also it was okay.
But I still like Tamora Pierce books better.
caskraft's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: War
Minor: Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Antisemitism
elimarion's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
justsophi's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
pagesofpins's review
2.0
I think I would have really liked this book as a child; despite the formulaic-adventure plot that has the main character stumbling in and out of danger (and in and out of consciousness) every chapter or so, like an Arthurian Hardy Boy, there's enough action and enough magic and enough wish fulfillment to satisfy ten year old me. And the descriptions are pretty good in places.
Adult me, however, has some beef. The pacing is uneven, like it was written as a serial novel or something. Then, Emrys has just met Rhia, and they connect like they've know each other for years--and in a land full of prophesy and fate and all that, I could be okay with that--if it wasn't for Emrys also accusing his mother of being a stranger masquerading as his mother, ditching her forever, and then later finding out that she is, in fact, his mother. Awk-ward. And then he still has time to save his evil father, which Mom is going to bring up in guilt trip phone calls for yeeeeeears to come. Most of all, we have the really really tiny giant. The joke is funny, but the insufferable giant is not. He's like a cross between Dobby the house elf and Jar Jar Binks, and the audio format with his squeaky voice made me long for his death all the more.
Adult me, however, has some beef. The pacing is uneven, like it was written as a serial novel or something. Then, Emrys has just met Rhia, and they connect like they've know each other for years--and in a land full of prophesy and fate and all that, I could be okay with that--if it wasn't for Emrys also accusing his mother of being a stranger masquerading as his mother, ditching her forever, and then later finding out that she is, in fact, his mother. Awk-ward. And then he still has time to save his evil father, which Mom is going to bring up in guilt trip phone calls for yeeeeeears to come. Most of all, we have the really really tiny giant. The joke is funny, but the insufferable giant is not. He's like a cross between Dobby the house elf and Jar Jar Binks, and the audio format with his squeaky voice made me long for his death all the more.
ellekeene's review against another edition
2.0
Why is my adult book club so obsessed by YA?
This is not a bad offering, but it's bogged down in flowery prose (literally and figuratively). Some of it is repetitive. It's a journey of a book. The protagonist and company take an eon to get where they're going and their misadventures are ducked with the aid of laughable twists. But the end did surprise me, and some of the vocabulary is top notch...for a middle grade series.
This is not a bad offering, but it's bogged down in flowery prose (literally and figuratively). Some of it is repetitive. It's a journey of a book. The protagonist and company take an eon to get where they're going and their misadventures are ducked with the aid of laughable twists. But the end did surprise me, and some of the vocabulary is top notch...for a middle grade series.
anactualcat's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? Yes
4.0
sailingqueen's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book as it was a YA Fantasy and fairly easy to understand. It's about a 13 year old boy who loses his memory and sets out on a journey to find himself and save the land. The objective was easily achieved because it is YA. But it sounds more difficult than they portrayed. I don't know the full story of Lord of the Rings but it feels like a young version of Lord of The Rings.