A review by acaciathorn
The Reader by Traci Chee
4.0
The Reader takes place in a fantasy world where, surprise surprise, nobody can read. There is only one original Book in all of existence - and it contains everything that has ever happened, and everything that ever will happen. The Book is guarded by a secret society dedicated to studying its text and seeing that its prophecies come to fruition, and these people have like, crazy powers, because writing is closely linked with the supernatural. With the right application of magic, for example, writing the words Entirely Invisible on an object can actually make that object invisible. The world pulses and flows with golden threads that show all of history and control all of time and space, and the Book contains all these threads. It is an object of immense power.
The story opens on Sefia, who has lived her life on the run for as long as she can remember. She possesses the Book, although she does not know what it is or why she is being hunted by assassins. Why her aunt was kidnapped. Why her father was murdered. As she struggles to unravel the mystery of her own life, she discovers an even bigger mystery. She learns that she has the power to read, and that's when the real adventure begins.
The Reader felt like what it is: a first attempt by an author with a lot of promise. There were a ton of great ideas, and the spatters of blood, smudges of ink, and fake burnt pages added a cool visual element to the text. The mythology was interesting, even if the pacing was weird at times. Unfortunately, there were just too many POV characters, and it made the novel feel jumbled. The author set up ton of different plot threads which I assume will be completed in later books, but I have a hard time seeing how all the side stories and all the characters are going to come together. But hey, who knows. Maybe she'll pull it off.
For once, the best part of the book was the love interest - a mute boy who'd been enslaved and forced to fight other boys in gladiatorial style death matches. He was so sweet and vulnerable and loyal, yet so goddamn deadly. Just the right blend of sympathetic and badass - definitely my favorite character.
Rating: 3.5 stars
The story opens on Sefia, who has lived her life on the run for as long as she can remember. She possesses the Book, although she does not know what it is or why she is being hunted by assassins. Why her aunt was kidnapped. Why her father was murdered. As she struggles to unravel the mystery of her own life, she discovers an even bigger mystery. She learns that she has the power to read, and that's when the real adventure begins.
The Reader felt like what it is: a first attempt by an author with a lot of promise. There were a ton of great ideas, and the spatters of blood, smudges of ink, and fake burnt pages added a cool visual element to the text. The mythology was interesting, even if the pacing was weird at times. Unfortunately, there were just too many POV characters, and it made the novel feel jumbled. The author set up ton of different plot threads which I assume will be completed in later books, but I have a hard time seeing how all the side stories and all the characters are going to come together. But hey, who knows. Maybe she'll pull it off.
For once, the best part of the book was the love interest - a mute boy who'd been enslaved and forced to fight other boys in gladiatorial style death matches. He was so sweet and vulnerable and loyal, yet so goddamn deadly. Just the right blend of sympathetic and badass - definitely my favorite character.
Rating: 3.5 stars