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A review by irenevh
Windhaven by Lisa Tuttle, George R.R. Martin
3.0
3,5 stars
A rare standalone fantasy with an interesting concept, but which peaks too early, and feels slow later on.
Windhaven is the, surprisingly, the first book I have ever read written by George R.R. Martin, and not one I had of before being gifted it by a friend. It is one of his older books and might have not been well known at all if Martin himself hadn't become one of the most well known fantasy authors due to Game of Thrones.
Windhaven is a book about a world consisting of Islands separated by a rough sea which is often plagued by storms. To get messages across between the islands, certain people train to fly between the islands using kite like wings. The story itself follows the life of Maris, a flyer who doesn't like following the status quo.
The book is divided into three parts, each being its own, sort of self-contained story, within Maris' life. They are definitely connected, and wouldn't do well to read separately, but each has their start, build-up conflict etc.
the problem I found with this, is that first part of the book, which is the shortest at about 75 pages, is also the best of the three stories. the other two, each about twice that length tend to feel slow and dragging after a while, which is why even though I started fats in the book, it took me quite long to finish.
Overall the book has an interesting story to tell and the characters and the world are pretty well done, but I think this book could easily have been about 50 pages shorter and still have worked.
A rare standalone fantasy with an interesting concept, but which peaks too early, and feels slow later on.
Windhaven is the, surprisingly, the first book I have ever read written by George R.R. Martin, and not one I had of before being gifted it by a friend. It is one of his older books and might have not been well known at all if Martin himself hadn't become one of the most well known fantasy authors due to Game of Thrones.
Windhaven is a book about a world consisting of Islands separated by a rough sea which is often plagued by storms. To get messages across between the islands, certain people train to fly between the islands using kite like wings. The story itself follows the life of Maris, a flyer who doesn't like following the status quo.
The book is divided into three parts, each being its own, sort of self-contained story, within Maris' life. They are definitely connected, and wouldn't do well to read separately, but each has their start, build-up conflict etc.
the problem I found with this, is that first part of the book, which is the shortest at about 75 pages, is also the best of the three stories. the other two, each about twice that length tend to feel slow and dragging after a while, which is why even though I started fats in the book, it took me quite long to finish.
Overall the book has an interesting story to tell and the characters and the world are pretty well done, but I think this book could easily have been about 50 pages shorter and still have worked.