kell_xavi's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
2.5
There were a few things I liked about this book, but it’s a case where a combination of length and unpleasant tropes brought it down in my esteem the further along the plot went. There’s a kind of fantasy novel that is concerned with magic that is often mechanic, often acts on the human body, is often a curse of gothic body horror, and almost always has someone sadistic and mad with jealous power at its heart. I’ve read a few of these books, and I can feel the dread creep in as I figure out that they’re going in this direction.
Bennett’s basic world-building is kind of cool, though (and this may also be an element of the kind of book I’ve just described) perhaps not to the well-trained, in-depth fantasy reader. The idea that codes can train objects to act like other objects, essentially as though their reality is different and specific to another thing, is intriguing. The scrivers and fabricators, lexicons and Sancia’s powers are all fascinating. The problem is that a lot of the mythology is really complex, the advanced scrived designs get a bit out of hand, and Bennett ends up juggling a lot of stuff that, despite sometimes lengthy explanations, is often a mix of suspension of disbelief and deus ex machina. Which would be a good joke, considering how much of the story deals with gods, machines, advanced beings, magic cyborgs, and the like, except that the piling up of all these pieces sort of cracks the foundations that the story is built on. I was never sure, when the characters refer to god (as in, “god help me” etc.), which god they speak of, since there’s no religion mentioned and the distant past is legend. They also swear way too much, all said, so that it became a distraction and the characters blended together at times; and this alternate universe looks a lot like steampunk 19th century Italy.
Some of the reveals about the key, about Sancia, are moving, but there’s a way to write trauma without putting that trauma in the reader, and Bennett was not interested in doing so. There’s an abundance of scenes of torture, war, enslavement, of misogyny, of medical trials, of starvation and mutilation, a lot of which I didn’t feel served it’s purpose. It’s a terrible world that’s terrible to live in. Sancia is a scrappy thief with a weird curse, and one of the few people worth rooting for. Mostly, these circumstances made me less likely to read the rest of the trilogy.
Bennett’s basic world-building is kind of cool, though (and this may also be an element of the kind of book I’ve just described) perhaps not to the well-trained, in-depth fantasy reader. The idea that codes can train objects to act like other objects, essentially as though their reality is different and specific to another thing, is intriguing. The scrivers and fabricators, lexicons and Sancia’s powers are all fascinating. The problem is that a lot of the mythology is really complex, the advanced scrived designs get a bit out of hand, and Bennett ends up juggling a lot of stuff that, despite sometimes lengthy explanations, is often a mix of suspension of disbelief and deus ex machina. Which would be a good joke, considering how much of the story deals with gods, machines, advanced beings, magic cyborgs, and the like, except that the piling up of all these pieces sort of cracks the foundations that the story is built on. I was never sure, when the characters refer to god (as in, “god help me” etc.), which god they speak of, since there’s no religion mentioned and the distant past is legend. They also swear way too much, all said, so that it became a distraction and the characters blended together at times; and this alternate universe looks a lot like steampunk 19th century Italy.
Some of the reveals about the key, about Sancia, are moving, but there’s a way to write trauma without putting that trauma in the reader, and Bennett was not interested in doing so. There’s an abundance of scenes of torture, war, enslavement, of misogyny, of medical trials, of starvation and mutilation, a lot of which I didn’t feel served it’s purpose. It’s a terrible world that’s terrible to live in. Sancia is a scrappy thief with a weird curse, and one of the few people worth rooting for. Mostly, these circumstances made me less likely to read the rest of the trilogy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Slavery, War, Medical trauma, and Violence
Moderate: Excrement, Misogyny, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Body horror, and Colonisation
Minor: Vomit, Child abuse, and Physical abuse
c_hope_b's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-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? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Sexual harassment, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Slavery, Death, and Injury/injury detail
Moderate: Colonisation and Excrement
faduma's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Body horror, Confinement, Injury/injury detail, Sexual harassment, and Slavery
poetry_shaman's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Violence, Blood, Colonisation, Death, and Excrement
Moderate: Death, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, and Torture
Minor: War
The G word is used to refer to a group of traveling people. While the occurrence of the word happens in dialogue and is not directed at a person or ethnic group, it does stand out and has aged poorly.griffinthief's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Colonisation, Excrement, Gore, Body horror, Injury/injury detail, and Slavery
mazomazli's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
I’ve updated my review after rereading it to be 4.5 stars for a few reasons.
This is an amazing book with a very fun magic system of ‘scribed objects’ which takes ordinary objects and convinces them through engravings of different realities. An example would be convincing wood it is stone to create sturdier buildings and etc. I very much like the characters, I like the author’s writing, and I like the themes. I very much like how the author writes the sapphic relationship in this series.
The reason for the deductions is the following:
- the use of the g slur for Romani people - this was not directed at anyone in particular but used as a descriptor for nomads. I just want to put it out there so no one is caught off guard
- Robert Jackson Bennet has published fantastic essays years ago why authors should seriously reconsider adding that rape scene. Upon my reread, there was a sex scene witnessed by the MC that when you consider the power dynamics between the two and how little the woman is noted to not enjoy it, I’m very confident to say that it was rape. I would have rather not to have read the scene or the way the MC almost experiences SA. What was really important to me is that he made it known that when the offender does this shit, it’s not about lust or anything the victim is doing. It is so much about power. It’s really seen with the attempt on the MC as they find her unattractive but they could do it anyway just to enjoy a power trip.
One his essays:
https://www.robertjacksonbennett.com/three-things-that-shaped-how-i-think-about-writing-about-sexual-abuse
There is also a depiction of plantation slavery in the MC’s past and some of the horrors that people experienced.
To finish this all off after that difficult discussion, I would like to leave the love interest’s compliment to the MC: “Refreshingly uncontained”
This is an amazing book with a very fun magic system of ‘scribed objects’ which takes ordinary objects and convinces them through engravings of different realities. An example would be convincing wood it is stone to create sturdier buildings and etc. I very much like the characters, I like the author’s writing, and I like the themes. I very much like how the author writes the sapphic relationship in this series.
The reason for the deductions is the following:
- the use of the g slur for Romani people - this was not directed at anyone in particular but used as a descriptor for nomads. I just want to put it out there so no one is caught off guard
- Robert Jackson Bennet has published fantastic essays years ago why authors should seriously reconsider adding that rape scene. Upon my reread, there was a sex scene witnessed by the MC that when you consider the power dynamics between the two and how little the woman is noted to not enjoy it, I’m very confident to say that it was rape. I would have rather not to have read the scene or the way the MC almost experiences SA. What was really important to me is that he made it known that when the offender does this shit, it’s not about lust or anything the victim is doing. It is so much about power. It’s really seen with the attempt on the MC as they find her unattractive but they could do it anyway just to enjoy a power trip.
One his essays:
https://www.robertjacksonbennett.com/three-things-that-shaped-how-i-think-about-writing-about-sexual-abuse
There is also a depiction of plantation slavery in the MC’s past and some of the horrors that people experienced.
To finish this all off after that difficult discussion, I would like to leave the love interest’s compliment to the MC: “Refreshingly uncontained”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Colonisation, Injury/injury detail, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, and Torture
micheala's review against another edition
4.0
This was technically a reread for me. I originally read this back in December of 2018, and we'll I remembered the overarching story for the first 75% I did not remember anything about the climax and conclusion of this book.
I still don't really understand how the magic system works, and for most of the book I didn't feel confident saying that the author understood it either - kinda like if technology was treated as a soft magic system. As someone who prefers hard magic systems, I'm hoping that things get more fleshed out in the next book.
I think the characters are what really shine in this book (don't get me wrong, the plot is well done and yet what I remembered most from my original read was the characters). I loved some characters from their introduction, hated others, and had some grow on me (or free to hate others as the story progressed) and I can't wait to see what happens with certain relationships as the trilogy continues.
The final book come out at the end of the month and so I'm planning on picking up the sequel before then so I can read it as soon as I get my hands on it.
CW: slavery, sexual abuse of minors (mentioned but not graphic), gory, violence, murder, discussions/depictions of treating poor people as disposable/sub-human
I still don't really understand how the magic system works, and for most of the book I didn't feel confident saying that the author understood it either - kinda like if technology was treated as a soft magic system. As someone who prefers hard magic systems, I'm hoping that things get more fleshed out in the next book.
I think the characters are what really shine in this book (don't get me wrong, the plot is well done and yet what I remembered most from my original read was the characters). I loved some characters from their introduction, hated others, and had some grow on me (or free to hate others as the story progressed) and I can't wait to see what happens with certain relationships as the trilogy continues.
The final book come out at the end of the month and so I'm planning on picking up the sequel before then so I can read it as soon as I get my hands on it.
CW: slavery, sexual abuse of minors (mentioned but not graphic), gory, violence, murder, discussions/depictions of treating poor people as disposable/sub-human
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Death, Gore, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Colonisation, Murder, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Misogyny, Trafficking, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse
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