laguerrelewis's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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? Yes
4.75
I came across this book thanks to its mention in an essay about creative commentary through sci-fi/fantasy systems, in which it was lauded in the same breath as N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season. I am happy to report that it lives up to this comparison. The “magic” system of this book is incredibly unique and inspired, and Robert Jackson Bennett skillfully increases how complexly it is applied in a very rewarding way. His style is similar to Brandon Sanderson, with a nice balance of humor, despair, and optimism. And the best part is this book is basically a series of heists with ever increasing stakes and reality-warping magic! This would be a 5 star review if not for some politics regarding policing that feel outdated from a 2023 perspective and the handling of a certain characters’ trauma. I think that element could’ve been handled more tactfully. Ultimately, though, this book was quite the enjoyable read, and I’m excited to read the next installment!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/injury detail, Sexual harassment, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Gore, Grief, Alcohol, Slavery, Torture, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Violence, Vomit, War, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Classism, Death, Medical content, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Cannibalism and Death of parent
amandabcook's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
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? It's complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Medical trauma, and Slavery
Moderate: Blood, Gore, Injury/injury detail, and War
Minor: Sexual content, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Sexual violence
megansreading's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Things I liked:
Worldbuilding - The magic system and political system in this story are masterfully done. I live the idea of scrivings. The characters use the magic in creative, logical ways that are really fun to follow. It is pretty heavy on worldbuilding, though, so that may not be your style.
Main Character - Sancia is blunt, harsh, and has a lot of room for growth. I throughly enjoyed being in her head, and I sympathized with her struggles. She has a great arc but it leaves room for more in the next books.
Side Characters - A character named Clef stole the show for me. He was endearing from the beginning. I also enjoyed Gregor, who gets some great development in this story.
Heists - This story has roughly four heist plans, which is one of my favorite tropes. If you’re wanting an adult version of Six of Crows this might be for you.
Things I didn’t like:
SA Content - This is more of a personal ick, but I do not enjoy reading about sexual assault. There is nothing explicit on page, but our main character does have two men on separate occasions threaten/prepare to r*pe her. I hate it. Didn’t ruin the book for me, but something to be aware of.
Writing Style - The author uses a lot of unnecessary scene breaks for the sake of drama. It makes for good stopping points but broke up my reading flow.
Villains - There are a couple major villains in this book, and one of them definitely stuck out in a good way. However, they both felt like they both needed more rounding out. This wasn’t a story where I was intrigued by the main villains.
Worldbuilding - The magic system and political system in this story are masterfully done. I live the idea of scrivings. The characters use the magic in creative, logical ways that are really fun to follow. It is pretty heavy on worldbuilding, though, so that may not be your style.
Main Character - Sancia is blunt, harsh, and has a lot of room for growth. I throughly enjoyed being in her head, and I sympathized with her struggles. She has a great arc but it leaves room for more in the next books.
Side Characters - A character named Clef stole the show for me. He was endearing from the beginning. I also enjoyed Gregor, who gets some great development in this story.
Heists - This story has roughly four heist plans, which is one of my favorite tropes. If you’re wanting an adult version of Six of Crows this might be for you.
Things I didn’t like:
SA Content - This is more of a personal ick, but I do not enjoy reading about sexual assault. There is nothing explicit on page, but our main character does have two men on separate occasions threaten/prepare to r*pe her. I hate it. Didn’t ruin the book for me, but something to be aware of.
Writing Style - The author uses a lot of unnecessary scene breaks for the sake of drama. It makes for good stopping points but broke up my reading flow.
Villains - There are a couple major villains in this book, and one of them definitely stuck out in a good way. However, they both felt like they both needed more rounding out. This wasn’t a story where I was intrigued by the main villains.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Sexism and Sexual violence
rossandhissandwich's review
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Death, Torture, and Slavery
Moderate: Body horror, Gore, Vomit, Classism, and Car accident
Minor: Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Sexual assault, and War
lycanhood's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Slavery, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
planetesastraea's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
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? No
4.5
I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
I am fond of steampunk universes and this one is no exception: the way technology and magic are intricated builds a fascinating mystery.
The mythology of this world is thought through, clever and refreshing.
The characters are diverse and complex, carrying the weight of their past trauma and current conditions of existence.
Each of them has a pivoting role into the unfolding of events and seeing them work together to achieve something much bigger than themselves is extremely satisfying.
The representation of various ethnic origins, gender and romantic orientations among the main characters made the story even more valuable.
I'll definitely be reading the second installment shortly!
I am fond of steampunk universes and this one is no exception: the way technology and magic are intricated builds a fascinating mystery.
The mythology of this world is thought through, clever and refreshing.
The characters are diverse and complex, carrying the weight of their past trauma and current conditions of existence.
Each of them has a pivoting role into the unfolding of events and seeing them work together to achieve something much bigger than themselves is extremely satisfying.
The representation of various ethnic origins, gender and romantic orientations among the main characters made the story even more valuable.
I'll definitely be reading the second installment shortly!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Trafficking, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Violence, and Injury/injury detail
Moderate: Vomit and Blood
Minor: Car accident, Cannibalism, and Sexual violence
gw7's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book simultaneously feels like a 4 and a 3 star, and yet if the parts that felt 3 (or 2) star were at the level of the rest of the book, it would be a 5 star.
To start off: it was fast, fun, and entertaining. The pages sped by a lot quicker than they tend to do for me, no matter the book. And I'll definitely be continuing the series.
The 3 (or 2) star parts...
Which basically come down to, we're told that 'this is the way things have to be done!' ... but... why...?? No reason, really. Other than, maybe... the characters are just really, really dumb? Which would be fine, apart from the fact that we're told that, at least some of them, are the top figures in their fields... and I don't see why that would be the case if they were as dumb as they... appear to be? (though of course they are only dumb in these areas to make the story work; this has to be the plan, there's no other way, we know this person... and the reader is given no evidence aside from what they say in that one sentence to think anything to the contrary other than good old, real world trust issues- but who are we to know any different?) This is their world, and they should know it better than us? And we're not told any different, so we have to go with it... which kinda makes the plot obvious...
...but the plot isn't weak. And there was one part where a character said the thing ('it had to be this way' (even though it didn't... like, at all)) and I was like, okay, here we go again, this is probably going to be relevant later, since that's the only reason for a line like that, right? Right???? Apparently not. So then that made me think that maybe this whole thing was just a quirk of his writing and all his plots don't solely rely on these weak connections? I haven't read any of his other work, so I don't know.
(Oh, and there was a little tiny bit of, okay, but would these people really win all these fights against all these trained, practiced- we're told how much they're trained and practiced and lethal- soldiers? so there's that)
(Also also, I wish that he would use 'woman' more liberally than 'girl', 1) because he used 'girl' constantly and it was incredibly annoying, and 2) because there were parts where I wasn't sure whether the use of 'girl' actually meant girl, or whether he meant woman and... like, those are two different types of disgusted, y'know?)
But, the 4 (and potentially 5) star bits??? Okay.
Maybe this comes down to the fact that it was somewhat very unexpected since this is written by an assumed cishet white man (and they don't typically have a great writing track record with... a lot of things)... but it was fine? Good? Enjoyable? Really quite good and not bigoted and 'holier than thou'? By which I mean strong female characters (and going back to the dumb thing for a second, I love that Sancia wasn't necessarily the smartest person but also that it wasn't a point of contention among these (apparently) really smart people, and she was kind just left to be and wasn't looked down on or anything? Like, it's okay for a person to not be insanely smart- it doesn't take anything away from them or make them less of a person. THANK YOU ROBERT JACKSON BENNETT), queerness (CASUAL QUEERNESS), and the only perverted men were the ones who were canonically evil? Like, no creepy 'love interest' who gives off creepy non-consensual vibes and is also definitely homophobic and fat phobic at a minimum. The PTSD/CPTSD rep was... in some places excellent, in one place questionable (but there was mention of something to do with the magic system going on there so not entirely sure), but the conversations surrounding it? Like, the characters talking about it???? Oh, man. One line especially... just incredible. And that leads me onto gushing about the theemeeessss in this thing... Man, Robert Jackson Bennett is just such an intelligent storyteller. The emotional and psychological through lines were similarly strong to that of The Broken Earth trilogy, though the characters didn't... discuss (I don't know if is the right word? It's difficult to explain) it as much in this book. I'm so incredibly excited to see where he takes these in the next book. Often in high fantasy (particularly written by cishet white men), these themes seem to get left behind, but I'm hopeful he'll take them forward as, again, he just comes across as such a thoughtful and capable storyteller.
FINALLY, though- PLOT TWIST- forget all you just read- the real reason this was not a 5 star was because 'arse' 'arseholes'... Robert, why? WHY, when you're American, would you choose to make your characters say 'arse'... ??? WHY? The rest of the time they were normal people but for those few sentences whenever they said 'those ARSEHOLES," they immediately became the poshest, farce-inhabiting people I could imagine and I couldn't take them seriously... arse... Or is this just a uk edition problem? I don't know but it was deeply offensive
To start off: it was fast, fun, and entertaining. The pages sped by a lot quicker than they tend to do for me, no matter the book. And I'll definitely be continuing the series.
The 3 (or 2) star parts...
Which basically come down to, we're told that 'this is the way things have to be done!' ... but... why...?? No reason, really. Other than, maybe... the characters are just really, really dumb? Which would be fine, apart from the fact that we're told that, at least some of them, are the top figures in their fields... and I don't see why that would be the case if they were as dumb as they... appear to be? (though of course they are only dumb in these areas to make the story work; this has to be the plan, there's no other way, we know this person... and the reader is given no evidence aside from what they say in that one sentence to think anything to the contrary other than good old, real world trust issues- but who are we to know any different?) This is their world, and they should know it better than us? And we're not told any different, so we have to go with it... which kinda makes the plot obvious...
...but the plot isn't weak. And there was one part where a character said the thing ('it had to be this way' (even though it didn't... like, at all)) and I was like, okay, here we go again, this is probably going to be relevant later, since that's the only reason for a line like that, right? Right???? Apparently not. So then that made me think that maybe this whole thing was just a quirk of his writing and all his plots don't solely rely on these weak connections? I haven't read any of his other work, so I don't know.
(Oh, and there was a little tiny bit of, okay, but would these people really win all these fights against all these trained, practiced- we're told how much they're trained and practiced and lethal- soldiers? so there's that)
(Also also, I wish that he would use 'woman' more liberally than 'girl', 1) because he used 'girl' constantly and it was incredibly annoying, and 2) because there were parts where I wasn't sure whether the use of 'girl' actually meant girl, or whether he meant woman and... like, those are two different types of disgusted, y'know?)
But, the 4 (and potentially 5) star bits??? Okay.
Maybe this comes down to the fact that it was somewhat very unexpected since this is written by an assumed cishet white man (and they don't typically have a great writing track record with... a lot of things)... but it was fine? Good? Enjoyable? Really quite good and not bigoted and 'holier than thou'? By which I mean strong female characters (and going back to the dumb thing for a second, I love that Sancia wasn't necessarily the smartest person but also that it wasn't a point of contention among these (apparently) really smart people, and she was kind just left to be and wasn't looked down on or anything? Like, it's okay for a person to not be insanely smart- it doesn't take anything away from them or make them less of a person. THANK YOU ROBERT JACKSON BENNETT), queerness (CASUAL QUEERNESS), and the only perverted men were the ones who were canonically evil? Like, no creepy 'love interest' who gives off creepy non-consensual vibes and is also definitely homophobic and fat phobic at a minimum. The PTSD/CPTSD rep was... in some places excellent, in one place questionable (but there was mention of something to do with the magic system going on there so not entirely sure), but the conversations surrounding it? Like, the characters talking about it???? Oh, man. One line especially... just incredible. And that leads me onto gushing about the theemeeessss in this thing... Man, Robert Jackson Bennett is just such an intelligent storyteller. The emotional and psychological through lines were similarly strong to that of The Broken Earth trilogy, though the characters didn't... discuss (I don't know if is the right word? It's difficult to explain) it as much in this book. I'm so incredibly excited to see where he takes these in the next book. Often in high fantasy (particularly written by cishet white men), these themes seem to get left behind, but I'm hopeful he'll take them forward as, again, he just comes across as such a thoughtful and capable storyteller.
FINALLY, though- PLOT TWIST- forget all you just read- the real reason this was not a 5 star was because 'arse' 'arseholes'... Robert, why? WHY, when you're American, would you choose to make your characters say 'arse'... ??? WHY? The rest of the time they were normal people but for those few sentences whenever they said 'those ARSEHOLES," they immediately became the poshest, farce-inhabiting people I could imagine and I couldn't take them seriously... arse... Or is this just a uk edition problem? I don't know but it was deeply offensive
Spoiler
candle
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery and Physical abuse
Moderate: Sexual violence and Torture
adolin_adonalsium's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Sexual assault, Violence, and Slavery
Minor: Body horror, Car accident, Child death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Injury/injury detail, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Terminal illness, and Violence
lauraeerika's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery and Torture
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and War
blulu's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Slavery and Torture
Minor: Sexual violence