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diyanosaur's review
4.0
I was expecting something similar to the first book in the series and was a bit disappointed. This is different in tone and scope, instead of a character focused story we get a fun quest-like story with major focus on the politics of the world. It's a well crafted and well told story but I felt the amount of heart we get in the first book wasn't present in this one.
bettysbookishworld's review
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
elros451's review
5.0
4.5 stars
A Contract in Sol Forne is just as good, if not better than it's predecessor Seasons of Albadone. It has a more traditional, narrower, story structure but loses nothing by diving into the heads of the two best characters in the series yet. Vaelin is an ancient djinn who is finally at the end of her long quest to ensure her freedom and Dorovan is a young man brought up on the tales of his dissolved noble heritage. In the midst of a conspiracy to control the port city of Sol Forne the two are forced to work together to achieve their goals. How both Vaelin and Dorovan change throughout the book and how they are portrayed (including the bad *cough cough Dorovan) is a huge highlight of this sequel.
Sol Forne also continues Albadone's tradition of being a complete stand alone story with hints at a larger narrative. Series that consist of standalone novels are always huge favorites of mine and The Eighth Chant is no exception. It knows how to give the reader the right number of hints at the larger narrative and how to slowly build tension between different sections of the world. I need the sequel! There are too many questions I'm interested in.
Thank you to the authors for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review! Sol Forne is a fantastic book. If you are thinking about picking it up (or Albadone) you should! I highly recommend them and I have a feeling that the story will only continue to get better from here.
A Contract in Sol Forne is just as good, if not better than it's predecessor Seasons of Albadone. It has a more traditional, narrower, story structure but loses nothing by diving into the heads of the two best characters in the series yet. Vaelin is an ancient djinn who is finally at the end of her long quest to ensure her freedom and Dorovan is a young man brought up on the tales of his dissolved noble heritage. In the midst of a conspiracy to control the port city of Sol Forne the two are forced to work together to achieve their goals. How both Vaelin and Dorovan change throughout the book and how they are portrayed (including the bad *cough cough Dorovan) is a huge highlight of this sequel.
Sol Forne also continues Albadone's tradition of being a complete stand alone story with hints at a larger narrative. Series that consist of standalone novels are always huge favorites of mine and The Eighth Chant is no exception. It knows how to give the reader the right number of hints at the larger narrative and how to slowly build tension between different sections of the world. I need the sequel! There are too many questions I'm interested in.
Thank you to the authors for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review! Sol Forne is a fantastic book. If you are thinking about picking it up (or Albadone) you should! I highly recommend them and I have a feeling that the story will only continue to get better from here.
_tomeraider's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
gay's review
adventurous
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
joelee__'s review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-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
4.0
podanotherjessi's review
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I have been struggling to write this review for a day and a half. I really loved this book, and when I love a book it's often hard to explain why.
Let's start with the setting, which is undoubtedly my favorite part. This doesn't have the same fairy tale feel to it as Seasons of Albadon, but it has it's own charms. The world is expanded, and we learn about more of the history of the world and the geopolitical conflicts. Sol Forne is a fascinating city with a guild structure not unfamiliar to fans of fantasy video games, but developed in a really interesting way that makes it feel unique. And we learn even more about the magic and how it ties to the world itself that really solidifies the stakes.
The other shining star in this book was the main character, Vaelin. She is an absolute delight. You can really feel her pain at the situation she's in, the anger, and more than anything just the complete and utter exhaustion. She has a wit to her as she observes the people around her that I really loved. Pluse, something I found unique in an immortal being thousands of years old, it was really resreshing to see her wonder and interest at how the world changes rather than any negative emotion (although, there is some of that too, but with very good reason).
Dorovan is another story. He's also a well-wrtten character. Warman and Marché do a brilliant job walking the line between him being entirely insufferable and ...well, never sympathetic. But understandable. Not hatable. That said, I feel like his arc was a weaker point of the book. Without spoiling the details, there was a lot of really good growth and slow build to a change, but then the change itself felt a little abrupt.
All and all, this is a fantastic book, and I cannot wait to see what comes next in the Eighth Chant.
Let's start with the setting, which is undoubtedly my favorite part. This doesn't have the same fairy tale feel to it as Seasons of Albadon, but it has it's own charms. The world is expanded, and we learn about more of the history of the world and the geopolitical conflicts. Sol Forne is a fascinating city with a guild structure not unfamiliar to fans of fantasy video games, but developed in a really interesting way that makes it feel unique. And we learn even more about the magic and how it ties to the world itself that really solidifies the stakes.
The other shining star in this book was the main character, Vaelin. She is an absolute delight. You can really feel her pain at the situation she's in, the anger, and more than anything just the complete and utter exhaustion. She has a wit to her as she observes the people around her that I really loved. Pluse, something I found unique in an immortal being thousands of years old, it was really resreshing to see her wonder and interest at how the world changes rather than any negative emotion (although, there is some of that too, but with very good reason).
Dorovan is another story. He's also a well-wrtten character. Warman and Marché do a brilliant job walking the line between him being entirely insufferable and ...well, never sympathetic. But understandable. Not hatable. That said, I feel like his arc was a weaker point of the book. Without spoiling the details, there was a lot of really good growth and slow build to a change, but then the change itself felt a little abrupt.
All and all, this is a fantastic book, and I cannot wait to see what comes next in the Eighth Chant.
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