livus's review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.0
macchi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.5
books_and_lattemacchiato's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
Die ersten 150 Seiten fand ich ziemlich mau. Eigentlich passiert eine Menge und der Plot ist auch alles andere als langweilig, allerdings konnte ich keine Verbindung zu den Charakteren aufbauen und nicht wirklich mitfühlen, was zum Teil an der Erzählweise lag. Der Schreibstil fühlte sich nicht packend an, ich wollte einfach wissen, wann die Geschichte endlich so richtig losgeht. Hätte das ein paar Seiten lang gedauert, wäre das als Prolog okay gewesen ... aber 150 Seiten ist dafür schon lange. Gerade bei den traurigen Vorgeschichten der Hauptfiguren wäre es normal, wenn diese einen emotional berühren, das war bei mir hier aber gar nicht der Fall. Außerdem hatte ich das Gefühl, man würde viel über die Hauptfiguren erfahren, sie aber dennoch nicht RICHTIG kennenlernen.
Später bekommen die Charaktere etwas mehr Persönlichkeit, jedoch würde ich nicht sagen, dass mich das Buch noch so richtig begeistern konnte. Es gibt spannende Szenen, aber auch einige Längen. Der Schreibstil ist trotz allem leicht zu lesen und ich hatte keine Probleme damit, durch langatmige oder etwas verwirrende Szenen zu kommen. Hope wurde mir im Verlauf der Geschichte ein bisschen sympathischer und einige Twists fand ich gut gemacht. Die Idee mit dem Kloster ist auch sehr interessant mit viel Potenzial.
Die Atmosphäre ist durchwegs düster mit vielen Elementen, die man mit Dark Fantasy verbindet, für mich fühlte es sich allerdings nicht wirklich so an durch die schon genannten Kritikpunkte, z.B. fand ich das Schicksal von Hopes Dorf zwar traurig, allerdings berührte es mich beim Lesen eben nicht. Ohne emotionale Nähe fand ich die gruseligen Elemente einfach nur abstoßend/nervig. Das empfindet aber jeder anders. (Bitte unbedingt die Triggerwarnungen lesen!)
Es gibt sehr viele Actionelemente (Verfolgungen, Szenen auf (Piraten-)Schiffen, Diebstahl, Kampfszenen, ...), jedoch fühlten sich diese - so wie die ganzen ersten 150 Seiten - für mich eher distanziert an, ohne mich zu fesseln. Ich hatte auch Probleme, mir die actionreichen Szenen bildlich vorzustellen.
Ansonsten fiel mir das Lektorat in der deutschen Version positiv auf. Ich habe weniger Fehler als in vielen anderen Büchern entdeckt, auch in Satzstellungen etc., bei denen es in Büchern oft Kommafehler oder Ähnliches gibt.
Als ich auf das Buch aufmerksam geworden bin, habe ich in vielen Rezensionen Kritik über die vulgäre Sprache gelesen. Auch wenn ich nur bestätigen kann, dass es viele Kapitel gibt, in denen quasi jeder Dialog mehrere Flüche enthält, fand ich persönlich die Häufigkeit weniger schlimm. Manche Ausdrücke wurden vielleicht für meinen Geschmack zu häufig gebraucht (z.B. wenn "verpisste Hölle" in einem einzigen Gespräch so oft wiederholt wird, dass es einfach nicht mehr natürlich wirkt). Ein größeres Problem hatte ich mit der Beschreibung mit Sexualität, Geschlechtsorganen ... inklusive der Wortwahl für Flüche. Normalerweise mag ich es, wenn Fantasywelten ihre eigenen Flüche haben, aber hier geht es nicht um neue Wortkreationen und Worldbuilding, sondern eher um die exzessive Nutzung obszöner/abwertender Ausdrücke für diverse Geschlechtsorgane.
Fazit: Insgesamt war das Buch für mich ganz nett für zwischendurch, von einem Highlight allerdings weit entfernt. Ich glaube nicht, dass ich die Reihe weiterlesen werde.
Wenn ihr große High-Fantasy-Fans auf der Suche nach neuen Reihen seid und euch der Klappentext anspricht, gebt dem Buch eine Chance!
Später bekommen die Charaktere etwas mehr Persönlichkeit, jedoch würde ich nicht sagen, dass mich das Buch noch so richtig begeistern konnte. Es gibt spannende Szenen, aber auch einige Längen. Der Schreibstil ist trotz allem leicht zu lesen und ich hatte keine Probleme damit, durch langatmige oder etwas verwirrende Szenen zu kommen. Hope wurde mir im Verlauf der Geschichte ein bisschen sympathischer und einige Twists fand ich gut gemacht. Die Idee mit dem Kloster ist auch sehr interessant mit viel Potenzial.
Die Atmosphäre ist durchwegs düster mit vielen Elementen, die man mit Dark Fantasy verbindet, für mich fühlte es sich allerdings nicht wirklich so an durch die schon genannten Kritikpunkte, z.B. fand ich das Schicksal von Hopes Dorf zwar traurig, allerdings berührte es mich beim Lesen eben nicht. Ohne emotionale Nähe fand ich die gruseligen Elemente einfach nur abstoßend/nervig. Das empfindet aber jeder anders. (Bitte unbedingt die Triggerwarnungen lesen!)
Es gibt sehr viele Actionelemente (Verfolgungen, Szenen auf (Piraten-)Schiffen, Diebstahl, Kampfszenen, ...), jedoch fühlten sich diese - so wie die ganzen ersten 150 Seiten - für mich eher distanziert an, ohne mich zu fesseln. Ich hatte auch Probleme, mir die actionreichen Szenen bildlich vorzustellen.
Ansonsten fiel mir das Lektorat in der deutschen Version positiv auf. Ich habe weniger Fehler als in vielen anderen Büchern entdeckt, auch in Satzstellungen etc., bei denen es in Büchern oft Kommafehler oder Ähnliches gibt.
Als ich auf das Buch aufmerksam geworden bin, habe ich in vielen Rezensionen Kritik über die vulgäre Sprache gelesen. Auch wenn ich nur bestätigen kann, dass es viele Kapitel gibt, in denen quasi jeder Dialog mehrere Flüche enthält, fand ich persönlich die Häufigkeit weniger schlimm. Manche Ausdrücke wurden vielleicht für meinen Geschmack zu häufig gebraucht (z.B. wenn "verpisste Hölle" in einem einzigen Gespräch so oft wiederholt wird, dass es einfach nicht mehr natürlich wirkt). Ein größeres Problem hatte ich mit der Beschreibung mit Sexualität, Geschlechtsorganen ... inklusive der Wortwahl für Flüche. Normalerweise mag ich es, wenn Fantasywelten ihre eigenen Flüche haben, aber hier geht es nicht um neue Wortkreationen und Worldbuilding, sondern eher um die exzessive Nutzung obszöner/abwertender Ausdrücke für diverse Geschlechtsorgane.
Spoiler
In einer Szene verwandelt einer der magisch begabten Biomanten seinen Körper in einen weiblichen und die Wortwahl und grafischen Details auf diesen ca 1,5 Seiten fand ich einfach nur SCHRECKLICH.Fazit: Insgesamt war das Buch für mich ganz nett für zwischendurch, von einem Highlight allerdings weit entfernt. Ich glaube nicht, dass ich die Reihe weiterlesen werde.
Wenn ihr große High-Fantasy-Fans auf der Suche nach neuen Reihen seid und euch der Klappentext anspricht, gebt dem Buch eine Chance!
ghostmuppet's review against another edition
3.0
I saw this in the Gemmell Awards ballot, and liked the cover (yes, never judge a book by its cover). It was also on offer from Amazon with Audible Narration. So, it was purchased.
This is the story of two people, Hope and Red. They are both orphaned at an early age, but develop in different ways. Hope is a warrior monk, while Red is a thief. The book starts with their early lives, explains how bad it was and why they went on different paths. It then skips a number of years when they are teenagers and the story starts off then. The early years does last a while, and is still enjoyable to read.
This is a set up for more books - we know there will be three. We are introduced to the 'bad guys' in the form of Biomancers - nasty people who experiment on the living by infecting them with nasty biological war weapons.
The characters themselves are enjoyable and i ended up rooting for them. I liked how the story wove around certain expectations, always making me think what will happen next. OK, some of it was a little predictable, but we were introduced to some characters that i thought would be main stays, only to be dropped for a while then introduced again.
I would say this is a solid 3 star book. There was nothing that broke it to a 4 star for me. There were also a couple of annoying elements (calling people Wags - which to me means Wife and Girlfriends), and a fair amount of swearing (i am not offend by it, i just didn't see the reason for the specific phrase).
All in all, an enjoyable book and one in which i will continue with reading.
This is the story of two people, Hope and Red. They are both orphaned at an early age, but develop in different ways. Hope is a warrior monk, while Red is a thief. The book starts with their early lives, explains how bad it was and why they went on different paths. It then skips a number of years when they are teenagers and the story starts off then. The early years does last a while, and is still enjoyable to read.
This is a set up for more books - we know there will be three. We are introduced to the 'bad guys' in the form of Biomancers - nasty people who experiment on the living by infecting them with nasty biological war weapons.
The characters themselves are enjoyable and i ended up rooting for them. I liked how the story wove around certain expectations, always making me think what will happen next. OK, some of it was a little predictable, but we were introduced to some characters that i thought would be main stays, only to be dropped for a while then introduced again.
I would say this is a solid 3 star book. There was nothing that broke it to a 4 star for me. There were also a couple of annoying elements (calling people Wags - which to me means Wife and Girlfriends), and a fair amount of swearing (i am not offend by it, i just didn't see the reason for the specific phrase).
All in all, an enjoyable book and one in which i will continue with reading.
chlcrc's review against another edition
3.0
This was a competent enough book. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it since I finished it.
It has the tropes of modern YA fantasy - pirate-ing, a mysterious super stoic, super competent girl (Hope), a thief (Red), some mentors, and some bigger plot lurking in the background. It begins with the childhood of said Hope and Red and moves into the main plot that happens when they're somewhere in the 16-20 age range. Frankly speaking it's really hard to grasp the passage of time in this book, so I'm just not sure where they land age-wise. Despite covering all this ground with time, it doesn't really connect you to the characters. Skovron tries to add in some depth to Red that you read more about by the end, but it feels superficial then.
While I won't claim to be an editor, I think the heavy-handed focus for a number of chapters on the childhood really was the detractor and it left the book unbalanced. All that space could have been used far better... for example, on the empire. The pacing moves quickly enough through the plot, but if not for the speed, it would definitely feel far less connected and cohesive. It feels a bit ramshackled together. It feels a bit like an aimless narrative and then "Oh right we need a big plot here. Everything is now right here to make this happen!"
The characters aren't quite one dimensional, but they're not hyper compelling. Red is definitely far more thought out than Hope. Weirdly though Hope is definitely the one with a clear plot and arc - Red is just basically along for the ride figuring things out, but his POV is simply more compelling to read because it's less bland. So it's a weird balance and it doesn't quite even out, like the pacing mentioned above.
Not terrible, not great. Probably won't read the sequel because I left this novel just not caring.
It has the tropes of modern YA fantasy - pirate-ing, a mysterious super stoic, super competent girl (Hope), a thief (Red), some mentors, and some bigger plot lurking in the background. It begins with the childhood of said Hope and Red and moves into the main plot that happens when they're somewhere in the 16-20 age range. Frankly speaking it's really hard to grasp the passage of time in this book, so I'm just not sure where they land age-wise. Despite covering all this ground with time, it doesn't really connect you to the characters. Skovron tries to add in some depth to Red that you read more about by the end, but it feels superficial then.
While I won't claim to be an editor, I think the heavy-handed focus for a number of chapters on the childhood really was the detractor and it left the book unbalanced. All that space could have been used far better... for example, on the empire.
Spoiler
The biomancers are posed as the big evil, and a bait and switch is attempted at the end with "there's some bigger lurking Evil that we're actually fighting." Somewhere. Maybe. We don't really get a hint at what that could be which would have been nice. We don't know enough about the biomancers to know if they're just lying. In all honesty, I don't care enough to read the next book to find out.The characters aren't quite one dimensional, but they're not hyper compelling. Red is definitely far more thought out than Hope. Weirdly though Hope is definitely the one with a clear plot and arc - Red is just basically along for the ride figuring things out, but his POV is simply more compelling to read because it's less bland. So it's a weird balance and it doesn't quite even out, like the pacing mentioned above.
Not terrible, not great. Probably won't read the sequel because I left this novel just not caring.
shouldireadthis's review against another edition
4.0
*Review also appears on: SceneSisters blog*
**eARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley**
I had no idea what to expect with this one, I didn't have much to go on - but the premise sounded intriguing. It was definitely not what I was expecting, but that is by no means a bad thing.
If I had to describe this story, it's an amalgamation of Gangs of New York and Pirates of the Caribbean, with a little bit of Assassins Creed thrown in for good measure. There's gang fights, ship sailing, sea creatures, sordid encounters, and a ton of folk slang. Seriously, there's a glossary at the back and everything. Now, rather than being off-putting, this actually served to make the story more immersive, and I really felt transported to the fictional universe that Skovron has created.
This book is bold, brazen, and unashamedly crude. There is graphic violence, horror and sex. After reading the opening few pages, I was immediately hooked, and had a million and one questions. Although the pace is somewhat meandering in the first 20-40%, it soon picks up (once Hope and Red actually meet each other) and the action is full throttle from pretty much then on. Although I was at times confused concerning certain parts of the narrative - there are some seemingly random passages from the point of view of a biomancer - the purposes of these passages becomes clearer towards the end of the book, and sets up the next novel nicely.
The biomancers, in fact, were an interesting concept, and I would love to know more about them (I'm hoping this will be covered in the next book) and, indeed, I'm anticipating more development concerning the figure of the emperor, too.
This brings me on to the characters; none are quite alike, and everyone appears to have a tragic backstory. There's Red, and orphan, living on the streets - he's charming, silly, daring, and altogether a great guy. He starts off unsure of himself, but he really progresses throughout he book, along with the help of the notorious Sadie the Goat. Sadie is just as silly and daring, and she really helps Red to find his 'place' in the world. Their banter was cute, much appreciated, and I enjoyed their dynamic.
Then there's Hope - Bleak Hope, to be exact - named after the town in which she was born. Of course, like her name, her life has not been all that great, and she moves from one bad situation to the next (can the girl catch a break?). She's determined, honorable, loyal, and super bad-ass with a sword. She survives so many trials and struggles, and she never gives up - It's safe to say I adored her character.
Her dynamic with Red is one of the best parts of the book, and, as mentioned, when they actually meet a fairway into the book, their chemistry becomes evident and they compliment each other nicely. Don't get me wrong, this is by no means a ~love story~ and there is definitely no swooning or instant love to be found. It's a gritty, sometimes ugly, and tense story, with a fair amount of gore and violence. There's some truly creepy stuff throughout this book, but there's also some warm friendships to be found, and an excellent sense of community among the wags of New Haven, which help combat the darker parts of the story.
Ultimately, this is a book unlike any other I have read, and it definitely surprised me. I think it can only improve in the next book, and I am looking forward to seeing how both Hope, and Red, change and develop. If you're a fan of tales of adventure, hardship and you love a bit of crude folk slang, then you're sure to love this tale... keen?
**eARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley**
I had no idea what to expect with this one, I didn't have much to go on - but the premise sounded intriguing. It was definitely not what I was expecting, but that is by no means a bad thing.
If I had to describe this story, it's an amalgamation of Gangs of New York and Pirates of the Caribbean, with a little bit of Assassins Creed thrown in for good measure. There's gang fights, ship sailing, sea creatures, sordid encounters, and a ton of folk slang. Seriously, there's a glossary at the back and everything. Now, rather than being off-putting, this actually served to make the story more immersive, and I really felt transported to the fictional universe that Skovron has created.
This book is bold, brazen, and unashamedly crude. There is graphic violence, horror and sex. After reading the opening few pages, I was immediately hooked, and had a million and one questions. Although the pace is somewhat meandering in the first 20-40%, it soon picks up (once Hope and Red actually meet each other) and the action is full throttle from pretty much then on. Although I was at times confused concerning certain parts of the narrative - there are some seemingly random passages from the point of view of a biomancer - the purposes of these passages becomes clearer towards the end of the book, and sets up the next novel nicely.
The biomancers, in fact, were an interesting concept, and I would love to know more about them (I'm hoping this will be covered in the next book) and, indeed, I'm anticipating more development concerning the figure of the emperor, too.
This brings me on to the characters; none are quite alike, and everyone appears to have a tragic backstory. There's Red, and orphan, living on the streets - he's charming, silly, daring, and altogether a great guy. He starts off unsure of himself, but he really progresses throughout he book, along with the help of the notorious Sadie the Goat. Sadie is just as silly and daring, and she really helps Red to find his 'place' in the world. Their banter was cute, much appreciated, and I enjoyed their dynamic.
Then there's Hope - Bleak Hope, to be exact - named after the town in which she was born. Of course, like her name, her life has not been all that great, and she moves from one bad situation to the next (can the girl catch a break?). She's determined, honorable, loyal, and super bad-ass with a sword. She survives so many trials and struggles, and she never gives up - It's safe to say I adored her character.
Her dynamic with Red is one of the best parts of the book, and, as mentioned, when they actually meet a fairway into the book, their chemistry becomes evident and they compliment each other nicely. Don't get me wrong, this is by no means a ~love story~ and there is definitely no swooning or instant love to be found. It's a gritty, sometimes ugly, and tense story, with a fair amount of gore and violence. There's some truly creepy stuff throughout this book, but there's also some warm friendships to be found, and an excellent sense of community among the wags of New Haven, which help combat the darker parts of the story.
Ultimately, this is a book unlike any other I have read, and it definitely surprised me. I think it can only improve in the next book, and I am looking forward to seeing how both Hope, and Red, change and develop. If you're a fan of tales of adventure, hardship and you love a bit of crude folk slang, then you're sure to love this tale... keen?
wazzlejazzlebof's review against another edition
4.0
After a seemingly long set up to the main characters and central plots, this book had a way with getting you very invested in all the characters, the world, and what would happen in the next chapters.
Looking forward to getting the next book in the series and continuing the story.
Looking forward to getting the next book in the series and continuing the story.
sirlancelot2021'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
amywriterrose's review against another edition
3.0
Please note that rogues and monks are combat heavy, but the world overshadows that fact.
You can read my full review of it here: https://amy-rosenfeldt.com/2020/12/10/hope-and-red/
You can read my full review of it here: https://amy-rosenfeldt.com/2020/12/10/hope-and-red/
milabeille's review against another edition
5.0