The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! đ
stories's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Interesting worldbuilding, gradually doled out through the book. But thatâs really the only thing going for it, and the world building - elemental magic in a 4 years post âResurrectionâ dystopia - wasnât *that* good. (Primarily because as a consequence of the gradual doling, there was no real chance to explore the implications beyond surface level.Â
Pace was probably the biggest weakness. For all I wanted to understand the world, it was a drag of one thing after another after another. No âbreaksâ of hope were held up sincerely enough to allow for the impact of the next disaster and the rhythm of a narrative just wasnât there.Â
Add a cast of 2-dimensional characters, who individually and collectively show next to no growth across an entire 400 pages (does âsheâs now wearing a necklace with a symbol, but I donât ask where it came fromâ count as character growth?). Honestly, I could barely keep track of which major antagonist was which beyond one was ~confusing, creepy and super sexy~ while the other was only ~confusing and creepy~. They had the same goals, the same threats, the same behaviours.Â
I can see the sequel is a shorter book - maybe the prose tightened up, and the pacing is more polished. Too late for me Iâm afraid. Â Â
Pace was probably the biggest weakness. For all I wanted to understand the world, it was a drag of one thing after another after another. No âbreaksâ of hope were held up sincerely enough to allow for the impact of the next disaster and the rhythm of a narrative just wasnât there.Â
Add a cast of 2-dimensional characters, who individually and collectively show next to no growth across an entire 400 pages (does âsheâs now wearing a necklace with a symbol, but I donât ask where it came fromâ count as character growth?). Honestly, I could barely keep track of which major antagonist was which beyond one was ~confusing, creepy and super sexy~ while the other was only ~confusing and creepy~. They had the same goals, the same threats, the same behaviours.Â
I can see the sequel is a shorter book - maybe the prose tightened up, and the pacing is more polished. Too late for me Iâm afraid. Â Â
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking, Death, Sexual harassment, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Body horror, Cannibalism, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Child death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Slavery, and War
Minor: Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Animal death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Gun violence, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
RUNEBINDER is a struggle for survival in post-apocalyptic Chicago, full of blood, death, magic, temptation, and queer longing for safety that seems impossible.Â
I like Tenn as a main character, he has a blend of hope and exhaustion which makes him really believable as a kid who's been fighting this magic war for several years by this point. Most of the main characters would feel overpowered for book one, but here they fit, as the enemies they fight are either so numerous or so individually powerful that only the twins' three-sphere competence and Tenn's mysteriously strong Water connection are able to withstand them. I like the twins, there's a blend between moments where they're treated as a unit and when they're treated as individuals. They're more experienced than Tenn, but he's differently powerful, so they play complementary roles in confrontations and battle scenes. The cadence of where their abilities were enough and where they were overwhelmed felt natural and worked with the plot to turn this incredibly bloody story into something that's soothing on a narrative level.Â
The worldbuilding is a Rapture-as-zombies take on events from some parts of Revelation in the Bible. If that sentence didn't mean anything to you that's fine, the worldbuilding is internally consistent even without being understood as a (thus far) secular reimagining of a Biblical apocalypse story. There are spirits, magic, and powers, but only the (briefly present and utterly irrelevant) homophobic street preachers tie the destruction of the world to any particular deity.Â
There's a group of characters which seem like "what if the Roma (or another similar group) were magic". They're not named as being a particular real-world group, but they're an insular community who live in a magically-hidden trailer park in the woods, wear patchwork clothes, and play a "magic guide" role in the story. I don't have the background to state unequivocally that this particular characterization is offensive, but it fits neatly into the literary history of using the tropes associated with this real-world group and stripping them of their identity labels in order to fit the story while reinforcing existing stereotypes, usually negative ones. They're portrayed as having access to magic that the rest of the world doesn't, and they have an answer for why they didn't do more when things got bad, but Tenn gets frustrated by what feels like holding back information and resources that could have saved lives. It feels more egregious when the setting is real-world Chicago after a magical event, if I'm right about who they're meant to be then they could have been called Roma and the only disruption would be that it makes the possibly harmful characterization more obvious. If the story doesn't mean to imply they're Roma, then it shouldn't make them live in mobile dwellings and wear patchwork clothes while playing the role of magical/prophetic consultants.
I had fun reading this, it flowed well as an audiobook and I enjoyed the narrator. Unfortunately the issue with the not-technically-Roma and a few other minor things dampened my enjoyment somewhat, though I do plan to try to sequel.Â
I like Tenn as a main character, he has a blend of hope and exhaustion which makes him really believable as a kid who's been fighting this magic war for several years by this point. Most of the main characters would feel overpowered for book one, but here they fit, as the enemies they fight are either so numerous or so individually powerful that only the twins' three-sphere competence and Tenn's mysteriously strong Water connection are able to withstand them. I like the twins, there's a blend between moments where they're treated as a unit and when they're treated as individuals. They're more experienced than Tenn, but he's differently powerful, so they play complementary roles in confrontations and battle scenes. The cadence of where their abilities were enough and where they were overwhelmed felt natural and worked with the plot to turn this incredibly bloody story into something that's soothing on a narrative level.Â
The worldbuilding is a Rapture-as-zombies take on events from some parts of Revelation in the Bible. If that sentence didn't mean anything to you that's fine, the worldbuilding is internally consistent even without being understood as a (thus far) secular reimagining of a Biblical apocalypse story. There are spirits, magic, and powers, but only the (briefly present and utterly irrelevant) homophobic street preachers tie the destruction of the world to any particular deity.Â
There's a group of characters which seem like "what if the Roma (or another similar group) were magic". They're not named as being a particular real-world group, but they're an insular community who live in a magically-hidden trailer park in the woods, wear patchwork clothes, and play a "magic guide" role in the story. I don't have the background to state unequivocally that this particular characterization is offensive, but it fits neatly into the literary history of using the tropes associated with this real-world group and stripping them of their identity labels in order to fit the story while reinforcing existing stereotypes, usually negative ones. They're portrayed as having access to magic that the rest of the world doesn't, and they have an answer for why they didn't do more when things got bad, but Tenn gets frustrated by what feels like holding back information and resources that could have saved lives. It feels more egregious when the setting is real-world Chicago after a magical event, if I'm right about who they're meant to be then they could have been called Roma and the only disruption would be that it makes the possibly harmful characterization more obvious. If the story doesn't mean to imply they're Roma, then it shouldn't make them live in mobile dwellings and wear patchwork clothes while playing the role of magical/prophetic consultants.
I had fun reading this, it flowed well as an audiobook and I enjoyed the narrator. Unfortunately the issue with the not-technically-Roma and a few other minor things dampened my enjoyment somewhat, though I do plan to try to sequel.Â
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Gore, Violence, Torture, Animal death, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, Cursing, Confinement, Gun violence, Cannibalism, and Child death
Minor: Slavery and Ableism
bee_a_boo's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Child death, Death, and Violence
Minor: Cannibalism, Cursing, and Suicidal thoughts
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